Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.)

U.S. Representative (since January 1995)

(Jones House web site)

Why He Matters

In a matter of years, Jones went from target of liberal scorn for his attempt to rename the House cafeteria's french fries "freedom fries" to staunch foe of the Iraq war - so much so that Mother Jones put him on its January 2006 cover and the Republican leadership denied him the top spot on the House Armed Services Committee's Readiness subcommittee.

Beyond calling on George W. Bush to apologize for misinforming Congress, Jones teamed with anti-war lawmakers like Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) to force a withdrawal of U.S. troops and was one of only two Republicans to condemn the 2007 Iraq surge strategy. He also introduced legislation to require the president to receive specific authorization from Congress before using military force against Iran.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: North Carolina House of Representatives (1982-1992), business distributor (1971-1982) North Carolina National Guard (1967-1971)
Birthday: February 10, 1943
Hometown: Farmville, N.C.
Alma Mater: North Carolina State University (1962-1965), B.A. from Atlantic Christian College (1967)
Spouse: Joe Anne Jones
Religion: Catholic

Committees: Armed Services Committee , Financial Services Committee
DC Office: 2333 Rayburn House Office Building: 202-225-3415
Greenville Office: 252-931-1003 (or toll-free, in N.C. only: 800-351-1697)
Email
Web site

Path To Power

Walter B. Jones grew up in politics, and has for a long time walked on both sides of the partisan line. His father, Walter Jones, Sr., represented North Carolina's old 1st district for over 25 years. Jones himself served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina House from 1983 to 1992.

"My heart dictates my thinking many, many times," Jones said.

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Jones was born on February 10, 1943 in Farmville, N.C., which is still his permanent hometown. Growing up, Joness family raised him as a Baptist, yet he converted to Catholicism at the age of 29. He says faith is one of his' principle guides.

From 1962 to 1965, Jones attended North Carolina State University, but he ultimately received his B.A. in history from Atlantic Christian College in 1967.

Jones attended Virginia's Hargrave Military Academy and served in the National Guard from 1967 to 1971. Today, Jones is still passionate about the military and serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Jones is passionate about giving Marines proper recognition for their work, and every year since 2001, Jones has introduced legislation to try and change the name of the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

After his time in the National Guard, Jones became a businessman, working as a wine broker and then as a salesman and manager at various companies. Eventually he became president of Benefit Reserves Inc. and Judson Company, both of which he worked at until 1994.

North Carolina General Assembly

Jones didn't actually enter the political arena until he was almost 40 when the local Democratic Party asked him to finish the term of a state assemblyman who had died in office. Jones ended up staying in the the state house for a decade until 1992.

As a state legislator, Jones was noted for his advocacy of campaign finance and lobbying reform.

Also as a state legislator, Jones voted to oust the Democratic speaker and often disagreed with his fellow Democrats. These dissents set the stage for Jones' party switch, which was solidified in 1994 during his second run for the U.S. House.

U.S. House

1992 marked Jones' first, yet unsuccessful, attempt to run for the House. Following in his father's footsteps, Jones ran in North Carolina's now black-majority 1st district. He ran as a Democrat, but was defeated in the runoff by Eva Clayton, an African-American.

Then in April 1993, Jones switched to the Republican Party and announced that he would run for the 3rd district. He ran against 4-term Democrat Martin Lancaster, who was popular in the community for his focus on local projects. Jones waged a successful campaign, however, once he released a photograph of Lancaster jogging with President Bill Clinton. Many constituents disapproved of Clinton because they perceived the president to be out of touch with their interests.

Jones has won by comfortable margins in every successive election, and in 2002, won an impressive 91 percent of the vote.

In the House, Jones started out with a reputation of being staunchly conservative, but over the years has become more moderate, as evidenced in his opposition to the Iraq war and position on national security. Jones has paired with some of the most liberal members of the House to push for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. In January 2006, he even appeared on the cover of liberal opinion magazine Mother Jones.

The Issues

Jones does one thing undoubtedly well - attracts attention. Whether it is for being controversial or "just plain nice," Jones seems to find his way into the media.

Though his comments on the military have stirred controversy nationally, in North Carolina, he has gotten involved in conflicts outside of his district. In the Duke lacrosse scandal, Jones made a request for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong.

