Kevin Brady

Kevin Patrick Brady (born April 11, 1955) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 8th congressional district, serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The 8th district includes a large swath of suburban and rural territory north of Houston.

Kevin Brady
Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Richard Neal
Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee
In office November 5, 2015 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Paul Ryan Sam Johnson (Acting)
Succeeded by	Richard Neal
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Jack Fields
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 15th district
In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Mike McKinney
Succeeded by	Tommy Williams
Personal details
Born	Kevin Patrick Brady April 11, 1955 Vermillion, South Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Cathy Patronella ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	2
Education	University of South Dakota (BA)

Early life, education, and early political career

Brady was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, as one of five children of William F. and Nancy A. Brady. His father, a lawyer, was killed in 1967 in a courtroom shooting in Rapid City when Brady was 12 years old and his mother was in her early 30s.[1][2] He graduated from Central High School in 1973. Brady has a degree in mass communications from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.[3]

Brady worked for the Rapid City area chamber of commerce. He was elected to the Rapid City common council, at age 26. In 1982, he moved to Texas to work for the Beaumont, Texas chamber of commerce. In 1985, he went to work for the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.[2]

Texas House of Representatives

Brady was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, district 15, in 1990, representing The Woodlands, parts of Montgomery County, and five other counties west and north of Houston.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Brady speaks on healthcare in 2019

1996

Incumbent Republican congressman Jack Fields of Texas' 8th congressional district decided to retire. Brady decided to run and ranked second in the Republican primary with 22% of the vote in a six candidate field. But the candidate who ranked first, Dr. Gene Fontenot, received just 36% of the vote, short of the 50% threshold.[5] In the run-off election, Brady defeated him 53%–47%.[6] However, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bush v. Vera that three congressional districts in Texas were unconstitutional.[7] After holding hearings, the court concluded that there was no longer time to hold primaries and instead forced all candidates (Democrats and Republicans) be listed together on the November general election ballot in a jungle primary. If no candidate reached 50%, a special runoff would be held on December 10 between the two highest ranking candidates regardless of political party. In the November election, Brady ranked first with 41% of the vote.[8] In the December run-off election, he defeated Fontenot again 59%–41%.[9]

1998–2008

During this time period, he never won re-election with less than 67% of the vote.[10]

2010

For the first time since 1998, Brady was challenged in the Republican primary. Three candidates filed against him. He defeated all of them in the March primary with 79% of the vote.[11] He won re-election with 80% of the vote.[12]

2012

In the May 2012 Republican primary, in a newly redrawn district, he defeated his challenger with 76% of the vote. In the November 6, 2012, general election, he defeated his Democratic opponent with over 77% of the vote.

2014

In the Republican primary on March 4, Brady won re-nomination to a tenth term in the U.S. House. In 2014, Brady received 68% of the vote in the primary.[13] He polled 41,549 votes (68 percent) to 19,508 (32 percent) for his intraparty challenger, Craig McMichael.[14]

In the General election held November 4, 2014 Brady was re-elected to his seat in the U.S. House. He polled 124,897 votes (89.32 percent) to 14,930 (10.67 percent) for his challenger, Ken Petty.[15]

2016

In November 2015, Steve Toth, a former State Representative from The Woodlands, Texas, announced that he would be running against Brady, facing what could be Brady's toughest campaign.[16][17][18]

Kevin Brady eked out a victory in the March 1, 2016 primary, but he is likely to have a target on his back for years to come.[19] Toth held Brady to 53% of the vote, the lowest re-election total in his 18-year career.[19][13][20] Brady spent over $1.5 million.[21] Toth spent $89,325.[22] Toth criticized Brady for compromising too often with President Obama[22] and was critical of Brady for supporting the omnibus federal budget bill and voting to revive the U.S. Export-Import Bank.[23]

2018

Brady won his Republican primary unopposed, as did his Democratic opponent, Steven David. In the general election, Brady prevailed, 73.5%, 198,241 votes to David's 24.8%, 67,027 votes. Libertarian Chris Duncan received 1.7%, 4,597 votes.[24] As of September 30, 2018, Brady had out-raised David in contributions, $4,899,672 to $31,664.[25]

2020

Brady had a Republican challenger in the March 3, 2020 primary. He defeated fellow Republican Kirk Osborn 80.73% to 16.19%.[26] In November 2020, Brady defeated his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Hernandez and Libertarian challenger Chris Duncan, winning election to his 13th term in Congress.[2] Brady received 72.5% of the vote to the combined total of the two challengers of 27.5%.

