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  Specter, Arlen
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
<-  2009-01-01  
 
NameArlen Specter
Address4109 Timber Lane
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19144, United States
Emailinfo@specter.senate.gov
Website [Link]
Born February 12, 1930
DiedOctober 14, 2012 (82 years)
ContributorBob
Last ModifedRob Ritchie
Nov 18, 2021 10:46pm
Tags Caucasian - Jewish - Cancer - Air Force - Judaism - Straight -
InfoArlen Specter was elected to the United States Senate in 1980 and is currently serving his fifth term. In 2005, Senator Specter became Pennsylvania 's longest serving U.S. Senator. He is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees.

Senator Specter has been a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee since he came to the Senate. As such, he has played an instrumental role in many of the Senate's most important issues, including the confirmations of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Samuel Alito to serve as Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Senator Specter has also shepherded through the Judiciary Committee legislation on asbestos litigation reform to absolve what the Supreme Court once called an "elephantine mass" clogging our judicial system. Senator Specter has worked in a bipartisan fashion to reauthorize key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, an important tool in the United States ' war on terror. He has also authored legislation to help consumers better protect the privacy of their personal information in the face of recurrent data security breaches across the country.

On the Judiciary Committee, Senator Specter continues to build on his foundation as a lawyer and former district attorney. He is the author of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which has been praised for its long prison terms for repeat offenders, and the Terrorist Prosecution Act, which authorizes criminal actions in U.S. Courts for assaulting, maiming or murdering Americans anywhere in the world.

As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Specter also plays a key role as Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. This subcommittee oversees federal funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control, educational programs like Head Start, Pell grants, and GEAR-UP, and worker safety programs. Under his leadership, funding for education has increased by more than 130%. Senator Specter has also been instrumental in doubling the budget for NIH, which has made major advances in curing Parkinson's, cancer, heart disease and delaying the onset of Alzheimer's. Finally, Senator Specter is a strong proponent of stem cell research for the purposes of discovering knowledge that may lead to cures for these same ailments.

Strengthening our nation's security has been a long-standing priority of Senator Specter's. Thirty days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Senator Specter drafted the legislation that established the Department of Homeland Security. While serving as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the 104th Congress, he authored the bill creating the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency, marking the only reform legislation to emerge from the Iran-Contra affair.

Senator Specter continues his strong advocacy for veterans, a passion born from the first veteran he even knew, his father, Harry Specter, who was wounded in World War I. As a former Chairman of the Veterans Committee, he pushed for just treatment for veterans and increased benefits. Working closely with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Senator Specter oversaw the opening of four new veterans outpatient clinics in Fayette, Northampton, Venango, and Warren counties and passed legislation to create a new veterans cemetery in Southeastern Pennsylvania .

A frequent visitor to all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Senator Specter places constituent service high on his priorities and has been instrumental on the Appropriations Committee in promoting Pennsylvania 's interests in agriculture, high-tech, steel, coal, tourism, mass transit, highways and military installations.

In addition to tackling the major legislative business before the Senate, Senator Specter also engaged in a personal battle with Stage IVB Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer in 2005. He underwent nearly five months of chemotherapy, but still maintained all of his Senatorial duties, including chairing hearings, voting, and brokering important legislative initiatives. On July 22, 2005, Senator Specter received his last chemotherapy treatment and has since received a clean bill of health.

Senator Specter was born to immigrant parents in Wichita, Kansas, and grew up in the small town of Russell, Kansas . He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. He began his career in public service as an Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney. While serving in that position, he was named Assistant Counsel on the Warren Commission investigation into President Kennedy's assassination. Two years later, Senator Specter was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia at the age of 35.

Senator Specter lives in Philadelphia with his wife Joan. They have two sons, Shanin and Steve, and four grandchildren, Silvi, Perri, Lilli, and Hatti.

[Link]

JOB APPROVAL POLLS
DateFirmApproveDisapproveDon't Know
01/03/2011-01/05/2011 Public Policy Polling 44.00% ( 15.0) 41.00% ( 19.0) 15.00% ( 4.0)
10/30/2010-10/31/2010 Public Policy Polling 29.00% ( 3.0) 60.00% ( 3.0) 11.00% ( 0.0)
10/17/2010-10/18/2010 Public Policy Polling 32.00% ( 5.0) 57.00% ( 0.0) 11.00% ( 5.0)
08/14/2010-08/16/2010 Public Policy Polling 27.00% ( 7.0) 57.00% ( 5.0) 16.00% ( 2.0)
07/06/2010-07/11/2010 Quinnipiac University 35.00% ( 3.0) 57.00% ( 6.0) 8.00% ( 3.0)
05/04/2010-05/10/2010 Quinnipiac University 38.00% ( 6.0) 51.00% ( 4.0) 11.00% ( 2.0)
03/30/2010-04/05/2010 Quinnipiac University 44.00% ( 4.0) 47.00% ( 2.0) 9.00% ( 3.0)
03/29/2010-04/01/2010 Public Policy Polling 34.00% ( 0.0) 52.00% ( 0.0) 14.00% ( 0.0)
02/22/2010-02/28/2010 Quinnipiac University 48.00% ( 4.0) 45.00% ( 3.0) 6.00% ( 2.0)
09/22/2009-09/28/2009 Quinnipiac University 44.00% ( 3.0) 48.00% ( 2.0) 8.00% ( 1.0)

