Duncan L. Hunter



Duncan Lee Hunter, a Republican, represented the 52nd Congressional District of California in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1981-2008. (map) Hunter became the chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in 2002 during the 109th Congress. In the 2006 general election, he defeated Navy veteran/Minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit, a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65% of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi. He sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 2008 but dropped out of the race January 19.

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

Response to John Murtha's resolution to terminate U.S. troop deployment in Iraq
On November 18, 2005, in response to Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha's resolution to terminate the deployment of United States forces in Iraq, to redeploy the forces already involved in Iraq, and to "pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy", Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence counter-resolution which read:


 * Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.


 * Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt. As expected, it was soundly defeated, 403-3, in the House of Representatives.

Hunter's call for Harry Reid to resign after Reid declared that the Iraq war is "lost"
On April 25, 2007, after Senate Majority leader Harry Reid declared "the war is lost", Hunter wrote "my highest obligation is, like yours, owed to our forces in uniform, especially during this time of war...Given your position of leadership within the United States Government, I find your pronouncement of failure irresponsible and disserving to America's armed forces. In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position". Hunter further wrote that Reid's declaration "can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women, who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq, and to encourage our adversaries...Even if you sincerely believe it to be true, your pronouncement of failure will undoubtedly be used by terrorist leaders to rally their followers — inevitably leading to increased attacks on U.S. and coalition forces".

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

2008 Presidential campaign
On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the President of the United States in 2008. Throughout 2006, his Peace Through Strength PAC raised funds and ran advertising expressing his positions on issues of border security and fair trade.

Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007.

On January 13, 2007, Hunter won the Maricopa County (Phoenix) Arizona straw poll, being preferred by Arizonans instead of John McCain.

On March 1, 2007, a North Carolina straw poll was conducted in the Spartanburg area where he finished a close third (by six votes) in a statistical tie with Arizona United States Senator John McCain (1st) and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (2nd). Commenting on Hunter’s strong showing, Spartanburg Republican Gerald Emory said, “Now we have a true Ronald Reagan conservative that we can support. This is a proud night for the Grand Ole Party.”

On April 17, 2007, Hunter won the Anderson County (South Carolina) straw poll with 48% of the vote. He defeated Mitt Romney (25%) by more than two to one and John McCain (7%) by nine to one. Rudy Giuliani (5%) came in a distant fourth. Hunter also tied for second place in Geenwood County and second place Pickens County. South Carolina is the nation's third primary state. "I am grateful to the great conservatives of Anderson, Greenwood, and Pickens Counties for giving our campaign a huge boost. It is clear our message of maintaining a strong national defense, securing our border without amnesty, holding China accountable on trade, and protecting life are resonating with the voters. Our campaign is one of issues, not flash and expense. We don't have a jet or an army of consultants and paid staff. We do have the conservative message that is true. In the end, that will be what American's wants."

Hunter dropped out of the race on Jan. 19, 2008.

Controversial campaign staff appointments
On February 22, 2007 Hunter named two South Carolinians, Henry Jordan and Lois Eargle, to his campaign staff, and then dismissed them a week later because of inflammatory comments that each had made about immigrants and religious minorities.

In 1997, Jordan made disparaging comments about Muslims and Buddhists while serving as a South Carolina state school board member. Jordan’s comments were recorded during a committee meeting discussion about displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools. He said, “Screw the Buddhists and kill the Muslims…And put that in the minutes.” The remarks were expunged from the written minutes, but the tape was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Jordan expressed that he didn’t mean for the remarks to be taken literally. “What I want to do is promote Christianity as the only true religion," Jordan said. "This nation was founded to worship, honor and glorify Jesus Christ, not Mohammed, not Buddha.” Jordan, who has unsuccessfully run twice for lieutenant governor, has apologized for making the comments, but agrees with Hunter’s decision to dismiss him. Hunter had previously referred to Jordan as a “great, conservative Republican leader” and stated that he did not know about Jordan’s comments.

In May 2006, Jordan said that science does not support Darwin's theory of evolution and that students should learn "intelligent design" alongside evolution. Jordan told the Associated Press at the time, "I mean you've got to be stupid to believe in evolution, I mean really."

On February 22, 2007, Lois Eargle, a South Carolina county auditor, said that an illegal immigrant with three children had asked her for free legal assistance for an abused child. “I told her the best thing for her to do was to get back to Mexico,” Eargle said. The next day, Eargle said that she had been misquoted, but a tape of the news conference proved otherwise. Eargle said that she meant to say that the woman had been abused by her boyfriend and was asking for free legal help to get him released from jail.

