Dan Coats

For the American football player, see Daniel Coats (American football).

Daniel Coats
United States Senator from Indiana
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Richard Lugar
Preceded by	Evan Bayh
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Dan Quayle
Succeeded by	Evan Bayh
29th United States Ambassador to Germany
In office August 15, 2001 – February 28, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	John C. Kornblum
Succeeded by	William R. Timken, Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Dan Quayle
Succeeded by	Jill L. Long
Personal details
Born	May 16, 1943 (1943-05-16) (age 68) Jackson, Michigan
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Marsha Coats
Alma mater	Wheaton College (B.A.) Indiana University (J.D.)
Religion	Presbyterian Church
Website	Senator Dan Coats
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966-1968

Daniel Ray "Dan" Coats (born May 16, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Indiana and member of the Republican Party. He was in the United States Senate from from 1989 to 1999, retired, and then returned in 2011.

Born in Jackson, Michigan, Coats graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois and Indiana University School of Law. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968. Before serving in the U.S. Senate, Coats was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 4th congressional district from 1981 to 1989. He was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Dan Quayle following Quayle's election as Vice President of the United States in 1988. Coats won the 1990 special election to serve the remainder of Quayle's unexpired term, as well as the 1992 election for a full six-year term. He did not seek reelection in 1998.

After retiring from the Senate, Coats served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005, and then worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He was re-elected to the Senate by a large margin in 2010, succeeding U.S. Senator Evan Bayh, who did not seek reelection. Along with Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, he is one of two current Senators to have returned to the Senate after having retired from the Senate.

Early life, education and career

Coats was born in Jackson, Michigan, to Edward R. and Vera E. Coats. He attended local public schools, and graduated from Jackson High School in 1961. He then studied at Wheaton College in Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1965. At Wheaton, he was an active student athlete on the soccer team. He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968, and earned a Juris Doctor from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis in 1971. He also served as assistant vice president of a Fort Wayne life insurance company.

U.S. House of Representatives

From 1976 to 1980, Coats worked for then-U.S. Representative Dan Quayle, a Republican from Indiana's 4th congressional district, as Quayle's district representative. When Quayle decided to challenge three-term Democratic incumbent Birch Bayh in the 1980 U.S. Senate election, Coats ran for and won Quayle's seat in the U.S. House.

U.S. Senate

When Quayle resigned from the Senate after being elected Vice President of the United States in 1988, Coats was appointed to Quayle’s former seat. Coats served in the Senate until January 1999, when Evan Bayh became the new Senator. When Bayh retired, Coats ran for his old seat and won in 2010.

Political positions

On multiple occasions, Senator Coats supported gun control measures. In 1991, he voted in favor of Biden-Thurmond Violent Crime Control Act of 1991. This act, which did not become law, would have created a waiting period for handgun purchases and placed a ban on semi-automatic firearms. Subsequently, he supported the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that President Clinton signed into law in 1993.^[1] The legislation imposed a waiting period before a handgun could be transferred to an individual by a licensed dealer, importer, or manufacturer. This waiting period ended when the computerized instant check system came online. Coats also supported Feinstein Amendment 1152 to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1993.^[2] The purpose of the Feinstein Amendment was to "restrict the manufacture, transfer, and possession of certain semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices."^[3]

In 1993, Senator Coats emerged as an opponent of President Clinton's effort to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces.^[4] In 1995 Senator Coats introduced S. 568: Family, Investment, Retirement, Savings, and Tax Fairness Act^[5] which would provide "family tax credits, increase national savings through individual retirement plus accounts, indexing for inflation the income thresholds for taxing social security benefits, etc".^[6] The bill did not become law.

Senator Coats cosponsored, with Democratic Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Christopher Dodd and then-Republican Senator James Jeffords, S.2206: Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998. This bill, which was enacted into law, “amended the Head Start Act, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, and the Community Services Block Grant Act... in order to provide an opportunity for persons with limited means to accumulate assets.”^[7]

In 1996, Senator Coats cosponsored the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 which President Clinton signed into law. The bill allowed the President to "rewrit[e] legislation by vetoing single items of spending or specific tax breaks approved by Congress."^[8] The Supreme Court of the United States declared the law unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York in a 6-3 decision.

Coats made headlines in August 1998, when he publicly questioned the timing of President Bill Clinton’s attack on terrorist bases in Afghanistan and Sudan, suggesting it might be linked to the Lewinsky scandal: "While there is clearly much more we need to learn about this attack and why it was ordered today, given the president’s personal difficulties this week, it is legitimate to question the timing of this action."^[9]

Between U.S. Senate tenures

Coats worked as Special Counsel member in the firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand in 2000 and 2001.

In 2001, Coats was reportedly one of George W. Bush’s top choices to be Defense Secretary, a job eventually given to Donald Rumsfeld, who had previously served as United States Secretary of Defense.

From August 15, 2001 to February 28, 2005, Coats was the United States Ambassador to Germany.^[10][11] As ambassador during the lead up to the Iraq war, he pressured the German government not to oppose the war, threatening worsened US relations with Germany.^[12] As Ambassador he also played a critical role in establishing robust relations with then opposition leader Angela Merkel and in the construction of a new United States Embassy in the heart of Berlin next to the Brandenburg Gate.^[13]

In 2005, Coats drew attention when he was chosen by President George W. Bush to shepherd Harriet Miers' failed nomination to the Supreme Court through the Senate. Echoing Senator Roman Hruska's famous 1970 speech in defense of Harrold Carswell, Coats said to CNN regarding the nomination: "If [being a] great intellectual powerhouse is a qualification to be a member of the court and represent the American people and the wishes of the American people and to interpret the Constitution, then I think we have a court so skewed on the intellectual side that we may not be getting representation of America as a whole."^[14]

