Michael McCaul

Michael McCaul
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Lloyd Doggett
Personal details
Born	January 14, 1962 (1962-01-14) (age 49) Dallas, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Linda McCaul
Children	Caroline McCaul Jewell McCaul Avery McCaul Lauren McCaul Michael McCaul
Residence	Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Trinity University, St. Mary's University
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Michael Thomas McCaul, Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 10th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from Austin to Houston.

Early life, education and career

McCaul grew up in suburban Dallas to a fourth generation Texan family. He graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from San Antonio's Trinity University in 1984 and his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University in 1987. McCaul also attended Harvard University, taking courses in the Kennedy School of Government.^[1]

McCaul worked as an attorney and a federal prosecutor before entering politics. He was the Chief of Counterterrorism and National Security for Texas's branch of the US Attorney's office also worked under the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section. McCaul was appointed Deputy Attorney General in 1998 and served in this capacity until 2002.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ethics
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
  • Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere (Vice Chair)
• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
  • Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management (Chairman)
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
  • Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation

Caucus memberships

• Congressional High Tech Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Green Schools Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Political campaigns

He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004. He won a crowded Republican primary in the newly created 10th District. The district was thought to be so heavily Republican that no Democrat even filed, effectively handing the seat to McCaul.

In 2006 he defeated Democrat Ted Ankrum and former Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik with 55% of the vote. McCaul won re-election once again in 2008 against Democrat Larry Joe Doherty and Libertarian Matt Finkel^[2] by a 54% to 43% margin.

In 2010, he was re-elected to a fourth term by a wide margin (76.26%) against Democrat Ted Ankrum (22.26%) and Libertarian Jeremiah “JP” Perkins (1.47%).

Personal life

McCaul's wife Linda is the daughter of Clear Channel Communications Chairman Lowry Mays and sister of Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays. In 2011, Roll Call named McCaul the wealthiest member of the United States Congress, surpassing U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA). His current net worth is estimated at $294 million, which is nearly 300% higher than it was last year ($74 million).^[3] In 2004, Roll Call estimated his net worth at just $12 million. His wealth increase was due to large monetary transfers from his wife's family.^[4] Michael and Linda live in the West Lake Hills neighborhood of Austin, Texas with their children daughters Caroline, Jewell, Avery, and Lauren, and a son, Michael. They recently purchased a large house on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Controversy

In August 2011 McCaul, along with John Culberson and Ted Poe caused controversy for attempting to make Christian prayers at all American military funerals mandatory, regardless of whether or not the deceased was Christian and with or without the consent of the deceased's family.^[5][6][7] The three politicians state their demands are a response to Veteran Affairs banning Christian prayers at military funerals, a claim Veterans Affairs state is completely false.

The idea that invoking the name of God or Jesus is banned at VA national cemeteries is blatantly false. The truth is VA’s policy protects veterans’ families’ rights to pray however they choose at our national cemeteries.

—Veteran Affairs

Currently it is up to the deceased's family as to which religions prayers, if any, are to be read at a funeral.^[5][6][7]

See also

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2008#District 10

References

1. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/222/000086961/
2. ^ "State of Texas 2008 General Election Returns". Texas Office of the Secretary of State. 2008-11-05. http://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/nov04_141_state.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-06. 
3. ^ http://www.rollcall.com/50richest/the-50-richest-members-of-congress-112th.html
4. ^ http://www.rollcall.com/news/mccaul_leaps_top_50_richest_members_congress-208231-1.html?pos=hftxt
5. ^ ^{a b} Griffith, Justin (August 5, 2011). "TX Congressmen to force Christian prayer over my dead body.". rockbeyondbelief.com. http://rockbeyondbelief.com/2011/08/05/tx-congressmen-to-force-christian-prayer-over-my-dead-body/. Retrieved September 6, 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} DiBrance, Alex (August 23, 2011). "Texas Legislators and Christian Groups Fight to Insert God Into Vets' Funerals -- Against Families' Wishes". AlterNet. http://www.alternet.org/world/152143/texas_legislators_and_christian_groups_fight_to_insert_god_into_vets'_funerals_--_against_families'_wishes/?page=entire. Retrieved September 6, 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Pitzl-Waters, Jason (August 27, 2011). "The Fight For Christian Prayers at Non-Christian Veteran Burial Services". Patheos. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/08/the-fight-for-christian-prayers-at-non-christian-veteran-burial-services.html. Retrieved September 6, 2011. 

External links

• U.S. Representative Michael McCaul official U.S. House site
• McCaul for Congress official campaign site
• 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
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Lloyd Doggett	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th congressional district 2005–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Dan Lipinski D-Illinois	United States Representatives by seniority 245th	Succeeded by Patrick McHenry R-North Carolina

Persondata
Name	Maccaul, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 14, 1962
Place of birth	Dallas, Texas
Date of death
Place of death