Preceded by Beryl Anthony, Jr. Name Jay Dickey | Role U.S. representative Succeeded by Mike Ross | |
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Full Name Jay Woodson Dickey, Jr. Born December 14, 1939 (age 84)
Pine Bluff, Arkansas ( 1939-12-14 ) Political party Republican Party of Arkansas Education Hendrix College, University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff High School | ||
U.S. House of Representatives Remembers Congressman Jay Dickey
Jay Woodson Dickey, Jr. (December 14, 1939 – April 20, 2017), was a Republican U.S. Representative for Arkansas' 4th congressional district from 1993 to 2001. Named in his honor are the Dickey Amendment (1996), which blocks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from funding injury prevention research that might promote gun control, and the Dickey-Wicker Amendment (1995), which prohibits federal funds to be spent on research that involves the destruction of a human embryo. After the 2012 Aurora shooting, former congressman Dickey said that he regretted his role in blocking the CDC from researching gun violence.
Contents
- US House of Representatives Remembers Congressman Jay Dickey
- Education and early career
- Political career
- Subsequent career
- Electoral history
- References
Education and early career
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Dickey graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1957; after attending Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1961 from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. In 1963, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law. He began his career in law in private practice, and later served as city attorney of Pine Bluff from 1968 to 1970.
In 1988 then-Governor Bill Clinton appointed Dickey as a special justice for a case before the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Political career
On November 3, 1992, the same day as Clinton's election as U.S. President, Dickey defeated Arkansas Secretary of State William J. "Bill" McCuen, described as a "scandal-plagued Democratic nominee". The first Republican to hold this House seat, he was re-elected three times. He served on the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, and five of its subcommittees: Agriculture, National Security, Energy and Water, Transportation and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
A Second Amendment rights advocate, in 1996 Dickey responded to a supposed bias on the part of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose research on firearm injuries and fatalities was deemed motivated by pro gun-control politics, rather than science. Dickey successfully passed an amendment to eliminate $2.6 million from the CDC budget, reflecting the amount the CDC had previously spent on gun research.The Crime Prevention Research Center has produced a paper stating that firearms research did not in fact fall after the Dickey Amendment.
The outspoken, controversial, and conservative Dickey saw his popularity decline in his overall moderate district. In 2000, he lost in his reelection campaign to the Democratic candidate Mike Ross in a close race. Then House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois came into the district in a bid to save Dickey's seat, while President Clinton poured massive resources on behalf of Ross.
Dickey opposed Ross in 2002 in an attempt to return to his seat, but he was defeated, 60-40 percent.
Subsequent career
After leaving office, Dickey operated JD Consulting, primarily a federal government lobbying firm, which represents clients' interest in children's health care, navigation and water, tax matters, homeland security, and roads.
Following the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, Dickey publicly reversed his position on gun violence research. He said that he should not have become "the NRA’s point person in Congress" to suppress valid and valuable work. He called for new scientific research in the field.
Dickey died on April 20, 2017.
Electoral history
The following are the electoral results from the Arkansas's 4th congressional district for 1992–2002.