Rick Boucher
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Frederick Carlyle Boucher (; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician who served as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 1983 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for a 15th term by Republican
Morgan Griffith Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. The district covers most of rural ...
in the 2010 elections.


Early life, education and career

Boucher is a native of
Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...
, where he currently lives. He earned his BA from
Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...
where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has practiced law on
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
initially as an associate at Milbank Tweed in the firm's
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
office, and later in Virginia. Prior to his election to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, he served for seven years as a member of the
Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...
. He is a former member of the Law and Justice Committee of the
National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials' association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...
, the Board of Directors of the First Virginia Bank of Damascus, Virginia, and the Board of Directors of Client Centered Legal Services of Southwest Virginia. He also formerly served on the Advisory Board of Virginia Cares Inc. In May 2011, Boucher joined prominent Washington law firm
Sidley Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Chicago Loop, Loo ...
and was charged with leading their government strategies practice. The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), an industry advocacy group, also announced that Boucher has joined as the honorary chair. The IIA includes among its members AT&T and
Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to contr ...
and has focused on expanding broadband access and adoption with particular emphasis on increased mobile connectivity for underserved and rural communities.


U.S. House of Representatives


Political campaigns

Boucher was first elected to Congress in 1982, defeating 16-year Republican incumbent Bill Wampler by 1,100 votes. He was narrowly reelected in 1984, defeating Delegate Jefferson Stafford by four points, even as
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
carried the 9th in a landslide. However, he was completely unopposed for a third term in 1986, and was reelected 11 more times without serious difficulty. Boucher remained very popular in his district even as its socially conservative tint made it friendlier to Republicans. The GOP won most of the area's seats in the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
in 2001, and has held them ever since. From 2002 to 2006, he fended off three reasonably well-funded Republican challengers with relative ease. In 2002, he defeated state delegate Jay Katzen with 66 percent of the vote. In 2004, he defeated NASCAR official Kevin Triplett with 59 percent of the vote even as
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
easily carried the district. In 2006, he defeated state delegate Bill Carrico with 68 percent of the vote. He was reelected unopposed in 2008 even as
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
carried the district with his largest margin in the state. It was generally thought that Boucher would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.


2010

In 2010 Boucher faced his strongest opponent to date in House of Delegates Majority Leader
Morgan Griffith Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. The district covers most of rural ...
. Boucher charged that Griffith lived outside of the 9th (Griffith's home in Salem was indeed just outside the 9th's borders), though members of the House are only required to live in the state they represent. However, it was not enough to overcome Griffith's attacks that Boucher was an ally of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...
. Ultimately, Griffith unseated Boucher with 51 percent of the vote to Boucher's 46 percent. No Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in the district since Boucher left office.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
** Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet (Chair) ** Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality (Chair) * Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy Boucher served in the House Democratic leadership as an assistant
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
from 1985 to 2010.


Political positions

Boucher has been active on
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
-related
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
, including cosponsoring the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991. He chaired the Science Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology and through hearings oversaw the transition of the Internet from a National Science Foundation managed government research project (known as NSFnet) to the private sector. In that role, he authored the legislation which permitted the first commercial use of the Internet. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of ...
. Boucher originated the House Internet Caucus and served as its co-chairman (1996-2011). He also authored the
Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act The Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA) was a proposed law in the United States that directly challenges portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and would intensify Federal Trade Commission efforts to mandate proper labeling for ...
(DMCRA) legislation and introduced the
FAIR USE Act The "Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing United States Entrepreneurship Act of 2007" (FAIR USE Act) was a proposed United States copyright law that would have amended Title 17 of the U.S. Code, including portions of the Digital Millennium Copyri ...
. He was named Politician of the Year for 2006 by the Association of American Libraries' ''
Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
'', largely due to his efforts to protect the
fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...
doctrine and expand Internet technologies to rural areas. Boucher voted in favor of the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act, as well as the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the "bank bailout of 2008" or the "Wall Street bailout", was a United States federal law enacted during the Great Recession, which created federal programs to "bail out" failing fi ...
and the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...
. Boucher has received a rating of "A+" and endorsement from the NRA Political Victory Fund between 2004 and 2010. He is one of the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the
invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
. Boucher is a strong opponent of tax patents and has introduced bills to either have them banned or to exempt tax attorneys and tax payers from liability in infringing them. In June 2009, Boucher voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act which, if enacted, would establish a
cap-and-trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...
system. Boucher was chairman of the energy sub-committee of the previous Congress which first drafted the legislation, and was deemed to be instrumental in the bills development. Boucher opened his pre-vote remarks on the bill by saying that he was in "strong support of the bill." In November 2009, Boucher, along with 39 other Democratic members of the House, voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Also, on March 21, 2010, Boucher voted against the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
and the
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, pai ...
. Rick Boucher endorsed
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
for the Democratic nomination for president, while his district went solidly for
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. In 2007, Congress.org ranked Rick Boucher as the 10th most powerful member of the U.S. House of Representatives.


Electoral history


Personal life

Boucher announced his engagement at age 59 to Amy Hauslohner, an editor of the ''Galax Gazette'' in
Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...
. Said Boucher of the engagement "We have decided since I will be 60 in August and she just turned 50 last week, we probably are mature enough to handle marriage." The big secret is out: Rick Boucher is engaged
''
Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...
'', March 17, 2006
Boucher and Houslohner were married on June 3, 2006.


References


External links

* ''official campaign site'' * *
Rick Boucher speaks of Hulu, Boxee, gains major tech cred at Comcast-NBC hearing
''Top of the Ticket'', ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', February 5, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Rick 1946 births Living people New York (state) lawyers Virginia lawyers Democratic Party Virginia state senators University of Virginia School of Law alumni Roanoke College alumni Politicians from Abingdon, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia American United Methodists Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century Virginia politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly