F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.)

He's also taken strong stances on matters that pertain to his committees: Once the chairman of the House Science Committee, he's supported efforts to build a space station and increased manned space flight; once the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he's been a proponent of limiting class-action suits in tort law and damages for medical malpractice.

In 2005, Sensenbrenner was attacked by Democrats for his role in the Terry Schiavo right-to-die case, in which he joined with Schiavo's family in attempting to persuade a federal court to secure home care for the woman, who was in a persistent vegetative state. He was later the chief sponsor of a bill to force federal-court review of the lower court's decision to remove her feeding tube.

The Environment

The ranking Republican on the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, Sensenbrenner seems more concerned with energy and less concerned with global warming.

He has continually sparred with the Environmental Protection Agency about the studies and statistics the department has produced supporting greenhouse-gas regulation, especially in regards to President Obama's cap-and-trade proposals. He has also argued that the EPA should spend more time and effort researching the costs associated with such regulation.

Similarly, Sensenbrenner is opposed to cap-and-trade plans, calling them a "regressive, hidden tax" that will hurt businesses too severely. He has called any greenhouse-gas regulation that increases costs for American businesses a "unilateral disarmament in manufacturing," because those businesses will presumably relocate to countries that do not have environmental standards. At the very least, Sensenbrenner argues, greenhouse-gas regulation is not worth any potential energy rate hikes.

National Security and USA Patriot Act

Sensenbrenner is a strong supporter of the Iraq war and military strategies surrounding it, having quashed 2003 Democratic attempts to hold meetings on the "Downing Street Memo," a report by British intelligence on how President George W. Bush allegedly attempted to manipulate evidence in support of invasion.

He has been particularly acerbic in response to Democratic criticism of the war efforts and former intelligence-gathering techniques. Following 9/11, Sensenbrenner was the driving House force behind the passage of the USA Patriot Act, which he introduced to empower the federal government's surveillance abilities. However, the Wisconsin Republican also pushed for inclusion of a 2005 sunset provision in the legislation because of concerns of possible infringements on civil liberties.

Despite continuing Democratic objections, the GOP-led Congress reauthorized and expanded the Patriot Act in March 2006, making some of its provisions permanent.

Sensenbrenner actively opposed many of the recommendations advanced in 2004 by the 9/11 Commission, including the creation of a director of national intelligence.

Not long after the Patriot Act's renewal, revelations arose about the federal government's warrantless wiretapping program. Sensenbrenner publicly clashed with then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, accusing him of "stonewalling" by not discussing how the program was authorized.

Also in 2005, Sensenbrenner authored the Real ID Act, which required additional scrutiny of U.S. citizenship to obtain a driver's license and directed the federal government to create a federal database of all state-issued identification. The measure was passed in both the House and Senate as a provision in a spending bill.

Sensenbrenner is a staunch defender of the Guantanamo Bay prison, and fought against its closure. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, he refused to hold hearings on abuse of Iraqi detainees.In 2009, he viciously attacked suggestions that President Obama seek prosecution of former Bush officials who approved harsh interrogation methods in intelligence-gathering.

Illegal Immigration

Sensenbrenner has sponsored legislation to apply criminal penalties to aiding and abetting illegal immigration.

His Real ID Act, which became law in 2005, prohibited drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants or use of Mexican identification cards in the U.S., tightened standards for granting asylum to immigrants, and overrode state laws or regulations that blocked the construction of barriers along the border. I

In 2006, conservative magazine Human Events named him "Man of the Year" for his policies against illegal immigration.

Censorship

Sensenbrenner has often criticized what he sees as a lack of values in American entertainment, and has advocated limiting the standards of suitability for public broadcast. He has also pushed for criminal prosecution of broadcasters who violate Federal Communications Commission decency standards.

Intellectual Property

Sensenbrenner has been a champion on behalf of large copyright holders, leading the 2006 effort to pass the Intellectual Property Protection Act and supporting measures to restrict the distribution of new energy technologies to underdeveloped countries.

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