|
Editor's Note: On August 7, 2006, Rep. Ney withdrew from his
campaign for re-election, saying the investigation into his actions
had made the campaign too much for his family to bear. He will
be replaced by Ohio state Sen. Joy Padgett on November's ballot.
Ohio's Republican Rep. Bob Ney had become a prime target for
Democrats. Believed to be the person named as "Representative
No. 1" in a congressional corruption investigation into lobbyist
Jack Abramoff, Democrats had focused on ethics to gain a seat
in the House.
 According
to courts documents, Representative No. 1 accepted lavish gifts
of travel, meals, entertainment and campaign contributions in
exchange for giving congressional contracts to Abramoff's clients
and inserted comments into the Congressional Record on Abramoff's
behalf. Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy
to bribe public officials and agreed to work with federal prosecutors
on an investigation into alleged corruption in Washington, D.C.
Ney had said he would not proceed with his campaign if he thought
he would be indicted. If elected in November, Ney will win a sixth
term in the House. The Republican national House campaign organization
continues to support Ney's re-election.
In his defense, Ney issued a statement in January saying, "I obviously did not know and had no way of knowing the self-serving and fraudulent nature of Abramoff's activities." Ney has since donated about $6,500 of his contributions tied to Abramoff to charity.
Ney's challenger Democrat Zack Space had focused on using corruption
for leverage in his campaign but Ney has dismissed the efforts.
"Let me be candid, in my race Abramoff is an issue. But it is
not the top issue. Voters in my district are focused on jobs,
health care, gas prices and immigration," Ney told The New York
Times.
Ney serves on the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. During the 108th Congress, Ney was chairman of the Committee on House Administration when he co-authored the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
As chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Ney oversees the Department of Housing and Urban Development and all federal housing issues. He is also the chairman of the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, the chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, the vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing and a deputy majority whip.
During his last term in Congress, Ney cosponsored a bill that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman and was an original cosponosor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. He backs quotas on foreign steel and supports trade restrictions.
In 2003, Ney had the restaurant on the House side of the Capitol rename French fries "freedom fries" and French toast "freedom toast" after France blocked a Security Council resolution to authorize force in Iraq.
Ney has a B.S. from Ohio State University. Before entering politics, Ney taught English in Iran -- he speaks fluent Farsi -- and was the safety director in Bellaire, Ohio. In 1980, at age 26, he became a representative in the Ohio House. He lost re-election in 1982 and went to Saudi Arabia to teach English.
From 1984 until his election to the U.S. House in 1994, Ney served in the Ohio Senate where he was the chairman of the Finance Committee, chairman of the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, State and Local Government Committee, and sat on the State Controlling Board.
Ney ran unopposed in 2002 and won re-election in 2004 with 66 percent of the vote against challenger Brian Thomas. In the Republican primaries, Ney won 68 percent of the vote beating his opponent James Brodbelt Harris.
Ney was born July 5, 1954 in Wheeling, W.Va. He now lives in Health, Ohio with his wife Liz and their two children.
Campaign Web site: www.bobney.org
Official Web site: www.ney.house.gov
-- Compiled by Anna Shoup for the Online NewsHour
| 
