Michael F. Doyle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mike Doyle | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | William Coyne |
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| Born | August 5, 1953 Swissvale, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse | Susan Doyle |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Michael F. "Mike" Doyle (born August 5, 1953) is a politician from the state of Pennsylvania currently representing the 14th Congressional District (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district is based in Pittsburgh and includes most of Allegheny County.
Doyle was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State in 1975 with a degree in Community Development. Doyle worked in the steel mills during his time in college. After college he worked as an insurance agent and was elected to the Swissvale Borough Council in 1977. In 1978 he worked as chief of staff to Pennsylvania State Senator Frank Pecora. Like his mentor Pecora, Doyle was once a Republican who later switched parties to become a Democrat.
In 1994, Doyle was elected to Congress as a Democrat from the state's 18th District, which at the time was located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. The incumbent Republican, Rick Santorum, was elected to the United States Senate. Doyle won by almost 10 points, and one of the few bright spots in a bad year for Democrats. He was reelected three times with no substantive opposition.
In 2002 Doyle’s district was combined with the Pittsburgh-based district of fellow Democrat William J. Coyne. The state legislature reconfigured the district map in order to elect more Republicans from the state. In the process, they drew most of western Pennsylvania's heavily Democratic areas into just two districts--the reconfigured 14th District and the 12th District of John Murtha. The potentially explosive situation of having two Democratic incumbents face each other in the primary was defused when Coyne announced his retirement (even though the district contained more of Coyne's former territory than Doyle's) leaving Doyle as the sole incumbent. The new district is by far the most Democratic district in western Pennsylvania, and Doyle was completely unopposed in 2002 and 2004. In 2006, he faced only a Green Party candidate [1].
Doyle is considered to be somewhat more moderate than conventional wisdom would suggest for such a heavily Democratic district. He opposes abortion, supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration, and supported a bill limiting federal death penalty appeals. However, he supports GLBT equal rights.
He voted against authorizing military force in Iraq and against the $87 Billion emergency spending bill to fund US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, Doyle is an outspoken critic of the genocide in Sudan and Darfur. In a rally on April 28th 2007, he urged President Bush to uphold his promise of sending 20,000 peacekeepers to Darfur. He drew loud cheers when he said, "If we can have a surge in Iraq, there needs to be one in Sudan."
In the 110th Congress, Doyle serves on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee where he is and is the Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Veterans' Affairs Committee, and is also one of five Democrats serving on the House Ethics Committee. In past congresses, he served as a member of the Science and Technology Committee.
Doyle has been widely praised for his forward-thinking stance on copyright issues, and is supportive of net neutrality. He is the lead sponsor of HR 2802, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 which will expand low-power broadcasting to hundreds of new community radio stations.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle official House site
- Michael F. Doyle at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Mike Doyle campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Mike Doyle issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Mike Doyle campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Michael F. 'Mike' Doyle Jr. (PA) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mike Doyle profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Michael F. Doyle voting record
| Preceded by Rick Santorum |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district 1995–2003 |
Succeeded by Tim Murphy |
| Preceded by William J. Coyne |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district 2003– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
