Phil Gramm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Phil Gramm
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| 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 |
| 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 |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district |
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| In office February 12, 1983 – January 3, 1985 |
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| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Joe Barton |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 5, 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Olin Teague |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| 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) |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1957–1961 |
| Unit | Georgia Military Academy |
William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician. He represented the state of Texas in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Phil Gramm started his political journey as a Democrat. However, he later joined the Republican Party in 1983. He ran for president in 1996 but was not chosen as the Republican candidate.
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Early Life and Education
Phil Gramm was born on July 8, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia. He grew up in Columbus, a nearby city. His father, Kenneth Marsh Gramm, was an Army sergeant who became partially paralyzed after a stroke. He passed away when Phil was 14 years old.
Phil's mother, Florence, worked extra shifts as a nurse. This helped support their family, along with a pension for veterans with disabilities.
Gramm went to public schools. He graduated from Georgia Military Academy (now Woodward Academy) in 1961. In 1964, he earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia. He also received a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Georgia in 1967.
Political Career
Before entering politics, Phil Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University from 1967 to 1978. He also started his own economic consulting company, Gramm and Associates, which he ran from 1971 to 1978.
Serving in the House of Representatives
In 1976, Gramm tried to become a U.S. Senator for Texas as a Democrat, but he was not successful. In 1978, he successfully ran for the House of Representatives as a Democrat. He represented Texas's 6th congressional district, which included areas from Fort Worth to College Station. He was reelected to this seat in 1980.
Gramm's political views were very conservative, even for a Democrat in Texas at that time. He often voted in ways that aligned with conservative ideas. In 1981, he helped create the Gramm-Latta Budget. This budget supported President Ronald Reagan's economic plans, which included increasing military spending and cutting other government costs. It also led to tax cuts.
After being reelected in 1982, Gramm was removed from the House Budget Committee. Because of this, he resigned from his House seat on January 5, 1983. He then ran for the same seat again, but this time as a Republican. He won the special election on February 12, 1983, easily. This made him the first Republican to represent that district since it was created in 1846. After he left the House, Joe Barton continued to hold the seat for the Republican Party.
Serving in the United States Senate
In 1984, Gramm was elected as a Republican to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. He won against several other candidates in the primary election. Then, he faced the Democratic candidate, Lloyd Doggett, in the general election. Gramm received over 3 million votes, which was a first for a U.S. Senate candidate in Texas history.
In 1985, Gramm, along with Senators Fritz Hollings and Warren Rudman, proposed an amendment to control the national budget. This amendment aimed to reduce the budget deficit to zero by 1991. It was approved and was seen as a way to balance the budget without raising taxes.
Gramm served on the Senate Budget Committee from 1989 until he left office in 2002. He helped create the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act. This law aimed to cut government spending across the board if deficit goals were not met. Some parts of the law were later found to be unconstitutional, and other budget rules eventually replaced it.
In 1990, Gramm tried to change a law related to Iraq. An earlier part of the law, called the D'Amato Amendment, stopped the U.S. from selling weapons or giving financial help to Iraq unless Iraq followed human rights rules. Gramm wanted to add an amendment that would allow the U.S. government to ignore these rules if the sanctions hurt American businesses more than Iraq. However, his amendment did not pass. This happened just a week before Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait.
Gramm won his second Senate term in 1990. He defeated Hugh Parmer, a Democratic State Senator. Gramm again received more than 3 million votes.
Between 1999 and 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 on banking. One important law was the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999. This law removed older rules that had kept banking, insurance, and stock trading separate.
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. Richard "Dickey" Flatt owned a printing business in Mexia, Texas, and was a longtime supporter of Gramm. Gramm saw Flatt as an example of a typical small business owner who faced many taxes and government costs.
Despite his stated opposition to federal spending, Gramm voted for the government to build the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. This project would have cost billions of dollars in taxpayer money.
