Spencer Bachus



Spencer Thomas Bachus III, a Republican, has represented the 6th District of Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. The district, Alabama's wealthiest and one of the richest in the country, includes most of the suburbs of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. (map)

Bachus beat Shelby County, Alabama resident and business owner Paul Lambert in the 2010 Republican primary. Lambert ran against Bachus in a response to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) vote that Bachus supported, in spite of overwhelming constituent complaints, and his support for the USA PATRIOT Act. Bachus then won the general election to retain his seat.

Iraq War
Bachus 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

Bill Maher
On May 23, 2005 Bachus made the news for alleging that comedian Bill Maher made "treasonous comments" on his show when making a joke about the Army's inability to reach its quota on new recruits. 

Bio
Bachus was born December 28, 1947 in Birmingham and currently lives in Vestavia Hills, a Birmingham suburb. He graduated from Auburn University in 1972 and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Alabama. He was elected to the Alabama State Senate in 1983, serving one term before moving to the Alabama State House of Representatives for two terms. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the 6th District's representative on the state board of education. He became chairman of the Alabama Republican Party in 1991 and served there until resigning to run for the House.

Despite one of the most conservative voting records in the House (only Senator Jeff Sessions and 2nd District Congressman Terry Everett have higher ratings from the American Conservative Union, Bachus was challenged in the 2004 Republican primary by Phillip Jauregui, a member of former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's legal team. Since no other party ran a candidate, victory in the Republican primary was tantamount to election in November.  Jauregui claimed that Bachus wasn't doing enough to curb "judicial activism."  However, Bachus won the primary easily, effectively clinching a seventh term.

The 6th District had been based in Birmingham for over a century, but after the 1990 census the state legislature was forced to create a majority-black district. They did so by redrawing the Tuscaloosa-based 7th District, adding predominantly black portions of Birmingham and Montgomery. In the process, however, they made the 6th District a heavily Republican district with a population that was almost 97% white. Bachus won the Republican nomination for the seat and faced five-term Democratic incumbent Ben Erdreich. Erdereich outspent Bachus by almost 2 to 1, but could not overcome the heavy Republican tilt of the new district and lost by seven points. Bachus has not faced serious opposition since then, and has been reelected without major-party opposition since 2000.

2006 elections
In 2006, independent Warren Grayson announced his intention to challenge Bachus in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Bachus retained his seat.

Committees

 * House Committee on Financial Services, Ranking Member

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

 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Task Force on Antirust
 * Subcommittee on the Constitution
 * Subcommittee on Courts the Internet and Intellectual Property
 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Highways Transit and Pipelines
 * Subcommittee on Railroads

Contact
DC Office: 442 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-4921 Fax: 202-225-2082 Web Email Website

District Office- Birmingham: 1900 International Park Drive, Suite 107 Birmingham, AL 35243 Phone: 205-969-2296 Fax: 205-969-3958

District Office- Clanton: 703 Second Avenue North Post Office Box 502 Clanton, AL 35046 Phone: 205-280-0704 Fax: 205-280-3060

2008 campaign contact information
Official Bachus for Congress website

Michele Reisner Bachus for Congress P.O. Box 131134 Birmingham, AL 35213

Phone: 205-591-8680

[mailto:michele@spencerbachus.com michele@spencerbachus.com]

Resources

 * Official website
 * Technorati Search: Spencer Bachus
 * Google News Search: Spencer Bachus
 * Yahoo! News Search: Spencer Bachus
 * Power Trips: How much did Spencer Bachus travel?
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Captain Plaid - Progressivism meets an ornery Scot
 * Birmingham Blues
 * Alabama Democrat

Articles

 * In Race for Financial Sevices Gavel, Industry Players Take Sides by Elana Schor, The Hill, 11/30/05.
 * Lawmakers Holding Solid Seats Spend as if They Were Shaky by Shailagh Murray, Washington Post, 3/19/06.
 * Alabamians in Congress adept at securing cash by Mary Orndorff, The Birmingham News, 3/26/06.