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HIGGINS, BRIAN
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: Experience: House: District 26, 2005-Present; Home State: New York; Running: President, United States, 2016; Total Raised: $635,320Coverage End: Thursday, June 30, 2016; Winning: Won with 0.00%; Write a Review

Personal

Full Name: Brian Higgins

Gender: Male

Family: Wife: Mary Jane; 2 Children: John, Maeve

Birth Date: 10/06/1959

Birth Place: Buffalo, NY

Home City: Buffalo, NY

Education

MA, Public Policy/Administration, John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1996

MA, History, Buffalo State College, 1995

BA, Political Science, Buffalo State College, 1985

Political Experience

Assistant Democratic Whip, United States House of Representatives, 2011-present

Representative, United States House of Representatives, 2004-present

Assembly Member, New York State Assembly, 1999-2003

Current Legislative Committees

Foreign Affairs, Member

Homeland Security, Member

Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, Member

Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa, Member

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, Member

Caucuses/Non-Legislative Committees

Member, Cancer Caucus

Former Co-Chair, Congressional Cancer Caucus

Member, Congressional Great Lakes Task Force

Former Co-Chair, Congressional Great Lakes Task Force

Co-Chair, Congressional Older Cities Task Force

Former Co-Chair, Historic Preservation Caucus

Member, New Democrat Coalition

Member, Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition

Former Co-Chair, Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition

Member, Northern Border Caucus

Former Co-Chair, Northern Border Caucus

Member, Ways & Means Committee, United States House of Representatives, 2009-2010

Member, Committee Government & Oversight, United States House of Representatives, 2005-2008

Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, United States House of Representatives, 2005-2008

Professional Experience

Laborer, Family Bricklaying Business

Lecturer, Economics & History Departments, Buffalo State College, 2000-2004

Chief of Staff, Erie County Legislature, 1993-1998

Senior Policy Advisor, Erie County Legislature, 1994-1998

Religious, Civic, and other Memberships

Historian, Irish-American Legislators Society of New York

Member/Historian, New York State Irish Legislators Association

Member, Saint Martin of Tours Catholic Church

Member, Buffalo Common Council, 1988-1993

Additional Information

Awards:

1993, Best Buffalo lawmaker, Buffalo News survey of 350 Western New York Business and Community Leaders

1995, Inaugural Western New York Harvard Graduate Fellowship, Harvard University

Judge John D. Hillary Scholarship Award

General Survey

Issue Title	Candidate's Answers
1. Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right	Strongly Support Abortion should be decided by a woman herself. It is an important part of their health rights and reproductive freedom.
2. Stricter punishment reduces crime	Oppose Effective enforcement rather than strict enforcement shoud be considered. The death penalty should be used with extreme caution, if at all.
3. Marijuana is a gateway drug
4. Higher taxes on the wealthy	Strongly Support A progressive income tax is necessary in modern society. That is the right way to run our tax system.
5. Stimulus better than market-led recovery	Strongly Support The federal government should intervene in the economy and inject as much funding as needed to recover from the Great Recession, including direct federal job creation.
6. Vouchers for school choice	Strongly Oppose Public schools are an important component of American society. We should improve public schools rather than destroying them with vouchers.
7. Make voter registration easier	Strongly Support Voter ID laws are racist and intended to suppress minority voting. Taxpayer funds should be used for political campaigns.
8. Prioritize green energy	Strongly Support Overuse of fossil fuels causes serious problems that we should deal with immediately. And green energy is absolutly a good option for us to Stop Global Warming.
9. Avoid foreign entanglements
10. Expand the military	Oppose Expanding the military is not important and integrant for U.S. now. But when the country meets with defiance or agression, it is acceptable to continue expanding our military.
11. Support & expand free trade	Oppose Trade should be Fair, not Free. Free trade poses a risk to job security, causes humanitarian problems overseas, or results in environmental damage.
12. Support American Exceptionalism
13. Absolute right to gun ownership	Support Most gun owners can use them safely and responsibly, and it expresses the principle of self-defense against violence. So gun ownership should not be restricted.
14. Expand ObamaCare	Strongly Support Very few Americans have adequate health insurance. The government should make funds available for all citizens.
15. Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens	Strongly Support Immigration restrictions are racist because they keep out Hispanics and other non-whites. Social services should be offered to all residents of the United States regardless of immigration status.
16. EPA regulations are too restrictive	Strongly Oppose Animals have inherent rights, and nature has inherent value. It is necessary to support vegetarianism and protect environment.
17. Keep God in the public sphere	Support We need to teach values in our schools and account for our religious values in providing social services. Exposing our children to prayer, the Ten Commandments will make them become better.
18. Legally require hiring more women & minorities	Strongly Support Past discrimination should be corrected. Government should enforce Affirmative Action laws in companies.
19. Comfortable with same-sex marriage	Strongly Support In free country, people are free to choose their mate, whichever gender they like. Homosexual partners or marriages are equal with heterosexual ones.
20. Privatize Social Security	Strongly Oppose Government should control the Social Security forever. The Trust Fund should not be invested in anything with risk.

