Jeff Flake



Jeffrey Flake, a Republican, has represented  the 6th District of Arizona in the U. S. House of Representatives, since 2001. (map)

Patriot Act
Flake was punished by the Republican leadership in the House for supporting improvements to the USA Patriot Act to provide greater protections for civil liberties through the SAFE Act in 2005. They stripped him of his role on the House Judiciary Committee for daring not to vote in lock-step with the Bush White House.

Iraq War
Flake 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

Transparency legislation
On January 31, 2006, Flake and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) introduced House Resolution 647, which was referred to the Committee on Rules where no action was taken. The resolution would require the Clerk of the House to post on the Internet for public review all travel disclosure reports submitted by Members, officers, and employees of the House.

Rep. Flake introduced House Resolution 728 on March 15, 2006. It was referred to the Committee on Rules where no action was taken. The bill contained the following:
 * Establish new rules for pre-approval of privately funded congressional travel.
 * Require the Clerk of the House to post all private travel reports and advance authorizations on the internet, not later than 10 days after receipt, in a searchable database.

Term-limit pledge
Flake pledged to serve no more than three terms in Congress during his initial campaign in 2000. He broke the pledge, however, when he opted to seek a fourth term in 2006. 

Pays wife for campaign work
In October 2006, the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit organization which advocates better transparency in government, reported that Flake’s campaign committee paid his wife $15,750 for fundraising and administrative work during 2005-2006. 

Immigration
On March 22, 2007, Flake and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) introduced a comprehensive bill similar to the McCain-Kennedy proposal passed in the Senate in 2006, called the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007 (H.R.1645). The bill called for a more expansive “guest-worker” program, something heavily advocated by President George W. Bush.

Earmarks
In March, 2010, Flake supported a rule change by the Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee, which banned earmarks to for-profit corporations. “This is the best day we’ve had in a while,” he said to the the New York Times, which reported that approximately 1,000 such earmarks were authorized in the previous year, worth $1.7 billion.

Bio
Flake was born December 31, 1962 in Snowflake, Arizona (named for his great-great-grandfather). He was educated at Brigham Young University and was a Mormon missionary in Africa, Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia, and Executive Director of the Goldwater Institute before entering the House.

He was elected to what was then the 1st District in 2000 after incumbent Republican Matt Salmon stepped down to honor a self-imposed term limit. His district was renumbered the 6th after Arizona gained two seats in the 2000 census.

Jeff Flake is known as one of the most libertarian of the Republicans in the House, often among a small handful of Republicans joining Ron Paul in casting 'no' votes on bills which are supported by most of his party. For this reason, some conservative activists have given Flake the Republican In Name Only (RINO) label, while others consider him one of the most consistently conservative members of the House and strongly support him. Which perspective one has on Flake may ultimately depend on which issues one considers most important.

Flake has voted against No Child Left Behind and the Homeland Security Act, while joining John McCain and Jim Kolbe in sponsoring bills to increase legal immigration and establish a guest worker program. He has expressed interest in abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.

Flake initially supported the Patriot Act and the Iraq War, but more recently has changed his position to one of cautious opposition, including voting against appropriations for both. He also supports ending the Cuba Trade Embargo, and has been a strong - if somewhat lonely - proponent of reform in the House, particularly in the wake of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethical and fundraising controversies. He co-authored a letter with Congressman Charlie Bass of New Hampshire which called for DeLay to step down--a factor in DeLay's decision not to retake his post once his legal troubles end. Flake also upset his party members on June 14, 2006 when he attempted to rid earmarks to their specific districts in a bill funding transportation and housing programs. His departures from the Republican line on some issues earned him a closely watched primary challenge in 2004 from within his own party, although he easily defeated his challenger.

On June 14, 2006, Flake introduced 12 amendments to the Transportation, Treasury, and HUD Appropriations bill in an effort to remove the earmarks of several congressmen, including Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.). On June 19, however, each of Flake's ammendments were defeated.

On June 20, Flake escalated his anti-earmark efforts by attempting to strip a request by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) out of a defense appropriations bill. If adopted, the amendment would have cut a $2.5 million provision intended for the Illinois Technology Transition Center, which was created by Thomas Thornton, one of Hastert’s former aides. Following the announcement, Flake said he was unaware that the earmark was one of Hastert’s, but also that the knowledge would not have deterred him. He stated, "I don’t want to avoid someone just because they’re in a leadership position." The amendment failed on June 21. 

On July 8, 2006, Flake attempted to strip a $250,000 appropriation for the Science Museum of Virginia. He stated, "I would note that the museum will soon open a traveling exhibit on candy, sponsored by the Jelly Belly Candy Co.," Flake said. "It does not sound like much research to me." On a 359-64 vote, the House rejected Flake's bid to strip the earmark. 

2006 elections
In his first campaign, Jeff Flake had pledged to only serve three terms in Congress; his third term will expire at the end of 2006. He is believed to harbor further political ambitions including possible future runs for Governor of Arizona or the U.S. Senate. He was heavily recruited by the conservative Club for Growth to run against McCain (who, ironically, represented Flake's district from 1983 to 1987) in 2004. In early 2005, he announced that he would be a candidate for a fourth term in 2006, after all. No major candidates announced their intentions to contest Davis’s seat in the November 2006 election. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

Committees

 * House Committee on Foreign Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
 * Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
 * House Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Insular Affairs
 * Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands

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

 * House Committee on International Relations
 * Subcommittee on Africa Global Human Rights and International Operations
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Task Force on Antirust
 * Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Immigration Border Security and Claims
 * House Committee on Resources
 * Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health

More Background Data

 * 2006 Arizona CD 6 Candidate List from VIS

Contact
DC Office: 424 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-0301 Phone: 202-225-2635 Fax: 202-226-4386 Email: jeff.flake AT mail.house.gov Web Email Website

District Office- Mesa: 1640 South Stapley, Suite 215 Mesa, AZ 85204 Phone: 480-833-0092 Fax: 480-833-6314

Twitter
 Jeff Flake posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JeffFlake/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/JeffFlake.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

External resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Sunlight Foundation: Congressional Family Business Project

External articles

 * Jonathan Allen, "Striking a balance on earmarks," The Hill, June 15, 2006.
 * Robert Novak, "Log-rolling for pork", Townhall.com, June 19, 2006.
 * Jonathan Allen, "Flake strikes at earmark of Hastert’s," The Hill, June 21, 2006.
 * Peter Hardin, "Cash for pet projects is a hard habit to break," The Times-Dispatch, July 9, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * AZ Congress Watch
 * Western Democrat
 * Blog for Arizona