Tenure

In 2002, Brady voted in favor of the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq the following year.[27] Yet in 2008 he was one of the 24 Republicans (and 227 Democrats) to vote "yes" on the effort to impeach President George W. Bush for misleading the United States into going to war in Iraq.[28][29]

Brady in 2017

In 2005, Brady was a chief supporter of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), working with the George W. Bush administration to secure passage of that free-trade agreement.[30][31][32] In 2011, Brady also voted in favor of free-trade agreements with South Korea[33] Colombia,[34] and Panama.[35] However, in 2017, Brady supports President Donald Trump's proposed border adjustment tax, arguing that the tax on imports would place the U.S. on a level playing field with other countries that have the tax and would raise an estimated $1 trillion for the federal budget.[36]

Brady is known as the author of a federal "sunset law" that would require every federal program not specifically written into the Constitution to justify its existence to taxpayers within 12 years or face elimination.[37]

In March 2012, he proposed the Sound Dollar Act, legislation to require the Federal Reserve to monitor gold and the foreign-exchange value of the U.S. dollar. The bill would also repeal the Federal Reserve's dual mandate (controlling unemployment and inflation) and replace it with a single mandate for U.S. dollar price stability.[38]

In November 2015, Brady was elected the 65th chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, serving until 2018.[39]

In March 2017, Brady introduced an amendment to the American Health Care Act (the House Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act) that would allow health insurance providers to fully deduct all forms of compensation to their most highly compensated executives without limit, repealing the current law, which capped the deduction at $500,000 per executive. Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik criticized Brady's amendment as a "secret payoff" to the health insurance industry because of the cryptic language of Brady's amendment.[40][41]

As chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Brady opposed a resolution to request ten years' worth of returns from President Trump and his business entities.[42][43] Brady said in 2017 that the resolution was an abuse done for "obvious political purposes".[44][45] In September 2020, after the New York Times published an extensive report on President Donald Trump's tax records and business dealings spanning two decades, Brady called for an investigation in the New York Times and the sources behind the report.[46]

In November 2017, Brady said that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 would provide "tax relief at every level"; in fact, seven percent of households in 2018 would pay more in taxes and by 2022, one quarter of households would pay more.[47] Brady's claim that 70% of the tax cuts in the bill would go to households making below $200,000 was found to be "misleading" by FactCheck.Org and "cherry-picked" by PolitiFact.[47][48] FactCheck.org noted that "57.7 percent of the tax relief goes to those families making less than $200,000 in 2019 — not the 70 percent that Brady cited for 2019. By 2027, 50 percent of tax relief as a result of business and individual income tax changes would go to those making more than $200,000 a year."[47] The American Conservative Union gave him a 94% evaluation in 2017.

Alongside Richard Neal (D-MA), Brady introduced the bipartisan SECURE Act of 2019, which contained a number of provisions to expand access to retirement planning options and to encourage employers to set up retirement plans for workers. The bill, originally introduced in late March 2019, was passed into law in December 2019 as part of the fiscal year 2020 federal appropriations bill.[49]

In December 2020, Brady 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[50] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[51][52][53] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion."[54][55][56]

In December 2020, Brady indicated that he supports a second round of Paycheck Protection Program funds to assist small businesses, to focus on the economic effects on the country of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Brady was a negotiator during the discussions to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.[2]

In January 2021, in response to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol and subsequent calls to impeach Donald Trump, Brady stated that those calling for impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment in response to President Trump's rhetoric are themselves engaging in intemperate and inflammatory language and calling for action that is equally irresponsible and could well incite further violence.[57]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means

During his time in congress he has served as a chair on the Joint Economic Committee, Ways and Means Committee, and the Joint Committee on taxation.

Caucus memberships

• Army Caucus
• Congressional Missing and Exploited Children Caucus
• Congressional Rural Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[58]
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus[59]
• Congressional Western Caucus[60]

Personal life

Brady lives in The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston, with his wife Cathy and two young sons (Will and Sean).[61]

In October 2005, Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol while in South Dakota.[62] He pleaded no contest, was convicted of a misdemeanor, and fined $350. Brady issued an apology.[63]

