Bill Young

Bill Young
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Speaker	Dennis Hastert
Preceded by	Bob Livingston
Succeeded by	Jerry Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 13th district
In office January 3, 2013 – October 18, 2013
Preceded by	Vern Buchanan
Succeeded by	David Jolly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 10th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Andy Ireland
Succeeded by	Daniel Webster
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 8th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Andy Ireland
Succeeded by	Bill McCollum
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	William Cramer
Succeeded by	James Haley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 6th district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Sam Gibbons
Succeeded by	Buddy MacKay
Member of the Florida State Senate
In office 1961–1970
Personal details
Born	Charles William Young December 16, 1930 Harmarville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 18, 2013 (aged 82) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Marian Ford (1949–1985) Beverly Angello (1985–2013)
Children	Terry (with Ford) Pamela (with Ford) Kimber (with Ford) Billy (with Angello) Patrick (with Angello)
Religion	Methodism
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	Army National Guard
Years of service	1948–1957
Rank	Master Sergeant

Charles William "Bill" Young (December 16, 1930 – October 18, 2013) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 2013. A Republican from Florida, Young served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations from 1999 to 2005. He was the longest-serving Republican member of Congress at the time of his death.

Early life, education, and early career

Young was born in Harmarville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in 1930.^[1] He had Irish, German, and Swiss ancestry.^[2] He grew up in a Pennsylvania coal town in a shotgun shack.^[1] His father abandoned the family and a flood washed away their home at age 6. An uncle had a hunting camp in Florida, so the family moved there when he was 16. Young dropped out of St. Petersburg High School to support his ill mother, Wilma M. (Hulings) Young,^[1][3] and was wounded in a hunting accident.^[4] He married Marian Ford on August 20, 1949, when he was an 18-year-old high school dropout and she was 17, entering her senior year at St. Petersburg High School.^[5] When he was 18, he joined the Army National Guard and served from 1948 to 1957.^[6] After finishing his service, he applied for a job as an insurance salesman and ultimately ran an insurance agency.^[1]

Florida Senate

Young in 1968.

In 1960 Young was elected to the Florida Senate, where he served from 1961 to 1970, and was minority leader in that chamber from 1966 to 1970.^[6] Until 1963, Young was the only Republican in Florida's upper chamber.^[7]

From 1962 through 1964, Young served on the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, commonly known as the Johns Committee (for its Chairman Charley Eugene Johns), a legislative panel that investigated the activities of homosexuals, communists and others thought to be subversive. In 1964, the committee released a pamphlet entitled Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida, which drew criticism at the time for its use of explicit photographs of homosexual acts.^[8] At the time, Young said of homosexuality: "Our report tried to show it in its true light – it's a very repulsive subject."^[9][10] Responding to reports that reprints of the pamphlet were being sold as pornography for a gay audience, Young said: "This indicates how bold the homosexual is becoming and further proves the necessity of state government taking the lead in responsibility for preventing these confirmed homosexuals from preying on the youth of the state."^[9] In 1993, Young was asked about his involvement with the report by the St. Petersburg Times and said: "I am not supportive of homosexuality, but that's the decision of the people who are involved in it. If someone wants to engage in that sort of behavior, that's their choice." Young also stated that the committee was largely inactive during his tenure due to the illness of its chair, Charley Eugene Johns, and that he was not involved enough in the committee to be either proud or regretful of its work.^[9]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Young's official portrait

Young was elected to Congress in 1970 from what was then the 8th District and was reelected 20 times. The district, which changed numbers four times during Young's tenure (it was the 8th District from 1971 to 1973, the 6th District from 1973 to 1983, the 8th District again from 1983 to 1993, the 10th from 1993 to 2013 and has been the 13th since 2013) was once considered a Republican stronghold. However, it has become much friendlier to Democratic candidates in recent years, at least on the national level. Since 1988, it has supported a Republican for president only once, in 2004. Despite the Democratic trend in his district at the national level, Young usually skated to reelection. He only twice received less than 60% of the vote, in 1992 and 2012.

Tenure

Having been a member of the Appropriations Committee for his entire time in congress, Young is known best for bringing federal dollars to Pinellas County. His earmarks have been used for U.S. Highway 19, high tech jobs, healthcare for children, clean water, and defense contractors. This was a major reason why he was able to hold onto his seat for so long; it is considered extremely difficult to defeat an Appropriations Committee member at an election.

1970s

In 1974, all four Republican congressmen from Florida said they would support impeaching President Richard Nixon over Watergate Scandal.^[11]

In the 1976 Republican primary for president, Young endorsed President Gerald Ford over California Governor Ronald Reagan.^[12]

1980s

In 1980, Young endorsed moderate George H.W. Bush over Ronald Reagan in the Republican primary.^[13]

Young opposed any spending cuts to the United States Coast Guard.^[14] He strongly opposed deficit reduction.^[15]

He was instrumental in creating a national registry for bone marrow donors in 1986. Now named after him, it lists nearly 10 million volunteer donors and has facilitated transplants for more than 50,000 people.^[16]

1990s

After the 1994 Republican Revolution, House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave the position of chairman of the Appropriations Committee to Bob Livingston of Louisiana instead of Young, even though Young had more seniority. When Dennis Hastert became speaker in 1999, Young finally became the chairman.^[17]

Young strongly supported increases in defense spending and sent letters to Congressman John Kasich, Chairman of the Budget Committee, recommending an increase in DOD funding.^[18][19] Young strongly supported the F-22 Raptor.^[20]

In a 1999 New York Times interview, Young stated, "In my short life I've been shot, I've been hit by a truck, survived an airplane crash, I've had my chest opened and my heart rebuilt. And it's sort of hard to get me flustered after all that."^[4]

2000s

In 2005, Young received 3,570 earmark requests from members of Congress, because it was his last year as chairman of the committee. He believed that requests for earmarks should not be publicly disclosed. In March 2006, Young spokesman Harry Glenn said "This has been the policy of the committee for years. It's internal correspondence from one member to another."^[21] From 2007–2008, $167,000,000 in earmarked funds came to the Tampa Bay Area.^[22]

At the State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, authorities expressly prohibited the display of political ideology on clothing in the U.S. Capitol. Young's wife was asked to leave shortly after anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was ejected for wearing an anti-war T-shirt. Beverly Young's T-shirt stated: "Support the Troops — Defending Our Freedom." She argued with Capitol Hill Police officers in the hallway outside the House chamber. "They said I was protesting," she told the St. Petersburg Times. "I said, 'Read my shirt, it is not a protest.' They said, 'We consider that a protest.' I said, 'Then you are an idiot.'" Young was angry about the way his wife was treated. "Because she had on a shirt that someone didn't like that said support our troops, she was kicked out of this gallery," Young said on the House floor the following day, holding up the gray shirt. "Shame, shame," he said.^[23] Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer apologized in a statement late that same day.^[24] Young said he was not necessarily satisfied. "My wife was humiliated," he told reporters. He suggested that "sensitivity training" might be in order for the Capitol Police.^[25]

On September 29, 2008, Young voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.^[26]

Young supported over $70 million in combined earmarks to two companies that employed his sons, both before and after they were employees. Young's son, Patrick, was hired by defense contractor SAIC when the company received earmarks requested by Young.^[27]

In 2009 Young signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any Global Warming legislation that would raise taxes.^[28]

In 2011, Young resisted a request by the Pentagon to transfer $863 million in funds from Humvee production to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the conflict in Afghanistan. AM General, which makes the Humvee, has been a contributor to Young's campaigns.^[29][30][31] Young denied that his actions "put American lives at risk", pointing to an urgent Marine Corps request to improve crew protection on existing Humvees as reason enough to preserve some funding for additional vehicles beyond armed forces requirements.^[32] Nonetheless, Young's committee approved $613 million of the Humvee funds to buy equipment for Afghanistan.^[32]

