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John Spratt

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John Spratt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 5th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byKen Holland
Succeeded byMick Mulvaney
Chair of the House Budget Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byJim Nussle
Succeeded byPaul Ryan
Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byJohn Kasich
Succeeded byPaul Ryan
House Democratic Assistant to the Leader
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
LeaderNancy Pelosi
Preceded byRosa DeLauro
Succeeded byXavier Becerra
Personal details
Born
John McKee Spratt Jr.

(1942-11-01)November 1, 1942
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 2024(2024-12-14) (aged 82)
York, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Jane Stacy
​
(m. 1968)​
RelationsHugh McColl (brother-in-law)
Children3
EducationDavidson College (BA)
Corpus Christi College, Oxford (MA)
Yale University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1969–1971
AwardsMeritorious Service Medal
Spratt's voice
Spratt supporting the 2007 College Student Relief Act
Recorded January 17, 2007

John McKee Spratt Jr. (November 1, 1942 – December 14, 2024) was an American politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 5th congressional district from 1983 to 2011. The 5th Congressional District covers all or part of 14 counties in north-central South Carolina. The largest cities are Rock Hill and Sumter. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Spratt was the dean of the South Carolina congressional delegation, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget, and the second ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, where he served on three subcommittees: Oversight and Investigations, Strategic Forces, and Air and Land Forces. In addition to his committee work, he co-chaired the Textile Caucus, the Bearing Caucus, and the Nuclear Energy Caucus.

In 2010, Spratt lost his seat to Republican challenger Mick Mulvaney.

Background

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Spratt was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 1, 1942, and raised in York, South Carolina.[1] His father founded the Bank of Fort Mill and the York law firm where he would eventually practice.[1] His only sibling is Jane Bratton Spratt McColl, wife of Hugh McColl, former chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of America Corporation.[2]

After graduating from York High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from Davidson College in 1964.[1] He served as student body president at both schools. Spratt then earned an MA degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University (Corpus Christi College) in 1966 while studying on a Marshall Scholarship, and an LLB degree from Yale Law School in 1969.[1]

Spratt was a captain in the Army from 1969 to 1971, serving in the Operations Analysis Group in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) at the Pentagon, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.[3]

Spratt returned to York in 1971 to practice at the law firm of Spratt, McKeown, and Spratt.[1] He was county attorney and school board attorney, and president of the Bank of Fort Mill. He also ran a small insurance agency and owned a farm in Fort Mill.[1]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Earlier congressional photo of Spratt

For his work in Congress, Spratt won praise from Columbia's newspaper The State, which called him "one of his party's most reliable 'bridges' to the Republican side."[4] National Journal featured him on its cover as "a stand-out" in Congress, comparing his legislative skills to the "best infielders in baseball."[5] In a Washingtonian magazine survey, Congressional staff voted him a "Workhorse" and "House Member I'd Like to See Win the Presidency in 2008."[6]

Spratt co-authored the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, putting the federal budget in surplus for the first time in 30 years.[7] In 2003, Spratt engineered an amendment which shifted $30 million in the defense appropriations bill to the Airborne Laser program.[8]

In the 111th Congress, Spratt supported legislation such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, extension of unemployment benefits, increased infrastructure and labor workforce funding, increased federal financial aid packages, increased home foreclosure and small business assistance, reduction in estate taxes for 99.8 percent of estates, clean water legislation, health insurance reform, expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, reforming of medicare payment plans, clean energy legislation, pay as you go legislation, defense authorization for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and increased VA hospital investment.[9]

On March 21, 2010, Spratt joined a majority of his House colleagues in approving H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate version of the health care reform bill. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he made the floor motion which led to the vote on the bill. "I was where the action was when the bill had to be called from the clerk's desk," he told The Herald, a Rock Hill, South Carolina newspaper. "It was like sharing a moment in history."[10]

Spratt with President Obama on March 17, 2009

On March 24, 2010, Spratt was appointed to the president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In reporting on the appointment, Dow Jones Newswires called Spratt "one of the staunchest fiscal conservatives among House Democrats."[11] One of Spratt's last acts in Congress was helping compile a 65-page report on fixing the country's financial deficit.[12]

Political campaigns

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Spratt became active in politics within the Democratic Party at an early age, and was elected delegate to the 1964 Democratic National Convention, which he attended at the age of 22. Spratt was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, succeeding fellow Democrat Kenneth Holland. He was reelected 13 more times. Although parts of the district were becoming friendlier to Republican candidates at the national level, the GOP was more or less nonexistent in this part of South Carolina at the local level for some time; Spratt only faced a Republican opponent twice from 1984 to 1992, winning easily in both instances. In 1994, however, Spratt was nearly defeated by Republican Larry Bigham, only surviving by a margin of 6,300 votes. He defeated Bigham by a slightly larger margin in 1996, but from 1998 to 2008 Spratt usually won with relatively little difficulty due to his popularity and campaigning skills.[13]

Spratt typically stayed out of presidential politics while he was a congressman because the national party was not popular in his district. For instance, he did not endorse any candidate in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[14] Nonetheless, he was rumored to have been President Obama's pick as White House Budget Director, though President Obama instead chose Peter R. Orszag, whom Spratt had helped hire as the director of the Congressional Budget Office.[15]

2010

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In 2010, John Spratt's re-election chances was the subject of numerous articles. He was seen as particularly vulnerable due to his ties with the Democratic party leadership, his district's double-digit unemployment rate, and the district's growing Republican base.[16] He was defeated that year by Mick Mulvaney by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent—one of the largest margins of defeat for an incumbent in the 2010 cycle.[citation needed]

