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Everything about Spencer Abraham totally explained

Edward Spencer Abraham (born June 12, 1952 in East Lansing, Michigan) is a former United States Senator from Michigan. He also served as the tenth United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society.

Education and family

Spencer Abraham and his wife, Jane (current co-chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party), have three children, a son and twin girls- Betsy and Julie, who currently attend Langley High School in Mclean. He holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard University, and is a 1974 Honors College graduate of Michigan State University and is a native of East Lansing, Michigan. While at Harvard Law School, Abraham founded the official journal of the Federalist Society, the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He is of Lebanese descent.

Political career and background

Before his election to the Senate, Abraham was a law professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Republican Party service

He was elected chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1983 to 1990. He was deputy chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle from 1990 to 1991. He later served as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) from 1991 to 1993.

United States Senate

Abraham was elected to represent Michigan in the United States Senate in 1994, and he served until to 2001 when he was defeated for reelection to the Senate in 2000 for a second term by Debbie Stabenow. He was the only Arab American in that chamber. According to the New York Times, State Republicans attributed the loss (defeat by Debbie Stabenow) to "often scathing advertisements by a wide range of special interest groups, including advertisements that criticized Mr. Abraham's support for a relaxation of some immigration restrictions"(External Link). During the campaign the Federation for American Immigration Reform ran ads asking: "Why is Senator Spencer Abraham trying to make it easier for terrorists like Osama bin Laden to export their war of terror to any city street in America?" (External Link)(External Link)(External Link). The media denounced these commercials as "vengeful" (External Link). Abraham was a consistent advocate of large-scale immigration and worked relentlessly to lessen immigration controls and regulations. In 1997 he received the "Defender of the Melting Pot" award from the National Council of La Raza (External Link).

Committee service and legislation

He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration. Abraham authored the "H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act", establishing a federal framework for on-line contracts and signatures; the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act", and the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act", which protects Internet domain names for businesses and persons against copyright and trademark infringements. In 1999, Sen. Abraham co-sponsored S.896, A bill to abolish the Department of Energy, which would have transferred control of the The Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Defense Department.

U.S. Energy Secretary

Abraham was appointed Secretary of Energy by the incoming Bush administration, a post he maintained for the first Bush term. On November 15, 2004, Abraham announced that he'd resign from the position of Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor Samuel W. Bodman on February 1, 2005.
   On February 14, 2005 The Toronto Star reported that Abraham was on a short list of candidates for American ambassador to Canada to replace Paul Cellucci.
   In July 2005, Abraham's wife, Jane, announced that after some consideration she wouldn't be a candidate for the U.S. Senate to challenge Debbie Stabenow. Michigan Republicans had attempted to recruit Mrs. Abraham to run against the first-term Stabenow, who had defeated her husband in 2000. Honors
Hon. Spencer Abraham, U.S. Secretary of Energy, received "The National Order of the Cedar”" from Lebanese Ambassador Farid Abboud

Hoover Institution

Abraham is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank based at Stanford University. After leaving office, Abraham opened The Abraham Group, a Washington DC based international strategic consulting firm. In 2006, Spencer Abraham has accepted the appointment as Chairman of the Board of Areva Inc., the US subsidiary of the French nuclear energy company.

Thompson for President

On July 24, 2007, Abraham was announced as an "ambassador to official Washington" in the Fred Thompson presidential campaign.

Electoral history



Further Information

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