Total: 74

Introduced Date	Bill Number	Bill Title	Last Action
06/14/2011	H.R.2178	Passport Fee Relief Act of 2011	06/14/2011 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
06/14/2011	H.R.2177	Passport Acquisition Savings and Security Act of 2011	06/14/2011 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. (All Actions)
04/07/2011	H.R.1428	To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the Renewal Community program through end of 2012.	04/07/2011 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
04/20/2010	H.R.5078	Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2010	04/20/2010 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
10/21/2009	H.R.3485	Veterans Pensions Protection Act	10/21/2009 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote . (All Actions)
10/16/2009	H.R.3834	Green Energy Investment Zone Act of 2009	10/16/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. (All Actions)
09/15/2009	H.R.3574	Restoring Confidence Through Smarter Campaigns Act	09/15/2009 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. (All Actions)
07/31/2009	H.R.3486	Short Sea Shipping Act of 2009	07/31/2009 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
06/19/2009	H.R.918	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the "Stan Lundine Post Office Building".	06/19/2009 Became Public Law No: 111-27. (TXT \| PDF) (All Actions)
06/11/2009	H.R.2366	Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act of 2009	06/11/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)
06/10/2009	H.R.2775	To prohibit, as a banned hazardous substance, certain household dishwashing detergent containing phosphorus.	06/10/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. (All Actions)
06/04/2009	H.R.2114	Ed Walker Memorial Act for Improvements to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program	06/04/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. (All Actions)
05/07/2009	H.R.2328	To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for the installation of residential micro-combined heat and power property.	05/07/2009 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
04/29/2009	H.R.2133	To amend the Act of August 21, 1957, to allocate funds from certain electric power sales from the Niagara Power Project in New York to capital needs of Western New York, and for other purposes.	04/29/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. (All Actions)
02/24/2009	H.R.1158	Biogas Production Incentive Act of 2009	02/24/2009 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
09/25/2008	H.R.7097	Biogas Production Incentive Act of 2008	09/25/2008 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
09/25/2008	H.R.7096	Tax Incentives for Growth, Expansion and Revitalization Act of 2008	09/25/2008 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. (All Actions)
09/10/2008	H.R.6226	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the "Stan Lundine Post Office Building".	09/10/2008 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. (All Actions)
08/01/2008	H.R.6791	National Cancer Fund Act of 2008	08/01/2008 Referred to House Energy and Commerce (All Actions)
06/20/2008	H.R.6318	To designate a portion of United States Route 20A, located in Orchard Park, New York, as the "Timothy J. Russert Highway".	06/20/2008 Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. (All Actions)

Total: 2163

Date	Bill Number	Bill Title	Result	Vote
06/12/2017	H.Res.380	Commemorating one year since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016.
06/08/2017	H.R.2840	To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each State to ensure that each individual who provides identifying information to the State motor vehicle authority is automatically registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State unless the individual does not meet the eligibility requirements for registering to vote in such elections or declines to be registered to vote in such elections, and for other purposes.
05/19/2017	H.R.1725	Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017
05/18/2017	H.Res.199	Recognizing the self determination of Gibraltar to determine its status as a British Overseas Territory.
05/18/2017	H.Res.197	Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President and the Secretary of State should ensure that the Canadian Government does not permanently store nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin.
05/18/2017	H.Res.188	Condemning the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling for justice for the victims.
05/17/2017	H.R.2499	To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to meet standards for the location and operation of polling places used in elections for Federal office, including a standard requiring States to ensure that no individual waits for longer than one hour to cast a vote at a polling place, and for other purposes.
05/17/2017	H.R.2309	Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2017
05/17/2017	H.R.356	Protecting Our Democracy Act
05/04/2017	H.R.2389	To reauthorize the West Valley demonstration project, and for other purposes.
05/04/2017	H.Res.314	Recognizing National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system, and encouraging Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of children in the foster care system.
05/02/2017	H.R.2282	Equality Act
05/02/2017	H.Con.Res.52	Expressing the sense of Congress that an appropriate site in the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery should be provided for a memorial marker to honor the memory of those who have been awarded or are eligible for the Korean Defense Service Medal who are missing in action, are unaccounted for, or died in-theater.
05/02/2017	H.Res.291	Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act and recognizing April 2017 as Fair Housing Month, which includes bringing attention to the discrimination faced by every-day Americans in the United States in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, familial status, disability, and religion.
05/02/2017	H.R.1242	400 Years of African-American History Commission Act
05/01/2017	H.R.2049	Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2017
04/28/2017	H.R.2119	Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2017
04/26/2017	H.R.1960	Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2017
04/25/2017	H.R.1571	Fire Department Proper Response and Equipment Prioritization Act
04/25/2017	H.Res.187	Relating to efforts to respond to the famine in South Sudan.	Passed	Yea

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