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69-556: As noted in McConnell v. FEC , a United States Supreme Court ruling on BCRA, the Act was designed to address two issues: Although the legislation is known as "McCain–Feingold", the Senate version is not the bill that became law. Instead, the companion legislation, H.R. 2356—introduced by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), is the version that became law. Shays–Meehan was originally introduced as H.R. 380. In

138-512: A Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Administration from New York University . He lives in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, Connecticut . Shays has always remained a Christian Scientist—a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible—throughout his life. Shays married Betsi DeRaismes in 1968. They served together in

207-409: A 5-4 majority, upheld the key provisions of McCain-Feingold including (1) the "electioneering communication" provisions (which required disclosure of and prohibited the use of corporate and union treasury funds to pay for or broadcast cable and satellite ads clearly identifying a federal candidate targeted to the candidate's electorate within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election); and (2)

276-442: A candidate within 30 days of a primary or caucus or 60 days of a general election are unconstitutional as applied to ads susceptible of a reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate. Some election law experts believed that the new exception would render BCRA's "electioneering communication" provisions meaningless, while others believed the new exception to be quite narrow. In June 2008,

345-603: A debate Shays sparked outrage from critics with comments about the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. "Now I've seen what happened in Abu Ghraib, and Abu Ghraib was not torture. It was outrageous, outrageous involvement of National Guard troops from [Maryland] who were involved in a sex ring and they took pictures of soldiers who were naked, and they did other things that were just outrageous. But it wasn't torture." Upon returning from an August 2006 Iraq trip, Shays became

414-606: A district where recent polls show a solid majority of voters disapprove of the 2003 US decision to invade Iraq. On April 10, 2003, Shays told the Connecticut Post that "'The successes to date are extraordinary. The war plan has been nearly flawless. Now we need to make sure the peace plan rises to the same level,' Shays said. 'If we are able to help them form a government quickly, we will be viewed as liberators. If we are there too long, we will be viewed basically as conquerors.'" On August 19, 2004, Shays told reporters, "We're on

483-428: A few months after starting his seventh term in the state house, Shays entered a special election for the 4th District after 16-year incumbent Stewart McKinney died of AIDS , and won with 57 percent of the vote. He won the seat in his own right in 1988 and was reelected nine times. From 1988 to 2002, Shays was reelected fairly handily, never dropping below 57 percent of the vote even as the 4th turned more Democratic at

552-668: A group of plaintiffs led by then–Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell , a long-time opponent of the bill. President Bush signed the law despite "reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising." He appeared to expect that the Supreme Court would overturn some of its key provisions. But, in December 2003, the Supreme Court upheld most of the legislation in McConnell v. FEC . Subsequently, political parties and "watchdog" organizations have filed complaints with

621-515: A leading advocate of campaign finance reform, I had come to appreciate that the public's suspicions were not always mistaken. Money does buy access in Washington, and access increases influence that often results in benefiting the few at the expense of the many.'" In March 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , regarding whether or not

690-491: A multi-year effort by Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold to reform the way money is raised and spent on political campaigns culminated in the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (the so-called McCain-Feingold bill). Its key provisions were 1) a ban on unrestricted ("soft money") donations made directly to political parties (often by corporations, unions, or wealthy individuals) and on

759-710: A political documentary about Hillary Clinton could be considered a political ad that must be paid for with funds regulated under the Federal Election Campaign Act. In January 2010, the Supreme Court struck down sections of McCain–Feingold which limited activity of corporations, saying, "If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech." Specifically, Citizens United struck down campaign financing laws related to corporations and unions; law previously banned

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828-554: A timeline. I believe the president's wrong," said Shays. Shays' latest plan marks the first time he has specified dates. On April 13, 2008, Shays defended President Bush's Iraq policy to a town meeting in his home district, telling them, "I support the President on Iraq." Shays served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1975 to 1987, representing part of Stamford (he has since moved to Bridgeport ). Just

897-461: Is a moderate , having voted historically more often with liberals than with conservatives , although it noted he voted with Congressional Republicans 80% of the time in 2002. Shays is labeled by his supporters as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative detractors regard him as a RINO (" Republican In Name Only "). He and Marty Meehan were the lead sponsors of the House version of

966-727: Is a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), often referred to as the McCain – Feingold Act. The case takes its name from Senator Mitch McConnell , Republican of Kentucky , and the Federal Election Commission , the federal agency that oversees U.S. campaign finance laws. It was partially overruled by Citizens United v. FEC , 558 U.S. 310 (2010). The case

