Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)

Chair, House Republican Conference (since January 2011)

(Lucian Perkins/fTWP)

Why He Matters

Hensarling's nickname around Congress is "budget nanny."

His colleagues chose him as chairman of the House Republican Conference in the 112th Congress, when GOPers reclaimed the majority (he staved off a possible challenge from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) when she withdrew her candidacy).

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Representative (since January 2003); Head, Republican Study Committee (2006-N/A)
Birthday: May 29, 1957
Hometown: Stephenville, Tex.
Alma Mater: Texas A&M University, B.A., 1979; University of Texas at Austin, J.D., 1982
Spouse: Melissa

Religion: Episcopalian
DC Office: 129 Cannon House Office Building, 202-225-3484
District Office: Dallas, 214-349-9996; Athens, 903-675-8288
Email
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Path to Power

Hensarling was born May 29, 1957, in Stephenville, Texas. As a child, he helped his father on the family poultry farm near College Station. The work convinced him that he did not want to become a farmer.

Instead, he decided to try his hand at politics. His earliest political memory, when he was 7, is of knocking on doors with his father on behalf of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. Supporting Republicans stuck. Hensarling spent many high school afternoons organizing Republican political events. He was also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank of Boy Scout.

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He received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, where he was GOP precinct captain, and his J.D. from the University of Texas law school in 1982.

After passing the Texas bar, Hensarling practiced law in San Antonio for two years before returning to politics as a staffer for then-Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas). He ran Gramm's victorious 1990 campaign and was then appointed executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which Gramm chaired.

Hensarling returned to Texas in 1993 as spokesman for Green Mountain Energy, a local utility. He left the company in 2001 to found the Family Support Assurance, a company that aims to modernize child support payments.

2002 House Race

That year, statewide redistricting divided the district where Hensarling lived into two. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), the sitting representative, chose to run for the smaller district and Hensarling decided to pursue the newly opened position.

He defeated four other Republicans in the primary, winning 54 percent of the vote. In the general election, he was opposed by Ron Chapman, a county judge. Chapman, who shares a name with a popular Texas disc jockey, ran as a loyal Democrat who could reach across the aisle. But Hensarling attacked him, accusing him of being a "judge softie" because he twice freed a man charged with attempted murder.

Chapman tried to paint Hensarling as an extremist, but his message failed. Voters were wooed by a stream of famous Republican endorsements, including those from President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Chapman's campaign was also hurt when his disc-jockey namesake held a press conference to announce his support of Hensarling.

Hensarling was elected with 58 percent of the vote. He has been easily reelected since, winning each time with more than 60 percent of the vote.

GOP Rising Star

He quickly became a rising star in Washington. He was the Republican Study Committee (RSC) treasurer in 2005, a position that allowed him to advocate for cutting budget spending. In 2006, he defeated Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) for RSC chairman. When Hensarling won, he called on his fellow GOP leaders to "do a better job of advocacy for our party." He hopes this position will enable him to unify the party and reassert conservative fiscal values.

Hensarling has long aspired to a top position in the Republican House Conference. He considered running for conference chairman in November 2008 and probably had enough votes to win. However, he refused to challenge his close friend Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), whose candidacy was orchestrated at the last minute by Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Oh.). According to Politico, Boehner called Pence shortly after the election and convinced him to run in an effort to insulate himself from attacks by his "biggest detractors in the conservative wing of the party," which included Hensarling.

Hensarling has expressed interest in eventually running for the Senate.

The Issues

Hensarling is a solid conservative who sometimes struggles to balance his far-right values with the party's more moderate legislation. He has voted with his party 90 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.

Hensarling has been a prominent advocate for a return to limited government, calling on his party to fight earmarks and big budget deficits.

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He has said that the party's losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections are a call for it to return to its roots. "There is nothing quite like a two-by-four smacked across your head to get attention," he told the New York Times.

2008 Wall Street Bailout

Hensarling was one of the primary opponents of the initial September financial industry bailout, which he called "a slippery slope to socialism."

He opposed both the scope of the program and its focus, arguing that any stimulus efforts should aim to help Main Street. He was also concerned that the initial measure did not incorporate enough safeguards to prevent banks and other financial institutions from requesting more money than they need.

He led the effort to defeat the initial legislation in the House in late September, and was a member of the committee that developed the compromise legislation. "We know we are not going to get everything we want," Hensarling told the Dallas Morning News. "If they want House Republicans to support it, we need something more akin to a work-out than a bailout, with more taxpayer protections."

He also opposed the bailout of auto companies in December 2008, arguing that some companies need to fail in order to restructure themselves into more efficient, financially viable organizations.

Slashing Federal Spending

Hensarling made cutting taxes his top priority as a candidate, and he has continued to advocate for those changes as a member of the House and a founder of the Washington Waste Watchers.

As a member of the RSC, he advocated spending discipline in budget legislation. He sponsored a measure that would have required earmarks to be accompanied in spending bills with the names of their authors and proposed a constitutional amendment that would link the growth in federal spending to the rate of economic growth.

These moves often put him in conflict with the Republican House Appropriations Committee members. The challenge was highlighted when the party was in the majority. In one instance, Hensarling struggled to convince Republican leaders to include provisions to keep costs low in the 2002 Medicare and prescription drug bill.

He also led the well-publicized but ultimately ineffective effort to offset all Hurricane Katrina spending with budget cuts.

Offshore Oil Drilling

Hensarling is a strong supporter of off-shore drilling. In June 2008, he drafted a petition, signed by 144 House members, that called on Congress not to renew the bans on drilling off the coast of Florida, California and several other states. His petition was almost signed by enough members to prevent an override of President George W. Bush's veto on legislation that would continue the off-shore ban.

The Network

Hensarling's mentor is Gramm, who made a career of trying to hold down federal spending. He first met Gramm as a student at Texas A&M University, when he took the former Senator's class.

In 2003, he worked with fellow Republicans Tom Feeney and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) to form Washington Waste Watchers to try and root out excessive spending and corruption.

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Additional Resources