Peter Hoekstra

Former U.S. Representative (January 1993-2011)

Why He Matters

After Republicans took a drubbing in the 2008 election, many turned to Hoekstra, a fiercely fiscal and social conservative to help change the tarnished image of his party's leadership.

In one direction, Hoekstra was pulled toward running for House minority leader, a post that ultimately stayed in the hands of Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio). In the other, toward a 2010 bid to succeed term-limited Michigan Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm who has drawn a bullseye from state Republicans as the state's economy has collapsed in the eight years she's been in office.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Ranking member, House Select Committee on Intelligence (since 2007); Vice President, Marketing, Herman Miller Inc., 1977 to 1992
Birthday: Oct. 30, 1953
Hometown: Holland, Mich.
Alma Mater: Hope College, B.A., Political Science, 1975; Univ. of Michigan, M.B.A., 1977
Spouse: Diane

Religion: Reformed Church in America
DC Office: 2234 Rayburn House Office Building202-225-4401
District Offices: 184 S. River Ave., Holland, Mich. 49423, 616-395-0030.
Email
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Path to Power

Born in the university town of Groningen, Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra emigrated to Michigan at the age of three, where his family settled in the heart of the Dutch American community in Holland.

Hoekstra attended nearby Hope College and received an MBA from the University of Michigan in 1977. For the next 15 years, he made his name at the Zeeland, Mich.-based Herman Miller, Inc., an office furniture manufacturer where he eventually served as vice president of marketing. One of his greatest achievements was bringing the "Equa Chair" to the world.

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In 1992, Hoekstra entered the Republican primary to challenge a 26-year veteran of the House and then-National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Guy Vander Jagt (R-Mich.). Considered a longshot candidate and a former state representative, Hoekstra took the nomination with 46 percent of the vote to Vander Jagt's 40 percent, despite a sizable advantage for the incumbent in campaign funds.

The deciding factor, Hoekstra said, was his 270-mile bike ride meeting with constituents, many disillusioned with Vander Jagt's nationally-minded priorities and seeking a renewed focus on conservative values.

U.S. House

Once in Congress, the Michigan Republican made several moves to enter the party's House leadership. Between 1999 and 2001, Hoekstra was considered for, but was never named, the head of the House Budget and Education and the Workforce committees. He also made a failed attempt at the post of House Republican whip.He also reversed his decision to limit himself to six terms in the House once those terms had expired.

In 2004, Hoekstra vied for the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee when Florida Rep. Porter Goss (R) was nominated to lead the CIA. Then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) chose Hoekstra over several more senior members because of Hoekstra's party loyalty and repeated visits to Iraq.

Hoekstra has coasted to victory in every one of his House re-election races, partly thanks to representing what may be the most reliably Republican district in Michigan. During his time in Congress, Hoekstra has made it a point to connect with his voters during biennial bike tours in his district.

Hoekstra's desire for transparency and communication with voters has gotten him in trouble though, most notably on a secret Congressional visit to Iraq when he broadcast to the world via Twitter: "Just landed in Baghdad." A series of more detailed posts followed, with Hoekstra justifying his actions by saying, "I'm very transparent. That's one of my hallmarks."

The Issues

Hoekstra voted with congressional Republicans 93 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.

He has developed a reputation as a reliable fiscal conservative. Hoekstra supports permanently extending Bush's 2001 tax cuts and giving individuals tax-free accounts that can be used for health-care costs.

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Hoekstra, who sits on two Education and Labor subcommittees, has also cast himself as a harsh critic of provisions set by the No Child Left Behind Act, claiming while federal funding for education has increased, academic achievement has not.

In an op-ed for The Detroit News, he wrote: "No Child rested on the wrong-headed premise that the federal government was better equipped to direct the education of our children" than parents, teachers and local administrators.

National Security and Intelligence

Hoekstra took the helm of House Intelligence in the midst of a partisan battle about the recommendations set forth by the 9/11 Commission. Initially skeptical of the commission, the Michigan Republican eventually supported reorganization of national intelligence under a single director.

Hoekstra agreed with former President George W. Bush on many crucial security and intelligence issues such as on the use of harsh interrogation methods and keeping Guantanamo Bay open, but also accused Bush and the CIA of being secretive and overly bureaucratic. In a 2006 letter to the Bush, Hoekstra criticized the president's nomination of Michael Hayden, an Air Force General, as director of the CIA. Hoekstra argued that as a civilian institution, the CIA should not be led by a member of the military. He also criticized the Bush administration for not "fully and currently" informing congressional leaders on some intelligence programs, though he never publicly revealed the object of his critique.

In another instance, Hoekstra called for a criminal investigation into whether the CIA lied or withheld information about a downed plane carrying a missionary in Peru, which was misidentified as belonging to a drug smuggler.

When President Obama announced Leon Panetta, who served as Bill Clinton's chief of staff, as his choice for CIA director, Hoekstra said he was open to the decision so long as Panetta would bring a "change in culture at the CIA."

Iraq and Iran

Even after the Bush administration and the intelligence community acknowledged that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion, Hoekstra insisted that the presence of weapons of mass destruction was a legitimate reason for military action.

In 2006, as then chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Hoekstra successfully pushed Arabic-language Iraqi documents onto the web to find the truth about Hussein's regime. Months later, Hoekstra and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) cited a declassified Army report claiming 500 buried chemical munition shells dating back to the 1980s served as proof of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Intelligence officials quickly rejected those claims.

On Iran, Hoekstra has warned that the country's nuclear production program would have sufficient material to build its first nuclear bomb "sometime in 2009." He said Americans won't likely back any military action against Iran; he has instead called for economic sanctions as a complement to any future diplomacy.

The Economy

In the past year, Hoekstra broke several times with his party's general economic stance. In fall 2008, Hoekstra voted against the first version of the $700 billion financial bailout bill, but changed his vote after the second version added an expansion of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to protect private assets.

Hoekstra joined 14 of 15 Michigan congressmen (one didn't vote) in December 2008 in favor of a $14 billion loan package to be given to the American automakers General Motors and Chrysler Corporation. The auto industry is a key engine of Michigan's economy, but the bailout didn't pass Congress. President Bush instead authorized a payout from already authorized federal bailout money.

Hoekstra seemed to be of two minds when it came to Obama's $800 billion stimulus passage to jumpstart the economy. In February 2009, he voted against the package by saying the economy required deeper tax cuts and "not continuously throwing more and more of Washington spending at the problem." Later, the tech-savvy politician posted his thoughts on the stimulus both on Twitter and YouTube, saying "I think the state (Michigan) will benefit." He pointed to tax credits and a shoring up of the state's budget with the package.

The Network

Hoekstra was a major ally of Michigan-born former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Romney's bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

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