Peter John Visclosky ( ; born August 13, 1949) is an American politician who served as 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 from 1985 until his retirement in 2021. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and was the dean of the Indiana congressional delegation before his retirement in 2021. The District lies in

Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, comprises Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Ce ...

, and includes most of the Indiana side of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

. Redistricting passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2011 changed the district's boundaries, effective January 2013, to include all of Lake and Porter counties as well as the western and northwestern townships of LaPorte County, while shifting Benton, Newton, and Jasper counties out of the district. On November 6, 2019, Visclosky announced that he would not seek re-election in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Early life, education, and pre-congressional career

Visclosky was born in Gary, Indiana, the son of John and the late Helen (née Kauzlaric) Visclosky. He is of Croatian-Slovak descent. He was educated at

Andrean High School Andrean High School is a co-educational, college preparatory secondary school in Merrillville, Indiana. It is located in the Diocese of Gary. The school was founded in 1959, and named for St. Andrew, the patron saint of the first bishop of the di ...

Merrillville, Indiana Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting at

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) is a public university in Gary, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University and was established in 1963. Academics IU Northwest is located on a campus in the northwest corner of the state. ...

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

and went on to earn his

juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

. At

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Visclosky earned a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law. He worked as a lawyer and staff member of United States Representative Adam Benjamin before entering the House.

U.S. House of Representatives

Senator Richard Lugar and Congressman Pete Visclosky with Ashley Judd

Elections

In 1984, Visclosky ran for Congress in

Indiana's 1st congressional district Indiana's 1st congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northwestern Indiana. The district is based in Gary and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs. It consists of all of Lake and Porter counties, as well as most of ...

. In the Democratic primary, he defeated incumbent U.S. Congresswoman Katie Hall, Jack Crawford, and Sandra Smith 34%-33%-31%-1%. In the general election, he defeated Republican Joseph Grenchik 71%-29%. He was reelected 17 times from a district that has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1931. In 1986, he won the Democratic primary again with 57%, defeating Hall and three other candidates. He won the general election with 73% of the vote. In 1988, he won the Democratic primary 84%-16% against Sandra Smith. He went on to win the general election with 77% of the vote. In 1990, Hall challenged Visclosky for the third time and was defeated 51%-30%. He won the general election with 66% of the vote. In 1992, he won the Democratic primary with 72% and the general election with 69%. In 1994, he won the Democratic primary with 77% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Republican John Larson 56%-44%. For the rest of his career, he never won a primary with less than 71% and he only once won a general election with less than 60% of the vote - in 2010, when Republicans re-took control of the House of Representatives.

Tenure

Visclosky is pro-union and anti-free trade. Reinstating the steel tariff, fighting against illegal actions known as "Steel Dumping", in which countries undercut American steel prices by subsidizing steel production, and/or producing steel through nationalized steel companies, which artificially manipulates the market price of steel produced in this manner, a violation of trade agreements, free markets, and certain international laws, and fighting to save American manufacturing jobs have long been priorities of Visclosky. He serves as Chair of the Congressional Steel Caucus when the Democrats have control of the House, and serves as Vice Chair when they don't. He is also a former Chair of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee and the current Ranking Member. Congressman Visclosky also opposed actions that would have certain components of advanced U.S. Military weapons and hardware made in foreign countries, most notably in China, which caused the closing of U.S.-based manufacturing centers, such as "Magnequench" in Valparaiso, Indiana, which was covered heavily in the media, most notably in printed media from his district, namely "The Times" and "The Post Tribune", both servicing Northwest Indiana. In this particular case, the component was a sophisticated, high-tech magnet, made of rare earth metals, that is an integral part of U.S. smart-bombs and guided missile systems, including the "Joint Direct Attack Munition" or "JDAM". Visclosky is one of the 126 Democrats who voted against the

Iraq War Resolution The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002,Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

shoreline. In 1985, during his first term, Visclosky proposed the "Marquette Plan", which would have seen 75% of Northwest Indiana's industrial shoreline reclaimed for public uses. Two decades later, he revived the proposal in a revised form, as the "Marquette Greenway", which would have seen

bike trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

s built along the lakefront. While the overall "Marquette Plan" has not been realized, a number of projects have reclaimed some of the industrial lakefront, such as the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk. In 2019, Visclosky added a measure making

Indiana Dunes Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

a United States National Park to an appropriations bill, which passed into law. Indiana Dunes thereby became the 61st National Park.

South Shore Line improvements

A large focus of Visclosky during his tenure was improving the

South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport in ...

rail service. Visclosky managed to help secure federal funding for a number of improvements to the South Shore Line throughout his tenure, including funding for new overpasses and bridges. In his last term as a congressman, two major projects Visclosky had long advocated for to improve the South Shore Line,

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

ing on the existing main branch and the construction of the new

West Lake Corridor The West Lake Corridor is an under-construction commuter rail line in Lake County, Indiana. New South Shore Line services will connect Chicago, Illinois and the cities of Hammond and Munster in Indiana. History New Start Studies In mid-2000s ...

, received federal funding.

PMA Group investigation

The ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' reported in March 2009 that Visclosky had received, over ten years, $1.36 million in campaign donations from clients of the

PMA Group The PMA Group is a defunct lobbying firm based in Washington D.C. It was founded and owned by ex-House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense staffer Paul Magliocchetti. The firm's annual lobbying income climbed steadily to its 2006 peak at $16. ...