References

1. AP (September 27, 1967). "Wild Shooting Spree Caught On Tape". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. XLII (232). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
2. Holt, Vanessa. U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady stays close to his roots in The Woodlands area, Community Impact, December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
3. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/22038/ Washington Post
4. Brady, Kevin Patrick. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774–present. Retrieved on October 1, 2017.
5. "Our Campaigns – TX District 8 – R Primary Race – Mar 12, 1996".
6. "Our Campaigns – TX District 8 – R Runoff Race – Apr 09, 1996".
7. "Texas Redistricting: A Timeline". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
8. "Our Campaigns – TX District 8 Race – Nov 05, 1996".
9. "Our Campaigns – TX District 8 – Runoff Race – Dec 10, 1996".
10. "Our Campaigns – Candidate – Kevin P. Brady".
11. "Our Campaigns – TX District 08 – R Primary Race – Mar 02, 2010".
12. "Our Campaigns – TX – District 08 Race – Nov 02, 2010".
13. Smith, Morgan; Livingston, Abby (March 1, 2016). "In Texas Congressional Races, Incumbents Stay Safe". Texas Tribune. Austin, Texas. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
14. "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
15. "2014 General election returns". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
16. Tresaugue, Matthew (November 17, 2015). "Former state lawmaker Toth to challenge US Rep. Brady". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas. Retrieved January 7, 2016. A former state lawmaker from The Woodlands will mount a Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, the House's newest and perhaps most powerful committee chairman.
17. Tresaugue, Matthew (December 20, 2015). "As Rep. Brady rises on Capitol Hill, he faces primary challenge at home". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas. Retrieved January 7, 2016. In this highly charged election season, the race between Brady and Steve Toth reflects tensions within the Republican Party's conservative wing.
18. Mekelburg, Madlin (December 14, 2015). "Surprise Congressional Challenge Marks Close of Filing". Texas Tribune. Austin, Texas. Retrieved January 7, 2016. U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, faces three primary challengers, including former state Rep. Steve Toth.
19. "In Texas Congressional Races, Incumbents Stay Safe". The Texas Tribune.
20. "U.S. Representative District 8". Texas Secretary of State. Austin, Texas. March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
21. "Rep. Kevin Brady". OpenSecrets.org. Washington, DC: Center for Responsive Politics. February 10, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
22. Elliott, Rebecca; Tresaugue, Matthew (March 2, 2016). "Green holds off Garcia; Brady, Culberson stave off challenges". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas. Retrieved March 2, 2016. His challengers said Brady has compromised too often, most recently by voting for a year-end spending measure that conservative activists say lacked limits on Planned Parenthood or on refugees from Syria and Iraq.
23. Recio, Maria (February 29, 2016). "Texas primary down-ballot drama: Congress members on the brink". McClatchyDC. Washington, DC. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
24. Stephen David, Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
25. Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2018, Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
26. House of Representatives, 8th Congressional District, Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
27. Final Vote Results for Roll Call 455, On Passage, H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002], Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
28. "H.Res.1258 - Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors". Retrieved October 1, 2019.
29. "Final vote results for Roll Call 401 on H.Res.1258". Retrieved October 1, 2019.
30. Peter Baker, Bush Brings In Backup to Help Sell CAFTA, Washington Post (May 13, 2005).
31. Howard Roden, Brady to spearhead U.S. campaign for CAFTA, Houston Chronicle (January 12, 2005).
32. NCBFAA Honoring Rep. Brady For His Support on CAFTA (press release), National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.
33. Final Vote Results for Roll Call 783, On Passage, To implement the United States-Korea Trade Agreement, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
34. Final Vote Results for Roll Call 781, On Passage, To implement the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
35. Final Vote Results for Roll Call 782, On Passage, To implement the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.
36. Daugherty, Alex (April 19, 2017). "Congress' top tax man isn't waiting for Trump's blessing to get going on an overhaul". The McClatchy Company. Sacramento, California. Retrieved April 24, 2017. He won re-election last fall with 53 percent of the vote after being challenged by three conservative Republicans in a primary, and his public role in a national tax debate could spur another challenge in 2018.
37. "U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady". The Texas Tribune. November 4, 1955. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
38. Larry Kudlow. "King Dollar Will Cut Oil Prices". National Review Online. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014.
39. Walsh, Deirdre (November 4, 2015). "Texas Republican Kevin Brady to be new Ways and Means chairman". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
40. Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to the Committee Print Relating to Remuneration from Certain Insurers Offered by Mr. Brady of Texas
41. "Here's the secret payoff to health insurance CEOs buried in the GOP Obamacare repeal bill". Los Angeles Times. March 6, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
42. "Trump's taxes stay secret as committee rejects maneuver by Pascrell". North Jersey. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
43. "Here's what happened when Pascrell made another pitch to get Trump's tax returns". NJ.com. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
44. Jagoda, Naomi (September 7, 2017). "House panel rejects measure to seek Trump's tax returns". TheHill. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
45. "House panel to take up Trump tax return resolution". POLITICO. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
46. Coleman, Justine (September 28, 2020). "Top House Republican calls for probe of source of NYT Trump tax documents". TheHill. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
47. "Cherry-Picking Tax Cut Estimates - FactCheck.org". FactCheck.org. November 29, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
48. "Does 70% of tax bill benefits go to families under $200,000?". @politifact. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
49. O'Brien, Elizabeth (December 19, 2019). "Congress Just Passed the Biggest Retirement Bill in More Than a Decade. Here's What You Need to Know". Money.com. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
50. 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.
51. 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.
52. "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.
53. 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.
54. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
55. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
56. 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.
57. "Trump's final days put the country at a dangerous crossroad". CNN. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
58. "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
59. "Members". Congressional Constitution Caucus. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
60. "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
61. "About Kevin Brady". Retrieved February 18, 2017.
62. "Texas Congressman Kevin Brady charged with DUI". Associated Press. October 11, 2005.
63. Samantha Levine, U.S. Rep. Brady pleads no contest to DUI charge, Houston Chronicle (November 9, 2005).

External links

• Congressman Kevin Brady official U.S. House website
• Kevin Brady for Congress
• Kevin Brady at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN