Phil Gingrey

Representative Gingrey assisted a bank he thought of as a constituent organization by having his office help set up informational meetings through which bank officers could inquire about how TARP funds were going to be allocated. It is undisputed that Representative Gingrey never sought any preferential treatment for anyone in obtaining TARP funding and did nothing further upon arranging the requested meetings.

Todd Akin for Senate campaign

See also: Pregnancy from rape and Rape and pregnancy statement controversies in the 2012 United States elections

Gingrey's office said that this comments were misconstrued after he was reported saying that former Republican representative Todd Akin was "partially right" in saying that a woman would not conceive after a "legitimate rape." Akin had been running for the U.S. Senate from Missouri; his campaign fell apart after he said the debunked claim that "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." At a local Chamber of Commerce meeting, Gingrey said that Akin wasn't entirely wrong. "I've delivered lots of babies, and I know about these things," Gingrey said, according to The Marietta Daily Journal. ^[16]

Gingrey has been an OB-GYN since 1975. He had served as co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus. ^[17]

Congressional and staff pay

In September 2013, he received intense criticism by Republican congressional aides when he observed that many congressional aides – who initially are somewhat relatively low paid – go on to careers as major lobbyists in Washington, D.C.'s K Street area (or elsewhere) and can eventually make hundreds of thousands of dollars, implying that his own congressional salary (he said $172,000; it is actually $174,000, not including other benefits) was somehow inadequate. Meanwhile, his constituents in Georgia have a median household income of about $49,000. ^[18]

Ebola virus concerns

In July 2014, as concern over the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa was in the USA media, Gingrey wrote a letter to the USA CDC, stating "Reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as swine flu, dengue fever, Ebola virus and tuberculosis are particularly concerning." ^[19]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce ^[20]
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy ^[21]
  • Subcommittee on Health ^[22]
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ^[23]
• House Armed Services Committee
• House Science Committee
• House Rules Committee
• Committee on House Administration

Caucus leaderships

• GOP Doctors Caucus, co-chair ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Immigration Reform Caucus, executive committee ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Congressional Vision Caucus, co-chair ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Congressional Constitution Caucus, member ^[24]
• Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, member ^[25]

Commissioner

• Legislative Commissioner, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Helsinki Agreement ^[26]

2014 U.S. Senate election

Main article: 2014 United States Senate election in Georgia

In March 2013, Gingrey officially announced he would run for the open senate seat vacated by Republican U.S. senator Saxby Chambliss. He was defeated in the Republican primary on May 20, 2014, coming in 4th in a field of eight. ^[27]

Post-political career

After leaving Congress, Gingrey joined The District Policy Group as a senior adviser. ^[28] He writes a regular column on the firm's website called "Phil on the Hill" where he writes about policy topics such as health care, the federal budget, annual appropriations, regulatory reform, and life sciences. ^[29] He is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. ^[30]

He remains a licensed physician who practices on a volunteer basis for low-income Georgians at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Smyrna, Georgia. ^[31]

Policy views

Children's Health Insurance Program

Gingrey supported the reauthorization of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which is a program that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The program was designed to provide health insurance to uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. In January 2018, Congress extended the program for six years. Gingrey wrote, "Reauthorizing CHIP is a smart move by Republicans to address to address the neediest and most vulnerable of our society. And why not? The recent CBO score shows that the program almost pays for itself, easing pressure off the need to find offsets." ^[32]

Health care industry stability

In a "Phil on the Hill" column, Gingrey wrote that, "Health care is by its nature a dynamic and uncertain field. Researchers are always working to pull together grants to keep the centrifuges spinning and Bunsen burners burning. Hospitals must continually untie a tangle of HR, regulatory, budgetary and technology issues while delivering quality health care. Health care providers have to develop efficient business solutions that improve the quality of care and are tailored specifically to the individual communities they serve." ^[33] Tasked with a constant juggling act, Gingrey wrote, health care leaders benefit when policies from the federal government are predictable and the government itself is stable. Gingrey argued that President Trump took a step toward promoting stability with his nomination of Alex Azar as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Azar brings issue expertise, political know-how and ideas to the position, Gingrey wrote. ^[33]

MedPAC

The Medicare Payment Advisory Center (MedPAC) is a nonpartisan federal advisory commission on federal government healthcare-related policy issues. Twice a year, MedPAC submits a report to Congress. It also supports the Medicare and Medicaid programs with analyses and recommendations. Gingrey supports MedPAC and has encouraged members of Congress and policymakers to utilize MedPAC's advice. ^[34]

Media

Gingrey has written several op-eds for The Hill newspaper on a wide variety of topics.

