Joe Sestak

Joe Sestak, a Democrat, is a former U.S. Representative for the 7th Congressional district of Pennsylvania, having served 2007 to 2011.

Iraq War
Sestak introduced a bill (H.R.960) on February 8, 2007, that would redeploy all U.S. troops in Iraq "to locations within the Middle East or Southwest Asia regions or to other regions or nations, or returned to the United States" by December 31, 2007. That same day, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 


 * See Congresspedia pages on congressional actions on the Iraq War and the troop "surge" in Iraq.

Norman Hsu campaign donations
Upon hearing revelations of Norman Hsu's fugitive status, Sestak has opted to give back the thousand dollar donation that he received from Hsu.

Biography
Sestak was born in 1951 in Springfield, PA. His father had come to the United States as a small boy and attended the Naval Academy before serving in WWII. After finishing high school, Sestak continued the family tradition, attending the U.S. Naval academy, graduating in 1974. He served in the Navy for the next 31 years, rising to the rank of vice admiral. According to his campaign website, Sestak "served six sea tours with units of the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets during which he made seven deployments to Europe, the Persian Gulf and the western and South Pacific. He served in command of USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) named the best overall surface ship in the Atlantic Fleet in the Battenberg Cup selection, and as Commander, Destroyer Squadron Fourteen. He also served at sea as Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group Two and George Washington Battle Group deploying to both the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. As the Battle Group Commander, he led an international coalition force of 30 U.S. and allied ships and 15,000 sailors, exercising command of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as senior diplomatic engagements throughout Southwest Asia, Europe and Africa." 

When not at sea, Sestak directed the CNO's Strategy and Policy Division (N51), and led the Navy's efforts toward the 2000 Quadrennial Defense Review, for which he analyzed the economic value of U.S. defense spending. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he became the first director of the Navy Operations Group (Deep Blue), which sought to redefine strategic, operational and budgetary policies in the Global War on Terrorism. [

Between tours of duty, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and and Ph.D in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. During the Clinton presidency, he worked for the White House as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff. He and his wife Susan have one daughter. 

2006 election
Sestak defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Curt Weldon 56%-44% to take possession of the seat in the 2006 congressional elections.

2010 election
In 2010, Sestak ran for U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania. In the Democratic primary, Sestak beat party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) but lost in the general election to Republican Patrick Toomey. Sestak's House seat was won by Republican Patrick Meehan.

Money in politics
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Committees

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
 * House Committee on Education and Labor
 * Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
 * Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
 * House Committee on Small Business
 * Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Finance and Tax
 * Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare, and Trade

Twitter
 Joe Sestak posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JoeSestak/

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

Resources

 * Sestak for Congress, official campaign site.
 * THOMAS page on H.R. 960 (Rep. Sestak bill to withdraw all troops from Iraq by the end of 2007)

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * A Smoke-Filled Room Blogspot.
 * Above Average Jane Blog.
 * PA-7 Watch.com.
 * Suburban Guerrilla, Susie Madrak's blog.
 * The Liberal Doomsayer Blogspot.
 * Young Philly Politics.
 * Daddy Democrat Blog.

Articles
Renee Schoof, "Former admiral says all American forces should pull out by year's end," McClatchy Newspapers, February 20, 2007.