Wayne Curtis Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American educator and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania.Map of the district He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia.
Early life and education Weldon grew up in a blue-collar family in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of nine children. He attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania and earned a B.A. in Russian studies in 1969, making him the first in his family to graduate from college. At West Chester University, Weldon became a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
After graduation, Weldon was subject to the draft, with the Vietnam War ongoing. In November 2000, his office said he used student and teaching deferments during the Vietnam era, and had a low number when the draft lottery was reinstated.Marlene DiGiacomo, "Curt demands count of military ballots", Delaware County Times, November 23, 2000 In July 2006, a Weldon spokesman said that Weldon "wanted to serve, but the military would not take him because of his extremely poor eyesight."William Bender, "Pa. GOP rips Sestak for wearing Navy uniform" , Delaware County Times, July 27, 2006
Early political career
Weldon wasn't active in politics until 1977, when he became the Mayor of Marcus Hook. Prior to that, he served as an educator in local Delaware County schools, and for the Insurance Company of North America, as well as a volunteer line officer chief for the Viscose Fire Company in Marcus Hook.
Weldon served two terms as Mayor from 1977 to 1982 and was nominated for election on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. His efforts as mayor were geared towards defending the town against the violent Pagans Motorcycle Gang.
From 1981 to 1986, Weldon served as a councilman and later chair of the Delaware County Council. Maintaining his interest in foreign affairs, he coordinated a USSR student exchange program in 1985 that continues to this day.
Congressional campaigns 1984–2004 Weldon first ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 7th district of Pennsylvania in 1984 on the Republican ticket, losing to incumbent Democrat Robert W. Edgar by just 412 votes even as Ronald Reagan carried the district by over 20 points. However, Edgar did not seek re-election in 1986 but instead ran for the U.S. Senate against Arlen Specter. Weldon then ran again for Edgar's seat in 1986 and won with a comfortable margin.
Weldon's margin for re-election grew considerably since 1986, handily defeating Democratic opponents even as Delaware County, once a classic Rockefeller Republican bastion, became friendlier to Democrats at the national level. In 2000, for instance, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote even though Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore won Delaware County with 54% of the vote.
In 2004, Weldon won with 59% of the vote. By contrast, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry got 53% of the district's vote that year. Weldon's Democratic opponent, Paul Scoles, spent $24,000 running against the nine-term incumbent;Greg Giroux, "PA 7: Superb Fundraising Gives Sestak a Shot Against Weldon" , CQPolitics.com, July 20, 2006 in that 2003–2004 election cycle, Weldon received nearly $900,000 in campaign contributions.William Bender, "Lentz rips Weldon for taking contributions from Abramoff", Delaware County Times, January 6, 2006 Scoles entered the race in the last 90 days of the campaign, when the original Democratic candidate, Greg Philips, was called up for Reserve duty to support the Iraq War.
2006
Weldon's Democratic opponent in 2006 was Joe Sestak, a Vice-Admiral who retired earlier in the year after a 31-year military career. According to the Delaware County Daily Times, Sestak proved to be a capable fundraiser and had raised more money than Weldon.William Bender, "Sestak's coffers continue to grow" , Delaware County Daily Times, October 4, 2006
In July, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican." On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics once again changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."Greg Giroux, "Navy Vet Sestak Coming Closer to Sinking Weldon in Pa. 7" , CQPolitics, October 13, 2006
On October 26, 2006, American Prospect magazine reported that e-mails recently had been forwarded to the Justice Department that describe alleged efforts by official members of Weldon's staff to call Navy employees for information and negative statements about Democratic opponent Sestak. In one Pentagon email, Weldon's office is described as "calling everyone and his brother" in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) about Sestak.
On October 27, 2006, the advocacy group Campaign for America's Future began running advertisements in Pennsylvania's 7th District questioning $233,840 in campaign contributions Weldon received from drug and insurance companies, in light of his voting history.
On November 7, 2006, Weldon lost the general election, taking 44% of the vote to Sestak's 56%.
Actions in Congress
Weldon's moderately conservative voting record (lifetime ACU rank: 69.9)) reflected the overwhelming Republican voter registration in Delaware County, which has varied from a low of about 62% to about 70% of registered voters 1998–2006. His voting record was slightly more conservative than the entire Pennsylvania Congressional delegation; Weldon's 2006 ACU rank was 68 vs. the average 2006 ACU rank of 57 for all 19 PA Congressmen.
Domestic issues Weldon founded the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in 1987 and has consistently fought for increased funding for firefighters. He was the author of a bill that implemented a federal grant program for local fire departments that evolved into the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. He has fought for mandatory safety sprinklers in college dormitories and training of fire departments to deal with terrorism incidents involving chemical and biological weapons. At times, his alleged pork barrel spending was challenged by fiscal conservatives such as Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake; Weldon once told Flake, "Doggone it, I'm not gonna let somebody stand up here in total and complete ignorance and spout off a bunch of gobbledygook. Don't stand up on the floor and make stupid allegations because you want a headline about cutting waste. This is not waste."CBS 60 Minutes, Rep. Flake On Cutting Congressional Pork. Consulted on June 27, 2007.
Weldon co-chaired the House Oceans Caucus. In 1995, his "Oceans Agenda" legislation passed Congress, increasing funding for oceanographic research projects. Weldon was the sole House Republican on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which approves funding for U.S. wildlife refuges and wetlands preservation. Weldon is a member of Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), where he serves as Honorary Chairman of the Oceans Protection Task Force. Weldon also serves as the honorary United States Vice President on the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS). In his district, Weldon secured funding for the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum and obtained funding for the preservation of the Paoli Battlefield, the site of a Revolutionary War battle that was slated for development.
Weldon also co-authored the Family Medical Leave Act, pushed for the extension of unemployment benefits, has consistently supported raising the minimum wage, opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, and voted for across-the-board tax cuts. He also played a key leadership role in welfare reform in the mid-1990s.
Foreign policy
In 1993, Weldon and Bob Dole, among other Republicans, advocated pulling out of Somalia after the "Blackhawk Down" failed snatch and grab mission of Mohamed Farrah Aidid cost 18 American dead.
Russia and China
In June 1998, Weldon served on the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, perhaps better known as the "Cox Committee." The committee, five Republicans and four Democrats, investigated whether the Clinton Administration's waivers allowing U.S. military contractors to transfer military technology to China damaged national security. According to officials who have been briefed about its contents, the report concludes that Beijing's acquisition of secret American weapons designs was part of an intelligence collection effort that spanned 20 years, including both Republican and Democratic Administrations. It also enumerates an array of thefts from the Government's weapons labs, including classified information about seven advanced nuclear warheads, among them the W-88, the most sophisticated nuclear weapon in the American arsenal; that theft is believed to have occurred during the Reagan or Bush Administrations. The report also says that China stole design information about the neutron bomb.M.M. May, Editor, Alastair Johnston, W.K.H. Panofsky, Marco Di Capua, and Lewis Franklin, The Cox Committee Report: An Assessment, Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), December 1999.
Weldon made improving relations with Russia one of his key efforts in the House. He worked with Russian leaders on a variety of issues, including efforts to improve Russia's energy supply, correct environmental damage, and protect both nations from ballistic missile attack. Weldon was the co-founder of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official parliamentary exchange between the two legislative bodies. This bilateral relationship coordinated legislative efforts in the Russian Duma and the Congress to foster a better working relationship between the two nations. In 2017, Weldon created a comprehensive framework designed to improve the state of relations between the two countries. Titled "A New Time, A New Beginning", his proposal made recommendations for cooperative efforts in eleven different areas ranging from defense and national security to space exploration and scientific research.U.S. Russia Relations: How Did We Get Here?, Curt Weldon January 12, 2017, The National Interest
Visits to North Korea
In June 2003, Weldon lead a bipartisan Congressional delegation to North Korea. The delegation didn't go as official representatives of the White House, which had repeatedly refused North Korea's demands that the two countries meet one-on-one. The White House did know the trip was planned and did supply a military helicopter.
Weldon said that the meetings went extremely well. Weldon said he drew up an outline of how relations could be improved between the two countries, which would involve the complete nuclear disarmament of North Korea. North Korean leaders, including the vice-foreign minister who is the chief negotiator for the North, were receptive to the concept, said Weldon.Kristin Smith, "Weldon: North Korea crisis 'very dangerous'", Delaware County Times, June 4, 2003