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Jones also generated controversy when he called for the state school superintendent to remove from an elementary school in Wilmington a book about two gay princes who get married.

The Military

Jones steadfastly supports the U.S. troops, yet his views on war involvement waver. Jones' 3rd district encompasses the military base Camp Lejeune.

In 1996, Jones introduced the War Crimes Act that allowed prisoners of war from the Vietnam-era to bring their persecutors to justice in the U.S. courts. Though few bills become law, this was one of them.

Jones has introduced legislation every year since 2001 in efforts to change the Department of Navy title to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Jones became famous for his strong views on the military when he led the crusade to rename french fries "freedom fries" in the congressional cafeteria. This action was in tandem with his vote in support of using force in Iraq in 2002 and an expression of solidarity with U.S. troops after France spoke out against the war in the United Nations.

Anti-War Views

Yet in 2005, Jones says he had a spiritual awakening at the funeral of a Marine named Michael Bitz. Since this time, Jones has taken a firm stance against the Iraq war. He was one of 24 Republicans voting in June 2008 to send to the House Judiciary Committee a privileged resolution to bring impeachment articles against George W. Bush for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

His opposition to the Iraq war was met with hostility from Marines stationed in his district at Camp Lejeune. Jones wasn't invited to share the stage with Bush when he made a public appearance in Fayetville.

Also in 2005, Jones joined with some of the most liberal members of Congress to co-sponsor a resolution calling for the Bush administration to publish a timetable for removing troops from Iraq. Since that time, he began writing letter to the families of every soldier killed in Iraq.

Jones was one to the 17 House Republicans to vote for the Democrats' resolution disapproving of Bush's plan for a 2007 troop surge. Further, Jones was one of only two House Republicans to oppose expanding the scope of the Bush administration's secret surveillance program. Combined with his support for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Jones' anti-war activism led some Democrats to ask him to consider joining their party. His anti-abortion rights views, however, prevented him from doing so, he said.

In March 2010, Jones was one of only five House Republicans who voted to withdraw U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

In May 2010, Jones voted against an amendment to the 2011 defense authorization bill that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay service members.

Jones added language into the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act that changed the way returning troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder would be treated.

Economic and Trade Policy

Jones was one of three House Republicans who supported a financial-regulatory overhaul. In March 2009, he was one of 10 Repulicans who supported a Democratic bill limiting executive bonus payments to employees of companies receiving federal assistance.

This being said, he was critical of government intervention that is designed to help failing banking and automobile industries earlier in the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

In March 2009, he joined then-Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) in sponsoring a resolution opposing any taxpayer-funded relief.

In January 2011, Jones voted for legislation to cut congressional budgets and save taxpayers $35 million.

On trade relations, Jones opposed normalizing trade relations with China and the Central America Free Trade Agreement.

Immigration

Jones has a strict policy towards immigration and doesn't believe in providing benefits to illegal immigrants.

In December 2010, Jones opposed the DREAM Act, which would have given pathways to citizenship for some young illegal immigrants.

Jones said, "We must get control of our borders. We simply cannot allow people to continue to enter this country illegally and reward them for breaking the law."

Jones wants to curb and eliminate benefits given to illegal aliens, such as in-state tuition, educational benefits, welfare and health-care services.

In 2009, Jones, along with 53 fellow members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, urged former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to include measure that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits in any health-care reform bill.

During other immigration debates, Jones has pushed for 700 miles of double-layered fencing along the border of Mexico.

Jones is an advocate of enforcement of immigration laws, and for this reason has been critical of the Obama administration.

In 2010, Jones, with six other Republicans, sent a letter to secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) urging the administration to properly enforce all federal immigration laws.

Further, in 2010, Jones supported the controversial Arizona immigration law and openly criticized the Obama administration's decision to oppose it. In September 2010, Jones condemned the administration's new policy of dropping enforcement proceedings against non-criminal aliens.

The Network

Jones and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) are in the same inner circle and both are members of the Liberty Caucus. Jones was the only Republican to endorse Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. Paul sponsors a luncheon for the Liberty Caucus every Thursday. Other members include John Duncan (R-Tenn.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Jones and Paul have also collaborated together in writing a letter to their colleagues urging the opposition of a Korea free trade deal.

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Additional Resources