Tom MacArthur

Tom MacArthur
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded by Jon Runyan
Personal details
Born Thomas Charles MacArthur
(1960-10-16) October 16, 1960
Hebron, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party Republican
Education Hofstra University (BA)
Website House website

Thomas Charles MacArthur (born October 16, 1960) is an American former insurance executive and politician.[1] He is the member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. A Republican, MacArthur served on the city council of Randolph, New Jersey, from 2011 through 2013, and as its mayor in 2013. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014.[2]

Early life, education, and career

MacArthur grew up in Hebron, Connecticut. He received his bachelor's degree from Hofstra University.[3] After graduating from Hofstra, MacArthur became an insurance adjuster.[4] He served as the chairman and CEO of York Risk Services Group, a multi-national organization that helps people manage insurance claims. He was chairman and chief executive officer of York Risk Services Group for 11 years. He served on the Randolph, New Jersey, Township Council from 2011 through 2013, including a tenure as mayor in 2013.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

MacArthur's freshman portrait

2014 election

When Jon Runyan, a Republican who represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, announced that he would not run for reelection in 2014, MacArthur chose to run for the Republican Party nomination. MacArthur resigned from the Randolph council to move into the congressional district.[5] He ran against Steve Lonegan in the Republican Party's primary election, and defeated him.[6]

MacArthur faced Aimee Belgard of the Democratic Party in the general election. MacArthur's campaign expenditures totaled $5.6 million, with MacArthur personally contributing over $5 million to his campaign from his personal fortune.[7][8] MacArthur outspent Belgard by about three to one (with both campaign's spending equaling a combined total of $7.4 million), causing the race to be the most expensive 2014 open-seat contest in the country.[9][8]

MacArthur defeated Belgard by nearly a 10-point margin, decisively winning the popular vote in Ocean County, and coming in a very close second in Burlington County, losing that part of the district by only 352 votes.[10]

MacArthur was sworn in on January 6, 2015, along with 58 other new members of the House of Representatives.[11] He was assigned to the Armed Services Committee and two of its subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and Subcommittee on Military Personnel. MacArthur was elected Vice Chairman of the latter subcommittee. He was also assigned to the Natural Resources Committee as well as two of its subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands and the Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans.[12]

On February 2, 2015, MacArthur introduced the "Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015"[13] that will prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency from taking back disaster relief funds from individuals who applied for them in good faith.[14] On March 25, 2015, MacArthur introduced the "Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act"[15] to allow veterans with a Choice Card to access mental health care at any facility eligible for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.[16][17] Both bills were considered "dead," by virtue of a failure to garner approval from Republican-led subcommittees, before the final sine die Adjournment of the 114th Congress.[18][19][20][21][22]

2016 election

MacArthur ran for re-election in 2016.[23] He ran unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, he faced Democrat Frederick John Lavergne.[24] MacArthur won the election with 60% of the vote.[25]

At his second term MacArthur was appointed to the Committee on Financial Services and stepped down from the Armed Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.[26][27]

He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.[28]

2018 election

MacArthur will face Andy Kim in the midterm election on November 6.

Committee assignments

Political positions

MacArthur was ranked as the 44th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the third most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey) in the Lugar Center - McCourt School of Public Policy Bipartisan Index.[29]

In 2016, Vote Smart, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States, "researched presidential and congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues." According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally supports pro-life legislation, opposes an income tax increase, opposes mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders, opposes federal spending and supports lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth, opposes requiring states to adopt federal education standards, supports the building of the Keystone Pipeline, supports government funding for the development of renewable energy, opposes the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, opposes gun-control legislation, supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, supports requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, opposes same-sex marriage, supports increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support, and opposes allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts.[30]

As of January 2018, MacArthur had voted with his party in 88.5% of votes in the 115th United States Congress.[31]

President Donald Trump

As of September 2018, FiveThirtyEight found that MacArthur had voted in line with President Trump's position 94.4% of the time and supported Trump more than any other member of Congress from the state of New Jersey.[32][33]

