Timothy J. Roemer

U.S. Ambassador to India (since May 2009)

(Center for National Policy)

Why He Matters

Roemer cares most about two things: keeping America safe and improving the nation's public education system.

A former Congressman who now runs a national security think-tank, Roemer has czared several proposals on improving the federal government's anti-terrorism efforts. As a member of President Barack Obama's working group on national security, Roemer helped develop Obama's positions on Iraq, nuclear weapons and the War on Terror.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: President, Center for National Policy (since 2007); Outside adviser to President-elect Barack Obama (since 2007); Member, 9/11 Commission (2003)
Birthday: Oct. 30, 1956
Hometown: South Bend, Ind.
Alma Mater: University of California, San Diego, B.A., 1979; University of Notre Dame, Ph.D., 1985
Spouse: Sally

Religion: Roman Catholic
Office: One Massachusetts Avenue, NW Suite 333; 202-682-1800
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Roemer was born in South Bend, Ind. He attended college at the University of California at San Diego, and then earned a master's degree and PhD from the University of Notre Dame back in his home state.

After school, he moved to Washington to work for a handful of representatives, including former Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) and Rep. John Brademas (D-Ind.).

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Roemer ran for Congress in 1990 against Republican incumbent John Hiler. Roemer raised more cash and painted his rival as a Washington insider who was out of touch with the district's needs. He won with 52 percent of the vote.

In Congress, Roemer was a moderate Democrat who was unafraid to deviate from the party line. Like some other Midwestern Democrats, he opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement because he thought it would cost America jobs. He opposed the Gulf War resolution in 1991 but supported authorizing the use of force in Iraq in fall 2002. He also supported balanced budget amendments, the Welfare Reform Act and cutting pork-barrel spending.

He was a co-chair of the New Democrats, a group that formed in 1997 to advocate for fiscally responsible Democratic policies. When President George W. Bush won election in 2000, Roemer spoke passionately about the importance of bipartisanship, and he was briefly considered for a cabinet position.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Roemer used his position on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to launch an inquiry into the causes of the violence in the Islamic world. He sponsored legislation to create the 9/11 Commission on which he later served.

After deciding not to seek re-election to the House in 2002, Roemer accepted a position as president of the non-partisan Center for National Policy. The Center works with Congress and the security community to advance nuclear non-proliferation goals, studies Asian security and is engaged in a discussion of how to transform the U.S. military to meet the demands of the 21st century. Past presidents of the Center for National Security include Madeleine Albright, Edmund Muskie and Cyrus Vance.

Since 2005, Roemer has also been on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. He is also a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Presidential Task Force on Combating the Ideology of Radical Extremism. Furthermore, he serves as a distinguished scholar at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

In June 2008, the Obama campaign announced that Roemer was a member of the National Security Working Group. In May 2009, Obama named Roemer as Ambassador to India.

The Issues

Roemer has written widely about national security, and many of his positions are shared by the Obama administration, with the exception of the fact that he originally supported the Iraq war. The Center for National Policy is respected by both sides of the aisle, and recently honored Vice President Joseph Biden and former Bush security official Brent Scowcroft.

Education

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Roemer is a fervent advocate for school funding and improving educational opportunities. He was one of the co-sponsors of the AmeriCorps national service program and the effort to expand Head Start services. He also supports legislation that helps non-college bound high-school students learn marketable skills and helped pass the landmark No Child Left Behind education bill.

National Security

After Sept. 11, Roemer was one of the earliest advocates of Cabinet-level executive departments to oversee the intelligence security communities and sponsored a bill to create the Department of Homeland Security, though he opposed the structure the Bush administration eventually settled on and voted against the final bill to create DHS. He has sharply criticized what he calls the incessant musical chairs in key positions within the Directorate of National Intelligence.

"At a time when the [director of national intelligence] should be focused on improving human intelligence, securing our satellites and disrupting al-Qaeda, we're sorting resumes and confirming replacements," Roemer said when DNI Director Michael McConnell was sworn-in in Feb. 2007. "I am confident that Admiral McConnell can make the right decisions as DNI and am glad that [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates wants to strengthen the DNI's authorities. But improvements are less likely to happen if we don't stop shuffling the chairs."

Furthermore, Roemer wants Congressional intelligence committees to have an increased role in how money for intelligence activities is spent and empowering Congress so that it can ensure that the executive branch is behaving constitutionally.

Roemer later wrote that the proposals from the 9/11 Commission don't go far enough and said that Congress should establish clearer first-responder policies and figure out ways to track nuclear weapons.

Iraq and the War on Terror

Roemer has argued that a winning strategy in Iraq will include humanitarian efforts and a comprehensive energy policy. He has also opposed the use of torture in interrogating terrorist suspects.

The Indiana Democrat has also argued that the U.S. must turn its focus away from Iraq and towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. Roemer has said that al-Qaeda is expanding its ranks in those two countries, and that America cannot protect itself without stemming that spread.

Roemer believes Pakistan poses the greatest threat to U.S. security, and charged that the U.S. government has failed to promote peace in those areas. He believes in creating an "agenda of opportunity" to reshape Pakistan through education, literacy and economic opportunity. He has proposed building a stronger relationship with the Pakistani government.

Additionally, he supports easing the tensions between Pakistan, India and Afghanistan to create a more peaceful regional relationship. Only smarter diplomacy, he says, will stem the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The Network

Roemer served on Obama's national security working group with former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright; David Boren, former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Greg Craig, former director of the State Department Office of Policy Planning; Lee Hamilton, former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Tony Lake, former National Security Advisor, among others.

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