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About

Source: Campaign page

John R. Lewis, the son of Alabama sharecroppers, was born February 21, 1940, just outside of Troy, Alabama. At that time African Americans in the South were subjected to a humiliating segregation and systematic discrimination and intimidation.

As John Lewis began to hear his calling clearer and clearer he furthered his education by attending the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee and later earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion and Philosophy from Fisk University. As a student his unwavering dynamic influence allowed him to start organizing students and others to join the Civil Rights Movement following the direction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As the movement gained momentum John Lewis joined the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) that would be at the forefront of the students against Jim Crow in America.

From the Bus Boycott in Montgomery John Lewis continued to find a way to get in the way. He organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee and volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides across the south, challenging segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. He was arrested more than 40 times, attacked by angry mobs, and severely beaten by the police, often for simply sitting in seats reserved for white patrons.

Serving as the president of the SNCC from 1963 to 1966, John Lewis was recognized as one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement along with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Whitney Young, A. Phillip Randolph, James Farmer and Roy Wilkins. As a young man he continued the fight against Jim Crow. Lewis helped coordinate and delivered the Keynote address at the March on Washington in August 1963, where Dr. King’s gave the historical “I Have a Dream” speech.

Since the days of Jim Crow, John Lewis has devoted his life to serving his community and his country. He held his first political office in Atlanta City Hall as an Atlanta city council member in 1982. Four years later in 1986, Lewis was elected as the Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District which encompasses the entire city of Atlanta, and parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. Often called “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced,” Congressman John Lewis has dedicated himself to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America.

His dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress.  He currently serves on the powerful Ways & Means Committee. It is responsible for tax, trade and tariff, Social Security, Medicare, as well as unemployment benefits, enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), foster care and adoption programs.

He also chairs the Oversight Subcommittee, which conducts hearings on the activities of the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department, charitable organizations who are given special tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Code, and the administration of the Medicare program.

Rep. John Lewis once said,” America as a nation and as a great nation, and we as a great people, could  emerge as a model for the rest of the world. We could find a way to say to the rest of the world that we’re prepared to lay down the burden of race, that we’re prepared to create the beloved community and say to our own citizens and the citizens of the world, as Dr. King said, “We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will perish as fools.” The world must believe that we are ready to create the beloved community.”

Today, John Lewis lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is the widower of Lillian Miles. He has one son, John Miles.

Experience

Work Experience

• 3rd Chairman
  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
  1963 to 1966
• Atlanta City Council
  1982 to 1986

Education

• B.A.
  Fisk University
  1963
• 
  American Baptist College
  1961

Personal

Birth Year: 1940
Place of Birth: Troy, AL
Gender: Male
Race(s): African American
Religion: Christian: Baptist
Children: John Miles

Contact

Email:

• Government

Offices

Washington, DC Office
300 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3801

Atlanta Office
100 Peachtree Street NW
Suite 1920
Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: (404) 659-0116

Web

Government Page, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Campaign Site

Politics

Source: none

Recent Elections

2018 of 5th District

Source: Ballotpedia

Finances

LEWIS, JOHN has run in 6 races for public office, winning 5 of them. The candidate has raised a total of $9,310,825.

Source: Follow the Money

Committees

Committees

House Committee on Ways and Means

Subcommittees

Oversight Subcommittee

Voting Record

See: Vote Smart

New Legislation

Source: Congress.gov

Issues

Source: Government page

BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS:
Breaking Down the Budget & Appropriations Process
Congress’ top legislative responsibility is funding federal government operations each year.  I take this duty very seriously –working with local and state government, colleges and universities, and community organizations to understand what programs are most important to Metro Atlanta.

As the Dean of the Georgia delegation, I often work with my colleagues to serve the best interests of our state.  We often find ways to put partisanship aside for the greater good of our constituents.

As Congress continues the process of reducing the federal deficit and debt, I am focused on making cuts to ineffective programs, while protecting those which have a proven track-record of serving Metro Atlanta residents, local governments, and institutions.

I have long opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and I believe that the time is long overdue to end these wars and invest these dollars here at home.  These wars have cost American taxpayers $2.3 trillion; the current budget deficit is $1.5 trillion.   I strongly believe the pathway to fiscal responsibility begins with ending these wars.

I hope that you will take the time to review this section of my website to better understand how the federal budget and appropriations process works.