In 2007, Coats served as co-chairman of a team of lobbyists for Cooper Industries, a Texas corporation that moved its principal place of business to Bermuda, where it would not be liable for U.S. taxes. He successfully blocked Senate legislation that would have prevented a tax loophole, worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Cooper Industries.^[15]

The NYT also reported that Coats was co-chairman of the Washington government relations office of King & Spalding, with a salary of $603,609.^[15]

Political campaigns

2010

See also: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2010

On February 10, 2010, Coats confirmed that he would return to Indiana to run for the seat held by retiring incumbent Evan Bayh in the 2010 United States Senate election.^[16][17] Bayh announced his retirement on February 15, 2010. On May 4, 2010, Coats won the Republican primary over state Sen. Marlin Stutzman and former Congressman John Hostettler.^[18][19]

Coats received endorsements from National Right to Life Committee, Indiana Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List.^[20]

Coats has described himself as a conservative who stands for “limited government, lower taxes, a balanced budget, [and] strong defense.”^[21] Coats said, "We need to get the economy back on track... that ought to be our priority and not the huge spending going on in Washington"^[22]

Coats defeated Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth by a large margin to return to the Senate.^[23]

Personal life

Coats is affiliated with the Fellowship, an informal association of Christian lawmakers.^[24]

References

1. ^ Macy, Tim (2010-02-11). "Dan Coats, Gun Control and the Indiana Senate Primary". Gunowners.org. http://gunowners.org/op02112010tm.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
2. ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00375. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
3. ^ "Bill Summary & Status - 103rd Congress (1993 - 1994) - S.AMDT.1152". Thomas.loc.gov. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:SP1152:. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
4. ^ Schmitt, Eric (May 12, 1993). "Compromise on Military Gay Ban Gaining Support Among Senators". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/12/us/compromise-on-military-gay-ban-gaining-support-among-senators.html. 
5. ^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s104-568
6. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d104:46:./temp/~bdOOvF:@@@L&summ2=m&
7. ^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s105-2206
8. ^ Pear, Robert (June 26, 1998). "The Supreme Court: The Opinion -- Justices, 6-3, Bar Veto Of Line Items In Bills; See H.I.V. As Disability; Spending At Issue". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/26/us/supreme-court-opinion-justices-6-3-bar-veto-line-items-bills-see-hiv-disability.html. 
9. ^ Most Lawmakers Support Clinton’s Military Strikes, August 20, 1998, CNN.
10. ^ "Speeches by Ambassador Coats". United States Diplomatic Mission to Germany. http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/coats_speeches.html. Retrieved April 24, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Biography: Daniel R. Coats". United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/6087.htm. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 
12. ^ "Irak-Kriegspläne: US-Botschafter mahnt die Deutschen - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Politik". Spiegel.de. 2002-09-04. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,212385,00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
13. ^ "Coats, Bucshon to headline GOP dinner » Local News » The Washington Times-Herald". Washtimesherald.com. http://washtimesherald.com/local/x712215748/Coats-Bucshon-to-headline-GOP-dinner. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
14. ^ American Morning: Miers Confirmation Battle, October 7, 2005, transcript of CNN American Morning.
15. ^ ^{a b} LIPTON, ERIC (November 13, 2010). "A Journey From Lawmaker to Lobbyist and Back Again". nyt.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/politics/14coats.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
16. ^ Ryan Elijah (February 10, 2010). "Dan Coats Confirms Bid for U.S. Senate". Indiana's NewsCenter. http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/84004092.html. Retrieved 2010-02-10. 
17. ^ Flynn, Bridget (March 23, 2010). "Dan Coats outlines his priorities". Herald Argus. http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/03/23/news/local/doc4ba84238e639b605010529.txt. 
18. ^ "The 2010 Results Maps". Politico.Com. http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/#/Senate/2010/IN. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
19. ^ Cillizza, Chris (2010-05-04). "Coats, Fisher win; NC-Senate to runoff". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/senate-republicans-get-their-m.html?wprss=thefix. Retrieved 2010-05-09. 
20. ^ "Indiana Senate Candidate Dan Coats Gets Pro-Life Backing Over Ellsworth". LifeNews.com. 2011-06-10. http://www.lifenews.com/state5236.html. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
21. ^ Thomas, Cal (March 25, 2010). "Once More Unto the Breach?". Townhall.com. http://townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2010/03/25/once_more_unto_the_breach. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 
22. ^ Allen, Kevin (May 7, 2010). "GOP nominee Coats shifts gears in U.S. Senate race". South Bend Tribune. http://sec.wbir.com/article/0bCG6ozebo6dr?q=Dan+Coats. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
23. ^ "State Results - Election Center 2010 - Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/results/individual/#INS01. 
24. ^ The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet: Chapter 14 page 381

External links

• Senator Dan Coats official U.S. Senate website
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Dan Quayle	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th congressional district 1981–1989	Succeeded by Jill L. Long
United States Senate
Preceded by Dan Quayle	United States Senator (Class 3) from Indiana 1989–1999 Served alongside: Richard Lugar	Succeeded by Evan Bayh
Preceded by Evan Bayh	United States Senator (Class 3) from Indiana 2011-present Served alongside: Richard Lugar	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Mark Kirk R-Illinois	United States Senators by seniority 87th	Succeeded by Roy Blunt R-Missouri
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by John C. Kornblum	United States Ambassador to Germany 2001–2005	Succeeded by William R. Timken
Party political offices
Preceded by Dan Quayle	Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Indiana (Class 3) 1990, 1992	Succeeded by Paul Helmke
Preceded by Marvin Scott	Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Indiana (Class 3) 2010	Succeeded by Current nominee

Persondata
Name	Coats, Dan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 16, 1943
Place of birth	Jackson, Michigan
Date of death
Place of death