Mulvaney successfully weaponized Spratt's bipartisan credentials against him during the election.[17] He lamented that Spratt was no longer fiscally conservative like he had once been in 1997 when he helped balance the nation's budget and criticized his relationship with Nancy Pelosi.[18] The National Republican Congressional Committee called John Spratt an "amnesiac" and stated he was forgetting what was going on in Washington.[19] Notably, President Barack Obama flew into Charlotte with Spratt on Air Force One during the campaign.[20] Spratt was among three Democratic U.S. House chairmen who lost that year to Tea Party candidates.[citation needed]

Personal life

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On May 31, 1968, Spratt married Jane Stacy of Filbert, South Carolina.[1][21] They had three daughters.[1] Spratt lived in York, South Carolina, where he was a member of the local First Presbyterian Church. He was active in the United Way and other civic and charity organizations. He was brother-in-law to Hugh McColl, CEO of NationsBank.[22] After his departure from Congress, Spratt served as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Winthrop University.[23]

In 2010, Spratt was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[24] He died from the disease at his home on December 14, 2024, at the age of 82.[1][25] His funeral service was held on December 18, 2024, at York's First Presbyterian Church, followed by burial at Rose Hill Cemetery.[26] [27] At the funeral service, a eulogy was delivered by Jim Clyburn, congressman for South Carolina's 6th congressional district and Spratt's colleague in congress from 1993 to 2011.[27] Clyburn described Spratt as "an inconspicuous genius and the most ordinary, extraordinary person I have ever known."[28] Governor Henry McMaster announced that flags would be flown at half-staff on the day of his funeral.[29] [30] [31]

Committee assignments

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Committee assignments in 111th Congress

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Langer, Emily (December 17, 2024). "John Spratt, South Carolina congressman and fiscal steward, dies at 82". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Memory Hold the Door: John McKee Spratt, 1907-1973," University of South Carolina School of Law, law.sc.edu, 12 June 2008.
  3. ^ Biography of Congressman John Spratt, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC Archived March 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Spratt Finds Bridge Over Party Divide," The State, Columbia, SC, April 1, 1996.
  5. ^ "Congress's Designated Hitters," National Journal, January 28, 1989, No. 4, p.174.
  6. ^ "Best and Worst of Congress," Washingtonian, 01 September 2006, Vol. 41, No. 12.
  7. ^ "Joint Statement of Lawrence H. Summers, Secretary of the Treasury, and Jacob J. Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, on Budget Results for Fiscal Year 2000," U.S. Department of the Treasury, 24 October 2000. Archived May 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Costa, K. (2002). With Spratt amendment ...: HOUSE SHIFTS $30 MILLION FROM SPACE-BASED KINETIC INTERCEPTOR TO ABL. Inside the Air Force, 13(27), 13-15. Retrieved November 27, 2020, from JSTOR 24789760
  9. ^ "Roll Call Votes, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  10. ^ Final Vote Results For Roll Call 165 Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, March 21, 2010.
  11. ^ Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires, in NASDAQ.com, 24 March 2010.
  12. ^ All Things Considered (December 3, 2010). "Spratt Says Farewell To House". NPR.org. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Galderisi, Paul (2005). "Redistricting in the New Millennium" (PDF). p. 194.
  14. ^ Kuhn, David Paul (January 22, 2008). "Congress' only white S.C. Dem stays neutral". POLITICO. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "John Spratt - Power Broker". wbtv. December 5, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  16. ^ Hook, Janet (August 26, 2010). "Defying an anti-incumbent mood, a veteran Democrat runs on his record". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  17. ^ "Packing Up the Past". Roll Call. December 1, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (October 13, 2010). "After 28 Years, a Congressman on the Ropes (Published 2010)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  19. ^ "Republicans suggest Spratt losing his memory". WACH. May 18, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  20. ^ Will U.S. Rep Spratt be helped by Obama photo op? McClatchy DC. April 4, 2010. Retrieved from https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24578920.html. (November 26, 2020).
  21. ^ "Local, State Ceremonies Unite 12 Couples in Marriage on Friday". The State. June 1, 1968. p. 11. Retrieved December 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. A 6 p.m. Friday wedding in Filbert Presbyterian Church united in marriage Miss Margaret Jane Stacy and John McKee Spratt Jr.
  22. ^ Holdman, Jessica (December 16, 2024). "Funeral scheduled for SC's former U.S. Rep. John Spratt • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "Winthrop University: CAS Faculty Profile - Spratt, John M. Jr". www.winthrop.edu. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013.
  24. ^ Taylor, Jessica (March 3, 2010). "Spratt in early stages of Parkinson's disease". POLITICO. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  25. ^ "John Spratt, longtime US Congressman from South Carolina, has died, daughter says". The State. December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  26. ^ Holdman, Jessica (December 16, 2024). "Funeral scheduled for SC's former U.S. Rep. John Spratt • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  27. ^ a b Dys, Andrew (December 18, 2024). "SC Rep. Clyburn, family, friends praise late congressman John Spratt at funeral in York". The Herald. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  28. ^ "Clyburn Statement on the Passing of Congressman John Spratt - Congressman James E. Clyburn". December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  29. ^ Foley, Claire (December 15, 2024). "Longtime South Carolina Congressman John Spratt dies at age 82". WCIV. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  30. ^ Bruce Schreiner, and Meg Kinnard (December 15, 2024). "Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "Lowering flags for former Congressman John Spratt" (PDF). Governor Henry McMaster. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member from South Carolina's 5th congressional district
1983–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee
1995–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Budget Committee
2007–2011
Party political offices
Preceded by House Democratic Assistant to the Leader
2003–2007 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Spratt&oldid=1264757790"