Gramm ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996. He started his campaign with a lot of money and was tied for first place in an early poll in Iowa. However, his campaign faced challenges after a controversy in 1995. He lost the Louisiana Caucus to Pat Buchanan. This poor performance, along with placing fifth in Iowa, led Gramm to withdraw from the race before the New Hampshire primary. He then supported Robert J. Dole for president. Gramm, who supported free trade, also criticized Buchanan for his views on trade.
After ending his presidential campaign, Gramm focused on winning a third Senate term. He defeated Victor Morales in November 1996 to win his final term in the Senate.
Gramm was one of the main supporters of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. A part of this bill is sometimes called the "Enron loophole" by critics. They believe it allowed the Enron scandal to happen because it kept certain financial deals, like credit default swaps, free from government rules. Wendy Gramm, Phil Gramm's wife, was on the board of Enron.
In 2002, Gramm left his Senate seat a few weeks before his term ended. He hoped this would help his successor, John Cornyn, gain more seniority over other new senators. However, Cornyn did not gain extra seniority due to a Senate rule from 1980.
Role in Financial Crises
Some economists believe that the 1999 Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which Gramm helped pass, played a role in the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis and the 2008 global economic crisis. This Act removed parts of the Glass–Steagall Act, which had regulated the financial industry. The Act passed both the House and Senate with strong support in November 1999.
In March 2008, Gramm responded to criticism of the Act. He stated that he saw "no evidence whatsoever" that the sub-prime mortgage crisis was caused by allowing different types of financial companies to compete.
Gramm's support was also important for the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. This Act kept certain financial transactions, including those involving credit default swaps, free from government regulation.
In 2008, The Washington Post named Gramm as one of the key people involved in the debate over regulating financial products. They noted he had pushed for several major bills to reduce rules in the banking and investment industries.
Nobel Laureate in Economics Paul Krugman called Gramm "the high priest of deregulation." Krugman listed him as one of the top people responsible for the Great Recession. In October 2008, CNN also included Gramm in its list of individuals most responsible for the economic crisis.
In January 2009, The Guardian identified Gramm as one of twenty-five people at the center of the financial meltdown. Time magazine also included Gramm in its list of people to blame for the economic crisis.
Career with UBS
Since 2002, after retiring from the Senate, Phil Gramm has worked for UBS AG. He is a vice chairman in their Investment Bank division. At UBS, a vice chairman supports 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 from 2007 until July 18, 2008. In a July 9, 2008, interview about McCain's economic plans, Gramm said the nation was not in a recession. He called it a "mental recession" and added, "We have sort of become a nation of whiners."
Gramm's comments quickly became a big topic in the campaign. McCain's opponent, Barack Obama, responded by saying, "America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy." McCain himself strongly disagreed with Gramm's comments. On July 18, 2008, Gramm stepped down from his role with the McCain campaign. Gramm later clarified that he used the word "whiners" to describe politicians, not the public. He also stated that he would not take back his words, saying, "Every word I said was true."
2016 Republican Presidential Primary
After the 2016 Iowa Caucus, Gramm described the 2016 presidential election as "scary." He said he did not find Donald Trump much more reassuring than Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders on economic policy. However, he did not believe Trump would become the nominee. Gramm supported U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican primary. He said Rubio was "the best prepared on national security" and could win the general election. When Rubio left the race, Gramm then supported fellow Texan Ted Cruz. He called Cruz "a fearless leader and fighter for conservatives."
Personal Life
Phil Gramm lives in Helotes, Texas. He is married to Wendy Lee Gramm, who is from Hawaii. She is connected with George Mason University's Mercatus Center in Virginia. They have two sons. Marshall Gramm is an economics professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Jeff Gramm is a money manager and author. Phil Gramm is a member of the Episcopal Church.
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, he offered it to the Texas A&M community to honor the 12 people who died in the collapse. The offer was accepted, and a memorial flyover took place at a Texas A&M football game on November 26, 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
