Vern Ehlers

Vernon Ehlers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd district
In office December 7, 1993 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Paul Henry
Succeeded by	Justin Amash
Personal details
Born	(1934-02-06) February 6, 1934 Pipestone, Minnesota
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Johanna Ehlers
Residence	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Alma mater	Calvin College University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	college professor
Religion	Christian Reformed Church

Vernon James "Vern" Ehlers, Ph.D. (born February 6, 1934) is the former U.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district, having served from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Ehlers was the first research physicist to be elected to Congress; he was later joined by Rush Holt, Jr. (D-NJ) and Bill Foster (D-IL)

Early life, education and career

Born in Pipestone, Minnesota, Ehlers attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids for three years before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an undergraduate degree in physics and, in 1960, a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. His doctoral dissertation, "The nuclear spins and moments of several radioactive gallium isotopes", is available from University Microfilms International as document number 0227304. After six years of teaching and research at Berkeley, he moved back to Michigan and took employment at Calvin College in 1966, where he taught physics for 16 years and later served as chairman of the Physics Department.

Ehlers began his political career in 1974 while still at Calvin, when he was elected to the Kent County board of commissioners, where he served four terms.

Michigan Legislature

Ehlers served ten years in the Michigan state legislature – two years in the state house and eight in the state senate.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
  • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

• Co-chair of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Ed Caucus
• Peak Oil Caucus

Chairman Ehlers greets Ranking Member Juanita Millender-McDonald at a hearing of the House Administration Committee.

Ehlers served as chairman of the House Administration Committee in the 109th Congress after Bob Ney resigned from the position.

A portrait of Ehlers during his service as chairman of the Administration Committee is in the House collection.

Political positions

Ehlers is a moderate Republican. According to the National Journal, in 2006 his votes split 50-50 between "liberal" and "conservative." While strongly anti-abortion and supportive of lowering taxes, he is willing to break with his party on environmental and government spending issues. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection. He was the only member of the Michigan Congressional delegation of either party to vote to raise fuel economy standards for automobiles in 2001 and 2005.

Ehlers is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006 he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

Owing to his votes in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment in both 2004 and 2006, as well as his votes against hate crimes legislation and prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation, Ehlers was given a 0% rating by the Human Rights Campaign, indicating a voting record generally opposed to gay rights. However, in December 2010, Ehlers was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members, and one of eight Republicans to vote for the DREAM Act.

Political campaigns

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2008 § District 3; and United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2010 § District 3

In 1993 Ehlers won a special election for the 3rd District, which had been vacant since Congressman Paul B. Henry died six months into his fifth term. He won a full term in 1994 and was reelected six times with little significant Democratic opposition. Ehlers retired from Congress in 2010.

External links

• Vern Ehlers for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Paul B. Henry	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd congressional district 1993–2011	Succeeded by Justin Amash
Political offices
Preceded by Bob Ney Ohio	Chairman of the House Administration Committee 2006–2007	Succeeded by Juanita Millender-McDonald California