John Howard Coble (March 18, 1931 – November 3, 2015) was an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in the northern-central part of the state, including portions of

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

Early life, education, and pre-political career

Coble was born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, the son of Johnnie E. (Holt) and Joseph Howard Coble. After high school, he initially attended

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

, but after a year joined the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

, serving for over 5 years and staying on as a reservist for an additional 18 years. Upon discharging from military service, he attended

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...

, from which he received a history degree. He was a member of the Epsilon Iota chapter of

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston i ...

fraternity at

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of ...

. Coble then moved on to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

and earned a degree in law. After graduating from college, Coble first worked as an insurance agent. He then spent nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney, and he was also Secretary of Revenue under North Carolina Governor

James Holshouser James Eubert Holshouser Jr. (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 68th Governor of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was the first Republican candidate to be elected as governor of the ...

. In 1979, Coble was elected to the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...

, serving until his election to Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Coble was first elected to Congress in 1984, narrowly defeating Walter Cockerham in the primary 51%–49%. In the general election, he defeated one-term Democratic incumbent

Robin Britt Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

51%–49%. Coble was likely the beneficiary of long coattails from

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, who carried the district by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. In 1986, he defeated Britt in a rematch, which was an even closer 50.03%–49.97% and Coble won by only 79 votes (closest margin of victory that year). He would never face another contest nearly that close, and would be reelected 13 more times with 61% or more of the vote. In July 2008, Coble won the Republican primary unopposed and became North Carolina's longest-serving Republican U.S. congressman, surpassing former U.S. Congressman

Jim Broyhill James Thomas Broyhill (born August 19, 1927) is an American former businessman and Republican U.S. Representative and Senator from the state of North Carolina. He represented much of the Foothills region of the state in the House from 1963 to ...

(who was also elected to 12 terms but left the House in July 1986 to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat). Coble announced in 2013 that he would not run for another term in

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 wa ...

, and would retire after 30 years in Congress.

Tenure

In the

105th United States Congress The 105th 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. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997, ...

Coble moved to suspend the rules and pass the

NET Act The United States No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act), a federal law passed in 1997, provides for criminal prosecution of individuals who engage in copyright infringement under certain circumstances, even when there is no monetary profit or comme ...

on November 4, 1997, which removed the requirement of financial gain for criminal prosecution of copyright violation. The NET Act was passed only after the House suspended the rules. Coble was a strong supporter of agriculture and had voted in favor of bills to protect agriculture. Coble opposed further regulation of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

because he believed it would hurt North Carolina tobacco planters. Coble took a hard-line position on illegal drugs, and co-sponsored a resolution to oppose the legalization and use of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restriction ...

. He also voted for an amendment to authorize

drug testing A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...

on federal employees. However, he authored a resolution to celebrate the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Prohibition of

alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...

in the United States. Coble was also a member of the Tea Party Caucus, joining

Sue Myrick Sue Myrick (née Wilkins; born August 1, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Caroli ...

and

Walter B. Jones Walter Beaman Jones Jr. (February 10, 1943 – February 10, 2019) was an American politician who served twelve terms in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party for from 1995 until his death in 2019. The d ...

as the sole members of the North Carolina Congressional delegation to join the group. Coble pledged not to receive any pension from the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

. He told

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Up to the Minute ''CBS Overnight News'' is an American overnight news broadcasting that is broadcast on CBS during the early morning hours each Monday through Friday. The program maintains a infotainment format, incorporating national, international and busines ...

'', "I figured taxpayers pay my salary – not a bad salary, and I figure that's sufficient. Let me fend for myself after the salary's collected." He also stated to CBS, "I've pledged my assurance I won't take the pension. That's between my constituents and me. As far as convicted felons, I guess that's between their constituents and themselves." He was one of two Congressmen, with

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...

