Richard Burr
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| Richard Burr | |
| | |
| 2005–Present | |
| Political party: | Republican |
|---|---|
| Preceded by: | John Edwards |
| Succeeded by: | Incumbent (2011) |
| Born: | November 30, 1955 Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Spouse: | Brooke Burr |
| Religion: | Methodist |
Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is a United States Senator from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A Republican, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for five terms, and was elected to represent North Carolina as a U.S. Senator in the 2004 election.
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[edit] Background
Burr graduated from Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 1974 and earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University in 1978. He was first elected to Congress in 1994 as part of the "Gingrich Revolution", promising term limits. Burr has strong ties to the North Carolina Piedmont Triad Research Park, involving bio-hazard and chemical, vaccines research.
Burr cited concern for America's future as a motivator for his entry into politics. The son of a prominent minister, Burr was first elected to Congress in 1994. Burr was a businessman in Winston-Salem prior to his political career. He is a Class of 1974 graduate of the Richard J. Reynolds High School. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University. Burr was on the school football team at both Reynolds and Wake Forest. He is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity
In 1984, Burr married Brooke Fauth; the couple have two sons.
In July 2004, Burr won the Republican primary to seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat John Edwards. He faced Democrat Erskine Bowles and Libertarian Tom Bailey.
Burr won the election by five percentage points. Bowles' and Burr's combined campaign expenditures totaled over 26 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. Burr raised more money from political action committees, $2.8 million, than any other Senate candidate in 2004, primarily from the business community. Of the 100 largest companies in America, at least 72 contributed to Burr. Those included the PACs for such corporations as Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Ford, General Electric and ChevronTexaco.
A political conservative, Burr has strongly supported the policies of Bush administration, publicly saying that President Bush "is right 96% of the time." [1] Like Bush, Burr is pro-life, supports the death penalty, and favors a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
According to www.congress.org, Burr is the 82nd most powerful Senator out of 100 (51st among Senate Republicans).<ref>Burr Senator Ranking</ref>
[edit] Bioshield Two
Burr is the sponsor of Senate bill 1873, the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005, nicknamed "Bioshield Two", which he says will give the Department of Health and Human Services "additional authority and resources to partner with the private sector to rapidly develop drugs and vaccines." Critics have stated that this bill would eliminate current regulatory and legal safeguards applied to vaccines. In addition, they state the bill is being pushed through Congress without giving voters the chance to make their objections known to their elected officials.<ref>MediaMonitors.net - 'Pharma To Republicans - Time To Pay Up Again', Evelyn Pringle (November 24, 2005)</ref>
[edit] Notes
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[edit] External links
- Burr.senate.gov - Burr's official Senate site
- Information from Project Vote Smart
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
| Preceded by: Stephen L. Neal | United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of North Carolina 1995–2005 | Succeeded by: Virginia Foxx |
| Preceded by: John Edwards | United States Senator (Class 3) from North Carolina 2005– | Succeeded by: Incumbent |
