Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)

U.S. Representative (since January 2009)

(Gpoaccess.gov)

Why She Matters

First elected to the Wyoming legislature at age 24, Lummis grew into a prominent state politician for the Republican Party. She chaired the state House's Revenue Committee before serving as state treasurer for eight years.

A finalist to replace the late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas (R) in 2007, Lummis instead became Wyoming's sole U.S. representative after her election in 2008. Since the GOP's takeover of the House in the 2010 midterms, Lummis sits on the House Republican Steering Committee and on the prestigious House Appropriations Committee.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Wyoming Treasurer (1998-2006); Wyoming Senate (1993-1994); Wyoming Legislature (1978-1983 and 1985-1993)
Birthday: September 10, 1954
Hometown: Cheyenne, Wyo.
Alma Mater: B.S., University of Wyoming, 1976; B.A., University of Wyoming, 1978; JD, University of Wyoming, 1985.
Spouse: Al Wiederspahn
Religion: Lutheran
Committees: Appropriations Committee
DC Office: 1004 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-2311

State/District Office: 2120 Capitol Ave., Suite 2015, Cheyenne, WY 82001, (307) 772-2595
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Path to Power

Born in Cheyenne in 1954, Lummis was raised on her family's ranch in Laramie County. She graduated from the University of Wyoming with degrees in biology and animal science.

Rise in Womying Politics

Lummis was elected to the state House in 1978, at age 24. She didn't seek reelection in 1982, instead deciding to attend law school at the University of Wyoming. In 1983, she married Alvin Wiederspahn, who was then a Democratic legislator.

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Upon receiving her law degree in 1985, Lummis was once again elected to the state House. She went on to chair the chamber's Revenue Committee. In 1992, she challenged Democratic incumbent Harriett Byrd for a seat in the state Senate; her 53 to 47 percent victory was her most competitive race to date.

Lummis didn't seek reelection to the state Senate in 1994. From 1995 to 1997, she worked for the administration of Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer (R), focusing on natural resources and land use. In late 1997, Geringer appointed Lummis as temporary director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.

In 1998, Lummis was elected state treasurer, a position she held for eight years. She oversaw the diversification of the state's portfolio and increased investments in stocks rather than in bonds. By the time of her departure in January 2007, the treasurer office's responsibility in managing investments had been mostly transferred to private firms.

When U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas (R) died in June 2007, Lummis was one of three Republicans selected by the Republican State Central Committee as possible replacements. The final decision belonged to Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D), who chose to appoint state Sen. John Barrasso (R) over Lummis.

In the House

When Wyoming's at-large Rep. Barbara Cubin (R) announced she wouldn't seek reelection in 2008, Lummis jumped into the race to succeed her.

In the Republican primary, Lummis faced Mark Gordon, a wealthy businessman and political novice. Drawing on his personal resources, Gordon outspent Lummis =four-to-one and described her as a "career politician." Lummis, meanwhile, enjoyed endorsements from the National Rifle Association and anti-abortion rights groups, and she attacked Gordon for his ties to the Sierra Club. On Election Day, she beat him 46 percent to 38 percent, or a 6,000 vote margin.

In the general election, Lummis faced a competitive race against Gary Trauner, a Democrat who had lost to Cubin by just half a percentage point in 2006. While Wyoming is heavily Republican, the GOP was struggling in 2008 and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted this seat. But Lummis appealed to the state's conservative politics by emphasizing traditionally Republican positions like her support for the Bush tax cuts. On Election Day, Lummis prevailed 53 percent to 43 percent as GOP presidential nominee John McCain carried by the state by 22 percentage points.

In 2010, Lummis was one of the 28 co-founders of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)'s Tea Party Caucus in 2010. She didn't join the caucus in the 112th Congress, citing her need to better manage her time.

After the GOP regained a House majority in November 2010, Lummis landed two prestigious appointments. She was named to the House Republican Steering Committee, which selects committee leaders and membership, and she was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, which doles out federal funds.

The Issues

In her first years in Congress, Lummis opposed Democrats' domestic priorities, from the 2009 stimulus package to 2010 health-care reform. In January 2011, she voted to repeal the health-care bill. She also opposed proposals that a substantial number of House Republicans supported. For instance, she voted against new regulations on the credit-card industry and the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Lummis worried such reforms were hurting the country's economic vitality. "We are marching toward a culture of dependence," she said in 2010. "We are marching toward a European-style social democracy."

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As a result, Lummis wants to shrink the size of government. In 2011, she introduced a bill called the Federal Workforce Reduction Act, which would freeze hires for some government agencies and force the government to only replace one of every two departing federal workers.

She also advocates privatizing Social Security.

Lummis made her support for making the Bush tax cuts permanent central to her platform in her premier 2008 House race. In December 2010, she backed the bipartisan deal to pass a two-year extension of the tax cuts. She also wants to repeal the estate taxes and cut (if not eliminate) capital-gains taxes.

Despite her professed steadfast opposition to new taxes, Lummis has argued it is unfair that nearly half of Americans pay no federal income tax and that everyone should be made to pay some income tax, "even if it's $50 a year."

Social Issues

Lummis supports overturning Roe v. Wade and imposing a strict ban on federal money being used to fund abortions.

She opposes legalizing gay marriage. "I object to using the term marriage to define anything other than one man and one woman, because I believe marriage was ordained by God," she said in 2009.

However, Lummis added that other types of legal recognition of same-sex couples should be left to the states. In the House, she has voted against gay-rights measures like ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The Environment

Lummis has expressed skepticism regarding climate change. "I believe climate change is happening, but I question the extent to which the activities of man are contributing to it," she said in 2008.

In 2009, Lummis opposed the Waxman-Markey bill, which was meant to combat greenhouse-gas emissions by implementing a cap-and-trade system. She said that the bill would raise energy costs and that the imposition of government mandates would hurt businesses.

Then a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Lummis criticized the Obama administration for implementing a moratorium on offshore drilling after the BP oil spill. She proceeded to describe legislation seeking to boost drilling safety in the wake of the BP oil spill as "nuts." Lummis argued the Democratic response to the spill would hurt the country's energy independence.

Immigration

Lummis believes more should be done to secure the United States' Southern border, including the use of counterinsurgency strategies like the ones used in Afghanistan.

She supports constructing a fence along the border and making English the country's official language.

The Network

Lummis was one of the 28 co-founders of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)'s Tea Party Caucus. She didn't join the Caucus in the 112th Congress, citing her need to better manage her time. She is a member of the Republican Study Committee, a much larger group of conservative House members.

She is also a member of a Republican task force on rural issues, created in April 2009 and chaired by Reps. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.).

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