Jack Bergman

John Warren "Jack" Bergman (born February 2, 1947) is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 1st congressional district. He served as commanding general of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North. He also served as a naval aviator, flying rotary-winged aircraft such as the CH-46 and UH-1, as well as fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-28 and KC-130.

Jack Bergman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 1st district
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byDan Benishek
Personal details
Born
John Warren Bergman

(1947-02-02) February 2, 1947
Shakopee, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Cindy Bergman
Children5
EducationGustavus Adolphus College (BA)
University of West Florida (MBA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1969–2009
Rank Lieutenant General
UnitRhode Island National Guard
HMM-261
HMM-164
HML-776
VMGR-234
CommandsVMGR-452
Mobilization Station, Chicago
II Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element
4th Marine Aircraft Wing
4th Marine Logistics Group
United States Marine Corps Reserve
Marine Forces North

A Republican, he was elected to the U.S. House in the 2016 election.[1][2]

Early life and education

Bergman was born on February 2, 1947, in Shakopee, Minnesota[3] and received his undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1969. He subsequently earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of West Florida. His formal military education includes Naval Aviation Flight Training, Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command & Staff College, Landing Force Staff Planning (Marine Expeditionary Brigade [MEB] and Air Command Element [ACE]), Reserve Component National Security and Naval War College Strategy & Policy, Syracuse University National Security Seminar, Combined Forces Air Component Command, LOGTECH, and CAPSTONE.

Military career
Bergman in uniform

Bergman was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969 under the Platoon Leader School program after his college graduation. He flew CH-46 helicopters with HMM-261 at Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina, and with HMM-164 in Okinawa, Japan, and the Republic of Vietnam. Assigned as a flight instructor, he flew the T-28 with VT-6, NAS Whiting Field, Florida. He left active duty in 1975 and flew UH-1 helicopters with the Rhode Island National Guard, Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

Following a 1978 civilian employment transfer to Chicago, Illinois, he transferred from the Rhode Island National Guard back to the Marine Corps Reserve, where he served in several 4th Marine Aircraft Wing units at NAS Glenview, Illinois: HML-776, flying the UH-1; VMGR-234, flying the KC-130; and Mobilization Training Unit IL-1. He was selected to stand up the second KC-130 squadron in 4th MAW and, in 1988, became the first commanding officer of VMGR-452, Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Newburgh, New York. From 1992 to 1994 he commanded Mobilization Station, Chicago.

During 1995, he was a special staff officer at Marine Corps Reserve Support Command, Overland Park, Kansas. In 1996, he became chief of staff/deputy commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element, Camp Pendleton, California. In late 1997, he transferred to 4th Marine Aircraft Wing Headquarters, New Orleans, Louisiana, to serve as assistant chief of staff/G-1. Promoted to brigadier general, he became deputy commander of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

Transferred in June 1998 to Headquarters, Marine Forces Europe, Stuttgart, Germany, he served as deputy commander. Recalled to active duty from April to July 1999, he was dual-hatted as EUCOM, Deputy J-3A. He then commanded II Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, until assuming command of 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, New Orleans, Louisiana in August 2000.

In September 2002, he assumed command of the 4th Force Service Support Group, New Orleans, Louisiana. He also served as chairman of the Secretary of the Navy's Marine Corps Reserve Policy Board from 2001 to 2003. Returning to active duty in October 2003, he served as director of Reserve Affairs, Quantico, Virginia. He began his final assignment, command of Marine Forces Reserve/Marine Forces North, on June 10, 2005. He relinquished that command in October 2009, and retired from active duty in December of that year.

U.S. House of Representatives

2016

Bergman won the Republican primary in Michigan's 1st congressional district in August 2016. He defeated Democratic nominee Lon Johnson and Libertarian nominee Diane Bostow in the November 2016 general election.[2] Bergman, who was elected to succeed retiring Republican Representative Dan Benishek, won 55% of the vote to Johnson's 40% and Bostow's 4%.[4][5]

The district covers the entirety of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Tenure

Rep. Bergman assumed office on January 3, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Study Committee, the Climate Solutions Caucus[6] and the U.S.-Japan Caucus.[7]

In June 2017, Bergman was one of the Republican congressmen who were practicing on an Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field for the annual congressional baseball game when a man named James Hodgkinson began shooting at them, harming four people, including Cong. Steve Scalise (R-LA).[8] Afterwards, Bergman blamed the incident on anti-GOP rhetoric and the media.[9]

Committee assignments

Political positions

In a July 2016 television interview, Bergman said his three top priorities were to "get Congress working together" instead of being preoccupied with partisan division, to "utilize the Constitution," and to pass a balanced budget amendment.[11] In March 2016, he said that cutting spending would be his top priority in Congress.[12]

Healthcare

In May 2017, Bergman opposes the Affordable Care Act and voted to repeal it.[13]

