James Thomas "Jim" Kolbe (born June 28, 1942(1942-06-28)) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1985 to 2007. from house. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... Arizonas 8th congressional district encompasses the extreme southeastern of the state. ... is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Gabrielle Giffords is a politician and businesswoman from Tucson, Arizona. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Incorporated City in 1872. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ...

Biography

Kolbe was born in Evanston, Illinois. From 1958 to 1959, Kolbe was a United States Senate Page. Kolbe was educated at Northwestern University in Evanston and Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, served in the United States Navy, and was a special assistant to Illinois Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. He was a business executive and a member of the Arizona Senate before he entered the U.S. House. He is the second openly gay Republican to serve in the United States House of Representatives, Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin being the first. Incorporated City in 1872. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... A United States Senate Page (Senate Page or simply Page) is a non-partisan federal employee serving the United States Senate in Washington, DC. In many ways, Senate Pages are similar to their House counterparts. ... Northwestern University (officially abbreviated NU; sometimes abbreviated NWU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university with campuses located in Evanston, Illinois and downtown Chicago, Illinois. ... Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University (or simply Stanford), is a private university located approximately 37 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco and approximately 20 miles northwest of San José in Stanford, California. ... Location of Palo Alto within Santa Clara County, California. ... USN redirects here. ... The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. ... Richard Buell Ogilvie (1923–1988) was an American political figure. ... The debating chamber of the Arizona Senate The Arizona Senate is the upper house for the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Steve Gunderson (born May 10, 1951) is a Republican politician from Wisconsin. ...

Sexuality

Kolbe came out about being gay in August 1996 after his vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act spurred efforts by some gay rights activists to "out" him. He won re-election that year. In 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention, although his speech did not address gay rights. He has been lukewarm in his support of same-sex marriage, having voted in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, but he strongly supports the availability of universal civil unions. Kolbe supports abortion rights and is a strong proponent of guest worker programs for immigrants. All of these stances have caused some resentment in the Republican Party as well as from conservative primary challenger Randy Graf in 2004. Nevertheless, Kolbe won renomination over Graf. The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the commonly-used name of a federal law of the United States that is officially known as Pub. ... The expression being in the closet has been used to describe keeping secret ones sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including transgender and transsexual people, paedophiles, and pederasts. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... International recognition Civil unions and Domestic partnerships Recognized in some regions Unregistered co-habitation Recognition debated See also Same-sex marriage Civil union Registered partnership Domestic partnership Timeline of same-sex marriage Listings by country This box:      Same-sex marriage is a term for a governmentally, socially, or religiously recognized... The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the commonly-used name of a federal law of the United States that is officially known as Pub. ... As unregistered cohabitation Recognised in some regions Recognised prior to legalisation of same-sex marriage Netherlands (nationwide) (1998) Spain (12 of 17 communities) (1998) South Africa (nationwide) (1999) Belgium (nationwide) (2000) Canada (QC, NS and MB) (2001) Recognition debated See also Same-sex marriage Registered partnership Domestic partnership Common-law... The Guest worker program is a program that has been proposed many times in the past and now also by U.S. President George W. Bush as a way to permit U.S. employers to sponsor non-U.S. citizens as laborers for approximately three years, to be deported afterwards... Ths article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... Randy Graf is a former member of the Arizona State House from the 30th District. ...

Congressional career

On November 23, 2005, Kolbe announced that he would not seek a 12th term in 2006. His exit left the district open; it was considered politically competitive (George W. Bush narrowly edged out Al Gore and John Kerry in Arizona's 8th.) Randy Graf, the Republican candidate for that seat, won the five-candidate primary on September 12, 2006. Kolbe refused to endorse Graf, who lost to Democrat Gabrielle Giffords in the November 2006 election. (Although Kolbe never officially endorsed Giffords, he was present at her victory party on election night). is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. ... is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gabrielle Giffords is a politician and businesswoman from Tucson, Arizona. ...

Kolbe served as chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the House Appropriations Committee. The Committee on Appropriations, or Appropriations Committee (often referred to as simply Appropriations, as in Hes on Appropriations) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ...

Kolbe is a member of various Republican groups such as the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection and It's My Party Too. He is one of the four Republicans who voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which was passed by the House of Representatives with 281-142 votes on October 2, 2003. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of social liberals and moderates in the United States Republican Party. ... Republicans for Choice, an organization based in the Washington, DC area (Headquarters: 2760 Eisenhower Ave, Suite #260, Alexandria, Virginia 22314) is a political action committee (PAC) composed of members of the United States Republican Party who support legalized abortion. ... It has been suggested that Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995 be merged into this article or section. ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2002, Kolbe introduced the Legal Tender Modernization Act which would have ceased production of the U.S. one-cent piece (penny). In July 2006, Kolbe introduced the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act, which would round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. This act would effectively remove the penny from circulation. Kolbe argues that, because of inflation, the penny is virtually worthless, and that the U.S. should stop using the penny now that the costs of penny production exceed its value. Kolbe has received some media attention as one of the foremost promoters of eliminating the penny from circulation. Critics allege the act would lead to increased nickel production. Kolbe's home state of Arizona, being the U.S.'s largest producer of copper, would strongly benefit from such an increase as copper is the principal metal used in the nickel. The Legal Tender Modernization Act was an act proposed by United States Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona in 2002. ... The United States one-cent coin is a unit of currency equaling one-hundredth of a United States dollar. ...

Mark Foley Scandal

Main article: Mark Foley scandal

In 2000, when Kolbe found out about former Congressman Mark Foley's "Internet communications with teenagers" he informed the office that oversaw the page program. He assumed the matter had been taken care of, although this was not brought to the public's attention until September 29, 2006[1] when it became public that Foley had sent sexually explicit and solicitative e-mails and instant messages to young male pages. Republican leaders had claimed that they had only recently been made aware of Foley's actions, despite Kolbe's actions.^[1] Mark Foley The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on sexually explicit and solicitative e-mails and instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, to congressional pages and former pages. ... Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida. ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... An instant messenger is a computer application which allows instant text communication between two or more people through a network such as the Internet. ...

In October 2006, federal prosecutors in Arizona opened a preliminary investigation into a camping trip Kolbe took in 1996 that included two teenage former congressional pages, as well as National Park officials, then-current staff, and Kolbe's sister. During that trip he was accused of "acting inappropriatly"; NBC News interviewed several people who were on the trip, and their accounts vary. One participant, who requested anonymity, said he was uncomfortable with the attention Kolbe paid to one of the former pages. He was "creeped out by it," he said, adding that there was a lot of "fawning, petting and touching" on the teenager's arms, shoulders and back by Kolbe.. . On June 5, 2007, federal investigators absolved Kolbe of any wrongdoing in the case. In a statement released by the Justice Department, "investigators have completed their work on the preliminary inquiry opened by federal prosecutors last fall, and see no reason to pursue it further." ^[2] is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Current Employment

Kolbe is now a fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank and a consultant at Kissinger McLarty Associates. He focuses on issues that were his priorities when he was in Congress — trade, aid and migration. In the fall of 2007, he will be teaching a class on Trade and Globalization at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in Tucson.

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Jim Kolbe at the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• Salon: A gay Republican talks about trade
• Jim Kolbe on the issues
• Jim Kolbe at the Notable Names Database
• The Reluctant Warrior
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
• Article on the COIN Act