Abortion
Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection ... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors. Hunter states that The Right to Life Act "would legally define “personhood” as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment." Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006 at 10am, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.

Restriction of pornography
On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity." HR 6390 IH, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act", would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors", or specifically, "any pornographic communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, writing, or other pornographic matter of any kind", if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."

Immigration and the border fence
In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County, California and Tijuana, Mexico. Pointing to the success of the San Diego Border Fence, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a fence along the entire United States–Mexico border. After successfully adding an amendment to a House passed illegal immigration reform bill that ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter King.

Cunningham/Wilkes
Congressman Hunter has not been implicated in the Duke Cunningham/Brent Wilkes congressional bribery scandal. Although Hunter and Cunningham both served in Vietnam and as San Diego Congressmen, Hunter has never excused or condoned the actions of his friend. “Congressman Hunter does not condone Mr. Cunningham’s actions, nor has he tried to defend them…Congressman Hunter is a close friend of Mr. Cunningham’s, and friends don’t abandon each other during times of difficulty,” said Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper.

Hunter is often suggested to have ties to ADCS and Brent Wilkes (who was indicted and charged with bribery of a public official in February 2007). Although Hunter and Cunningham were both advocates of the type of automated document conversion technology supplied by ADCS (which customized a German system), Hunter remained an advocate the American-made product of Tom Casey's Audre. Hunter asked the Pentagon’s chief purchasing officer to "whenever possible, use [document conversion] products that are made in the United States by American taxpayers."


 * In 1992, Brent Wilkes was a political consultant for Audre Inc, a firm based in Rancho Bernardo and headed by Tom Casey, which specialized in automated document conversion systems. At that time, Congressman Hunter recognized Wilkes and Casey as two “aggressive and enthusiastic promoters of a breakthrough technology.”  Congress created a program for the new technology, and Audre won $12.5 million of the $190 million that was allocated for contracts between 1993 and 2001.


 * In 1994, Brent Wilkes quit Audre and launched ADCS Inc., which customized a German document conversion system, to compete against Audre and two-dozen other software firms for government contracts. Hunter continued to back Audre’s American-made product.  Wilkes and ADCS started donating money to Cunningham.


 * Between 1995 and 2005, Wilkes and his associates gave $71,500 to Cunningham's campaign and political action committee. ADCS, in turn, received upwards of $95 million in government contracts.


 * In November, 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy, tax evasion, and receiving more than $2.4 million in bribes.


 * In February 2007, Wilkes was indicted and charged with bribery of a public official.

In December of 2005, Hunter directed that the contributions his campaign received from Wilkes and Wade be given to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. "We had options," said Bruce Young, treasurer for Hunter's re-election campaign. "We could keep the money, send it back, send it to the government or send it to a charity. We just felt that because of the situation, we would rather not have the money." More than 100 members of the House and Senate – Republicans and Democrats – accepted money from ADCS Inc. owner Brent Wilkes, former MZM Inc. president Mitchell Wade, their relatives, employees or political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group.

Role in legislation creating the National Intelligence Director
In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) withheld their support for a bill creating a National Intelligence Director (NID) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a NID, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. Hunter's concerns were ultimately satisfied and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the NID position, was passed by Congress and signed by the president later that year.

Earmarks
Hunter made his earmark projects public through a May 2006 listing of his key funding initiatives for the fiscal budget of 2007. His proposed “wish list” consists of 13 defense projects worth $254.3 million, most of which aim to further equip and protect U.S. troops in Iraq as follows:


 * $210 million for programs to combat roadside bombs (IED’s), which are the chief source of U.S. troop casualties in Iraq.
 * $27 million for an inexpensive missile called the "Affordable Weapon", which is a multi-purpose cruise missile that, according to Titan Corp., uses available off-the-shelf components to significantly reduce development and production costs for approximately one-tenth the cost of a traditional cruise missile.
 * $25.7 million for the Navy’s Sea Fighter which, according to Navy News Stand, can operate more effectively in littoral (coastal) waters combat with one tenth of the personnel and one hundred times more firepower than a battleship.
 * $8 million for the DP-2 "Vectored Thrust Aircraft,” which is a VSTOL, high-speed combat transport aircraft capable of hover, and vertical take-off and landing.
 * $1.7 million to create a diagnostic skin test for Leishmaniasis, a parasitic skin disease transmitted by infected sand flies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and 87 other countries. The test would be intended to allow more effective treatment of the disease, as well as screening of military personnel returning to the U.S. from these regions.
 * $1 million for a wound dressing that includes pure oxygen to fight infection and accelerate wound healing.