1035-480: Is a member of the Republican Party . Shays was the only Republican congressman from New England elected to the 110th United States Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. His loss to Jim Himes in the 2008 election made New England's House delegation entirely Democratic in the 111th Congress . He was the most senior member of the House of Representatives to be defeated in the 2008 election. In 2009, Shays

1104-649: Is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election." Shays is a member of or supported by the Republican Main Street Partnership , The Republican Majority for Choice , Republicans for Environmental Protection , It's My Party Too, and the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus . Shays voted in favor of the 2003 congressional resolution authorizing

1173-544: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act , which President George W. Bush signed into law in 2002. Shays is pro-choice on abortion but voted for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act . Shays was endorsed by the Brady Campaign for his support for gun control and was one of only six Republicans to vote against banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors in 2005. Despite having voted in favor of

1242-574: The Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, Shays voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in both 2004 and 2006 that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage , and co-sponsored a bill to overturn the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibited LGBT troops from serving openly. He was one of the few Republicans to oppose amending the Constitution to ban flag-burning. In 1999 he

1311-559: The Hollingsworth v. Perry case. He was mentioned as a potential candidate for Governor of Connecticut in 2014 , but ultimately did not enter that race. In the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Shays originally endorsed Ohio Governor John Kasich . After Donald Trump won the Republican primary, he announced in August 2016 that he would vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in

1380-762: The Peace Corps in Fiji from 1968 to 1970. They have one daughter. At the age of 29, Shays was first elected to the Connecticut House where he served from 1975 to 1987. He served simultaneously as the ranking member of both the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Finance, Revenue, and Bonding. He also served as a member of the Judiciary Committee. He served six days in jail on a contempt charge when he

1449-475: The U.S. News report, Farrell says that, in 2002, Shays voted in support of Bush's post- 9/11 agenda 80% of the time, but other analyses of his voting record revealed that historically he voted more often with liberals. Despite the strong challenge from Farrell, Shays was re-elected to Congress in the 2006 election by a slim margin of 6,645 votes (3%). Shays lost Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk , Westport, and Weston to Farrell, but her margin in those communities

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1518-611: The general election . He served as a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics in Spring 2017. He endorsed Joe Biden , for President of the United States of America in the 2020 United States elections . In 2020, Shays, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it

1587-419: The "soft money" ban (which prohibited federal parties, candidates, and officeholders from raising or spending funds not in compliance with contribution restrictions, and prohibited state parties from using such "soft money" in connection with federal elections). Justices John Paul Stevens , Sandra Day O'Connor , David Souter , Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer established the majority for two parts of

1656-672: The 2004 election cycle. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was fined $ 299,500; the League of Conservation Voters was fined $ 180,000; MoveOn.org was fined $ 150,000. In February 2007, the 527 organization Progress for America Voter Fund was likewise fined $ 750,000 for its failure to abide by federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 election cycle. In June 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court held, in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. , that BCRA's limitations on corporate and labor union funding of broadcast ads mentioning

1725-486: The American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems." President Obama also called the decision, "a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans." BCRA decreased the role of soft money in political campaigns as

1794-775: The August 14 primary to Linda McMahon . To date, he is the last Republican to have represented Connecticut in Congress. Shays was born in Stamford, Connecticut , the son of Margaret "Peggy" (née Oliver) and Thurston Crane Shays. His maternal grandmother was born in Scotland . He grew up in Darien , and graduated from Darien High School in 1964. He attended the Christian Science Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, and received both

1863-580: The Constitution. The Court found that the law only affected state elections in which federal candidates were involved and also that it did not prevent states from creating separate election laws for state and local elections. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote an opinion on titles III and IV of the BCRA, joined by O'Connor, Souter, Anthony Kennedy , Antonin Scalia , and by the other justices with respect to parts of

1932-492: The Court found that such regulation was necessary to prevent the groups from circumventing the law. O'Connor and Stevens wrote that "money, like water, will always find an outlet" and that the government was therefore justified in taking steps to prevent schemes developed to get around the contribution limits. The Court also rejected the argument that Congress had exceeded its authority to regulate elections under Article I, Section 4 of

2001-407: The Court's opinion: Because the regulations dealt mostly with soft-money contributions that were used to register voters and increase attendance at the polls, not with campaign expenditures (which are more explicitly a statement of political values and therefore deserve more protection), the Court held that the restriction on free speech was minimal. It then found that the restriction was justified by

