Vernon James Ehlers (February 6, 1934 – August 15, 2017) was an American physicist and politician who represented

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

from 1993 until his retirement in 2011. A Republican, he also served eight years in the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

and two in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

. 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 academic career

Born in

Pipestone, Minnesota Pipestone is a city in and the county seat of Pipestone County, Minnesota. The population was 4,215 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is also the site of the Pipestone National Monument. History Pipestone was platted in Oc ...

, Ehlers attended

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

in Grand Rapids for three years before transferring to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he earned an undergraduate degree in physics and, in 1960, a Ph.D. in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

. 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 The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Physics Department. Ehlers died on August 15, 2017, at the age of 83.

Early political career

Ehlers served on the Kent County Board of Commissioners from 1975 to 1982. Ehlers served from 1983 to 1985 in the

and then served from 1985 to 1993 in the

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Workforce is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Work ...

** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education ** Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness *

Committee on House Administration The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives, the security of the United States Capitol, and federal elections. History The Committee on Ho ...

(Chairman and Ranking Member) * 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 Ehlers served as chairman of the

House Administration Committee The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives, the security of the United States Capitol, and federal elections. History The Committee on Ho ...

in the

109th Congress The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005, to January 3, 2007, du ...

after

Bob Ney Robert William Ney (born July 5, 1954) is an American former politician who represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until his resignation on November 3, 2006, after he pleaded guilty to charges ...

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 was 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 was willing to break with his party on environmental and government spending issues. He was a member of the

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original cent ...

and

Republicans for Environmental Protection ConservAmerica, formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), is a national nonprofit organization formed in 1995. REP's stated purpose is to strengthen Republican Party (United States)#Environmental policies, the Republican ...

. He was the only member of the

Congressional delegation of either party to vote to raise fuel economy standards for automobiles in 2001 and 2005. Ehlers was a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

. In 2006 he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the

Goodlatte Robert William Goodlatte (; born September 22, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives representing from 1993 to 2019. A Republican, he was also the Chair of the House Jud ...

-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 The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution, amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marria ...

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 The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

, indicating a voting record generally opposed to

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

. However, in December 2010, Ehlers was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

's "

Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on Sexual orientation in the United States military, military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, the pol ...

" ban on

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

service members,Chris Geidner
House Passes DADT Repeal Bill
, ''

Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, intervi ...

'' (December 15, 2010),House Vote 638 – Repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (December 15, 2010) and one of eight Republicans to vote for the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...

Political campaigns

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 re-elected six times with little significant Democratic opposition. Ehlers retired from Congress in 2010.

Selected publications

Lead authored articles in scientific journals

* * * * *

Articles on science policy

* *

References

External links

Vern Ehlers for U.S. Congress
''official campaign site'' * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlers, Vern 1934 births 2017 deaths American Calvinist and Reformed Christians Calvin University alumni Calvin University faculty County commissioners in Michigan Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Republican Party Michigan state senators Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan University of California, Berkeley alumni American members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America People from Pipestone, Minnesota Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature