James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords (born May 11, 1934) is currently the junior U.S. Senator from Vermont and the only Independent in the United States Senate.

Background

Jeffords is the son of Olin Jeffords , who was formerly Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court . Jim Jeffords holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University (1956) and a law degree from Harvard Law School (1962). He also holds a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. After three years of active duty in the United States Navy (1956 - 1959), Jeffords served in the Naval Reserves until he retired as a Captain in 1990. He is married to Elizabeth Daley and has two children, Leonard and Laura. Jeffords' residence is in Shrewsbury, Vermont.

Political Career

Jeffords entered politics in 1966, winning a seat in the Vermont State Senate . He followed that success in 1968 with a victory in the race for Vermont Attorney General. In 1974, he won Vermont's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for fourteen years and was the ranking Republican member of the House Education and Labor Committee . In 1988, Jeffords was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he remains today.

Jeffords' work in Congress has focused on legislation involving education, job training , and individuals with disabilities. In recent years, his emphasis has shifted somewhat, as Jeffords has pushed several important pieces of environmental legislation through Congress.

He was one of the founders of the Congressional Solar Coalition and the Congressional Arts Caucus . Jeffords has been frequently recognized for his skills as a legislator, receiving Parenting Magazine's "Legislator of the Year" award in 1999, and the Sierra Club's highest commendation in 2002.

From Republican to Independent

In spite of his long history of involvement in various causes, Jeffords is best known for one event in his career. On June 5, 2001, Jeffords left the Republican Party (with which he had always been affiliated) and announced his new status as an Independent. This occurred after he was intensely criticized by the Republican leadership for voting against President Bush's tax cut package, which would have severely limited funding for special education programs. Jeffords' Independent status changed the Senate composition from 50-50 (with a Republican Vice President) to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one Independent, thus handing control of that chamber to the Democrats. He thus lost his chairmanship of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (which he had held since 1997) but was given Harry Reid's position as the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (which he held until the Democrats lost control of the chamber in 2002).

Jeffords made a deal with the Democrats according to which he votes with them on all procedural matters (except with permission of the Whip, which would be rarely asked and rarely granted) in exchange for the committee seats that would have been available to Jeffords had he been a Democrat during his entire Senate tenure. Jeffords is free to vote as he pleases on substantive matters, but more often than not votes with the Democrats. Even before his party switch, his voting record had been one of the most liberal among Republicans in both the House and Senate.

In April 2005, Jeffords announced his decision not to run for re-election in 2006, citing his and his wife's health. Congressman Bernie Sanders, currently an unaffiliated member of the U.S. House, has announced his intentions to run for the seat being vacated by Jeffords.

Further reading

• James M. Jeffords, My Declaration of Independence (Simon & Schuster, 2001). ISBN 0743228421
• James M. Jeffords, An Independent Man (Simon & Schuster, 2003). ISBN 074322843X

External link

• Official site

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Robert Stafford | width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Vermont
1989- | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Incumbent