Frank Lautenberg

Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (born January 23, 1924) is an American politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is a United States Senator from New Jersey serving from 1983 to 2001 and again since 2003.

Related Topics:
January 23 - 1924 - American - Politician - Democratic Party - United States Senator - New Jersey - 1983 - 2001 - 2003

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The son of poor Jewish immigrants (from Poland and Russia), Lautenberg was born in Paterson, New Jersey and served overseas in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II after graduating high school. Then, financed by the GI Bill, he attended and graduated from Columbia University with a degree in economics in 1949. He co-founded the successful Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) and was its president. He was commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 1978 to 1982.

Related Topics:
Jewish - Poland - Russia - Paterson, New Jersey - U.S. Army Signal Corps - World War II - GI Bill - Columbia University - Economics - 1949 - Automatic Data Processing, Inc. - Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - 1978 - 1982

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In 1982 he received the Democratic nomination for a US senate seat from New Jersey for that year's election. At the time the seat was occupied by Democrat Harrison Williams who resigned in 1982 after being implicated in the Abscam scandal.

Related Topics:
Election - Harrison Williams - 1982 - Abscam

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Lautenberg won the election, defeating popular Republican congresswoman Millicent Fenwick. He was reelected in 1988. Lautenberg was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. He was again reelected in the Republican landslide year of 1994. He announced his retirement in 2000, and his fellow Democrat and businessman, Jon Corzine, was elected to replace him. Lautenberg unexpectedly returned to politics in 2002, when the other New Jersey senator, Democrat Robert Torricelli, withdrew his candidacy for reelection because of corruption charges, and Lautenberg was drafted to take his place despite his advanced age. It was rumored, however, that Lautenberg was the second choice to run, the first choice being former Senator Bill Bradley, who turned it down. The New Jersey Republican Party challenged the replacement of Torricelli's name on the ballot with Lautenberg's, arguing that it came too late according to state election laws. The ballot name change was upheld by the New Jersey State Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up case. Lautenberg won the election, thus becoming one of very few people in recent times to return to the Senate after leaving it.

Related Topics:
Millicent Fenwick - 1988 - September - 1989 - Pan Am Flight 103 - December 21 - 1988 - Republican - Landslide - 1994 - 2000 - Jon Corzine - 2002 - Robert Torricelli - Bill Bradley - U.S. Supreme Court

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Lautenberg is well-known as one of the Senate's most liberal members. He is pro-choice, supports gun control, has introduced many bills increasing penalties for carjacking and car theft, and has criticized the Bush administration on national security issues. He also is known for authoring the Ryan White Act which provides services to AIDS patients. His name is also associated with the Lautenberg Amendment, which since 1989 has granted Jews and Evangelical Christians from the ex-USSR, and some Ukrainian religious activists, favorable access to the U.S. refugee resettlement program, run by the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

Related Topics:
Liberal - Pro-choice - Gun control - Carjacking - Car theft - Bush administration - National security - Ryan White Act - AIDS - Lautenberg Amendment - U.S. refugee resettlement program

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In 2005, he became a leading voice within the Senate in calling for an investigation into the Bush administration payment of columnists http://lautenberg.senate.gov/~lautenberg/press/2003/01/2005210903.html

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