View source for Todd Tiahrt

{{Short description|American politician (born 1951)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Todd Tiahrt
| image               = Todd Tiahrt, official photo portrait, color.jpg
| state               = [[Kansas]]
| district            = {{ushr|KS|4|4th}}
| term_start          = January 3, 1995
| term_end            = January 3, 2011
| predecessor         = [[Dan Glickman]]
| successor           = [[Mike Pompeo]]
| state_senate1       = Kansas
| district1           = [[Kansas's 26th Senate district|26th]]
| term_start1         = January 11, 1993
| term_end1           = January 3, 1995
| predecessor1        = [[Kenneth D. Francisco]]
| successor1          = [[Nancey D. Harrington]]
| birth_name          = William Todd Tiahrt
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1951|6|15}}
| birth_place         = [[Vermillion, South Dakota]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse              = Vicki Tiahrt
| children            = 3
| education           = [[South Dakota School of Mines and Technology]]<br>[[Evangel University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Southwest Missouri State University]] ([[Master of Business Administration|MBA]])
}}
'''William Todd Tiahrt'''<ref>[http://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/51650/William_Todd_Tiahrt.html Rep. Todd Tiahrt], Legalstorm.com</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|iː|h|ɑr|t}} {{Respell|TEE|hart}}; born June 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for {{ushr|KS|4}} from 1995 to 2011. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he was elected as part of the historic [[Republican Revolution|Republican Wave of 1994]], defeating 18-year incumbent U.S. Representative [[Dan Glickman]]. He ran in [[2010 United States Senate election in Kansas|2010]] for the [[United States Senate]] seat being vacated by [[Sam Brownback]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kansan Tiahrt makes Senate bid official |newspaper=The Hill |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kansan-tiahrt-makes-senate-bid-official-2009-01-31.html |date=2009-01-31 |access-date=2009-01-31 |author=Jeffrey Young |archive-date=2009-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705085619/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kansan-tiahrt-makes-senate-bid-official-2009-01-31.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He lost to fellow Republican U.S. Representative [[Jerry Moran]] of [[Hays, Kansas]], 50%–45%.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jean |first=Pamela |title=2010: Kansas Primary Election Results |newspaper=Kansas Free Press |date=August 4, 2010 |url=http://www.kansasfreepress.com/2010/08/live-election-results-right-here-kansas-state-primaries.html}}</ref>

Tiahrt twice sought to regain the 4th District House seat, representing a district which encompasses eleven counties in the south central region of the state, including the [[Wichita, Kansas|City of Wichita]]. In [[2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas|2014]], he ran against incumbent [[Mike Pompeo]] in the Republican primary but was defeated. Then, in 2017, after Pompeo vacated the seat to become President [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency|CIA Director]], Tiahrt sought the Republican nomination for the [[2017 Kansas's 4th congressional district special election|special election]] to fill it, but came in third, losing to [[Kansas state treasurer]] [[Ron Estes]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hegeman |first1=Roxana |title=Kansas Republicans pick Estes as nominee for US House seat |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/national/kansas-republicans-pick-estes-as-nominee-for-us-house-seat/article_f76d77b1-8d7a-5d09-8090-7cadfa1e425d.html |access-date=February 11, 2017 |work=St. Louis Dispatch |date=February 9, 2017}}{{dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no}}</ref>

==Early life, education and career==
Tiahrt was born in [[Vermillion, South Dakota|Vermillion]], [[South Dakota]], the son of Marcine (née Steele) and Wilbur E. Tiahrt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/tiahrt.htm|title=Profile|website=Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com|access-date=2017-02-25}}</ref> He attended the [[South Dakota School of Mines and Technology]] where he played football as a running back.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 30, 2020|title=Mines to honor 1970 Hardrocker SDIC champions|work=Rapid City Journal|url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/mines-to-honor-1970-hardrocker-sdic-champions/article_ea5656f4-489d-51cb-aff6-8672cd394f77.html}}</ref> He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from [[Evangel University|Evangel College]] in 1975, and received a [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]] from [[Southwest Missouri State University]] in 1989. He was a teacher at [[Newman University, Wichita|Kansas Newman College]] and Evangel College and worked for [[Boeing]] as a proposal manager.<ref name="bioguide">{{cite web|title=TIAHRT, Todd (1951-)|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=T000260|website=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]}}</ref>

