Huntsville Alabama USA - Governmental Affairs

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer has served as the congressman for Alabama's Fifth Congressional District since 1991. Cramer's district includes seven counties across northern Alabama: Colbert, Jackson, Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, Lawrence and part of Morgan County.

The editorial staff of the Huntsville Times calls Cramer's record "nothing short of remarkable." The Times Daily of Florence says Cramer "has shown he can represent the people of his district while considering the best interests of the nation."

Cramer works for the people of Alabama's 5th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He comes home to Alabama every week to work with people and stay in touch with the concerns of the community. He meets regularly with constituents and answers thousands of letters and e-mail messages every month.

Cramer serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The powerful Appropriations Committee is in charge of the spending for all aspects of the federal government, including the Department of Defense and NASA. Many of the critical jobs performed by these two agencies are based in North Alabama. Cramer was appointed to the House Intelligence Committee in 2002, which oversees defense and national security intelligence issues.

The city of Huntsville is home to the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal. Cramer works tirelessly in Congress in support of the vital defense work performed at Redstone. He played an important role in convincing a military base panel to transfer thousands of Army jobs from St. Louis to Huntsville to form the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM).

Cramer firmly believes in a strong, active space program. As one of NASA's top allies in Congress, he has led the fight for Huntsville's NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and programs like the NASA space station. For his outstanding record of support for space exploration, Congressman Cramer was honored with the National Space Club's 2002 Von Braun Memorial Award for Space Exploration.

While defense and NASA have deep roots in north Alabama, the agency with the longest history is the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Since the 1930's, TVA has helped provide the region essential services like electric power, flood control, and land management. Cramer regularly works with TVA on economic development issues, most recently on the decision to restart Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 1.

The Tennessee Valley has a history of tornadoes and other unique weather patterns, and Cramer has worked diligently for years to bring a Weather Forecasting Office to North Alabama. In 2001, Cramer was able to secure the funding for his north Alabama National Weather Service forecasting office, which will provide critical severe and hazardous weather coverage to people across the 5th District.

Another one of Cramer's priorities is bringing new jobs to north Alabama. Since 1999, Cramer has helped recruit International Truck & Engine, Skyhook, Target, HiSan, West Teleservices, and most recently, Toyota to bring new jobs to the 5th District of Alabama. In 1998, Cramer helped urge Boeing officials to choose Decatur for a new $450 million rocket plant. Cramer has played a critical role in bringing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment to the state.

Cramer considers better transportation to be fundamental to people's quality of life and the local economy. He passed an important law to begin work on a superhighway linking Huntsville with Memphis, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga. He also passed laws to fund construction of the Hudson Memorial Bridge in Decatur, the Patton Island Bridge in the Shoals area, and a planned outer beltline between Decatur and Hartselle.

Cramer's work for economic development is matched by his record on economic issues. Money magazine named him "one of America's best congressmen" for his voting record on pocketbook issues like balancing the budget. In 1997 he voted to cut $90 billion in taxes and balance the budget by 2002. He is a founding member of the Blue Dogs, an influential group of conservative lawmakers dedicated to fiscal responsibility.

For all of these achievements, the issue for which Cramer is perhaps best known is his extraordinary work for abused children. Prior to his election to Congress, Cramer served ten years as Madison County (Ala.) District Attorney. As D.A., Cramer founded the National Children's Advocacy Center. This center provides comprehensive services and support for abused children. Cramer's center fundamentally changed the justice system's approach to child abuse cases. It now serves as the model for over 600 programs in 50 states and the District of Columbia, collectively known as the National Children's Alliance formerly the National Network of Children's Advocacy Centers.

Cramer continues to work for children as a member of Congress. He is the author of a landmark law called the National Children's Advocacy Program Act. This law incorporates Cramer's program into U.S. Department of Justice policy. Congress approved Cramer's bill and President Bush signed it into law in 1992, providing funds to expand the children's advocacy program into new communities. Cramer is also a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Cramer was born and raised in Huntsville and earned a law degree at the University of Alabama in 1972. A military veteran, he served his country as an Army tank officer at Fort Knox, Kentucky. A widower, Cramer has a daughter Hollan, two grandsons Dylan and Mason, and a granddaughter Patricia Lanier. Cramer is a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school classes to young people for many years.

Bud Cramer believes honesty, leadership, and vision are the fundamental qualities of an effective congressman. He strives to uphold these qualities in representing the people of North Alabama.