Environment

In September 2017, Bergman became the 29th Republican to join the Climate Solutions Caucus, after having had several friendly meetings with members of the Citizens Climate Lobby who attend high school in his district. At a June meeting with them, he had committed to joining the caucus, and also asked the students to prepare "a formal presentation on carbon fee and dividend and pitch it to him back at home like a business proposal" in August. According to the CCL, Bergman "was particularly interested in the potential job growth Carbon Fee and Dividend would likely bring to the health sector." [14] Bergman voted in favor of the Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act, which would allow the Department of Commerce to award grants to Native American tribes for historical preservation, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation in the Great Lakes.[15][16]

Military

Bergman sided with President Trump that transgender individuals should be barred from the military. "The U.S. military is not a social experiment," he said. He added: "I do not support elective surgery of any kind, zero federal dollars spent on elective surgery. I'm all about readiness and winning the fight. Anything that challenges unit cohesion is counterproductive and people get hurt."[17]

2020 presidential election

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede, Bergman made false and baseless claims of fraud in the election.[18]

In December 2020, Bergman was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[19] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[20][21][22] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Bergman and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[23][24] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Bergman and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[25]

In January 2021, Bergman announced his intention to object to the certification of the Electoral College results in Congress.[18][26]

Awards and decorations

Bergman's military awards include:

Medals and ribbons
Naval Aviator Badge Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
Distinguished Service Medal (US Navy)[27] Defense Meritorious Service Medal Air Medal w/ Valor device and Strike/Flight numeral "1" Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Navy Unit Commendation Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 2 bronze service stars Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal w/ 1 silver service star National Defense Service Medal w/ 2 bronze service stars
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 3 bronze campaign stars Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon w/ 1 bronze service star Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ gold Hourglass Devices
Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/ bronze star Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation w/ bronze laurel leaf palm emblem Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation w/ bronze laurel leaf palm emblem Vietnam Campaign Medal w/ silver date bar

Personal life

Bergman lives in Watersmeet,[28] with his wife Cindy. They have ten grandchildren.

References
  1. Livengood, Chad (January 14, 2016). "Retired U.P. Marine files for GOP congressional primary". Detroitnews.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  2. Gibbons, Lauren (August 2, 2016). "Jack Bergman victorious in 1st Congressional District Republican primary". MLive. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  3. "Guide to the New Congress" (PDF). Roll Call. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  4. "Michigan U.S. House 1st District Results: Jack Bergman Wins". The New York Times. November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. Bennett, John (November 9, 2016). "New Member: GOP's Jack Bergman Claims Michigan's 1st District". Roll Call. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  6. "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  7. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  8. Meloni, Rod (June 14, 2017). "Rep. Jack Bergman describes shooting at baseball practice: 'I just basically went into a low crawl'". ClickOnDetroit.
  9. Trunko, Matthew (June 14, 2017). "Rep. Jack Bergman: Media 'complicit' in spread of hateful rhetoric that led to congressional baseball shooting". The Washington Examiner.
  10. Retrieved on July 18, 2020.
  11. Interview with Jack Bergman, 1st Congressional Dist. Republican Candidate; UpNorthLive; July 26, 2016; http://upnorthlive.com/news/election/interview-with-jack-bergman-1st-congressional-dist-republican-candidate
  12. Cassleman, David; Running for First: Marine Corps general shakes up race in 1st Congressional; Interlochen Public Radio; March 23, 2016; http://interlochenpublicradio.org/post/running-first-marine-corps-general-shakes-race-1st-congressional
  13. "See how your Michigan U.S. Representative voted on Obamacare repeal". mlive. May 5, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  14. Winchester, Flannery; Rep. Jack Bergman: A Congressman for climate-conscious youth; Citizen's Climate Lobby; September 29, 2017; https://citizensclimatelobby.org/rep-jack-bergman-congressman-climate-conscious-youth/
  15. Kilmer, Derek (December 12, 2019). "H.R.729 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act". congress.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  16. "Jack Bergman, Representative for Michigan's 1st Congressional District". GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  17. Magid, Aaron; Meet Jack Bergman: The Former Pilot Now in Congress; Jewish Insider; August 8, 2017; http://jewishinsider.com/12526/meet-jack-bergman-former-pilot-now-congress/
  18. "Two Michigan Republicans will object to Electoral College vote". mlive. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  19. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  20. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  21. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  22. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  23. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  24. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  25. Williams, Jordan (December 11, 2020). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  26. "Rep. Jack Bergman objects Electoral College certification process". ABC 10/CW5. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  27. "Valor Awards for John W. Bergman". Military Times. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  28. "Biography - U.S. Representative Jack Bergman". bergman.house.gov.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Dan Benishek		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 1st congressional district
2017–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Nanette Barragán		 United States Representatives by seniority
252nd		 Succeeded by
Andy Biggs
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