FY2006 Defense Department Appropriation
In 2005, as House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Hunter sponsored the FY2006 Defense Department Appropriation (DDA) for military activities, which appropriated $441 billion for defense-related activities for Fiscal Year 2006 (beginning October 1, 2005). Of the total figure, $49 billion was allocated for supplemental war funding, bringing the total amount appropriated for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to $350 billion. In addition, it recommended increases of 10,000 Army and 1,000 Marine active duty personnel to sustain the missions. The biggest spending increase in the bill from the previous year centered on Navy vessels. The bill approved adding $2.5 billion for two additional destroyers built by General Dynamics Corp.'s Bath Iron Works unit and $384 million for one additional dry cargo vessel also built by General Dynamics. Neither vessel was requested by the Navy. Opponents of the bill expressed concern that much of money was being spent on weapons systems that did not work properly or failed to address the threats faced by U.S. military personnel.

Ties to Pentagon official; Abu Ghraib role
On his financial disclosure forms, Hunter lists himself as a partner in a rural Virginia cabin with former Rep. Pete Geren (D-Tx), the current Under Secretary of the Army.

Pete Geren served as a member of Congress from 1989-1997 and served alongside Hunter on the House Armed Services Committee from 1995-1996. After Geren left Congress in 1997, he served from 2001-2005 as a "special assistant" to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. He then served as the Acting Secretary of the Air Force from July to November 2005 after Air Force Secretary James Roche resigned in the wake of the Boeing tanker lease scandal. In February 2006, Geren was confirmed as Under Secretary of the Army.

As special assistant to Rumsfeld from 2001 to 2005, Geren's duties included "inter-agency initiatives, legislative affairs, and special projects," and he became the acting Pentagon liaison with Congress on detainee abuse issues when the Abu Ghraib scandal emerged in 2004. Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a liberal watchdog group, states that Hunter had oversight over Geren and, according to one POGO blog, Hunter "actively discouraged Congressional investigation into Abu Ghraib".

Hunter and the House Armed Services held both a public and a closed-door hearing.

Hunter was critical of the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner (R-Va.) and other members of Congress when they moved to hold numerous televised hearings while also pulling senior commanders from the war zone in Iraq as witnesses. "We are at this point disserving our military operation in theater -- that is, all of the troops are in a shooting war right now, who need their leadership -- by bringing leadership out of theater, jerking out these battlefield commanders," Hunter told reporters.

According to a CNN transcript, Hunter also expressed his concern about over-publicizing the abuses: "The thing that I'm worried about is the 135,000 Americans who are acting honorably and courageously will receive little coverage and these -- and these six idiots, if that's the number of people who involved themselves in the pictures that we saw, will receive massive coverage and I think that's a tragedy."

In his opening comments to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter stated, "By abusing enemy detainees a handful of miscreants broke our laws, embarrassed our country and created an international incident. Unlike Saddam, who practiced such abuse and much worse as a matter of state policy, the United States does not tolerate that kind of behavior. The military will bring the guilty to justice just as surely as Saddam could not escape accountability for his crime."

Titan Corp.; Abu Ghraib connection
Hunter’s top corporate campaign contributor in the 2002 and 2004 election cycles (2001-2004) was San Diego-based defense contractor Titan Corporation, whose employees and owners gave him $37,825 over that period.

Titan had a $10 million, five year contract to provide linguists to the Army that was expanded to a ceiling of $657 million after 9/11. In 2003, Titan received $112.1 million from the contract, six percent of its total revenues. On May 21, 2004, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Titan's contractor hiring and training practices were systematically lacking and it was "hiring people who speak limited English and have no professional experience as interpreters and translators." Titan personnel were singled out in the Taguba, Fay and Kern reports as participants in abuses at Abu Ghraib. (Titan, along with Arlington, Virginia-based contractor CACI, is currently facing multiple lawsuits.)

On March 1, 2005, Titan pleaded guilty to three criminal counts of bribery and paid a total of $28.5 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice. The company had been under investigation by Justice for making illicit campaign contributions to officials in the African country of Benin in exchange for the quadrupling of their management fees. The SEC had been investigating the company for document falsification and the under-reporting of expenses. The Project on Government Oversight called Titan "among the most ethically bankrupt US contractors doing business overseas."

Despite its problems, the Department of Defense waived its right to disbar Titan from any further contracts and the company (now part of L3 Communications, which bought it last year), indicated in a shareholder conference call that it would retain the contract until at least 2007. L3 has also become a top contributor to Hunter; its employees and owners gave Hunter $19,600 in the 2006 election cycle.