2070-520: The District of Columbia ruled three sections of the challenged provisions unconstitutional, and upheld two other sections. The District Court's ruling was stayed during the appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a special session on September 8, 2003. On December 10, 2003, it issued a complicated decision totaling 272 pages in length, that, with

2139-614: The FEC concerning the raising and spending of soft money by so-called " 527 organizations "—organizations claiming tax-exemption as "political organizations" under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code ( 26 U.S.C.   § 527 ), but not registering as "political committees" under the Federal Election Campaign Act , which uses a different legal definition. These organizations have been established on both sides of

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2208-501: The FEC did promulgate a new rule in the fall of 2004 requiring some 527s participating in federal campaigns to use at least 50% "hard money" (contributions regulated by the Federal Election Campaign Act) to pay their expenses, the FEC did not change its regulations on when a 527 organization must register as a federal "political committee"-prompting Representatives Shays and Meehan to file a federal court lawsuit against

2277-477: The FEC for the Commission's failure to adopt a 527 rule. In September, 2007, a Federal District Court ruled in favor of the FEC, against congressmen Shays and Meehan. In December 2006 the FEC entered settlements with three 527 groups the commission found to have violated federal law by failing to register as "political committees" and abide by contribution limits, source prohibitions and disclosure requirements during

2346-652: The Republican and Democratic parties nonetheless used this money to support their candidates, and money donated to parties became known as soft money . In 1992, President George H. W. Bush vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic Congress that would have, among other things, restricted the use of soft money. President Clinton pushed for a similar bill, but was unable to get both houses to agree on one bill. In 1995, senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) jointly published an op-ed calling for campaign finance reform, and began working on their own bill. In 1998,

2415-473: The Senate voted on the bill, but the bill failed to meet the 60 vote threshold to defeat a filibuster. All 45 Senate Democrats and 6 Senate Republicans voted to invoke cloture , but the remaining 49 Republicans voted against invoking cloture. This effectively killed the bill for the remainder of the 105th Congress . McCain's 2000 campaign for president and a series of scandals (including the Enron scandal ) brought

2484-546: The Supreme Court's decision during his 2010 State of the Union Address , delivered January 27, saying, "With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests—including foreign corporations—to spend without limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by

2553-553: The aftermath of Watergate , Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 , which put new limits on contributions to campaigns. Four years later, the FEC ruled that donors could donate unlimited money to political parties (but not the candidates themselves) if the party used that money for "party building activities" such as voter registration drives, but not to directly support candidates. Both

2622-476: The bill with a 240–189 vote, sending the bill to the Senate. The bill passed the Senate in a 60–40 vote, the bare minimum required to overcome the filibuster. Throughout the congressional battle on the bill, President Bush declined to take a strong position, but nonethless signed the bill into law in March 2002 after it cleared both houses of Congress. Provisions of the legislation were challenged as unconstitutional by

2691-423: The broadcast, cable or satellite transmission of "electioneering communications" paid for by corporations in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before the general election. The minority argued that the court erred in allowing unlimited corporate spending, arguing that corporate spending posed a particular threat to democratic self-government. President Barack Obama expressed his concern over

2760-487: The candidate and states that the candidate has approved the communication." The impact of BCRA first started being felt nationally with the 2004 elections. One immediately recognizable result was that, as a result of the so-called stand by your ad provision, all campaign advertisements included a verbal statement to the effect of "I'm [candidate's name] and I approve this message ." McConnell v. FEC McConnell v. Federal Election Commission , 540 U.S. 93 (2003),

2829-553: The first Congressional Republican to call for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Shays said he was still a supporter of the war, but supported a timetable in order to "encourage some political will on the part of Iraqis". Shays has staunchly disputed media claims that he has flip-flopped his position on Iraq. "I am not distancing myself from the President," he told the Los Angeles Times on August 25, 2006. That same day, he told other reporters, "I totally support

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2898-456: The former Congressman showed more electability than McMahon, due to her loss in an open Senate seat contest in 2010 by a large margin despite spending $ 50 million of her own money, also citing her high unfavorable numbers among state voters, and the weak fundraising numbers of the McMahon campaign. Despite support among Independents and even some Democrats, Shays faced a significant obstacles in

2967-401: The government's legitimate interest in preventing "both the actual corruption threatened by large financial contributions and... the appearance of corruption " that might result from those contributions. In response to challenges that the law was too broad and unnecessarily regulated conduct that had not been shown to cause corruption (such as advertisements paid for by corporations or unions),