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor
Passion for Truth: From Finding JFK's Single Bullet to Questioning Anita Hill to Impeaching Clinton  Purchase eddy 9_99 
Life Among the Cannibals: A Political Career, a Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing As We Know It  Purchase Homegrown Democrat 

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
Oct 14, 2012 12:00pm Obituary Longtime GOP Senate Moderate Arlen Specter Dies  Article McCord 2014 
Aug 28, 2012 12:00pm News Arlen Specter battling 'serious' cancer  Article Pennsylvanian 
Jul 03, 2012 08:25pm News Arlen Specter: John Roberts was wrong on Commerce Clause   Article COSDem 
Mar 23, 2012 12:30am News Specter says he might vote for Romney  Article ScottĀ³ 
Jan 10, 2012 09:00pm News Specter: Dump Obama for Hillary  Article ScottĀ³ 
Dec 21, 2010 03:25pm Speech Specter Hits GOP "Cannibalism" in Goodbye Speech  Article Homegrown Democrat 

DISCUSSION
Importance? 8.83330 Average

FAMILY
Wife Joan L. Specter 00, 1953-Oct 14, 2012
Son Shanin Specter 1954-

INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  05/18/2010 PA US Senate - D Primary Lost 46.15% (-7.70%)
  04/28/2009 PA US Senate - Party Switch Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/02/2004 PA US Senate Won 52.62% (+10.63%)
  04/27/2004 PA US Senate - R Primary Won 50.82% (+1.64%)
  11/03/1998 PA US Senate Won 61.34% (+26.55%)
  05/19/1998 PA US Senate - R Primary Won 67.21% (+49.15%)
  07/07/1996 US President - R Primaries Lost 0.00% (-58.82%)
  08/19/1995 Iowa GOP Presidential Straw Poll Lost 0.63% (-23.74%)
  12/19/1992 US President - Electoral Vote Lost 35.13% (-27.51%)
  11/03/1992 PA US Senate Won 49.10% (+2.77%)
  04/28/1992 PA US Senate - R Primary Won 65.08% (+30.15%)
  11/04/1986 PA US Senate Won 56.44% (+13.57%)
  05/20/1986 PA US Senate- R Primary Won 76.21% (+52.42%)
  11/04/1980 PA US Senate Won 50.48% (+2.44%)
  04/22/1980 PA US Senate - R Primary Won 36.40% (+3.22%)
  05/16/1978 PA Governor - R Primary Lost 20.74% (-11.89%)
  04/27/1976 PA US Senate - R Primary Lost 34.98% (-2.76%)
  11/06/1973 Philadelphia District Attorney Lost 46.52% (-6.97%)
  11/04/1969 Philadelphia District Attorney Won 58.00% (+17.04%)
  11/07/1967 Philadelphia Mayor Lost 47.48% (-1.49%)
  11/02/1965 Philadelphia District Attorney Won 53.10% (+6.20%)
ENDORSEMENTS
US Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel - Jun 28, 2011 NPA Reject
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Aug 05, 2010 D Elena Kagan
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board - Jan 28, 2010 NPA Reject
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Aug 06, 2009 I Sonia Sotomayor
Legal Adviser of the Department of State - Jun 25, 2009 N Harold Koh
Solicitor General of the United States - Mar 19, 2009 NPA Reject
US Deputy Attorney General - Mar 12, 2009 D David W. Ogden
US Attorney General - Feb 02, 2009 D Eric Holder
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Jan 31, 2006 R Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Supreme Court - Chief Justice - Sep 29, 2005 R John G. Roberts Jr.
PA State House 003 - Special Election - Jul 22, 2003 R Matthew Good
US Attorney General - Jan 20, 2001 R John Ashcroft
Second Circuit Court Judge - Oct 02, 1998 I Sonia Sotomayor
U.S. Surgeon General - Feb 10, 1998 D David M. Satcher
US Senate Assistant Majority Leader - Jan 03, 1995 R Alan K. Simpson
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Jul 29, 1994 D Stephen G. Breyer
US Ambassador to Switzerland - Feb 09, 1994 NPA Reject
U.S. Surgeon General - Sep 07, 1993 D M. Joycelyn Elders
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Aug 03, 1993 D Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Oct 15, 1991 R Clarence Thomas
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Oct 02, 1990 R David Souter
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Feb 03, 1988 R Anthony M. Kennedy
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Oct 23, 1987 NPA Reject
Supreme Court - Chief Justice - Sep 17, 1986 R William H. Rehnquist
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Sep 17, 1986 R Antonin Scalia
Supreme Court - Associate Justice - Sep 21, 1981 R Sandra Day O'Connor