Austin Scott | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 8th district | |
January 3, 2011 | |
Jim Marshall | |
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives | |
1996-2011 | |
Henry Bostick | |
Tony McBrayer | |
Constituency | 165th district (1996-2003) 138th district (2003-05) 153rd district (2005-11) |
Personal details | |
Born | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | December 10, 1969
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Vivien Scott (m. 2005) |
Children | 3 |
Education | University of Georgia (BA) |
James Austin Scott (born December 10, 1969) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 8th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Scott served in the Georgia House of Representatives before being elected to the House of Representatives.
Scott's father, Jim, is an orthopedic surgeon and his mother, Becky, is a teacher in the public school system. Scott graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.B.A. in risk management and insurance. He passed the Series 7 Exam.[1]
Scott is president of the Southern Group, LLC and a partner in Lockett Station Group, LLC.[2]
Scott was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives at the age of 26. He was the chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. He also served on the Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means Committee, where he was the chairman of the Public Policy Subcommittee. The District he represented consists of Tift and Turner counties.
In 2001, Scott was the first Republican in the Georgia House to work with Democrats to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state's flag.[3]
Scott, along with millions funded by National PAC's, challenged Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall in Georgia's eighth congressional district. He defeated Marshall in the general election on November 2, 2010, with 53% of the vote to Marshall's 47%.[4]
Scott originally planned to campaign for Governor of Georgia, announcing his campaign in January 2009. He made headlines for walking more than 1,000 miles around the state in his "Walk of Georgia",[5] introducing a bill to abolish tolls on Georgia 400, and leading the charge in pressuring Georgia State Attorney General Thurbert Baker to file a lawsuit against the federal government over the controversial health care reform bill passed in March 2010.[6][7][8][9] In April 2010, Scott withdrew from the race for Governor to instead run for U.S. Congress.
In 2010, Scott signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.[10]
Redistricting after the 2010 census made the 8th somewhat more secure for Scott. Notably, most of Macon and surrounding Bibb County (except for a sliver in the north) were drawn into the neighboring 2nd district. Macon had been the heart of the 8th and its predecessors for more than a century. To make up for the loss of population, the General Assembly pushed the 8th all the way to the Florida border, adding Thomasville and most of Valdosta from the old 2nd. The old 8th already had a significant Republican lean, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+10. However, the new 8th had a CPVI of R+15, making it the 11th most Republican district in the Eastern Time Zone and one of the most Republican districts in the country.
Scott was unopposed in both the primary and general elections.[11]
Scott was unopposed for a third term.
In 2016, Scott faced a Democratic opponent for the first time since his initial run for the seat when private investigator James Neal Harris declared for the race. Scott turned back this challenge fairly easily, taking 67.6% of the vote and carrying every county in the district.[12]
Scott was unopposed for a fifth term.
Scott was selected by his colleagues as freshman class president for the 112th Congress. [13]
Scott's district is home to two United States Air Force bases: Moody Air Force Base and Robins Air Force Base. As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, Scott supports pro-military and defense spending policies.[14] Scott is also a proponent of the United States Navy hospital ships.[15]
On June 15, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act, a bill authored by Scott and supported in the United States Senate by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson to require the Department of the Interior to provide outer burial receptacles for veterans' remains buried in a national cemetery administered by the National Park Service.[16]
As a senior member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Scott has sponsored and supported numerous sportsmen's and conservation bills. In the 115th Congress, Scott introduced legislation to modernize the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act to allow state fish and wildlife agencies to use Pittman-Robertson funds for public relations and for the construction, operation, and maintenance of public ranges,[17] which passed the House of Representatives during the 115th Congress.
Caucus memberships
Scott is in favor of capital punishment.[21] He opposes gun control.[21]
Scott is in favor of a Balanced budget amendment.[21] He voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[22]
Scott is opposed to abortion and believes that human life begins at conception.[21]
He has a "D" rating from marijuana legalization advocacy organization the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) for his voting history regarding cannabis-related issues.[23]
Scott opposes same-sex marriage and is in favor of a Federal Marriage Amendment.[21] He voted against the 2013 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act.[21]
In December 2020, Scott was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[24] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[25][26][27]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Scott and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[28][29] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Scott and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[30]
Austin and his wife, Vivien, reside in Tifton, GA with their three children Wells, Gabriela and John Philip. The Scotts are members of First Baptist Church of Tifton. [31][32][33]
On November 30, 2020, it was announced Scott and his wife tested positive for COVID-19, making Scott the third Georgia congress member to test positive for the virus.[34]
Georgia House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by Henry Bostick |
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 165th district 1996-2003 |
Succeeded by Al Williams |
Preceded by Johnny Floyd |
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 138th district 2003-2005 |
Succeeded by Nikki T. Randall |
Preceded by Burke Day |
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 153rd district 2005-2011 |
Succeeded by Tony McBrayer |
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
Preceded by Jim Marshall |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 8th congressional district 2011-present |
Incumbent |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by David Schweikert |
United States Representatives by seniority 152nd |
Succeeded by Terri Sewell |