Article One of the United States’ Constitution grants Congress the power to allocate federal funds. This process includes the annual fiscal year budget and fiscal year appropriations cycle.
Three primary Committees have jurisdiction over all federal fiscal matters:

The Budget Committee manages the congressional budget process
The Appropriations Committee manages all discretionary federal funding for a given fiscal year; and
The Ways and Means Committee crafts all revenue-related legislation and also authorizes certain programs.  Congressman Lewis serves as a senior Member of this Committee.
Other congressional committees develop authorizing legislation for federal discretionary and mandatory programs.  Authorization laws establish, continue, or modify federal programs.  In most cases, Congress cannot fund programs that have not been authorized.
Authorizing committees have primary jurisdiction over mandatory funding which composes more than half of the federal budget.  Most mandatory funds are spent on entitlement programs – e.g. Social Security, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Discretionary funding is about one-third of all federal funding and is organized into 12 major appropriations bills.  The authorizing committees set the ceiling for the maximum amount of funding that can be dedicated to discretionary federal initiatives; the appropriators allocate actual dollars to these initiatives each fiscal year.

CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND FAMILIES:
Poverty in Metro Atlanta is all too real; nearly one-quarter of our community struggles just to feed their families, educate their children, and just make ends meet.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 50 million Americans are living in poverty; of this number, almost 16 million are children.

As a member of the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, I fight to protect programs serving women, children in foster care, and struggling families.  Now, more than ever we must ensure that the programs serving the disenfranchised, the forgotten, and the backbones of our community do not end up on the chopping block.

I champion legislation and initiatives which not only help families survive hard times and emerge from poverty, but become self-sufficient in the long-term.  In addition to introducing the Look-Back Elimination Act, the National Parents Corps Act, and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Act, I also cosponsor

The Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill to eliminate pay disparities between men and women;
The Healthy Families Act, a bill to establish a national paid sick days standard; and
The Family and Medical Leave Act, a bill to expand and improve FMLA benefits.
We cannot cut the programs which provide a key social net to struggling families.  There must be adequate funding for domestic and global programs like Women Infants and Children, Child Survival and Health, Legal Services Corporation, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Community Development Block Grants, Economic Development Assistance programs, Adult Employment and Training Services, Title X Family Planning, International Family Planning, and Community Service Block Grants.

I am also a member of the following Caucuses:

The Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus
The Human Trafficking Caucus
The Victim’s Rights Caucus
The Missing and Exploited Children Caucus
The Congressional Coalition on Adoption
The Foster Care Caucus

CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES:
Over the last several decades, Congress has addressed some of our most pressing civil rights concerns by passing bipartisan legislation that protects American workers from discrimination on the basis of color, race, religion, age, disability and sex.  Our civil rights laws have strengthened our country, and brought us closer to the Beloved Community where all people are able to succeed based on their abilities, not on the labels used to limit them.

We have taken some stumbles backward in recent years.  The Supreme Court has weakened some of these basic protections in ways that Congress never intended.  They have undermined the protections for workers, for older Americans, for the disabled, for racial and ethnic minorities, for women and for those in the military.  We must work together to restore those rights.

But we have also taken some wonderful steps forward recently with the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, repealing the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy, all of which I was happy to vote for.

The struggle for civil rights and human rights is bigger than one law, one vote, or one judicial decision.  It’s beyond one presidential term or act of Congress.  Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, and each generation, each citizen, each president and each member of Congress must do his or her part.  It has always required ordinary men and women with extraordinary vision, who have helped build this democracy.  Together all of our efforts comprise the struggle of a nation to build the Beloved Community, a nation at peace with itself, that respects the worth and dignity of each and every human being.

CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY:
Crime and Public Safety: Creating Safer Communities
In recent years, Metro Atlanta has experienced an alarming trend of increasing gang, youth, and relationship violence.