. In 2007 and 2008, the

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

, of which Visclosky is a member, directed $137 million in government purchasing to PMA's clients. In May 2009, Visclosky received subpoenas in the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigation into PMA Group, the first member of Congress to be subpoenaed in the investigation. The Congressman was later cleared of all charges by the

House Ethics Committee The Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the 112th Congress it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The House E ...

, who detailed in a 305-page report that "Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member's actions are being influenced by campaign contributions".

Steven V. Roberts Steven V. Roberts (born February 11, 1943) is an American journalist, writer, and political commentator. Life and career Roberts was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and graduated from Bayonne High School.Rahman, Sarah"Author Steven V. Roberts pays a ...

and

Cokie Roberts Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...

called the Visclosky/PMA/

Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is an American, privately held aerospace and national security contractor specializing in aircraft modification and integration, space components and systems, and related technology products for cybersecurity and ...

relationship "a bribe by any other name". In 2011, the House Ethics Committee ended its investigation, clearing Visclosky and Republican former Representative

Todd Tiahrt William Todd Tiahrt ( ; born June 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as part of the historic Republican Wave of 1994, defeating 18-ye ...

of Kansas. While "PMA's lobbyists pushed or directed company executives to maximize personal or Political Action Committee (PAC) campaign contributions and to attend specific fundraisers while pursuing earmarks," the report notes, "the evidence did not show that Members or their official staff were included in discussions or correspondence about, coordinated with PMA on, or knew of these strategies."

Committee assignments

Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

** Subcommittee on Defense (Chair) ** Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development

Caucus memberships

Congressional Steel Caucus The Congressional Steel Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of the United States Congress whose members represent regions with steel manufacturers or care about the health of the American steel industry. Caucus members will routinely meet with the curre ...

(Vice Chair) * Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues * Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans * Congressional Diabetes Caucus * Congressional Fire Services Caucus * Congressional Hellenic Caucus * Congressional Serbian Caucus * Great Lakes Task Force * Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children Caucus * Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition * Buy America Caucus * Dairy Farmers Caucus * French Caucus * Macedonian Caucus * National Parks Caucus * Slovak Caucus * Friends of Switzerland * Wine Caucus * Wire and Wire Products Caucus * Law Enforcement Caucus *

Congressional Arts Caucus The Congressional Arts Caucus is a registered Congressional Member Organization for the US House of Representatives in the 115th Congress. History The Congressional Arts Caucus was created in the 1980s as a way for the various members of Congres ...

* U.S.-Japan Caucus

Electoral history

, + : Results 1984–2018 ! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 147,035 , , 71% , , , Joseph Grenchik , , 59,986 , , 29% , , , James Willis , ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

, , 943 , , 0% , , , , , , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 86,983 , , 73% , , , William P. Costas , , 30,395 , , 26% , , , James Willis , ,

, , 660 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Tracy Kyle , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Workers League , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 403 , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 0% , - ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 138,251 , , 77% , , , Owen Crumpacker , , 41,076 , , 23% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 68,920 , , 66% , , , William P. Costas , , 35,450 , , 34% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 147,054 , , 69% , , , David Vucich , , 64,770 , , 31% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 68,612 , , 56% , , , John Larson , , 52,920 , , 44% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 133,553 , , 69% , , , Michael Petyo , , 56,418 , , 29% , , , Michael Crass , ,

, , 3,142 , , 2% , , , , , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 92,634 , , 73% , , , Michael Petyo , , 33,503 , , 26% , , , Michael Crass , ,

, , 1,617 , , 1% , , , , , , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 148,683 , , 72% , , , Jack Reynolds , , 56,200 , , 27% , , , Christopher Nelson , ,

, , 2,907 , , 1% , , , , , , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 90,443 , , 67% , , , Mark Leyva , , 41,909 , , 31% , , , Timothy Brennan , ,

, , 2,759 , , 2% , , , , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 178,406 , , 68% , , , Mark Leyva , , 82,858 , , 32% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 104,195 , , 70% , , , Mark Leyva , , 40,146 , , 27% , , , Charles Barman , ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, , 5,266 , , 4% , , , , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 199,954 , , 71% , , , Mark Leyva , , 76,647 , , 27% , , , Timothy Brennan , ,

, , 5,421 , , 2% , , , , , , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 99,387 , , 59% , , , Mark Leyva , , 65,558 , , 39% , , , Jon Morris , ,

, , 4,762 , , 3% , , , , , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 187,743 , , 67% , , , Joel Phelps , , 91,291 , , 33% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 86,579 , , 61% , , , Mark Leyva , , 51,000 , , 36% , , , Donna Dunn , ,

, , 4,714 , , 3% , , , , , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 207,515 , , 82% , , , , , , , Donna Dunn , ,

, , 47,051 , , 18% , , , John Meyer , ,

, , 17 , , 0% , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , , , Pete Visclosky , , 159,611 , , 65% , , , Mark Leyva , , 85,594 , , 35% , , , , , , , , , ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visclosky, Pete 1949 births 21st-century American politicians American people of Croatian descent American people of Slovak descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Notre Dame Law School alumni People from Merrillville, Indiana Politicians from Gary, Indiana