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Kevin Patrick Brady (born April 11, 1955) is an American politician and the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes northern
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, including The Woodlands. On April 14, 2021, Brady announced that he would not run for a 14th term and would retire after the 2022 election cycle.


Early life, education, and early political career

Brady was born in
Vermillion, South Dakota Vermillion ( lkt, Waséoyuze; "The Place Where Vermilion is Obtained") is a city in and the county seat of Clay County. It is in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, United States, and is the state's 12th-largest city. According to the 2020 ...
, one of five children of William F. and Nancy A. Brady. His father, a lawyer, was killed in 1967 in a courtroom shooting in
Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
when Brady was 12 years old and his mother was in her early 30s.Holt, Vanessa
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady stays close to his roots in The Woodlands area
''Community Impact'', December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
He graduated from Central High School in 1973. Brady has a degree in mass communications from the
University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...
in Vermillion. Brady worked for the Rapid City area Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the Rapid City common council at age 26. In 1982, he moved to Texas to work for the Beaumont, Texas Chamber of Commerce. In 1985, he went to work for the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.


Texas House of Representatives

In 1990, Brady was elected to the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
, district 15, representing The Woodlands, parts of Montgomery County, and five other counties west and north of Houston.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


1996

Incumbent U.S. Representative
Jack Fields Jack Milton Fields Jr. (born February 3, 1952) is a Texas businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from a Houston-based district. Early life Fields was born in Humble, a northern suburb of Hous ...
of
Texas's 8th congressional district Texas's 8th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes parts of Montgomery County, Walker County, Harris County, Polk County, and all of San Jacinto County. It includes much of the northern outlying areas ...
decided to retire. Brady ran for the seat and ranked second in the Republican primary with 22% of the vote in a six-candidate field. The candidate who ranked first, Gene Fontenot, received 36% of the vote, short of the 50% threshold. In the runoff election, Brady defeated him, 53%–47%. But the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in ''
Bush v. Vera ''Bush v. Vera'', 517 U.S. 952 (1996), is a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case concerning racial gerrymandering, where Majority-minority district, racial minority majority-electoral districts were created during T ...
'' that three of Texas's congressional districts were unconstitutional. After hearings, the court concluded that there was no longer time to hold primaries and instead forced all candidates (Democrats and Republicans) be listed together on the November general election ballot in a
jungle primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party ...
. If no candidate reached 50%, a special runoff would be held on December 10 between the two highest-ranking candidates. In the November election, Brady ranked first with 41% of the vote. In the December runoff, he defeated Fontenot again, 59%–41%.


1998–2008

During this period, Brady never received less than 67% of the vote.


2010

For the first time since 1998, Brady was challenged in the Republican primary. Three candidates filed against him. He defeated all of them in the March primary with 79% of the vote. He was reelected with 80% of the vote.


2012

In the May Republican primary, in a newly redrawn district, he defeated his challenger with 76% of the vote. In the November 6 general election, he defeated the Democratic nominee with over 77% of the vote.


2014

Brady won the March 4 Republican primary with 41,549 votes (68%) to Craig McMichael's 19,508 (32%). In the November 4 general election, Brady was reelected with 124,897 votes (89.32%) to Democratic nominee Ken Petty's 14,930 (10.67%).


2016

In November 2015, Steve Toth, a former state representative from
The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with p ...
, announced that he would run against Brady. Brady eked out a victory in the March 1 primary with 53% of the vote, his lowest total in his 18-year career. He spent over $1.5 million to Toth's $89,325. Toth criticized Brady for compromising too often with President Obama, for supporting the omnibus federal budget bill, and for voting to revive the
U.S. Export-Import Bank The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.


2018

Brady won the Republican primary unopposed, as did the Democratic nominee, Steven David. Brady won the general election with 198,241 votes (73.5%) to David's 67,027 (24.8%). Libertarian Chris Duncan received 4,597 votes. As of September 30, 2018, Brady had outraised David in contributions, $4,899,672 to $31,664.


2020

Brady defeated Kirk Osborn in the Republican primary, 80.73% to 16.19%. In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Elizabeth Hernandez and Libertarian challenger Chris Duncan with 72.5% of the vote to the challengers' 27.5%. The 2020 election was Brady's last election for Congress.