Every day, I read another horror story of a shooting, stabbing, or instance of bullying gone entirely too far.  It is as if the value of life and respect for the thoughts, words, property, and body of others is forgotten.  In response to my concern that violence and crime are becoming accepted as the social norm, I introduced:

The SAFETY through Nonviolence Act;
The National Parents Corps Act; and
The Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Act.
I also lead the House of Representatives in fighting for funding for YouthBuild and other federal youth employment programs which help young people become educated, skilled, and off-the streets.
As a nation, the U.S. has the largest prison population in the world, but unfortunately the push to incarcerate has not resulted in safer and stronger communities.  We must break this school to prison pipeline.  I strongly support legislation that remedies our broken criminal justice system by –

Providing law enforcement with the tools, resources, and training to protect our communities;
Rectifying some of the injustices in our legal system like the disparity between sentencing for crack and cocaine offenses;
Increasing rehabilitation services and resources particularly for non-violent offenders, their families and communities;
Focusing on crime prevention efforts through education, mentoring, counseling, workforce training, and targeted efforts; and
Reiterating the importance of using lessons-learned to attack the culture of violence.

EDUCATION:
Education is a cornerstone of democracy. Throughout my time in Congress, I fought for and supported measures to improve public schools and make higher education more affordable for all. While our education system is largely under local control, I am committed to finding the proper balance between the states and federal government, to encourage equality and opportunity. I strongly believe that no matter a person’s income or zip code, access to an excellent education should be a right.

As a member of Congress, I was proud to help increase the maximum Pell award from $4,731 in 2008 to $5,550 today. Pell grants have provided over $35.7 billion to almost 10 million undergraduate students in 2011.

We made our education spending go further by ending subsidies for banks that act as middlemen for federal student loans.

I was also proud to support a tax credit that provides up to $2,500 per year – that’s $10,000 over four years – to help students and their families pay for tuition, fees and books. An estimated 9.4 million families are expected to claim this tax credit for 2011.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)/Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
While I appreciate the intent of No Child Left Behind, the time has come to improve the law. I support fixing NCLB in a way that balances accountability and flexibility.  We must have measures that truly capture achievement gaps and evaluate teachers fairly. I support multiple assessment measures to form a broad view of student learning and programs which give teachers and administrators opportunities for professional development, training, and collaboration.

While NCLB intended to guarantee the success of all students, it focused too narrowly on standardized testing and today discrepancies in achievement still exist. I am deeply concerned by the number of African-American and Latino students falling through the cracks. In order to accomplish any of the reforms that we seek, we must commit to investing in education. We cannot demand more from our schools while providing them with less. Meaningful reform will include teachers, administrators, and parents in this essential dialogue. We must respect their authority in their children’s and students’ lives.

Higher Education/Pell Grants/Financial Aid
I have always believed in the importance of higher education and have fought to make it more affordable. In the Democratic-led 111th Congress, I was proud to cosponsor the College Cost Reduction Act that helped to make higher education more affordable. This legislation was the single largest investment enacted in over 60 years to help students pay for college. I continue to advocate for increased funding for the Pell Grant program and financial aid reforms. As our economy continues to shift, a college degree is more important than ever before. Even in these difficult financial times, no qualified student should be turned away because of his or her inability to pay. We must work to ensure that our institutions of higher learning are accessible to all of our young people.

ENERGY:
America needs a new energy strategy. Fossil fuels are in short supply, they are too expensive and they pollute. Our country sends almost $1 billion a day overseas to import crude oil and still we have no national energy plan. Our reliance on coal puts extreme amounts of waste into our environment and still we have no national energy plan. More than 30 states have a Renewable Energy Standard and still we have no national energy plan. If we are ever to prosper again, we cannot continue to rely on outdated resources that contribute to global warming and keep us dependant on unstable countries. I strongly believe that the longer we take to make tough decisions about energy, the more likely we are to have those decisions made for us – and not on our terms.

Whether we like it or not, the days of cheap gasoline and worry-free coal are coming to a close. That is why I support renewable investments, clean energy targets, price signals, tax incentives and public investment as paths towards clean energy freedom. Wherever clean energy policies are adopted, private investment follows and the United States has the most to gain from adopting such policies.

ENVIRONMENT:
When we take our air, waters and land for granted; when we show a simple lack of respect for nature and our environment, we unmake God’s good creation. Humanity is the most important endangered species under threat from climate change and yet we flood our ecology with poisons and pollution. It is my belief that our country needs better environmental protections and that real protections do not have to come at the expense of jobs or our economy. Whatever we do to the earth, we do to each other.

Throughout my career in Congress, I have supported the strongest environmental measures. I support strengthening the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and giving the Environmental Protection Agency the resources it has long been denied. To do anything less would cost lives, money, and the future of our planet.

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