3036-436: The issue of campaign finance to the fore of public consciousness in 2001. McCain and Feingold pushed the bill in the Senate, while Chris Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) led the effort to pass the bill in the House. In just the second successful use of the discharge petition since the 1980s, a mixture of Democrats and Republicans defied Speaker Dennis Hastert and passed a campaign finance reform bill. The House approved

3105-407: The law places limits on the contributions by interest groups and national political parties. BCRA had a " Stand by Your Ad " Provision, which requires candidates in the United States for federal political office, as well as interest groups and political parties supporting or opposing a candidate, to include in political advertisements on television and radio "a statement by the candidate that identifies

3174-540: The main holdings. The Federal District Court for the District of Columbia's opinion is likely the longest opinion ever issued by a court in the United States: the opinion was 743 pages. Chris Shays Christopher Hunter Shays (born October 18, 1945) is an American politician. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives as representative of the 4th District of Connecticut . He

3243-414: The national level. The district, once a classic "Yankee Republican" district, swung heavily Democratic along with the rest of Connecticut from the early 1990s onward; the last Republican presidential candidate to carry it was George H. W. Bush in 1988. However, in 2004, Westport First Selectwoman Diane Farrell held him to only 52 percent of the vote, his closest contest in two decades. In 2006, Shays

3312-505: The officer's badge for identification. Following the incident, Shays publicly acknowledged his regret for his behavior and accepted full responsibility for his actions. Shays is a moderate Republican. From 1990 onward, Shays voted with the Republican majority 76.8% of the time, voted with the Democratic majority 57.9% of the time and missed 2.5% of the votes. A U.S. News & World Report analysis of Shays' voting record found that he

3381-452: The opinion. The Chief Justice's opinion struck down the provision banning political contributions by minors but ruled that the appellants lacked standing with regard to the rest of the challenges to titles III and IV. Two dissenting opinions were included in the decision: Three other justices wrote separate opinions on the decision: The holding of the case was determined to be very confusing, although many news sources accurately summarized

3450-488: The performance of security functions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He co-chaired the government watchdog commission that identified and raised alarm over $ 60 billion of waste, fraud, and abuse in wartime contingency contracting and presented to Congress reforms to address this wasteful spending. Shays was a candidate for the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate nomination to replace retiring Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman . However, he lost

3519-546: The political aisle, and have included high-profile organizations such as the Media Fund and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth . 527s are financed in large part by wealthy individuals, labor unions, and businesses. 527s pre-dated McCain–Feingold but grew in popularity after the law took effect. In May 2004, the FEC voted to not write new rules on the application of federal campaign finance laws to 527 organizations. Although

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3588-470: The presidency . Senator McCain consistently voiced concern over campaign practices and their funding. "'Questions of honor are raised as much by appearances as by reality in politics, and because they incite public distrust, they need to be addressed no less directly than we would address evidence of expressly illegal corruption,' McCain wrote in his 2002 memoir Worth the Fighting For . 'By the time I became

3657-427: The primary trailing in both campaign funds and poll results. Outspent by more than $ 60 million, Shays was defeated by a three-to-one margin in the primary. She faced Democratic Representative Chris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking her second consecutive defeat in two years. In 2013, Shays was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during

3726-539: The right track now." On June 24, 2005, Shays said "We've seen amazing progress [in Iraq]." On July 27, 2005, Shays said on a local radio program that he was optimistic about the future of Iraq, and that he opposed any timetable for troop withdrawal. On June 11, 2006 Shays told the Hartford Courant that his position on the war was a matter of principle and he was not going to stop talking about it. On October 11, 2006, at

3795-562: The section of the act known as the "millionaire's amendment" was overturned by the Supreme Court in Davis v. Federal Election Commission . This provision had attempted to "equalize" campaigns by providing that the legal limit on contributions would increase for a candidate who was substantially outspent by an opposing candidate using personal wealth. In 2008 one of the cosponsors of the legislation, Senator John McCain of Arizona, touted this piece of legislation and others that he sponsored in his bid for

3864-500: The solicitation of those donations by elected officials; 2) limits on the advertising that unions, corporations, and non-profit organizations can engage in up to 60 days prior to an election; and 3) restrictions on political parties' use of their funds for advertising on behalf of candidates (in the form of "issue ads" or "coordinated expenditures"). In May 2003, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for

