Jason Altmire

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Jason Altmire (born March 7, 1968) is the former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, serving from 2007 until 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

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Early life and education

Altmire was born in western Pennsylvania, where he was raised an only child in a single parent home. A record-breaking high school athlete, he set a school record in track and field and was recognized as an all-star wide receiver in football before a serious knee injury kept him off the athletic field as a senior. In 1986, he matriculated at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. Following a lengthy rehabilitation of his knee injury, he tried out for and made the Seminole football team as a walk on. He graduated in 1990 with a B.S. in Political Science and worked in the Tallahassee campaign office of Douglas "Pete" Peterson, then a candidate for Congress in Florida's Second Congressional District. He later earned a Master's in Health Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

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Career

Congressional aide

After Peterson won the 1990 congressional race against incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Grant, he hired Altmire to work in his Capitol Hill office. Altmire worked as a legislative assistant during Peterson's three terms in office (1991-1996), specializing in domestic policy issues. He gained an expertise in health care issues and helped Peterson draft several major health care proposals. In 1993, Altmire was appointed to a working group for President Clinton's Task Force on National Health Care Reform. In 1996, when Peterson was named U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Altmire continued his work in health care policy by taking a job with the Federation of American Hospitals.

Healthcare lobbyist

In 1998, Altmire returned to Western Pennsylvania to work for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). By 2005, he was the acting Vice President for Government Relations and Community Health Services. His duties at UPMC included oversight of UPMC's Office of Charitable Giving, which had primary discretion over UPMC's then $6 million in annual charitable donations. He also represented UPMC in discussions with government officials and local community organizations. During this time, Altmire was a frequent volunteer and community activist, serving on the boards of more than a dozen community and civic organizations. In recognition of his community service, in 2003 he was named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of Pittsburgh's "40 under 40", and in 2005 he was awarded the Arcadia Award by Northern Allegheny Chamber of Commerce. The Arcadia Award is presented annually to the local business leader who most exemplifies dedication to community service.

Congressman

Elections

Altmire left UPMC in June 2005 to run against three-term incumbent Republican U.S. Congresswoman Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, who was considered by most observers to be invulnerable. In May 2006, Altmire won the Democratic primary, defeating millionaire businesswoman Georgia Berner, 55%-45%. In the 2006 general election, Altmire campaigned relentlessly and raised over $1 million to help fund his race against Hart. After polling well behind Hart early in the race, he eventually closed the gap heading into the final weeks before the election. Altmire defeated Hart, 52%-48%. In 2008, Hart ran again in a rematch. He defeated her, 56%-44%, even as John McCain carried the district by almost 11 points.

In the historic 2010 wave election that saw Democrats lose 63 seats in the U.S. House, including five in Pennsylvania, Altmire survived. He was re-elected to a third term, defeating businessman Keith Rothfus, 51%-49%. Following the 2010 census, Pennsylvania lost one congressional seat. The Republican-controlled state legislature dismantled Altmire's district, and most of its territory was merged with the neighboring 12th District, represented by fellow Democratic congressman Mark Critz, who defeated Altmire 51% to 49% in the primary election. Critz went on to lose the 2012 general election to Rothfus, Altmire's 2010 opponent.

Tenure

Altmire had a moderate voting record and was regularly identified as a centrist in Congress by non-partisan publications. He did not miss a single vote during his first two terms and continued the unbroken voting streak into his sixth year in office, which was the longest House vote streak during that time. The streak finally ended at 4734 consecutive votes when Altmire missed votes while attending a White House ceremony for Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. a constituent posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama. Over the course of his six years in office, he returned more than $1 million in unspent office funds, citing a desire to lead by example and be a steward of taxpayer money.

Altmire fought to guarantee enlistment bonuses of combat-wounded veterans. He forced a 2007 policy change allowing Vietnam-era Gold Star families access to White House tours after a constituent was denied, and played a leadership role in successfully amending the Family and Medical Leave Act to add a provision covering military guard and reserve families.

Altmire opposed the use of Chinese-made steel in the construction of the U.S.- Mexico border fence. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Altmire helped in the rescue of two constituents and the 54 orphans under their care. He served on the House-Senate conference committees for the 2007 College Cost Reduction Act, the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill, and the 2008 Higher Education Act, all of which became law. From 2007 to 2010, he served as chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, during which time he took the lead in passing through the House his legislation to help small businesses acquire private capital investment. He also authored the legislation that ended the late enrollment penalty for low-income seniors participating in the Medicare Part D program. In 2009, Altmire authored the amendment which broke a congressional stalemate that had for years delayed passage of an omnibus land conservation bill that combined dozens of different bills and covered millions of acres of public land.

During the 2008 presidential primary election, both Democratic candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, actively worked to win Altmire's support as a superdelegate. Altmire did not endorse either candidate and remained neutral throughout the primary. According to the book HRC by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, this could be a reason why former president Bill Clinton campaigned against Altmire four years later, when the congressman was involved in a contested primary election of his own.

Altmire voted against the Affordable Care Act on March 21, 2010; he had also voted against earlier versions of the bill. His vote on final passage of the bill was highly sought after by President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders. According to Washington Post health care policy writer CeCi Connolly, "Altmire, more than most in Congress, understood the intricacies of health-care policy. As a congressional aide in the 1990s, he had worked on Clinton's failed effort and later became a hospital executive." Days before the vote on final passage of the bill, President Obama had personally tried to persuade Altmire, telling him "I want to give you something to think about before the vote. Picture yourself on Monday morning. You wake up and look at the paper. It's the greatest thing Congress has done in 50 years. And you were on the wrong team." After leaving Congress in 2013, Altmire became the executive of a Florida health insurance company and expressed support for the Affordable Care Act.

Committee assignments

Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
- Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommitee (HELP)
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Return to private sector

In January 2013, Altmire began work as a lobbyist and public relations executive for Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross Blue Shield Company. During his time there, he worked to implement of the Affordable Care Act in Florida, which was a reversal of the stance he took while he was in Congress, when he opposed the ACA. In 2015 he was appointed chairman of the Florida Blue Foundation, the philanthropy associated with Florida's Blue Cross Blue Shield Company. In August 2017, he left the company in order to promote his book, Dead Center: How Political Polarization Divided America And What We Can Do About It.

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References