Economy and taxes

MacArthur was the only member of Congress from the New Jersey congressional delegation to vote yes for the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; other lawmakers harshly criticized the adverse impact of the bill on New Jersey taxpayers.[34][35][36] The tax plan would lead to an aggregate tax cut in most states, but has stirred controversy in New Jersey due to the decrease in the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction to $10,000, which means that the bill raises taxes on many New Jersey citizens.[37][34][35] MacArthur explained his vote by asserting that "nearly all taxpayers" in his district do not need SALT deductions above $10,000.[34][35] When asked to elaborate by the Washington Post fact-checker, MacArthur said that 93% of his constituents did not pay SALT higher than $10,000 and shared his team's calculations with the Washington Post.[35] The Washington Post fact-checker gave MacArthur "Two Pinocchios", writing that "even that accounting ignores the interaction of the property tax provision with other parts of the tax bill, so even people who would benefit from the cap still might find themselves with an increase in taxes. MacArthur appears to have worked diligently to tilt the bill so that it would benefit his constituents, but he oversells his achievement."[35]

MacArthur was the only member of the New Jersey congressional delegation to vote in favor of a bill that funded farm subsidies for five additional years while imposing new restrictions on food stamp usage.[38] According to NJ.com, the bill, which did not pass, would have cost 35,000 New Jersey residents their access to food stamps.[38] According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally opposes allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts.[30]

Education

According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally opposes requiring states to adopt federal education standards.[30]

Environment

The League of Conservation Voters has given him a lifetime score of 10%.[39] MacArthur opposes the Trump administration's proposal to open New Jersey's waters to offshore oil and gas drilling.[40] According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally supports the building of the Keystone Pipeline, supports government funding for the development of renewable energy, and opposes the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.[30]

Gun control

According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally opposes gun-control legislation.[30] He has described himself as a supporter of the Second Amendment and has a 93% rating from the National Rifle Association.[41][42]

Healthcare

MacArthur has repeatedly called for repealing the Affordable Care Act and helped craft legislation for its repeal.[43][44][45] However, in January 2017, he was one of nine Republicans who voted no on its repeal.[46][46]

On March 20, 2017, MacArthur announced his support for the American Health Care Act of 2017.[47]

On April 25, 2017, MacArthur introduced an amendment to the Act which became known as the MacArthur Amendment.[48] It permits states to waive out of Obamacare's ban on pre-existing conditions, allowing insurers to charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people. It also dictates that health insurance offered to members of Congress and their staffs not be included in the exemption from covering pre-existing conditions.[49] A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in April 2017, found that 70 per cent of Americans favored protections for pre-existing conditions.[50]

In response to MacArthur's vote to pass the AHCA, which would partially repeal and replace Obamacare, there were protests in his district, and MacArthur held town halls where some constituents questioned MacArthur about his vote.[51][52][53]

MacArthur resigned as chair of the Tuesday Group in May 2017 due to disagreements among its members over the AHCA.[54]

LGBT

According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, MacArthur generally opposes same-sex marriage.[30] He has stated that he believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.[55]

Personal life

MacArthur lives in Toms River, New Jersey, and also owns homes in Randolph and Barnegat Light, New Jersey.[56][57] He is married to his wife Debbie and has two children, a son and daughter, both adopted.[58] Their first child, Gracie, was born with special needs and died in 1996 at the age of 11.[3][59] In Gracie's memory, the MacArthurs founded In God's Hands Charitable Foundation, which funds programs that help wounded veterans and children affected by AIDS in Africa.[60]

MacArthur is the wealthiest member of New Jersey's congressional delegation, with reported assets worth about $31.8 million as of July 2017.[61]

