Fred Upton

Early life, education, and early political career

Upton was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, the son of Elizabeth B. (née Vial) and Stephen Edward Upton. Upton attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's, graduating in 1971. He earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Michigan in 1975. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, Peninsular Chapter and became a sports editor at The Michigan Daily and thought he might someday cover the Chicago Cubs. He served on the congressional staff of U.S. Congressman David Stockman (R-MI) from 1976-80. He was in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Ronald Reagan from 1981-85, while Stockman served as OMB Director.

Elections

1986 Upton ran in Michigan's 4th congressional district against incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman Mark Siljander, Stockman's successor. Upton won the Republican primary 55%–45%. He won the general election with 62% of the vote.

1988 Upton won re-election to a second term with 71% of the vote.

1990 He faced a challenge in the Republican primary by Ed Fredericks, ultimately defeating Fredericks by a margin of 63%–37%. In the general election, he won re-election to a third term with 58% of the vote.

1992–2000 After redistricting, Upton decided to run in the newly redrawn Michigan's 6th congressional district, winning re-election in 1992 to a fourth term with 62% of the vote. During this time period, he didn't have a Republican challenger and never won re-election with less than 62%.

2002 After redistricting, Upton faced a primary challenge from state senator Dale Shugars. Upton defeated Shugars 66%–32%. He won the general election with 69% of the vote.

2004 Upton defeated Democrat Scott Elliott, an art gallery owner, 65%–32%.

2006

Upton defeated Democrat Kim Clark 61%–38%.

2008

Upton defeated Democrat Don Cooney, a Kalamazoo City Commissioner, 59%–39%.

2010

Upton was challenged in the Republican primary by former State Representative Jack Hoogendyk. Upton defeated him 57%–43%. In the general election, he defeated Cooney in a rematch 62%–34%.

2012

In 2011, Hoogendyk met with the Club for Growth, a conservative 501(c)4 organization, about running against Upton in a rematch in 2012. Upton has been criticized for not being conservative enough by Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, FreedomWorks, Right to Life of Michigan, and the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots. On January 17, 2012, Hoogendyk announced that he would challenge Upton in the primary, the winner of which would face Democrat Mike O'Brien in the general election. Upton defeated Hoogendyk in the August 2012 Republican primary, advancing to the general election in November.

While initial polls showed Upton with a sizable lead over the challenger, former marine and businessman Mike O'Brien, a poll in October showed Upton and O'Brien locked in a statistical "dead-heat" heading into the final stretch of the campaign.

2014

2016

Upton won re election in 2016, defeating democratic challenger, Paul Clements, a Political Science Professor at Western Michigan University, 58.48%-36.41%, gaining a total of 193,259 votes, compared to Clements 119,980 votes.

Tenure

Upton has been a member of moderate Republican factions The Tuesday Group and the Republican Main Street Partnership.

Healthcare Upton voted against passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and has since voted in favor of its complete repeal, stating that the law ignored the will of the people and that a bill that important should not have been passed without strong bipartisan support. He believes that with the current level of debt, the USA cannot afford the PPACA. In November 2013, in response to Americans losing their health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, Upton proposed a bill what would allow them to retain their health insurance coverage. The essence of the Upton bill is to allow insurance companies to maintain their current individual insurance market policies according to state insurance rules that are in effect as of 2013.

On September 27, 2013, Upton introduced the Drug Quality and Security Act (H.R. 3204; 113th Congress), a bill that would grant the Food and Drug Administration more power to regulate drug compounding in the wake of the New England Compounding Center meningitis outbreak. Upton indicated that three of the deceased were from his district. The bill passed in the House and was being debated in the Senate.

On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed Upton's 21st Century Cures Act into law. The bill, co-sponsored by Upton and Diana DeGette (D-CO) passed the House 392 to 26 and the Senate 94 to 5. The act establishes funds for biomedical research and to develop and implement a strategic plan for biomedical research.