3933-433: The state Republican Party by a delegate vote of 658 to 351 over Shays. The two were the only candidates to qualify for the primary , which would take place on August 14, 2012. A series of independent polls had shown Shays defeating or in dead heat with the top Democratic contenders in the general election, while those same polls show McMahon losing handily to each of the top Democratic contenders. The Shays campaign asserted

4002-539: The three largest towns—Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford. Ultimately, Shays could not overcome a landslide loss in Bridgeport, the largest city in the district, where he won only 19% of the vote. Shays officially entered the 2012 U.S. Senate race on August 22, 2011, to replace retiring senator Joe Lieberman . At the Connecticut State Republican Convention, Linda McMahon earned the endorsement of

4071-445: The use of force in Iraq. In 2003, he was the first U.S. Congressman to visit Iraq after the outbreak of war and he has traveled to Iraq 21 times overall, more than any other U.S. legislator. From 2003 until August 24, 2006, Shays was a "stalwart supporter" of the War in Iraq , and of a continued U.S. military presence there. Shays has faced a continued political challenge to his views in

4140-603: The war," and Shays supported the President's decision to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq on February 17, 2007, when he voted in favor of the surge. On February 16, 2007, Shays voted against H. Con. Res. 63 (which disapproved of increasing troop levels in Iraq), claiming that "The resolution sends the wrong message to the President, to our troops, and to our enemies" On July 13, 2007 Shays called on Congress to approve withdrawing virtually all American troops from Iraq by December 2008. "I believe we need

4209-565: Was a member of the Connecticut Legislature protesting judicial corruption. In 1987, Shays won a special election to fill the vacant seat of the late Congressman Stewart McKinney . He represented the 4th congressional district (southwestern Connecticut) until losing to Jim Himes in 2008. During his 21 years in Congress, Christopher served on the Government Reform, Financial Services, Budget and Homeland Security committees and

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4278-570: Was appointed to co-chair the Commission on Wartime Contracting. The commission is an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Created in Section 841 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, this eight-member commission is mandated by Congress to study federal agency contracting for the reconstruction, logistical support of coalition forces, and

4347-629: Was brought by groups such as the California Democratic Party and the National Rifle Association , and individuals including U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, then the Senate Majority Whip , who argued that BCRA was an unconstitutional infringement on their First Amendment rights. McConnell had been a longtime opponent of BCRA in the Senate, and had led several Senate filibusters to block its passage. In early 2002,

4416-567: Was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to three years in prison but was freed on bail while appealing his conviction. His comments in 2005 made Shays the first Republican to say DeLay should step down from the Majority Leader post. He fought to maintain the Republican Party rule that requires an indicted leader to step down — the rule that ultimately resulted in Tom DeLay's resignation. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct

4485-488: Was defeated by Himes 51% to 48%. Himes was likely assisted by Barack Obama 's landslide victory in the 4th; Obama carried the district with 60% of the vote, one of the largest margins for a Republican-held district. Shays' defeat resulted in there being no Republicans representing New England in the House for the first time since the GOP's inception in the 1850s. Shays carried 14 of the 17 towns in his district. However, Himes took

4554-431: Was in "the fight of his political life", facing a rematch with Farrell. According to U.S. News & World Report , "With money pouring in from the district and from national groups (Farrell expects to raise close to $ 3 million, Shays a bit less) and unregulated political interest groups targeting Shays with automated calls and negative telemarketing designed as polls, this one already has the odor of ugly." According to

4623-596: Was insufficient to overcome Shays' lead in the more Republican towns in the district. After the defeats of Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons , Shays was the only Republican member of the Connecticut congressional delegation, and the only Republican House member from New England . In the 2008 election, Shays faced Democratic nominee Jim Himes , an affordable housing executive and businessman; Libertarian nominee M.A. Carrano, an experimental philosopher, systems consultant and author; and Green Party nominee Richard Duffee. Shays

4692-586: Was one of 20 Republicans to vote against an ultimately failed bill to ban physician-assisted suicide. Shays has long been known for environmental regulations, and was endorsed in the past by the League of Conservation Voters . He also advocates humane treatment of animals and ending discrimination in the workplace. Shays was also one of only four Republicans to vote against all four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton . In April 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay 's alleged ethics violations. January 2011, DeLay

4761-456: Was the first congressman to enter Iraq after the war. In 2007, during an incident at the Capitol, a staff member under Shays' supervision attempted to bring a family through a restricted-access door. When a United States Capitol Police officer intervened and prevented their entry, Shays engaged in a heated exchange with the officer. He raised his voice, using profanities, and attempted to inspect

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