Thomas Charles MacArthur (born October 16, 1960) is an American businessman and politician. He is the member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. A Republican, MacArthur was previously mayor of Randolph, New Jersey.
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Early life, education, and career
MacArthur grew up in Hebron, Connecticut. He received his bachelor's degree from Hofstra University. After graduating from Hofstra University, MacArthur became an insurance adjuster, making an annual salary of $13,000. He eventually became the chairman and CEO of York Risk Services Group, a multi-national organization that helped clients manage their claims. He was chairman and chief executive officer of York Risk Services Group for 11 years. He served on the Randolph, New Jersey, Township Council from 2011 through 2013, including a tenure as mayor in 2013.
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U.S. House of Representatives
2014 election
When Jon Runyan, a Republican who represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, announced that he would not run for reelection in 2014, MacArthur chose to run for the Republican Party nomination. MacArthur resigned from the Randolph council to move into the congressional district. He ran against Steve Lonegan in the Republican Party's primary election, and defeated him.
MacArthur faced Aimee Belgard of the Democratic Party in the general election. MacArthur's campaign expenditures totaled $5.6 million, with MacArthur personally contributing over $5 million to his campaign from his personal fortune. MacArthur outspent Belgard by about three to one (with both campaign's spending equaling a combined total of $7.4 million), causing the race to be the most expensive 2014 open-seat contest in the country.
MacArthur defeated Belgard by nearly a 10-point margin, decisively winning the popular vote in Ocean County, and coming in a very close second in Burlington County, losing that part of the district by only 352 votes.
MacArthur was sworn in on January 6, 2015, along with 58 other new members of the House of Representatives. He was assigned to the Armed Services Committee and two of its subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and Subcommittee on Military Personnel. MacArthur was elected Vice Chairman of the latter subcommittee. He was also assigned to the Natural Resources Committee as well as two of its subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands and the Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans.
On February 2, 2015, MacArthur introduced the "Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015" that will prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency from taking back disaster relief funds from individuals who applied for them in good faith. On March 25, 2015, MacArthur introduced the "Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act" to allow veterans with a Choice Card to access mental health care at any facility eligible for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both bills were considered "dead," by virtue of a failure to garner approval from Republican-led subcommittees, before the final sine die Adjournment of the 114th Congress.
2016 election
MacArthur ran for re-election in 2016. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, he faced Democrat Frederick John Lavergne. MacArthur won the election with 60% of the vote.
At his second term MacArthur was appointed to the Committee on Financial Services and stepped down from the Armed Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.
He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments
Political positions
MacArthur was ranked as the 44th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the third most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey) in the Lugar Center - McCourt School of Public Policy Bipartisan Index.
As of January 2018, MacArthur had voted with his party in 88.5% of votes in the 115th United States Congress and voted in line with President Trump's position in 93.2% of the votes.
Vote Smart Political Courage Test
Vote Smart, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States, "researched presidential and congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues." According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally supports pro-life legislation, opposes an income tax increase, opposes mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders, opposes federal spending and supports lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth, opposes requiring states to adopt federal education standards, supports the building of the Keystone Pipeline, supports government funding for the development of renewable energy, opposes the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, opposes gun-control legislation, supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, supports requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, opposes same-sex marriage, supports increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support, and opposes allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts.
Economy and taxes
MacArthur was the only member of Congress from the New Jersey congressional delegation to vote yes for the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; other lawmakers harshly criticized the adverse impact of the bill on New Jersey taxpayers. The tax plan would lead to an aggregate tax cut in most states, but has stirred controversy in New Jersey due to the decrease in the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction to $10,000, which means that the bill raises taxes on many New Jersey citizens. MacArthur explained his vote by asserting that "nearly all taxpayers" in his district do not need SALT deductions above $10,000. When asked to elaborate by the Washington Post fact-checker, MacArthur said that 93% of his constituents did not pay SALT higher than $10,000 and shared his team's calculations with the Washington Post. The Washington Post fact-checker gave MacArthur "Two Pinocchios", writing that "even that accounting ignores the interaction of the property tax provision with other parts of the tax bill, so even people who would benefit from the cap still might find themselves with an increase in taxes. MacArthur appears to have worked diligently to tilt the bill so that it would benefit his constituents, but he oversells his achievement."
MacArthur was the only member of the New Jersey congressional delegation to vote in favor of a bill that funded farm subsidies for five additional years while imposing new restrictions on food stamp usage. According to NJ.com, the bill, which did not pass, would have cost 35,000 New Jersey residents their access to food stamps.
Environment
The League of Conservation Voters has given him a lifetime score of 10%.
MacArthur opposes the Trump administration's proposal to open New Jersey's waters to offshore oil and gas drilling.
Healthcare
MacArthur has repeatedly called for repealing the Affordable Care Act. However, in January 2017, he was one of nine Republicans who voted no on its repeal.
On March 20, 2017, MacArthur announced his support for the American Health Care Act of 2017.
On April 25, 2017, MacArthur introduced an amendment to the Act which became known as the MacArthur Amendment. It permits states to waive out of Obamacare's ban on pre-existing conditions, allowing insurers to charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people. It also dictates that health insurance offered to members of Congress and their staffs not be included in the exemption from covering pre-existing conditions. A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in April 2017, found that 70 per cent of Americans favored protections for pre-existing conditions.
In response to MacArthur's vote to pass the AHCA, which would partially repeal and replace Obamacare, there were protests in his district, and MacArthur held town halls where some constituents questioned MacArthur about his vote.
MacArthur resigned as chair of the Tuesday Group in May 2017 due to disagreements among its members over the AHCA.
Personal life
MacArthur lives in Toms River, New Jersey, and also owns homes in Randolph and Barnegat Light, New Jersey. He is married to his wife of over 35 years, Debbie, and has two children, a son and daughter, both of whom are adopted. Their first child, Gracie, was born with special needs and died in 1996 at the age of 11. In Gracie's memory, the MacArthurs founded In God's Hands Charitable Foundation, which funds programs that help wounded veterans and children affected by AIDS in Africa.
MacArthur is the wealthiest member of New Jersey's congressional delegation, with reported assets worth about $31.8 million as of July 2017.
Electoral history
References
External links
- Congressman Tom MacArthur official U.S. House site
- Tom MacArthur for Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Source of article : Wikipedia
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