After eleven years of supporting the Afghanistan wars, Young turned against the war in 2012 after Army Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton of Largo was killed in Afghanistan after sending Young a letter pointing out problems there and predicting his own death. Young's wife had also been trying to persuade her husband to oppose continued American involvement in Afghanistan.^[33] Young said "we're killing kids who don't need to die." ^[34]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Young received a term limit waiver to retain his chairmanship of the Appropriations Subcommittee for the 113th Congress. House Republicans limit committee chairmen to a six-year term, but Young received two consecutive waivers extending this limit.^[35]

Caucus memberships

• Army Caucus
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Social Security Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Electoral history

Florida's 8th congressional district: Results 1970^[36]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct
1970		C. W. Bill Young	120,466	67%		Ted Bailey	58,904	33%

Florida's 6th congressional district: Results 1972–1980^[36]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct
1972		C. W. Bill Young	156,150	76%		Michael O. Plunkett	49,399	24%
1974		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	109,302	76%		Mickey Monrose	34,886	24%
1976		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	151,371	65%		Gabriel Cazares	80,821	35%
1978		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	150,694	79%		Jim Christison	40,654	21%
1980		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%

Florida's 8th congressional district: Results 1982–1990^[36]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct
1982		C. W. Bill Young	Unopposed	100%
1984		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	184,553	80%		Robert Kent	45,393	20%
1986		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%
1988		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	169,165	73%		C. Bette Wimbish	62,539	27%
1990		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%

Florida's 10th congressional district: Results 1992–2010^[36]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Third Party	Votes	Pct		Third Party	Votes	Pct
1992		C. W. Bill Young	149,606	57%		Karen Moffitt	114,809	43%
1994		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%
1996		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	114,443	67%		Henry Green	57,375	33%
1998		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%
2000		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	146,799	76%						Josette Green (Natural Law)	26,908	14%		Randy Heine (independent)	20,296	10%
2002		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	Unopposed	100%
2004		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	207,175	69%		Robert D. Derry	91,658	31%
2006		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	131,488	66%		Samm Simpson	67,950	34%
2008		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	182,781	61%		Bob Hackworth	118,430	39%
2010		C. W. Bill Young (inc.)	137,943	66%		Charlie Justice	71,313	34%

Florida's 13th congressional district: Results 2012^[37]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct
2012		C. W. Bill Young	189,605	58%		Jessica Ehrlich	139,742	42%

Other activities

Young served as a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission from 1965 to 1967. He was also a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1984.^[6]

Personal life

Young married Marian Ford on August 20, 1949, when he was an 18-year-old high school dropout and she was 17, entering her senior year at St. Petersburg High School.^[5] They had three children: Terry, Pamela, and Kimber. In 1985, after 36 years of marriage, Young divorced Marian.^[38] As part of the divorce agreement, Marian received $2,000 per month in alimony in exchange for agreeing to seal the divorce records and not speaking publicly about it during Young's lifetime. Eight days after the divorce became final, Young married Beverly Angello, who had worked as a secretary in his congressional office and was 25 years his junior.^[5] Young and Beverly had two children together: Charles William "Billy" (who was born in 1984, while Young was still married to Marian)^[5] and Patrick, in addition to Beverly's son, Robbie, from her first marriage.^[39]

On October 18, 2013, Young died at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland at the age of 82. He had been hospitalized for almost two weeks after suffering a broken hip and fractured pelvis.^[5] Doctors could not perform hip surgery because of brittle bones caused by multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that forms in bone marrow.^[5][40][41]

On January 6, 2014, Marian Young and the three children from his first marriage spoke out for the first time since Young's death. Marian said that her lawyer had specifically asked her to keep silent about her husband's affair with Beverly due to concerns that he would lose his congressional seat. Even though the divorce records were sealed, many journalists at the time "knew about the affair and the [extramarital child's] birth, but believed such issues fell outside the public's right to know." Terry, Pamela and Kimber also claimed that they had only heard from their father sporadically in the three decades following the divorce.^[5]

See also

• C. W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir

References

1. "Rep. Bill Young (R)". NationalJournal. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
2. "bill young". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. December 16, 1930. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
3. "TribLIVE | Obituaries – Wiley, Wilma". Obituaries.triblive.com. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
4. Weiner, Tim (August 5, 1999). "Struggles in His Past, Burdens in His Present". New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
5. Meachum, Andrew (January 5, 2014). "Bill Young's first family emerges to tell their story". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
6. ""Young, Charles W. (Bill)" in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, access 14 July 2011". Bioguide.congress.gov. December 16, 1930.
7. Latvala. http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/oct/09/chris-latvala/did-cw-bill-young-serve-only-republican-florida-se/. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help);
8. "Homosexuality and citizenship in Florida". University of Florida Digital Collections. January 1964. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
9. Barstow, David (July 2, 1993). "Congressman says little about involvement". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 6A.
10. Barstow, David (July 2, 1993). "Congressman says little about involvement (online abstract of article)". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
11. Lakeland Ledger – Google News Archive Search
12. Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Google News Archive Search
13. The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search
14. Rome News-Tribune – Google News Archive Search
15. Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Google News Archive Search
16. Zengerle, Patricia (October 18, 2013). "Rep. Bill Young, longest serving Republican in U.S. Congress, dead at 82". Reuters. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
17. Catalina Camia , USA TODAY 11:11 p.m. EDT October 18, 2013 (October 18, 2013). "Rep. C.W. Bill Young, House Republican, dies at 82". Usatoday.com. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
18. ERIC SCHMITTPublished: January 29, 1995 (January 29, 1995). "Republicans Finding Dissension in Ranks on Military Issues – New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
19. "NewsLibrary Search Results".
20. "NewsLibrary Search Results".
21. Harris Shuns Spending Requests at the Wayback Machine (archived March 20, 2006) March 3, 2006. TBO.com
22. "Allison, Wes and Bill Adair. St.Petersburg Times. "Neither party can resist pork's allure." Front Page. February 14, 2008. Online." (PDF).
23. "Police apologize, drop charge against Sheehan (Posted 2/1/2006 6:14 pm)". USA Today. February 1, 2006.
24. "US Capitol Police – Press Release (February 1, 2006)". Uscapitolpolice.gov. February 1, 2006.
25. Updated 68 minutes ago October 21, 2012 11:41:57 am +00:00 (February 2, 2006). "Charges against Sheehan dropped – Politics- msnbc.com:(updated 8:18 p.m. ET February 1, 2006)". MSNBC.
26. "Bailout Roll Call" (PDF). September 29, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
27. "Rep. Young's earmarks helped his children's employers". St. Petersburg Times. April 9, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
28. Young, Bill (April 27, 2009). "Americans for Prosperity Applauds U.S. Representative C.W." (PDF). Americans for Prosperity. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
29. Bennett, John T. (March 2, 2011). "Gates, lawmaker clash on Humvee program". Thehill.com.
30. Adam Weinstein (March 2, 2011). "Are GOPers Playing Politics With Military Gear?". Motherjones.com.
31. Pincus, Walter. "A successor to Gates is a quandary for Obama." The Washington Post, March 8, 2011.
32. Bennett, John T. "Veteran appropriator scolds Gates, mostly approves funding shift." The Hill, March 9, 2011.
33. Join the discussion: Click to view comments, add yours (October 9, 2013). "Even Rep. C.W. Bill Young's wife surprised by retirement | Tampa Bay Times". Tampabay.com. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
35. Herb, Jeremy (December 31, 2012). "Rep. Young gets waiver to remain Defense Appropriations chairman". The Hill. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
36. "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
37. "November 6, 2012 General Election – Official Results". Florida Department of State. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
38. "U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young dies at 82". Tampa Bay Times. October 18, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
39. Adair, Bill (December 19, 2005). "Capitol Hill wife who just won't sit still". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
40. "Florida US Rep. Bill Young dies at 82; Tampa Bay Republican had served 43 years in Congress". Retrieved October 19, 2013.
41. "Florida US Rep. Bill Young dies at 82". WGEM TV. Retrieved October 19, 2013.

External links

• Congressman C.W. Bill Young official U.S. House site (archived)
• Bill Young for Congress
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program DoD Bone Marrow Donor website