Ralph Regula



Ralph Straus Regula, a Republican, represented the 16th Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973-2008 (map).

Iraq War
Regula voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

DC voting rights
From 1989 through 2004, Rep. Regula introduced eight separate bills calling for the retrocession of the District to the state of Maryland. Each would allow District residents, for the purpose of representation in Congress and the election of the president and vice president, to be treated as citizens of, and vote in federal elections in the state of Maryland. None of Regula’s retrocession bills have ever made it out of committee.

Abramoff Contributions
Regula received $1,000 from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and $5,000 from Bob Ney, "the first congressman to be implicated based on the Jack Abramoff guilty plea." 

Earmarks
On June 19, 2006, the Washington Post reported that Regula, a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations, helped create a historical site to be operated by his wife, Mary. In 2000, his subcommittee created the First Ladies National Historic Site in his district in Canton, Ohio. Mary Regula is the founding president of the nonprofit National First Ladies' Library, which operates the historic site for the National Park Service for no salary. Since its creation, Regula's subcommittee has inserted more than $2 million in earmarks for the first ladies project into federal spending bills, including $800,000 to buy a mansion that once belonged to President William McKinley and his wife. In addition, the panel allotted a $2.5 million federal grant to renovate a nearby bank building that his wife's group owns. 

Background
Regula was born December 3, 1924 in Beach City, Ohio. He holds a BA in Business Administration from Mount Union College in Alliance, OH (1948) and an LLB from William McKinley School of Law in Canton, OH (1952).

Prior to his service in the US House of Representatives, Regula was a teacher and principal in the public school system, a lawyer in his own private practice, a member of the Ohio Board of Education.

He served in the US Navy (1944-46), the Ohio House of Representatives (1965-67) and the Ohio State Senate (1967-73) before his election to Congress in 1972.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Thomas Shaw to face Regula in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Regula retained his seat.

2008 elections
When the first quarter, 2007, fundraising figures were released in April 2007, there was widespread speculation that Regula's anemic fundraising indicated that he would retire at the end of the 110th Congress. Other analysts, including Jonathan Riskind of the Columbus Dispatch, called this an "unreliable signal," considering how "safe" Regula was considered.

Retirement announcement
On October 12, 2007 Regula announced that he was not running for reelection in 2008. Roll Call called Regula's district "a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats in an open-seat scenario." President Bush won the district with 54% of the vote in 2004 but Democrats were reportedly optimistic that their candidate, state Sen. John Boccieri, would do well. Republican state Sens. Kirk Schuring and Ron Amstutz had expressed interest in the seat if Regula retired in addition to already declared candidate and Ashland County Commissioner Matt Miller, who lost to Regula in the 2006 Republican primary.

Money in politics
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Committee assignments in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services Education and Related Agencies - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Transportation Treasury and Housing and Urban Development The Judiciary District of Columbia

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Congressional Steel Caucus
 * Co-chair, Older Americans Caucus
 * Republican Steering Committee
 * Republican Main Street Partnership

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Member, Beach City American Legion
 * Trustee, McKinley Museum
 * Trustee, Mount Union College
 * Member, Navarre Kiwanis Club
 * Board of Regents, Smithsonian Institution
 * Trustee, Stark County Historial Society
 * Trustee, Stark Wilderness Society
 * Member, United State's Holocaust Memorial Council
 * Honorary Advisor, Walsh College.
 * Ripon Society
 * On the board of reagents for the Smithsonian Institution

Contact
DC Office: 2306 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3516 Phone: 202-225-3876 Fax: 202-225-3059 Web Email Website

District Office- Canton: 4150 Belden Village Street Northwest Canton, OH 44718-2553 Phone: 330-489-4414 TollFree: 800-826-9015 (OH only) Fax: 330-489-4448

District Office- Medina: 124 West Washington Street, Suite 1A Medina, OH 44256 Phone: 330-722-3793 Fax: 330-723-1319

Resources

 * Official website
 * Ralph Regula On the Issues
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * Matt Stearns, "Many wives receive jewelry, but Mary Regula gets a national park," The Kansas City Star, June 18, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * As Ohio Goes
 * Writes Like She Talks
 * Pho's Akron Pages