, to have pledged to decline his pension. However, during the government shutdown in October 2013. Coble said that although 800,000 federal workers are furloughed and not receiving a paycheck, he will still collect his salary due to a requirement of law. Coble was one of the 87 Republicans who voted for the bill to end the shutdown on October 16. In June 2013, Coble announced introduction of new legislation to reform the

congressional pension Congressional pension is a pension made available to members of the United States Congress. , members who participated in the congressional pension system are vested after five years of service. A pension is available to members 62 years of age wit ...

program. Coble refused to participate in the congressional pension program, stating that reforming congressional pensions was long overdue and that the bill would lengthen the time of service required before a member would be eligible for participation in the pension program.

Legislation sponsored

The bill To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years (H.R. 3626; 113th Congress) was introduced in the House on December 2, 2013 by Coble. The bill would extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for an additional 10 years, but would not expand any of its provisions (related to plastic guns). The bill passed the House on December 3, 2013. Coble also sponsored the

Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...

(DMCA), in 1997, a bill fundamental to the foundation of internet law. It would come into effect in the year 2000.

Committee assignments

Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean: * United States House Committee on the Judiciary * United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...

** Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet *

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

** Subcommittee on Aviation ** Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Caucus memberships

Congressional Fire Services Caucus
*

Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans The Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans (Turkey Caucus) was established by US Congressmen Robert Wexler (D-Florida), Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky) and Kay Granger (R-Texas) in March 2001. The Turkey Caucus is a bi-partisan platform fo ...

* International Conservation Caucus *

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 ...

* Sportsmen's Caucus * Tea Party Caucus

Personal life

As a young man, Coble frequently enjoyed eating a breakfast of Rose brand pork brains in milk gravy and eggs. According to a quote from Coble appearing alongside his family recipe for "Breakfast Brains N' Eggs," the breakfast was "fairly regular" and "not at all unusual". Coble was a member of the

Board of Visitors and of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors. He was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and member of Guilford Lodge number 656 in

. Coble had skin cancer for many years among other ailments. He was admitted to intensive care in September 2015 after complications from skin cancer surgery. He died in hospital on November 3, 2015, in Greensboro, North Carolina at the age of 84 from complications of the surgery.

Electoral history

, + : Results 1984–2012 ! Year ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Democratic ! 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 Southeas ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 102,925 , , 51% , , ,

, , 100,263 , , 49% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 en ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 72,329 , , 50% , , ,

, , 72,250 , , 50% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 Bicenten ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 116,534 , , 62% , , , Tom Gilmore , , 70,008 , , 38% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 125,392 , , 67% , , , Helen Allegrone , , 62,913 , , 33% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 162,822 , , 71% , , , Robin Hood , , 67,200 , , 29% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 98,355 , , 100% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 167,828 , , 73% , , , Mark Costley , , 58,022 , , 25% , , , Gary Goodson , ,

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 en ...

, , 2,693 , , 1% , , , , , , , - ,

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 s ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 112,740 , , 89% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Jeffrey Bentley , ,

, , 14,454 , , 11% , , , , , , , - ,

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 S ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 195,727 , , 91% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Jeffrey Bentley , ,

, , 18,726 , , 9% , , , , , , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 151,430 , , 90% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Tara Grubb , ,

, , 16,067 , , 10% , , , , , , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 207,470 , , 73% , , , William Jordan , , 76,153 , , 27% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 108,433 , , 71% , , , Rory Blake , , 44,661 , , 29% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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; ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 221,008 , , 67% , , , Teresa Bratton , , 108,873 , , 33% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 156,252 , , 75% , , , Sam Turner , , 51,507 , , 25% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

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 gat ...

, , , , Howard Coble , , 222,116 , , 61% , , , Tony Foriest , , 142,467 , , 39% , , , Hugh Chauvin , ,

, , 4,847 , , 2% , , , Brandon Parmer , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

, , 2,017 , , 1% ,

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coble, Howard 1931 births 2015 deaths American Presbyterians Appalachian State University alumni Deaths from cancer in North Carolina Deaths from skin cancer Guilford College alumni Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers Politicians from Greensboro, North Carolina Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina Tea Party movement activists United States Coast Guard captains University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians Activists from North Carolina 21st-century American politicians United States Coast Guard personnel of the Korean War 20th-century American lawyers United States Coast Guard reservists