David Phillip Roe (born July 21, 1945) is an American politician and physician who was 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 from 2009 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. From 2017 to 2019, Roe was chairman of the

House Committee on Veterans Affairs The standing committee, standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new Act of Congress, bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veteran ...

. Roe announced in January 2020 that he would not run for 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 career

Roe was born on July 21, 1945 in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

. He graduated from

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...

in 1967 and earned his Medical Degree from the

University of Tennessee College of Medicine The University of Tennessee College of Medicine is one of six graduate schools of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in downtown Memphis. The oldest public medical school in Tennessee, the UT College of Medicine is a LCME-a ...

in 1972. After graduating from medical school, Roe served in the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...

, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division at

Camp Casey, South Korea Camp Casey ( ko, 캠프 케이시) is a U.S. military base in Dongducheon (also sometimes spelled Tongduchŏn or TDC), South Korea, 40 miles (64 km) north of Seoul, South Korea. Camp Casey was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Boyd Casey, who wa ...

. He was discharged as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1974. He then went into

OB/GYN Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

practice in Johnson City, retiring after 31 years, including his work as a physician at State of Franklin Healthcare Associates (SOFHA). SOFHA was founded in 1997. Roe delivered close to 5,000 babies throughout those 31 years. After first being elected into the U.S. House of Representatives, Roe purchased a 1.8% ownership share of State of Franklin Healthcare Associates Real Estate Partners with property holdings within the Med-Tech Regional Business Park located in the northern section of Johnson City.

Political career

Roe was first elected to the Johnson City Commission in 2003, serving as vice mayor of Johnson City from 2003–2007 and then as mayor from 2007 to 2009. Roe served as head of the congressional committee on the Veterans Association. He ran on setting term limits of congressman to two terms. Roe served six terms. In January 2020, before news of the pandemic was available except to Congress, Roe’s personal financial team dropped all stocks in Carnival Cruise Corp and bought other stock that made over $20 million. Soon after, Roe announced his intention not to seek a seventh term.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;2008 Roe defeated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

congressman David Davis in the 2008

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

by 500 votes. Davis blamed his loss on votes from Democrats who crossed over to vote for Roe in the open primary. Roe had previously run for the seat in 2006 when 10-year incumbent Bill Jenkins announced his retirement, but lost to Davis in that year's primary. Roe defeated Democratic nominee Rob Russell, director of the Writing and Communication Center at

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

, in the November general election with 72 percent of the vote. However, it was widely presumed that Roe had clinched a seat in Congress with his victory in the primary. The 1st, anchored in the Tri-Cities region, is one of the few ancestrally Republican districts in the South; the GOP has held it continuously since 1881, and for all but four years since 1859. Shortly after his successful bid to represent the 1st District, Roe was interviewed by "Believe It, Achieve It," a DC-based radio program aimed at promoting youth interest in politics. The interview featured Roe conversing with a robot on topics ranging from health and fitness to the death of Michael Jackson. ;2010 Roe won re-election in 2010 with 80.8% of the vote against Democratic nominee Michael Clark.

Tenure

The 1st is known for giving its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; Roe was only the eighth person to hold the seat in 88 years. Roe hired Andrew Duke, a former chief of staff for North Carolina Republican congressman

Robin Hayes Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes (born August 14, 1945) is an American politician and businessman from North Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1 ...

, as his chief of staff. According to

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...

’s 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked as the 101st conservative in the House. On February 5, 2013, Roe introduced the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act (H.R. 503; 113th Congress) into the House. The bill would authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial Association to establish a memorial to honor members of the armed forces who participated in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Roe said "I believe we should honor the commitment of every man and woman that honorably serves this country, and I am proud to see this bill move forward." During June 2013,

WJHL-TV WJHL-TV (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area as an affiliate of CBS and ABC. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on East Main Street ...

in Johnson City reported that Roe had written a letter to the federal court in Greeneville on the behalf of Dr. William Kincaid, who had pleaded guilty to one count of receiving in interstate commerce a misbranded drug. Federal prosecutors under the Independent Payment Advisory Board argued that Dr. Kincaid's driving forces for breaking the law were "money and greed" and because that decision by Kincaid created a "substantial risk of harm to patients," prosecutors also said Kincaid should spend the maximum three years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining federal reimbursement as a healthcare provider. Roe had initially promised to serve only five terms (10 years) in Congress. However, on February 6, 2018; he announced he would run for a sixth term, saying that he needed to continue the work begun when he became chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Ranking member) *

Committee on Education and the Workforce The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education ** Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Caucus memberships

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 ...

* Physician's 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 prim ...

* Sportsmen's Caucus *

Tea Party Caucus The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. The Caucus was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination ...

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 ...

Academic Medicine Caucus

Personal life

Roe resides in Jonesborough with his wife Clarinda, who is the sister of Congressman Mike Kelly’s wife.

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Phil 1945 births 21st-century American politicians American gynecologists American obstetricians Methodists from Tennessee Austin Peay State University alumni Christians from Tennessee Living people Mayors of places in Tennessee Military personnel from Tennessee People from Johnson City, Tennessee Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Tea Party movement activists United States Army Medical Corps officers University of Tennessee Health Science Center alumni