==U.S. House of Representatives==
===Elections===
Tiahrt was elected to the [[Kansas Senate|Kansas State Senate]] in 1992. After only one term, in 1994, he sought and won the Republican nomination for the 4th Congressional District, and was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]] in an upset over 18-year Democratic incumbent [[Dan Glickman]]. Over 1,800 people volunteered for Tiahrt's campaign, which spent only $200,000, less than a quarter of Glickman's expenditures.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 20, 1994|title=INCUMBENT'S DEFEAT IS A CASE STUDY IN GRASS-ROOTS POLITICS|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-11-20-9411200276-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125133708/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-11-20-9411200276-story.html|archive-date=November 25, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

One factor in the win was the 1990s reapportionment, in which [[Hutchinson, Kansas|Hutchinson]] and surrounding [[Reno County, Kansas|Reno County]] were shifted to the "Big 1st" District. Hutchinson was replaced in the 4th District with more reliably Republican [[Montgomery County, Kansas|Montgomery County]]. After a tough reelection bid in 1996, Tiahrt was reelected to the U.S. House six more times with little difficulty, before running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in [[2010 United States Senate election in Kansas|2010]].

===Committee assignments===
* [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|Committee on Appropriations]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 2010|title=A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS|url=https://budgetcounsel.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/a-concise-history-of-the-house-committee-on-appropriations-111th-congress.pdf|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref>
** [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense|Subcommittee on Defense]]
** [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies]] (Ranking Member)
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies]] (Ranking Member)
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and General Government]]
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government|Subcommittee on District of Columbia]]
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Military Construction]]
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch|Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch]]
*[[United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence|'''House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence''']]<ref>{{Cite web|title=SELECT AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2008-08-01/pdf/CDIR-2008-08-01-HOUSECOMMITTEES-2.pdf|access-date=March 29, 2021|website=govinfo.gov}}</ref>

===Leadership roles and caucus memberships===
* Dean of Kansas' delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives
* Founder and chairman of the House Economic Competitiveness Caucus
*Deputy Majority Whip

===Impeachment of Bill Clinton===
{{see also|Impeachment of Bill Clinton}}
In November 1997, Tiahrt was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsor [[1997 impeachment resolution by Bob Barr|a resolution]] by [[Bob Barr]] that sought to launch an [[Impeachment inquiry in the United States|impeachment inquiry]] against President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="pace1">{{cite web |last1=Pace |first1=David |title=17 in House seek probe to impeach president |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/498562556 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Record | agency= The Associated Press |access-date=4 March 2021 |language=en |date=6 Nov 1997 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="hutcheson"/> The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.<ref name="hutcheson">{{cite web |last1=Hutcheson |first1=Ron |title=Some House Republicans can't wait for elections |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/197738955 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Asheville Citizen-Times |agency= Knight-Rider Newspapers |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=17 Nov 1997}}</ref> This was an early effort to impeach Clinton, predating the eruption of the [[Clinton–Lewinsky scandal]]. The eruption of that scandal would ultimately lead to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barkham |first1=Patrick |title=Clinton impeachment timeline |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1998/nov/18/clinton.usa |website=The Guardian |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=18 November 1998}}</ref> On October 8, 1998, Tiahrt voted in favor of legislation that was passed to open [[Impeachment inquiry against Bill Clinton|an impeachment inquiry]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498, Bill Number: H. Res. 581, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998498 |website=clerk.house.gov |publisher=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=1 March 2021 |language=en |date=8 October 1998}}</ref> On December 19, 1998, Tiahrt voted in favor of all four proposed [[articles of impeachment]] against Clinton (only two of which received the needed majority of votes to be adopted).<ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998546 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998545 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998544 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Washington |first1=U. S. Capitol Room H154 |last2=p:225-7000 |first2=DC 20515-6601 |title=Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998543 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref>

