Kenny Marchant
Encyclopedia
Kenny Ewell Marchant is the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. The district includes several wealthy areas around Dallas and Fort Worth.

Early life, education and career

Marchant was born February 23, 1951 in Bonham, Texas
Bonham, Texas
Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,127 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fannin County. James Bonham sought the aid of James Fannin at the Battle of the Alamo....

, but grew up in Carrollton
Carrollton, Texas
-Climate:*On average, the warmest month is July.*The highest recorded temperature was 112°F in 1980.*The average coolest month is January.*The lowest recorded temperature was 1°F in 1989.*The most precipitation on average occurs in May....

, a Dallas suburb. He graduated from R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton and attended college at Southern Nazarene University (SNU)
Southern Nazarene University
Southern Nazarene University is a Christian liberal arts college located in Bethany, Oklahoma, United States.-History:The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as 1899, that founding date refers to an...

 in Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 20,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethany is located at ....

, graduating with a business degree. He worked as a real estate developer and he owned a homebuilding company prior to entering politics.

Marchant served on the Carrollton City Council from 1980 to 1984, was mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Carrollton from 1984 to 1986.

Texas House of Representatives

He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

 from 1987 to 2004. During three of his nine terms in the Texas House, Marchant served as chairman of the Committee on Financial Institutions. He pushed for legislation that reorganized the Texas Banking Code. In 2002, he was chosen as Chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus. In 2004, he was named a Top Ten Legislator by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...

and Legislator of the Year by the Texas Municipal League.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House Committee on Ways and Means
    The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

    • Subcommittee on Oversight
      United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight
      The House Way and Means Subcommittee on Oversight is one of the six subcommittees within the House Ways and Means Committee-Jurisdiction:From the House Rules:...

    • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
      United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
      The Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measure is a subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:From the House rules:...


  • Republican Study Committee
    Republican Study Committee
    The Republican Study Committee [RSC] is a caucus of over 170 conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives...

  • Tea Party Caucus
    Tea Party Caucus
    The Tea Party Caucus is a caucus of the United States House of Representatives and Senate launched and chaired by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on July 16, 2010. The caucus is dedicated to promoting what it considers fiscal responsibility, adherence to the movement's interpretation of...



In the 110th Congress, Marchant served on the United States House Committee on Financial Services
United States House Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries...

, Committee on Education and Labor, and Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Political positions

Marchant worked closely with Bush when he was governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

, and bills himself as a staunch conservative. However, he has occasionally broken ranks with the GOP, as he did to increase the minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...

. He has said that his top priority on Capitol Hill will be cutting the federal deficit with fiscal conservative policies. The Sunlight Foundation
Sunlight Foundation
The Sunlight Foundation is a 501 educational organization founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States government....

 pointed out that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, Marchant has the fifth-highest amount of investment in oil stocks.

Political campaigns

Marchant had planned to run for Congress two years earlier in a bid to represent the newly-created in suburban Dallas, but fellow Republican Pete Sessions
Pete Sessions
Peter Anderson Sessions is a politician from the state of Texas. He is a Republican, and currently represents the 32nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the current Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee-Personal:Sessions was born in Waco,...

, an incumbent, chose to run there instead. During the 2003 Texas redistricting
2003 Texas redistricting
The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry...

, Marchant, in his position on the Texas House's Redistricting Committee, was ideally positioned to help draw Texas districts. As part of this effort, the 24th District, represented by 13-term Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Martin Frost
Martin Frost
Jonas Martin Frost III is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005.-Personal life:...

, was reconfigured from a heavily Democratic district with a sizable Latino population into a heavily Republican district that was over 73 percent white. While Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 easily carried the old 24th in the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 would have won the new 24th with a staggering 68 percent of the vote. Marchant was elected to Congress in 2004, and was reelected in 2006 (with 60% of the ballots cast) and 2008 (with 56% of the ballots cast).

Personal life

Marchant is married to Donna Marchant and has four children. They live in Coppell
Coppell, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,958 people, 12,211 households, and 9,781 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,418.5 people per square mile . There were 12,587 housing units at an average density of 846.6 per square mile...

, another Dallas suburb.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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