Contributions from Van D. Hipp Jr.
Van D. Hipp Jr. is a former deputy assistant secretary of the Army who made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1994. He was convicted of taking illegal campaign contributions during his congressional race, receiving five years of probation, three months of house arrest, 200 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.

In 1998 he joined American Defense International, a lobbying firm specializing in defense with clients including Raytheon Missile Systems, Ruag Munition and Sarnoff Corp, serving as its chairman as of 2006. A 2006 report from Public Citizen reported that he had given Hunter at least $11,750 in campaign contributions, making Hunter the number two congressional recipient. Hunter was serving at that time as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Other recipients included Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass).

Biography
Hunter was born of Riverside, California. He briefly attended the University of Montana and the University of California, Santa Barbara before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the Vietnam War in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the United States Army Rangers|75th Ranger Regiment. Utilizing the G.I. Bill in 1973, he enrolled at Western State University College of Law and earned a BSL and JD in 1976. Hunter worked farming and construction jobs to supplement his income while finishing his degree. After graduation, he opened a storefront legal office where he often provided free legal assistance to the area's Hispanic community. He was admitted to The State Bar of California on 12/22/1976, but became inactive on 1/1/1983 and may not practice law in California. Inactive members have chosen this status voluntarily and may transfer to active at any time upon request.

Hunter married the former Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1977), a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Hunter has another son, Samuel. His family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association. Hunter's Alpine, California home burned down during the October 2003 Cedar Fire. The loss topped $500,000, but insurance covered most of it. Congressman Hunter was critical of then governor Gray Davis's response to the fire.

In 1980 he was recruited to run for Congress and defeated the 18-year incumbent Democrat, Lionel Van Deerlin. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of Reagan's coattails - Representing a district dominated by military bases and personnel, he sought and was granted a seat on the Armed Services Committee. After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he hasn't faced serious opposition since. In his district, he consistently gets over 60% of the Hispanic vote and nearly 70% of the Democratic vote. He became chairman of the Armed Services Committee in 2002. In 2007 he announced his candidacy for president (see above).

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services, Ranking Member

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services- Chair
 * Director of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation

Contact
DC Office: 2265 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-5672 Fax: 202-225-0235 Web Email Website

District Office- El Cajon: 1870 Cordell Court Suite 206 El Cajon, CA 92020 Phone: 619-448-5201 Fax: 619-449-2251

Resources

 * Official website
 * "Hunter for Congress" Campaign website inactive.
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Compare where Duncan Hunter stands to other 2008 presidential candidates - whereIstand.com
 * House Committee on Armed Services, Republicans

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Calitics
 * Tiger Beat: Music, Culture, and Politics

Articles

 * Andrea Stone, "Lawmakers in both parties urge Congress to probe abuse," USA Today, June 8, 2004.
 * Dean Calbreath and Jerry Kammer,Contractor knew how to grease the wheels by Dean Calbreath and Jerry Kammer, San Diego Union Tribune, December 4, 2005.
 * Legal Looting Editorial, San Diego Union-Tribune, December 8, 2005.
 * Miriam Raftery,"Congressman tied to contractors, bribery, and coconspirators," The Raw Story, December 14, 2005; updated May 4, 2006.
 * "Duncan Hunter&mdash;Even Worse Than Randy "Duke" Cunningham," DownWithTyranny!, December 15, 2005.
 * Paul Kiel, "Newsweek: FBI Looking at Hunter, DeLay," TPMmuckraker, May 28, 2006.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Duncan Hunter and the Swiftboating of Jack Murtha," TaylorMarsh.com, June 24, 2006. re Swiftboating John Murtha
 * Taylor Marsh, "Duncan Hunter's Lair: A Non-Denial Denial" and "Duncan Hunter Sells Out a Brother," TaylorMarsh.com, June 26, 2006.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Questions Remain About Duncan Hunter&mdash;updated," TaylorMarsh.com, June 28, 2006.
 * Martha Burk, "Who Is Duncan Hunter Kidding?" TomPaine.com, January 30, 2007.
 * Rosa Brooks, "The GOP’s Torture Enthusiasts. This Week’s Republican Debate Was a Jack Bauer Impersonation Contest," Los Angeles Times (Common Dreams), May 18, 2007.
 * "CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.
 * Matt Corley, "Hunter: I Will Try To ‘Cut Off Funds To Columbia University’ Because Of Ahmadinejad Speech," Think Progress, September 25, 2007.

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * "Team DeLay"