===Tiahrt Amendment===
{{main|Tiahrt Amendment}}
Tiahrt is the author of the Tiahrt Amendment which prohibits the [[National Tracing Center]] of the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] (ATF) from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation.<ref name="Grimaldi">{{cite news|last1=Grimaldi|first1=James V.|last2=Horwitz|first2=Sari|title=Industry pressure hides gun traces, protects dealers from public scrutiny|newspaper=Washington Post|date=October 24, 2010|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/23/AR2010102302996.html|access-date=2013-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104094522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/23/AR2010102302996.html|archive-date=November 4, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

This precludes gun trace data from being used in academic research of gun use in crime.<ref name="Grimaldi"/> Additionally, the law blocks any data legally released from being admissible in civil lawsuits against gun sellers or manufacturers.<ref name="Grimaldi"/> Some groups, including the [[Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition]], believe that having further access to the ATF database would help municipal police departments track down sellers of illegal guns and curb crime. These groups are trying to undo the Tiahrt Amendment.<ref name="Knight">Knight, Healther (June 19, 2007) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/19/BAGHNQHIOB1.DTL "Mayors Fight Gun Measure"], ''San Francisco Chronicle''; accessed December 12, 2016.</ref>

Numerous police organizations oppose the Tiahrt Amendment, such as the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Conversely, the Tiahrt Amendment is supported by the [[National Rifle Association of America]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/wed-january-16-2013-jessica-chastain|title=The Daily Show with Trevor Noah|website=Thedailyshow.com|access-date=February 21, 2018}}</ref> and the [[Fraternal Order of Police]] (although it allows municipal police departments only limited access to ATF trace data in any criminal investigation). The NRA has claimed that undoing the Tiahrt Amendment would lead to a rash of lawsuits against gun dealers.<ref name="Knight"/>

In their 2010 letter of appreciation on behalf of the [[NRA Political Victory Fund]] and the 50,000 NRA members in Kansas, Tiahrt was honored with a 4th consecutive congressional race A+ rating for his contributions to the pro-gun efforts.<ref name="NRA_2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.ksccw.com/forum/the-range/kansas-state-rifle-association/20270-rating-letter-to-tiahrt-from-the-nra|title=Rating letter|work=Kansas State Rifle Association|date=July 21, 2010|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222104909/http://www.ksccw.com/forum/the-range/kansas-state-rifle-association/20270-rating-letter-to-tiahrt-from-the-nra|archive-date=February 22, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tiahrt had earned the highest rating, by "voting for every pro-gun bill."<ref name="NRA_2010"/> This included "critical pro-gun reforms" like the 2005 [[Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]] (PLCAA);<ref name=Trace_Mascia_2016>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetrace.org/2016/04/lawsuit-against-missouri-gun-seller-plcaa|title=Lawsuits Against Gun Sellers Almost Never Make it to Trial. This One Will.|quote=The Missouri Supreme Court will allow a woman to sue a gun dealer despite PLCAA, a law that shields manufacturers and retailers from most liability suits.|first=Jennifer|last=Mascia|publisher=[[The Trace (website)|The Trace]]|date=April 7, 2016|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408164929/https://www.thetrace.org/2016/04/lawsuit-against-missouri-gun-seller-plcaa|archive-date=April 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> "legislation to expand Right-to-Carry to national parks and wildlife refuges", the [[Tiahrt Amendment]] to reform the ATF, and "legislation to restore" [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] rights to [[Washington, D.C.]] The A+ ranking took into consideration the letter he submitted to court briefs that he signed as a "critical friend of the court briefs"<ref name="NRA_2010"/> in the 2008 [[list of landmark court decisions in the United States|landmark]] [[legal case|case]] [[District of Columbia v. Heller]], in which the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled that the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] protects an individual's [[Right to keep and bear arms|right]] to possess a [[firearm]] unconnected with service in a militia for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home, and that Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and requirement that lawfully-owned rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" violated this guarantee,<ref>{{cite news|title=Justices to Decide if State Gun Laws Violate Rights|first=Robert|last=Barnes|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093001723.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2009-10-01|quote=the 5 to 4 opinion in ''District of Columbia v. Heller'' did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment extends beyond the federal government and federal enclaves such as Washington.|access-date=2010-02-19}}</ref> and the 2010 SC case ''[[McDonald v. Chicago]]'', which found that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" is protected by the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Due Process Clause|Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment]] against the [[U.S. state|states]], clearing up any uncertainty left in the wake of the Heller case.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mears|first=Bill|title=Court rules for gun rights, strikes down Chicago handgun ban|work=CNN|date=June 28, 2010|url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/28/court-rules-for-gun-rights-strikes-down-chicago-handgun-ban/?iref=allsearch|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=March 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311023602/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/28/court-rules-for-gun-rights-strikes-down-chicago-handgun-ban/?iref=allsearch|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tiahrt-Bilbray Bill Fairness for American Students Act===
A bill was introduced by Tiahrt and Congressman [[Brian Bilbray]] (R-CA) called the '''Fairness for American Students Act''' that would close a loophole in current law that several states have used to provide lower-cost college tuition to illegal immigrants compared to tuition rates U.S. citizens from neighboring states have to pay.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 29, 2010|title=Rep. Todd Tiahrt Introduces Bill to Prohibit In-State Tuition to Illegal Aliens|url=https://www.numbersusa.org/content/news/january-29-2010/rep-todd-tiahrt-introduces-bill-prohibit-state-tuition-illegal-aliens.html|website=NumbersUSA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=H.R.4548 - Fairness for American Students Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/4548?s=1&r=56|website=Congress.gov|date = 26 April 2010}}</ref> Kansas and Nebraska are two of the states that currently offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

