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
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)(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
Get more info on 'Spencer Abraham'.
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