Environment Upton's website once stated: "I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions." In April 2009, he maintained that "climate change is a serious problem that necessitates serious solutions. Everything must be on the table." However, "Upton has gradually retreated from his moderate stance on climate change and carbon emissions." In late 2010, he co-authored a Wall Street Journal editorial saying he was "not convinced" that "carbon is a problem in need of regulation," and urging Congress to overturn Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. (See Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act) He is the co-sponsor, with Ed Whitfield, of the “Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011”.

Regarding the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act being upheld in Federal Appeals court, Upton said that Congress’s refusal to approve greenhouse gas limits constituted a decision and that lawmakers should act now to reverse the United States Environmental Protection Agency emissions rules. Carbon regulation “threatens to drive energy prices higher, destroy jobs and hamstring our economic recovery,” per Upton. The American automobile industry supports the regulations. Due to his environmental policies, The Los Angeles Times wrote in 2011 that Upton "represents one of the biggest threats to planet Earth on planet Earth."

In 2007 Upton was a co-sponsor of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 which among other things mandated phased-in energy efficiency standards for most light bulbs. At the time, Upton noted that the legislation, ultimately signed into law by President George W. Bush, would "help preserve energy resources and reduce harmful emissions, all while saving American families billions of dollars on their electric bills." But in 2010, after Glenn Beck called Upton "all socialist" for supporting the bill, Upton led a failed effort to stop Obama from enforcing the new energy standards.

Energy

On October 22, 2013, Upton introduced the North American Energy Infrastructure Act (H.R. 3301; 113th Congress), a bill that would make changes to permitting requirements for pipelines and other energy infrastructure at international borders. Upton said that the bill "is a sincere effort to focus a targeted solution to lessons learned from the Keystone pipeline... No one can rightly argue that the current presidential permit process as the State Department is not broken, no matter what side of the climate debate you're on." Upton also argued that "we're creating a fair and transparent approval process for cross-border energy projects, putting them all on a level playing field for the benefit of North American energy security, lower energy prices, and jobs."

Video game content ratings On September 29, 2006, Upton introduced the Video Game Decency Act (H.R. 6120) to the House during the 109th United States Congress. The bill was introduced and referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but never received consideration. Upton reintroduced a bill by the same title (H.R. 1531) in the 110th United States Congress, which was also referred to that committee and never received a vote.

Abortion

Upton generally supports pro-life legislation.

Gun laws

Upton does not support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns in most circumstances, and in 2010 received "A" and "A-" ratings from the National Rifle Association and the Gun Owners of America, respectively. Upton supports some gun safety laws. From 1991-2003, Upton supported the interests of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 55 percent and in 1993, Upton supported a waiting period for gun purchase to provide background checks for criminal records.

LGBT issues

Upton believes that marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman. Upton voted to propose an amendment to the Constitution regarding the definition of marriage on July 18, 2006. He received a 15% rating from the Human Rights Campaign on LGBT Rights in 2008.

Fiscal issues

Upton supports a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, a proposal that failed to acquire the two-thirds support necessary to pass the House in the 112th Congress. Upton also supports the line-item veto, which would authorize the President to propose the rescission of full or partial funding in a bill passed by Congress.

In the 111th session of Congress, Upton tabled $7,225,000 in federal funds through eleven earmarks, but political pressure from inside of the Republican party led Upton to announce his support for a Republican initiative to install a moratorium in Congress on legislative earmarks to reduce unnecessary budget expenditures and the fiscal deficit. According to the Council of Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, Upton refrained from all earmarking activities during the 112th Congress.

Upton has been criticized by the conservative website Human Events for being liberal with regards to fiscal issues. He has been recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with the “Spirit of Enterprise” award for “standing firmly against overreaching regulations and job-destroying mandates”. Upton introduced legislation to reverse the FCC's ruling on Net Neutrality in 2015.

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Upton's grandfather and namesake, Frederick Upton, was co-founder of appliance manufacturer and marketer Whirlpool Corporation, headquartered in Benton Harbor. He and his wife have two children. Upton's niece is supermodel Kate Upton. In 2014, Michigan Radio reported that Upton had a net worth of $7.3 million.

Upton is a supporter of Michigan Wolverines athletics as well as an enthusiastic Chicago Cubs baseball fan. He is a member of the Emil Verban Society.