=== Former Tiahrt congressional staff ===
[[Matt Schlapp]] is chairman of the [[American Conservative Union]] and a Fox News political commentator. Schlapp began his political career as a campaign volunteer for Tiahrt in 1994 and following Tiahrt's election in November 1994, Schlapp moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as Tiahrt's communications director and eventually chief of staff for five years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who We Are - Matt Schlapp|url=https://www.conservative.org/about/staff/matt-schlapp|website=The American Conservative Union}}</ref> He later served as White House Political Director for President George W. Bush.

Matthew Stroia serves as chief of staff to U.S. Representative [[Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania politician)|Mike Kelly]] (R-PA). He served as a legislative counsel for Tiahrt from 2008 to 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Matthew Stroia|url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/Matthew_Alan_Stroia/65242.html|website=Legistorm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=February 10, 2012|title=Hill Climbers: Staffer Serves on Hill and in Church|work=Roll Call|url=https://www.rollcall.com/2012/02/10/hill-climbers-staffer-serves-on-hill-and-in-church/}}</ref>

Joel Katz currently serves as district director for U.S. Representative [[Andrew Clyde]] (R-GA).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Joel N. Katz|url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/80609/Katz_Joel_N_.html|website=Legistorm}}</ref> He served as legislative correspondent for Tiahrt from 2009 to 2011, and then went on to serve as legislative assistant for U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader [[Eric Cantor]], and chief of staff to U.S. Representative [[Doug Collins (politician)|Doug Collins]] (R-GA).<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 13, 2014|title=Voyages Summer 2014|work=Voyages - Christopher Newport University|url=https://issuu.com/cnuocpr/docs/voyages_2014/91}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Joel N. Katz|url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/Joel_N_Katz/80609.html|website=Legistorm}}</ref>

Jeff Kahrs began as an intern for Tiahrt in the Kansas State Senate from 1993 to 1994 and later served as Tiahrt's legislative director and chief of staff from 1995 to 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?SetNow=Y&RaceID=761323 |title=Our Campaigns - KS State Senate 26 Race - Nov 03, 1992}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=January 29, 2021|title=U.S. Representative Jake LaTurner announces his full staff for the 117th Congress|url=https://laturner.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-representative-jake-laturner-announces-his-full-staff-117th-congress|website=laturner.house.gov}}</ref> Kahrs currently serves as senior advisor to U.S. Representative [[Jake LaTurner]] (R-KS).<ref name=":1" />

Josh Bell served as a legislative correspondent and aide for Tiahrt from 2002 to 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Josh Bell|url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/17969/Joshua_G_Bell.html|website=Legistorm}}</ref> He currently serve as chief of staff to U.S. Representative Ron Estes (R-KS).<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 23, 2017|title=CONGRESSMAN ESTES ANNOUNCES HIS WASHINGTON, DC TEAM|url=https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=19|website=estes.house.gov}}</ref>