Tenure

In 2002, Brady voted for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq the next year. Yet in 2008 he was one of the 24 Republicans (and 227 Democrats) to vote to impeach
President George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
for misleading the United States into going to war in Iraq.In 2005, Brady was a chief supporter of the
Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...
(DR-CAFTA), working with the Bush administration to secure passage of that
free-trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...
. In 2011, Brady also voted for free-trade agreements with South Korea Colombia, and
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
. But in 2017, Brady supported President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's proposed border adjustment tax, arguing that the tax on imports would place the U.S. on a level playing field with other countries that have the tax and raise an estimated $1 trillion. Brady is known as the author of a federal " sunset law" that would require every federal program not specifically written into the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
to justify its existence to taxpayers within 12 years or face elimination. In March 2012, Brady proposed the Sound Dollar Act, legislation to require the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
to monitor gold and the foreign-exchange value of the U.S. dollar. The bill would also repeal the Federal Reserve's dual mandate (controlling unemployment and inflation) and replace it with a single mandate for U.S. dollar
price stability Price stability is a goal of monetary and fiscal policy aiming to support sustainable rates of economic activity. Policy is set to maintain a very low rate of inflation or deflation. For example, the European Central Bank (ECB) describes price s ...
. In November 2015, Brady was elected the 65th chair of the
Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
, serving until 2019. In March 2017, Brady introduced an amendment to the
American Health Care Act The American Health Care Act of 2017 (often shortened to the AHCA or nicknamed Trumpcare) was a bill in the 115th United States Congress. The bill, which was passed by the United States House of Representatives but not by the United States S ...
(the House Republican proposal to repeal the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
) that would allow health insurance providers to fully deduct all forms of compensation to their most highly compensated executives without limit, repealing the current law, which capped the deduction at $500,000 per executive. ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist
Michael Hiltzik Michael A. Hiltzik (born November 9, 1952) is an American columnist, reporter and author who has written extensively for the ''Los Angeles Times''. In 1999, he won a beat reporting Pulitzer Prize for co-writing a series of articles about corrupti ...
criticized Brady's amendment as a "secret payoff" to the health insurance industry because of its cryptic language. As chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Brady opposed a resolution to request ten years' worth of returns from Trump and his business entities. In 2017, he said that the resolution was an abuse done for "obvious political purposes". In September 2020, after ''The New York Times'' published an extensive report on Trump's tax records and business dealings spanning two decades, Brady called for an investigation into the ''Times'' and the report's sources. In November 2017, Brady said that the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...
would provide "tax relief at every level"; in fact, 7% of households in 2018 would pay more in taxes and by 2022, one quarter of households would pay more. Brady's claim that 70% of the tax cuts in the bill would go to households making below $200,000 was found to be "misleading" by FactCheck.Org and "cherry-picked" by PolitiFact. FactCheck.org noted that "57.7 percent of the tax relief goes to those families making less than $200,000 in 2019—not the 70 percent that Brady cited for 2019. By 2027, 50 percent of tax relief as a result of business and individual income tax changes would go to those making more than $200,000 a year." The
American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...
gave him a 94% evaluation in 2017. Brady and Representative
Richard Neal Richard Edmund Neal (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1989. The district, numbered as the 2nd district from 1989 to 2013, includes Springfield, West Springfield, Pittsfield, H ...
introduced the bipartisan SECURE Act of 2019, which contained a number of provisions to expand access to retirement planning options and to encourage employers to set up retirement plans for workers. The bill, originally introduced in March 2019, was passed into law in December 2019 as part of the fiscal year 2020 federal appropriations bill. In December 2020, Brady was one of 126 Republican members of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
to sign an
amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
contesting the results of the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
, in which Joe Biden defeated Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked
standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." In December 2020, Brady indicated that he supported a second round of
Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARE ...
funds to assist small businesses suffering from the economic effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. He was a negotiator during the discussions to pass the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2 ...
. In January 2021, after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol, Brady argued that those calling for Trump's impeachment or for the invocation of the
25th Amendment The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...
were themselves engaging in inflammatory language and that such calls could incite further violence. On April 14, 2021, Brady announced that he would not run for a 14th House term and would retire in 2022.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
During his time in Congress, Brady has chaired the Joint Economic Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, and the
Joint Committee on Taxation The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is a Committee of the U.S. Congress established under the Internal Revenue Code at . Structure The Joint Committee is composed of ten Members: five from the Senate Finance Committee and five from the House ...
.


Caucus memberships

* Army Caucus * Congressional Missing and Exploited Children Caucus * Congressional Rural Caucus *
United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus The U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus, founded in September 2003, is a bipartisan congressional organization with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advanc ...
* Sportsmen's Caucus *
Congressional Constitution Caucus The Congressional Constitution Caucus is a congressional caucus made up of 41 members of the United States Congress. The caucus was founded in 2005; it had 37 members the first year it was founded. The group was founded and formerly led by Repu ...
*
Congressional Western Caucus The Congressional Western Caucus is a caucus within the United States House of Representatives composed of 62 members. Although it has historically been bipartisan, it is currently composed almost exclusively of Republicans (with the sole excepti ...
*
Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...


Political positions


Taxation

Brady believes policies enacted by the
Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
, including the 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...
, helped put the U.S. economy in a robust position going into the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.


Medicare

Brady strongly opposes
Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...
.


Energy

In 2012, Brady voted for the Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, which rescinded Obama administration policies on coal mining and energy infrastructure. In January 2021, he expressed concern that the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
's drilling ban Executive Order 13990 on federal leases would "kill" 120,000 Texas jobs.


LGBT rights

In 2011, Brady cosponsored legislation directing the Justice Department to continue defending the
Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
. He opposed ''
Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...
'', the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, citing his beliefs that marriage is "a union between one man and one woman" and that same-sex marriage law should be delegated to the states under the
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It expresses the principle of federalism, also known as states' rights, by stating that the federal govern ...
. In 2019, Brady voted against expressing opposition to banning service in the armed forces by openly transgender individuals, and in 2021, he voted against the Equality Act. The Human Rights Campaign gave Brady a score of 0 out of 100 for his voting record on legislation in the 116th Congress.


Personal life

Brady lives in The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston, with his wife, Cathy, and two sons. In October 2005, Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in South Dakota. He pleaded no contest, was convicted of a misdemeanor, and fined $350. Brady issued an apology.Samantha Levine
U.S. Rep. Brady pleads no contest to DUI charge
''Houston Chronicle'' (November 9, 2005).


References


External links


Congressman Kevin Brady
official U.S. House website
Kevin Brady for Congress
* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Kevin 1955 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Living people Members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Vermillion, South Dakota People from The Woodlands, Texas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas University of South Dakota alumni South Dakota Republicans Texas Republicans