In the summer of 2016, Gingrey wrote an op-ed about the opioid epidemic occurring in the U.S. To combat the epidemic, Gingrey wrote that he favors wider access to Naloxone (commonly known by its brand name Narcan) to save people who have overdosed, supports the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) which had recently passed Congress, encourages more states to adopt the Good Samaritan laws (laws that provide immunity for those who call 911 if they are witnessing or attending to an overdose), and public awareness education campaigns. ^[35]

In January 2017, shortly before Donald Trump's inauguration, Gingrey wrote in support of Trump's pick of Tom Price as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Not since President George H.W. Bush picked Dr. Louis Sullivan as the 17th HHS secretary in 1989 has there been a physician at the head of HHS. Gingrey and Price served together in the Georgia State Senate before serving in the U.S. House. "Through hard work, collaboration with colleagues, and levering his health policy expertise, he has earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle," Gingrey wrote about Price. ^[36]

In November 2017, Gingrey penned an op-ed where he argued that the government should not interfere with the patient-physician relationship. During the debate over Obamacare, one key issue of concern for physicians serving in Congress (such as Gingrey) was the promotion and utilization of cost-effectiveness data and "comparative effectiveness research" (CER). "We were concerned that such information would be used to support government takeover of the practice of medicine, and specifically that these types of analyses and studies would dictate decision-making to doctors," Gingrey wrote. As it turns out, he now supports the federal agency that the Affordable Care Act created that creates the CERs. He believes they are important decision-making tools for practitioners, and he supports reauthorization of the agency in 2019. ^[37]

Personal life

Gingrey is a Roman Catholic. He is married to the former Billie Ayers of Newnan, Georgia; they have four children and 13 grandchildren. ^{[38] [39]}

See also

• Physicians in US Congress

References

1. "Our Campaigns - GA State Senate 037 Race - Nov 03, 1998".
2. "Our Campaigns - GA State Senate 037 Race - Nov 07, 2000".
3. "Rep. Phil Gingrey announces run for Senate". CBS Atlanta. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
4. "Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D." Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
5. "Ramblin' Reck History: A Story". From The Rumble Seat. February 26, 2009.
6. "Phil Gingrey - Ballotpedia" . Retrieved August 7, 2018.
7. "Republican Doctors Caucus". Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
8. Better Know a District – Georgia's 11th – Phil Gingrey Colbert Nation, April 26, 2006
9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
10. "Report: Gingrey's bank stock benefits may violate ethics rule". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
11. "Special report: The congressman with banks on the side". Reuters. November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
12. Trubey, J. Scott (November 10, 2011). "Report: Gingrey's bank stock benefits may violate ethics rule". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
13. Malloy, Daniel (December 11, 2014). "Ethics Committee finds Phil Gingrey improperly aided Ellijay bank". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
14. Sanchez, Linda Teresa; Conaway, Kenneth Michael (December 11, 2013). "APPENDIX A - Letter of Reproval" (PDF). United States House Committee on Ethics .
15. "Ethics Committee finds Phil Gingrey improperly aided Ellijay bank". politics.myajc. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
16. "Rep. Gingrey under fire for rape comments". NY Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
17. "Gingrey: Akin 'partly right' on rape". POLITICO. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
18. "Stock quotes, financial tools, news and analysis – MSN Money". msn.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
19. "Rep. Phil Gingrey says migrants may be bringing Ebola virus through the U.S.-Mexico border". @politifact.
20. "E&C Membership". United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
21. "Environment and the Economy". United States House Energy Subcommittee on Environment and Economy . Retrieved July 16, 2014.
22. "Health". United States House Energy Subcommittee on Health . Retrieved July 16, 2014.
23. "Oversight and Investigations". United States House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations . Retrieved March 21, 2013.
24. "Membership of the Congressional Constitution Caucus". Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
25. Ted Poe (June 1, 2007). "Immigration Reform Caucus: Amnesty for millions is more than just a narrow slice of the proposed immigration bill". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
26. "Hearing before the Commission on Security and Coordination in Europe" (PDF). chrissmith.house.gov. February 16, 2011.
27. "Georgia - Summary Vote Results". Associated Press . May 22, 2014.
28. "The District Policy Group | District Policy Group". www.districtpolicygroup.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
29. "Phil on the Hill". www.districtpolicygroup.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
30. "ReFormers Caucus". Issue One. 2023.
31. "Leadership". www.goodsamcobb.org. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
32. Gingrey, Phil (January 23, 2018). "2018 — After CHIP Reauthorization, Legislative Chipping Away". www.districtpolicygroup.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
33. "Health Care Needs More Stability from Washington". www.districtpolicygroup.com. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
34. "MedPAC Rising". www.districtpolicygroup.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
35. Gingrey, Phil (July 14, 2016). "Ending the opioid epidemic is within our grasp". The Hill . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
36. Gingrey, Phil (January 17, 2017). "Nominee Tom Price is the doctor HHS needs". The Hill . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
37. Gingrey, Phil (November 6, 2017). "Government should not interfere with patient-physician decision making". The Hill . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
38. "Fast Facts About Phil | Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D." Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
39. "Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R-GA)" (PDF). U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission .

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at OurCampaigns.com
• Phil Gingrey Congressional Papers, Kennesaw State University Archives.

Phil Gingrey
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives from Georgia's 11th district
In office January 3, 2003 –January 3, 2015

Georgia State Senate
Preceded by Chuck Clay	Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 37th district 1999–2003	Succeeded by Chuck Clay
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by John Linder	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 11th congressional district 2003–2015	Succeeded by Barry Loudermilk
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by George Darden as Former US Representative	Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative	Succeeded by Lynn Westmoreland as Former US Representative