Robert Noland was the only employee of Tiahrt's congressional campaign in 1994 and worked for Tiahrt throughout his tenure in the U.S. House, mostly as his district director in Wichita.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=June 4, 2014|title=Tiahrt Names Campaign Chief for Race in Kansas 4th|work=Kansas Public Radio|url=https://kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/headlines-wednesday-june-4-2014}}</ref> Noland later served as executive director of the Kansas Family Policy Council.<ref name=":2" />

==Political positions==
===Abortion and family planning===
Tiahrt opposed government-funded abortions. While serving in Congress, he spoke at the annual March for Life.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 23, 2004|title=Words of Support From Bush at Anti-Abortion Rally|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/23/us/words-of-support-from-bush-at-anti-abortion-rally.html?scp=6&sq=%E2%80%9DMarch%20for%20Life%E2%80%9D&st=cse&_r=0}}</ref>

The "Tiahrt Amendment" of 1998, which was most recently included in the FY2020 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, ensures that no government funding is used in connection with [[Forcible sterilization|forcible sterilizations]] in foreign countries.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=February 15, 1998|title=Using Gifts as Bait, Peru Sterilizes Poor Women|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/15/world/using-gifts-as-bait-peru-sterilizes-poor-women.html}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=August 21, 2020|title=Abortion and Family Planning Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41360.pdf|journal=Congressional Research Service}}</ref> The amendment ensures that in foreign countries where the U.S. government funds voluntary family planning projects, women are not denied the right to participate in any general welfare program or denied the right of access to health care. Further, the amendment requires that any experimental contraceptive drugs and devices and medical procedures are provided only in the context of a scientific study in which participants are advised of potential risks and benefits.<ref name=":0" />

Concern that the [[U.S. Agency for International Development]] (USAID) was possibly funding a [[Forced sterilization in Peru|forced sterilization campaign in Peru]] led Tiahrt to enact the Amendment.<ref name=":3" />

===Government funding for needles===
Tiahrt was cited as responsible for preventing the City of Washington D.C., from spending federal or District funding on "needle exchange programs" for drug users from 1998 through 2007.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/10/22/budget-forbids-money-for-needle-exchange/222debd7-b866-48f5-9fa3-2f20900a9b6e/ Budget Forbids Money for Needle Exchange], Washington Post, October 22, 1998.</ref>

===Comments on the TSA===
On November 23, 2010, Tiahrt spoke in Wichita against recent TSA security measures and how they affect citizens' privacy.<ref>[http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=621793&keyword=&phrase=&contain= Tiahrts comments on the TSA], Votesmart.org; accessed December 12, 2016.</ref> In 2009, along with Kansas' then-U.S. Senators, he co-authored a letter to the Homeland Security Secretary expressing concerns over new rules for privately owned aircraft over 12,500 pounds, which critics feared would further burden the already hurting private aviation industry and in turn the local communities where the small aircraft are manufactured in Kansas.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 1, 2009|title=Proposed TSA security rules irk private fliers|work=Lincoln Journal Star|url=https://journalstar.com/business/proposed-tsa-security-rules-irk-private-fliers/article_3697267b-3fc2-5e3e-9387-cdbfe94ed22a.html}}</ref>