Electoral history

Randolph Town Council election results, 2010[62]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom MacArthur 4,650 22.38
Republican James Loveys 4,612 22.20
Republican Michael Guadagno 4,522 21.76
Republican Allen Napoliello 4,317 20.78
Democratic Nancie Ludwig 2,672 12.86
2014 New Jersey's 3rd congressional district Republican primary election[63]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Tom MacArthur 15,908 59.7
Republican Steve Lonegan 10,643 40.3
Turnout 26,551 100.0
2014 New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Tom MacArthur 100,471 53.76
Democratic Aimee Belgard 82,537 44.09
D-R Party Frederick John Lavergne 3,095 1.61
Turnout 186,103 100.0
2016 New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election[64]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Tom MacArthur 194,596 59.31
Democratic Frederick John LaVergne 127,526 38.87
Constitution Party Lawrence Bolinski 5,938 1.81
Turnout 328,060 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "N.J. GOP Rep. Tom MacArthur, Dem challenger Andy Kim face off in forum". WHYY. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  2. ↑ "N.J.'s rookie Republican learns: Even in divided D.C., he's got to deal with Dems". NJ.com. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "A look at congressional candidate Tom MacArthur". Associated Press. May 3, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ Marcos, Christina (April 25, 2017). "Meet the centrist trying to strike a deal on healthcare". The Hill. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  5. ↑ Knapp, Claire. "Former fire chief is new Randolph Councilman; Forstenhausler will fill MacArthur's term", Randolph Reporter, February 10, 2014; accessed July 6, 2014; "Mark Forstenhausler, 54, was sworn in as a member of the Township Council on Thursday, Feb. 6, to complete the term vacated by Tom MacArthur."
  6. ↑ "MacArthur, Belgard to compete for N.J.'s Third District seat". Philly.com. June 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Rep. Thomas MacArthur, Cycle Fundraising, 2013-14". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "N.J. scrap was nation's most expensive for open U.S. House seat in 2014". NJ.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ "New Jersey Congressional Races in 2014". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Official List Candidates for House of Representatives for General Election" (PDF). 2014 Election Information Archive. State of New Jersey, Department of State. December 2, 2014. p. 6. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ Dooley, Erin; Saenz, Arlette; Parkinson, John (January 6, 2015). "Home > Politics 114th Congress' Opening Day: Republicans Take the Reins on Capitol Hill". ABC News. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Congressman Tom MacArthur, 3rd District of New Jersey, Committees and Caucuses". House of Representatives. 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  13. ↑ "H.R. 638 – Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015". Congress.gov. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ Zimmer, Russ (February 3, 2015). "Another proposal to stop FEMA's Sandy aid clawbacks". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  15. ↑ "H.R. 1604 – Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ Joyce, Tom (April 24, 2015). "Congressman MacArthur pushing to expand mental health service options for veterans". Newsworks. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ Levinsky, David (April 26, 2015). "MacArthur: Veterans need better access to mental health care services". Burlington County Times. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ "All Actions H.R.1604 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. April 7, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ "All Actions H.R.638 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. February 5, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Legislative Research: US HB638 | 2015-2016 | 114th Congress". LegiScan. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  21. ↑ Tom MacArthur (March 25, 2015). "Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act (2015; 114th Congress H.R. 1604)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  22. ↑ Tom MacArthur (February 2, 2015). "Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015 (2015; 114th Congress H.R. 638)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  23. ↑ Levinsky, David (March 31, 2016). "Tom MacArthur kicks off congressional re-election campaign". Burlington County Times. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ Hefler, Jan (June 8, 2016). "Frederick LaVergne to face Rep. Tom MacArthur in fall". Philly.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ Melisurgo, Len (November 8, 2016). "Live congressional election results, ballot questions in N.J." NJ.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  26. ↑ Levinsky, David (January 5, 2017). "MacArthur moving from Armed Services Committee to Financial Services". Burlington County Timesaccess-date=September 20, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Tom MacArthur's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  29. ↑ The Bipartisan Index ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party). "Our Work: Bipartisan Index". The Lugar Center. Retrieved September 20, 2017. The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index (PDF), The Lugar Center, March 7, 2016, retrieved April 30, 2017
