Phil Gramm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Phil Gramm
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| United States Senator from Texas |
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| In office January 3, 1985 – November 30, 2002 |
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| Preceded by | John Tower |
| Succeeded by | John Cornyn |
| Chair of the Senate Banking Committee | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Sarbanes |
| Succeeded by | Paul Sarbanes |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Al D'Amato |
| Succeeded by | Paul Sarbanes |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district |
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| In office January 3, 1979 – January 5, 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Olin Teague |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| In office February 12, 1983 – January 3, 1985 |
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| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Joe Barton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Philip Gramm
July 8, 1942 Fort Benning, Georgia, US |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1983) Republican (1983–present) |
| Spouse | Wendy Lee |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Georgia (BA, MA, PhD) |
William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician. He represented Texas in both parts of the U.S. Congress. He started his political career as a Democrat. However, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. He later ran for president in 1996 but was not chosen by his party.
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Phil Gramm: Early Life and Education
Gramm was born on July 8, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia. He grew up in nearby Columbus. His father, Kenneth Marsh Gramm, was an Army sergeant. He became partially paralyzed after a stroke and died when Phil was 14.
Gramm's mother, Florence, worked extra shifts as a nurse. This helped support the family along with his father's veteran's disability pension.
He went to public schools. In 1961, he graduated from Georgia Military Academy (now Woodward Academy). He then graduated from the University of Georgia in 1964. He earned a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business in 1967.
Phil Gramm's Career in Politics
Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University from 1967 to 1978. During this time, he also started his own economic consulting company.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
In 1978, Gramm successfully ran as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented Texas's 6th congressional district. He was reelected to his House seat as a Democrat in 1980.
Gramm's voting record was very conservative. This meant he often supported policies that favored less government spending and lower taxes. In 1981, he helped create the Gramm-Latta Budget. This plan supported President Ronald Reagan's economic ideas. It increased military spending and cut other government programs.
After being reelected in 1982, Gramm was removed from the House Budget Committee. Because of this, he resigned from his House seat in January 1983. He then ran again for the same seat, but this time as a Republican. He won easily in a special election in February 1983. This made him the first Republican to represent that district since 1846.
Serving in the U.S. Senate
In 1984, Gramm was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate for Texas. He won against several opponents in the primary election. Then, he defeated Democratic candidate Lloyd Doggett in the general election. Gramm received over three million votes, a first for a U.S. Senate candidate in Texas.
In 1985, Gramm, along with Senators Fritz Hollings and Warren Rudman, proposed an amendment. This amendment aimed to set a limit on government budget deficits. The goal was to reduce the deficit to zero by 1991. This became known as the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act. It aimed to force lawmakers to make tough choices about spending.
From 1999 to 2001, Gramm was the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. During this time, he led efforts to pass laws that would reduce government rules for banks. One major law was the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999. This law removed older rules that separated banking, insurance, and stock trading activities.
As a senator, Gramm often called for lower taxes and less wasteful government spending. He used his "Dickey Flatt Test" to decide if federal programs were useful. Dickey Flatt owned a small printing business in Texas. Gramm saw him as a typical small business owner burdened by taxes.
Despite his views on spending, Gramm voted for the federal government to build the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. This project would have cost billions of dollars.
Gramm ran for the Republican nomination in the 1996 presidential election. He raised a lot of money early on. However, he did not perform well in the early state contests. He withdrew from the race before the New Hampshire primary and supported Robert J. Dole.
After his presidential campaign, Gramm focused on his Senate reelection. He won his third and final term in the Senate in November 1996.
Gramm was a co-sponsor of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. This law aimed to keep certain financial transactions, called derivatives, free from government rules. Some critics later called a part of this bill the "Enron loophole". They believed it allowed the Enron scandal to happen.
In 2002, Gramm left his Senate seat a few weeks early. This was so his replacement, John Cornyn, could start his term sooner.
Financial Crisis Discussions
Some experts believe that the 1999 Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which Gramm supported, played a role in the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis and the 2008 global economic crisis. This act removed parts of an older law that regulated the financial industry.
Gramm disagreed with this criticism in 2008. He said he saw "no evidence whatsoever" that allowing different financial companies to compete caused the crisis.
Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Paul Krugman, called Gramm "the high priest of deregulation." He listed Gramm as one of the people most responsible for the 2008 economic crisis. Other news outlets also included Gramm in their lists of those to blame.
Career with UBS
After leaving the Senate in 2002, Gramm joined UBS AG. He works as a vice chairman in their Investment Bank division. In this role, he helps support the company's relationships with important clients.
John McCain's 2008 Presidential Campaign
Gramm was a co-chair and top economic advisor for John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008. In July 2008, he made comments about the economy. He said the nation was not in a recession, calling it a "mental recession." He also said, "We have sort of become a nation of whiners."
These comments quickly became a big issue in the campaign. McCain's opponent, Barack Obama, criticized Gramm's remarks. McCain also strongly disagreed with them. On July 18, 2008, Gramm stepped down from his role with the McCain campaign. He later clarified that he meant politicians were the "whiners," not the public.
2016 Republican Presidential Primary
After the 2016 Iowa Caucus, Gramm said the 2016 presidential election was "scary." He endorsed U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. He said Rubio was "the best prepared on national security." When Rubio left the race, Gramm then supported fellow Texan Ted Cruz. He called Cruz "a fearless leader and fighter for conservatives."
Phil Gramm's Personal Life
Gramm lives in Helotes, Texas. He is married to Wendy Lee Gramm. She is associated with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. They have two sons: Marshall Gramm, an economics professor, and Jeff Gramm, a money manager and author. Gramm is an Episcopalian.
After the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, Gramm offered a special F-16 flyover. This flyover was originally planned for his own future funeral as a U.S. senator. Instead, it was given to the Texas A&M community. A memorial flyover for the 12 people who died was flown at a Texas A&M football game in November 1999.
Works
- Ekelund, R.B., Jr., E.G. Furubotn, and W.P. Gramm, eds. "The Evolution of Modern Demand Theory: A Collection of Essays." Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1972.
- Anders, Gerhard, Phillip Gramm, and Charles W. Smithson. "The Economics of Mineral Extraction." New York: Praeger, 1980.
- Gramm, Phil. "The Role of Government in a Free Society: A Collection of Speeches and Articles." Dallas: Fisher Institute, 1982.
- Gramm, Phil, Robert Ekelund, John Early. “The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate.” Rowman & Littlefield, 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Phil Gramm para niños
- List of United States representatives who switched parties