===Stimulus spending===
Tiahrt voted against the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=21953&type=category&category=10&go.x=8&go.y=15|title=Todd Tiahrt's Voting Records - The Voter's Self Defense System|publisher=Vote Smart|access-date=2017-02-25}}</ref> and spoke against the stimulus in the House, planning to introduce an act to repeal the stimulus.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2009|title=Tiahrt Takes another Swing at Obama Stimulus Spending|website=[[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sdSq_3kzh8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/1sdSq_3kzh8| archive-date=2021-12-12|url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Tiahrt and his wife Vicki met while attending Evangel University.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2012|title=From the Heart - The Tiahrts' Love Story|work=Splurge!|url=https://www.splurgemag.com/category.php?id=149&cat=Live|access-date=2021-03-29|archive-date=2021-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023035353/https://www.splurgemag.com/category.php?id=149&cat=Live|url-status=dead}}</ref> They have three children, Jessica, John and Luke, and five grandchildren. Jessica Tiahrt Healy graduated from [[Antonin Scalia Law School|George Mason University School of Law]] and is an attorney at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 6, 2020|title=We Are NRECA: Jessica Healy on electric cooperative legal resources|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egRkCnmWOhw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/egRkCnmWOhw| archive-date=2021-12-12|url-status=live|website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> John Tiahrt graduated from Wichita State University. On July 24, 2004, the Tiahrts' youngest child, sixteen year-old Luke, died of an apparent suicide at the family home in Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cjonline.com/stories/072504/kan_tiahrt.shtml|title=Authorities speculate that 16-year-old committed suicide|publisher=Topeka Capital-Journal|date=July 25, 2004|access-date=December 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220233739/http://cjonline.com/stories/072504/kan_tiahrt.shtml|archive-date=December 20, 2016|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2004/jul/29/tiahrts_son_laid|title=Tiahrt's son laid to rest|publisher=Lawrence Journal-World|date=July 29, 2004|access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> The family established the Luke Tiahrt Memorial Fund to provide grants to organizations that benefits teenagers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/896617.html|title=Tiahrt Family Releases Statement After Son's Suicide|publisher=13 WIBW|date=July 31, 2004|access-date=December 8, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220200035/http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/896617.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Electoral history==
* '''2017 Republican Convention for Kansas 4th District'''
** [[Ron Estes]], 66 votes, 2nd Ballot
** Alan Cobb, 43 votes
** Todd Tiahrt, 17 votes
* '''2014 Republican primary race for Kansas 4th District'''
** [[Mike Pompeo]] (inc), 42,877 votes, 63%
** Todd Tiahrt, 25,501 votes, 37%
* '''2010 Republican primary race for U.S. Senator – Kansas'''
** Jerry Moran, 160,620 votes, 50%
** Todd Tiahrt, 144,221 votes, 45%
* '''2008 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 64%
** [[Donald Betts]] (D), 32%
* '''2006 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 64%
** Garth McGinn (D), 34%
* '''2004 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 66%
** Michael Kinard (D), 31%
* '''2002 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 61%
** Carlos Nolla (D), 37%
* '''2000 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 54%
** Carlos Nolla (D), 42%
** Steven Rosile (L), 4%
* '''1998 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R) (inc.) 58%
** Jim Lawing (D) 39%
** Craig Newland (T) 3%
* '''1996 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 50%
** Randy Rathbun (D), 47%
* '''1994 race for Kansas 4th District'''
** Todd Tiahrt (R) 53%
** [[Dan Glickman]] (D), (inc.) 47%

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://toddtiahrt.com/ Todd Tiahrt LLC official website] 
* {{C-SPAN|36613}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131203000852/http://www.publicintegrity.org/news/Todd-Tiahrt Collected news and investigations] at [[The Center for Public Integrity]]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Todd_Tiahrt Profile] at [[SourceWatch]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Dan Glickman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Kansas|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Kansas's 4th congressional district]]|years=1995–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mike Pompeo]]}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jackie Speier]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former U.S. Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lee Terry]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-end}}

{{KansasUSRepresentatives}}
{{USCongRep-start |congresses=104th–111th [[United States Congress]] |state=[[United States congressional delegations from Kansas|Kansas]]}}
{{USCongRep/KS/104}}
{{USCongRep/KS/105}}
{{USCongRep/KS/106}}
{{USCongRep/KS/107}}
{{USCongRep/KS/108}}
{{USCongRep/KS/109}}
{{USCongRep/KS/110}}
{{USCongRep/KS/111}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiahrt, Todd}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2012 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature]]
[[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:21st-century Kansas politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:American anti-abortion activists]]
[[Category:American Pentecostals]]
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[[Category:Boeing people]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2010 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2014 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2017 United States elections]]
[[Category:Christians from Kansas]]
[[Category:Christians from South Dakota]]
[[Category:Educators from Kansas]]
[[Category:Evangel University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of Congress who became lobbyists]]
[[Category:Missouri State University alumni]]
[[Category:Newman University, Wichita faculty]]
[[Category:People from Goddard, Kansas]]
[[Category:People from Vermillion, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Republican National Committee members]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas]]
[[Category:Republican Party Kansas state senators]]