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tom McArthur's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)". Vote Smart. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  31. ↑ Willis, Derek. "Represent". ProPublica. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  32. ↑ You'll never believe who the Tea Party just endorsed in N.J., accessed September 27, 2018
  33. ↑ Tracking Congress in the Age of Trump, accessed September 27, 2018
  34. 1 2 3 "MacArthur Votes for GOP Tax Overhaul". Observer. 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 Kessler, Glenn (December 4, 2017). "Analysis | The GOP's $10,000 cap on property tax deductions and how it affects one congressional district". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Why this N.J. Republican keeps voting for things that could hurt Jersey". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  37. ↑ "This pro-Trump Jersey congressman could be in real trouble. Here's why". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  38. 1 2 "This Republican was only Jersey politico to back bill that would have cut N.J. food stamps". NJ.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Check out Representative Tom MacArthur's Environmental Voting Record". League of Conservation Voters Scorecard. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  40. ↑ "Atlantic oil drilling: Phil Murphy, lawmakers don't want it off NJ". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  41. ↑ "N.J. Republican just did a big switch on guns after Florida shooting". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  42. ↑ "On guns, N.J. Congressman's rhetoric doesn't match his horrid record | Editorial". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  43. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Tom MacArthur is trying to fool you. He's a partisan warrior. | Moran". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  45. ↑ "Midterm election poll: Tom MacArthur, Andy Kim are in a virtual tie". North Jersey. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  46. 1 2 "N.J. GOP Congressman MacArthur votes no on Obamacare repeal". North Jersey. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  47. ↑ "McSally, McClintock, MacArthur & Aderholt Welcome Changes to AHCA" (JPG). Pbs.twimg.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  48. ↑ "In New Jersey, Democrats Hope No Good Health Care Compromise Goes Unpunished". Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  49. ↑ Kliff, Sarah. "Republicans exempt their own insurance from their latest health care proposal", "Vox", April 25, 2017, Retrieved April 26, 2017
  50. ↑ Kliff, Sarah. "Republicans’ new health amendment lets insurers charge sick people more, cover less", "Vox", April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017
  51. ↑ Berman, Russell. "A Republican Congressman Meets His Angry Constituency". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  52. ↑ Fox, Lauren. "MacArthur defends his linchpin health care amendment to raucous crowd". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  53. ↑ Pathé, Simone; Pathé, Simone (2017-05-11). "Tom MacArthur Feels Heat at Home Over Health Care, Russia". Roll Call. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  54. ↑ http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/23/macarthur-resigns-as-co-chair-of-tuesday-group-112255
  55. ↑ Gangitano, Alex; Gangitano, Alex (2018-03-05). "LGBT Staff Association Has Republican on Board for First Time in Decade". Roll Call. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  56. ↑ "MacArthur wins vs. Belgard in 3rd Congressional District". Asbury Park Press. USA Today Network. November 4, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  57. ↑ "Big bucks flowing to Tom MacArthur, Andy Kim in 3rd District race". Burlington County Times. GateHouse Media. October 17, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  58. ↑ Salant, Jonathan D. (February 11, 2015). "N.J.'s rookie Republican: Rep. Tom MacArthur focuses on the folks back home". NJ.com. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  59. ↑ "MacArthur leaving Randolph; Set to pursue seat in Congress". New Jersey Hills Media Group. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  60. ↑ "New Members Guide 2015". The Hill. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  61. ↑ Salant, Jonathan D. (July 11, 2017). "Who is N.J.'s richest member of Congress? The poorest? They're all ranked here". NJ.com. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  62. ↑ "Morris County general election results 2010". NJ.com. November 2, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  63. ↑ "Official List Candidates for House of Representatives for Primary Election" (PDF). 2014 Election Information Archive. State of New Jersey, Department of State. August 6, 2014. p. 6. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  64. ↑ "Official List Candidates for House of Representatives for General Election" (PDF). 2016 Election Information Archive. State of New Jersey, Department of State. December 6, 2016. p. 6. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jon Runyan		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district
2015–present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Mia Love		 United States Representatives by seniority
341st		 Succeeded by
Martha McSally
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