George Voinovich is a Republican U.S. Senator representing the state of Ohio. He was first elected to the U.S Senate in November of 1998 and was sworn in on January 6, 1999, succeeding former astronaut John Glenn.
On January 12, 2009, Sen. Voinavich announced that he would not seek reelection for his Senatorial seat in the election of 2010. In announcing his forthcoming retirement, Voinovich said of what was to become of his final two years in the Senate, “I must devote my full time, energy and focus to the job I was elected to do, the job in front of me, which seeking a third term – with the money-raising and campaigning that it would require – would not allow me to do.” http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/ohio-senator-george-voinovich-to-retire-in-2010/
Sen. Voinovich's Role in the U.S. Senate
According to the political tracking site, govtrack.us, Sen. Voinovich is categorized as a "moderate Republican" based on his record of legislative bill sponsorship.http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorVoinovich.Biography In the current session of Congress, Voinovich has voted 69% of the time with his Republican colleagues in the Senate.http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/v000126/
Currently, Sen. Voinovich is a member of the Senate Committees on Appropriations; Environment and Public Works; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sen. Voinovich is also the ranking member on the Subcommittees on Homeland Security and Oversight of Government Management.
Political Career
Prior to being elected U.S Senator for the state of Ohio, Voinovich had served two terms as Governor for Ohio from 1991 to 1998. He ran his campaign for the U.S. Senate while serving the final months of his second term as governor.http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorVoinovich.Biography
Voinovich's political foundation came about in 1967 when he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He held office as a state representative until 1971. Afterwards, Voinovich served as the auditor for Cuyahoga County, Ohio and served as a member on the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners.http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorVoinovich.Biography In 1979 he served briefly as the Lieutenant Governor for Ohio, subsequently running successfully for the mayorship of Cleveland in 1980, an office he held until 1989.http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorVoinovich.Biography
Sen. Voinovich on Empathy
In this video, George Voinovich, U.S. Senator for the state of Ohio, is seen on the floor of the U.S. Senate adding to a floor debate over the nomination of then Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Sen Voinovich challenges the notion that empathy should be a criteria for selecting Supreme Court Justices.
