Bill Young (Florida politician)

Young was elected to Congress in 1970 from what was then the 8th District and was reelected 20 times. With the exception of his first term, he represented a district located almost entirely in Pinellas County. The district, which changed numbers four times during Young's tenure (it was the 8th District from 1971 to 1973, the 6th District from 1973 to 1983, the 8th District again from 1983 to 1993, the 10th from 1993 to 2013 and has been the 13th since 2013) was once considered a Republican stronghold; the St. Petersburg area had been one of the first parts of Florida to turn Republican. However, it has become much friendlier to Democratic candidates in recent years, at least on the national level. Since 1988, it has supported a Republican for president only once, in 2004. Despite the Democratic trend in his district at the national level, Young remained popular, and rarely faced serious opposition. He only twice received less than 60% of the vote, in 1992 and 2012.

Young was a member of the Appropriations Committee for his entire time in Congress, and was able to use that seat to steer millions of federal dollars to his district. His earmarks have been used for U.S. Highway 19, high tech jobs, healthcare for children, clean water, and defense contractors. This was a major reason why he was able to hold onto his seat for so long even as it became friendlier to Democrats at the national level. It is considered extremely difficult to defeat an Appropriations Committee member at an election, especially if the member is a subcommittee chairman ("Cardinal") or the chairman of the full committee.

In 1974, all four Republican congressmen from Florida said they would support impeaching President Richard Nixon over the Watergate Scandal.[13]

In the 1976 Republican primary for president, Young endorsed President Gerald Ford over California Governor Ronald Reagan.[14]

In 1980, Young endorsed moderate George H. W. Bush over Ronald Reagan in the Republican primary.[15]

Young opposed any spending cuts to the United States Coast Guard.[16] He strongly opposed deficit reduction.[17]

He was instrumental in creating a national registry for bone marrow donors in 1986. Now named after him, it lists nearly 10 million volunteer donors and has facilitated transplants for more than 50,000 people.[18]

After the 1994 Republican Revolution, House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave the position of chairman of the Appropriations Committee to Bob Livingston of Louisiana instead of Young, even though Young had more seniority. When Dennis Hastert became speaker in 1999, Young finally became the chairman.[19]

Young strongly supported increases in defense spending and sent letters to Congressman John Kasich, Chairman of the Budget Committee, recommending an increase in DOD funding.[20][21] Young strongly supported the F-22 Raptor.[22]

In a 1999 The New York Times interview, Young stated, "In my short life I've been shot, I've been hit by a truck, survived an airplane crash, I've had my chest opened and my heart rebuilt. And it's sort of hard to get me flustered after all that."[4]

In 2005, Young received 3,570 earmark requests from members of Congress, because it was his last year as chairman of the committee. He believed that requests for earmarks should not be publicly disclosed. In March 2006, Young spokesman Harry Glenn said "This has been the policy of the committee for years. It's internal correspondence from one member to another."[23] From 2007 to 2008, $167 million in earmarked funds came to the Tampa Bay Area.[24]

Bill Young with Former President Bill Clinton and Representative Dave Obey in September 2001.

At the State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, authorities expressly prohibited the display of political ideology on clothing in the U.S. Capitol. Young's wife was asked to leave shortly after anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was ejected for wearing an anti-war T-shirt. Beverly Young's T-shirt stated: "Support the Troops — Defending Our Freedom." She argued with Capitol Hill Police officers in the hallway outside the House chamber. "They said I was protesting," she told the St. Petersburg Times. "I said, 'Read my shirt, it is not a protest.' They said, 'We consider that a protest.' I said, 'Then you are an idiot.'" Young was angry about the way his wife was treated. "Because she had on a shirt that someone didn't like that said support our troops, she was kicked out of this gallery," Young said on the House floor the following day, holding up the gray shirt. "Shame, shame," he said.[25] Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer apologized in a statement late that same day.[26] Young said he was not necessarily satisfied. "My wife was humiliated," he told reporters. He suggested that "sensitivity training" might be in order for the Capitol Police.[27]

On September 29, 2008, Young voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[28]

Young supported over $70 million in combined earmarks to two companies that employed his sons, both before and after they were employees. Young's son, Patrick, was hired by defense contractor SAIC when the company received earmarks requested by Young.[29]

In 2009 Young signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any Global Warming legislation that would raise taxes.[30]

In 2011, Young resisted a request by the Pentagon to transfer $863 million in funds from Humvee production to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the conflict in Afghanistan. AM General, which makes the Humvee, has been a contributor to Young's campaigns.[31][32][33] Young denied that his actions "put American lives at risk", pointing to an urgent Marine Corps request to improve crew protection on existing Humvees as reason enough to preserve some funding for additional vehicles beyond armed forces requirements.[34] Nonetheless, Young's committee approved $613 million of the Humvee funds to buy equipment for Afghanistan.[34]

After eleven years of supporting the Afghanistan wars, Young turned against the war in 2012 after Army Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton of Largo was killed in Afghanistan after sending Young a letter pointing out problems there and predicting his own death. Young's wife had also been trying to persuade her husband to oppose continued American involvement in Afghanistan.[35] Young said "we're killing kids who don't need to die."[36]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense (chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Young received a term limit waiver to retain his chairmanship of the Appropriations Subcommittee for the 113th Congress. House Republicans limit committee chairmen to a six-year term, but Young received two consecutive waivers extending this limit.[37]

• Army Caucus
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Social Security Caucus (Co-chair)
• Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus