Patrick Joseph Murphy (born October 19, 1973) is a former politician from Pennsylvania who formerly served as the United States Under Secretary of the Army. He was the first veteran of the Iraq War to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district from 2007-11. Murphy is a former anchor of Taking the Hill on MSNBC and a Philadelphia-based partner at national law firm Fox Rothschild.
Murphy was confirmed as Under Secretary of the Army by the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2015, after having been nominated for the position by the President on August 5, 2015. Murphy was sworn into the post on January 4, 2016.
Video Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician)
Early life, education and career
Murphy was born in Philadelphia and raised in that city's Northeast area, the son of a city police officer and a legal secretary. As a high school student, Murphy worked weekends as a security guard in the infamous "700 Level" of Veterans Stadium during Philadelphia Eagles and Temple University football games.
Murphy graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. He attended Bucks County Community College before enrolling at King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he was captain of the hockey team, Student Government President and a member of the Sigma Kappa Sigma fraternity. Murphy was a cadet in the U.S. Army ROTC at the neighboring University of Scranton, graduating from Scranton's Royal Warriors Battalion in 1996.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from King's College in 1996, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve. In lieu of going directly into the active duty Army with a Reserve commission, he remained in the inactive Army Reserve while attending law school and working part-time as a legislative aide to a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature.
Murphy attended law school at the Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, earning a J.D. in 1999. He became a member of the Trial Advocacy Honor Society and president of the St. Thomas More Society at Widener.
During law school, he worked in the office of the Philadelphia District Attorney, and later as a leader in the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic, a legal aid society serving the poor, while concurrently serving as a drilling JAG officer in the Army Reserve. He also served as the legislative aide to Thomas Tangretti, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Westmoreland County. He taught American politics and government at Mount Saint Mary's University. After returning from active duty, Murphy joined Cozen O'Connor, a large U.S. law firm based in Philadelphia.
Maps Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician)
Military career
In 2000, Murphy went on active duty in the Army, serving as a judge advocate and then joining the military faculty at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he taught constitutional law. He has also lectured at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the International Institute for Humanitarian Rights in Sanremo, Italy, and at Widener University. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Murphy volunteered for overseas deployment, serving in Bosnia (2002) and in Baghdad during the Iraq War (2003-04).
While in Baghdad as a JAG Corps attorney with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, Murphy worked to reconstruct the justice system and helped prosecute Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, a lieutenant of Muqtada al-Sadr. While assigned to the 82nd, Murphy qualified as a Basic Parachutist and graduated the Air Assault course. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in Iraq. Following his service in Iraq, he returned to Fort Bragg and continued his service as a JAG officer before being released from active duty in 2004.
Political campaigns
2006 election
In 2005, Murphy decided to challenge Republican incumbent Representative Mike Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district as a Fighting Dem, building his campaign around "Murphy Plans" for Iraq, ethics reform, online protection, and a GI Bill of Rights.
On May 16, 2006, he won the Democratic primary with about 65% of the vote, against Andrew Warren, a former county commissioner and ex-Republican who badly trailed Murphy in campaign funds.
Polls taken in October 2006, generally showed a tight race between Murphy and Fitzpatrick. On election day, Murphy's campaign, led by campaign manager Scott Fairchild and GOTV Director Brent Welder, engaged in a massive get-out-the-vote effort with over 2000 volunteers knocking on 160,000 doors.
The resulting high turnout in Democratic lower Bucks County and Philadelphia, combined with surprisingly strong returns for Murphy in Republican upper Bucks County, was enough to push Murphy over Fitzpatrick 125,656 to 124,138. Murphy narrowly lost the Bucks County portion of the district (116,669 to 115,645), but decisively won the Philadelphia County portion (6,024 to 5,048) and the Montgomery County portion (3,987 to 2,421). Overall, he received 50.3% of the vote. Murphy was helped by a large national Democratic "wave" that swept 31 new Democrats into Congress, enabling the Democrats to win control of the U.S. House for the first time since 1994.
2008 election
Murphy faced Republican Tom Manion, a retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel and executive at Johnson & Johnson, as well as independent Tom Lingenfelter. Significant national attention was drawn to the race because of both candidates' connections to the Iraq War. Murphy was a strong critic of Bush's war strategy, while Manion, whose son (1st Lt Travis Manion, USMC) was killed in Iraq in April 2007, supported the Iraq War Surge.
Congressman Murphy won election to a second term with 57 percent of the vote. He won re-election to a second term by increasing his margin in Democratic Lower Bucks County while at the same time winning many rural townships in Upper Bucks and keeping his margin down in Central Bucks. During the campaign, Murphy received support from many nationally known figures including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, and Ben Affleck.
2010 election
Murphy was defeated by Republican nominee and former U.S. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, whom Murphy had previously defeated in 2006. Murphy lost to Fitzpatrick by 7 points.
2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General race
On April 20, 2011, Murphy announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Pennsylvania. His announcement was accompanied by over thirty endorsements from prominent elected officials and organizations across the state.
On January 14, 2012 the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee met in State College to determine its statewide endorsements for the 2012 primary season. No candidate got the two-thirds majority necessary to be endorsed by the state party, but Murphy led on both ballots, winning 161 votes (50.6 percent) on the first ballot and 191 votes (60.4 percent) on the second ballot. The political website PoliticsPA reported that "Murphy's strong performance can be credited to years of ground work and party building; many members spoke of times that he had visited their counties and supported their local party." Murphy was nominated by Montgomery County chairman Marcel Groen.
On April 24, 2012, Murphy was defeated 53-47 by Kathleen Kane in the primary election for Pennsylvania Attorney General. He did well in the Philadelphia area and the City of Pittsburgh but lost much of the rest of the Central and Southwestern parts of the state.
U.S. House of Representatives
During his time in Congress, Murphy served on the House Armed Services Committee and was on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; he later became a member of the Appropriations Committee. Murphy was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate to conservative Democratic representatives. In 2008, he was not only one of the first members of Congress to support then Senator Obama; he was the first to actually campaign for him.
Murphy opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. He was a cosponsor, with Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), of the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, which aimed to develop a plan to redeploy American troops out of Iraq starting May 1, 2007. However, a bipartisan majority of Republicans and Democrats as well as President George W. Bush opposed the measure, and it did not pass.
On February 13, 2008, he was the only member of the House to vote against a resolution congratulating the New York Giants for the team's victory in Super Bowl XLII. "As a former 700-level security guard and lifelong Eagles fan, I couldn't, in good conscience, vote for the New York Giants ... The only thing worse would have been a resolution honoring the Dallas Cowboys", Murphy stated.
In the 2007 congressional vote rankings by the non-partisan National Journal, Murphy scored a 56.5 liberal rating and a 43.5 conservative rating, which is considered "centrist" in the Journal's rankings.
In July 2009, Murphy became the lead advocate for a bill that would repeal the Defense Department's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy concerning open gays in the armed forces.
In April 2010, the IMPROVE act (Improving Medicare Policy for Reimbursements through Oversight and Efficiency) was signed into law. Murphy authored the bi-partisan bill to help eliminate fraud in the health care system and protect taxpayer dollars. The IMPROVE act was endorsed by the AARP, the National District Attorneys Association, the Credit Union National Association, and the American Bankers Association
In May 2010, the Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010 passed the house. Murphy sponsored the bill which would assist children whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing service as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.
Voting record
Abortion
Murphy supports a woman's right to choose. He garnered a 100% rating from NARAL and "supported the interests of Planned Parenthood 100 percent in 2008."
Consumer protection
Murphy authored the Student Credit Card Transparency Act of 2009 which said students can be taken advantage of by credit card companies. The bill accomplished this goal by requiring universities and credit card companies to disclose contracts for student credit cards.
Murphy garnered significant praise for his support of the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the face of significant special interest opposition.
Murphy's office worked with the Secret Service to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Murphy received national praise for his efforts on behalf of Madoff's victims.
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Patrick Murphy was a leader in the effort to repeal the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that removed 13,000 service members from the American military for their sexual orientation. Murphy worked tirelessly to convince fellow moderate Democrats to support the issue despite the political risk involved. He introduced a bill in the House to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell on December 14, 2010.
The bill was approved in a strong bipartisan vote of 250-175 in the House, with the support of 15 House Republicans, including Murphy's home-state colleagues Todd Platts and Charlie Dent.
Economy
Murphy voted for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Fiscal responsibility
In July 2010, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama. Congressman Murphy introduced the original bill in 2007, and partnered with Democrats and Republicans alike to get the bill passed. The bill enacted stricter standards among federal agencies to identify improper payments and recover taxpayer dollars that were misspent. By holding government agencies accountable, the law helped eliminate a significant portion of the $98 billion in wasteful government spending each year. The IPERA has cut Medicare errors in half, and has led to the recovery of over $2 billion in overpayments to contractors per year. In total, Murphy's bill has saved taxpayers over $17 billion so far. The OMB projects that the IPERA will save $50 billion over five years.
Gun rights
Murphy has a permit to carry concealed firearms and considers the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but with regulation. In 2007, he co-sponsored legislation that would re-authorize a Federal ban on assault weapons.
The following year he signed onto H.R. 861, a bill to establish national concealed-carry reciprocity. Also in 2008, Murphy was an original co-sponsor of legislation that would repeal the District of Columbia's ban on semi-automatic weapons and mandatory handgun registration.
Health care
Murphy voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act on November 7, 2009.
Murphy authored the IMPROVE act (Improving Medicare Policy for Reimbursements through Oversight and Efficiency) to help eliminate fraud in the health care system and protect taxpayer dollars. The bill was signed into law in 2010. He co-authored the bill with a fellow Army JAG and congressman, Tom Rooney.
Law enforcement
Murphy sponsored the Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010 passed the House. Congressman Patrick Murphy sponsored the bill which would assist children whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing service as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.
Murphy voted to keep 150,000 police officers and firefighters on the job after their funding was threatened in 2010. In response to this vote, the President of the Philadelphia-area Fraternal Order of Police said: "It's thanks to Patrick Murphy and this measure that Pennsylvania cops can stay on the job, working to keep families safe"
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Post-Congress career
After being defeated for re-election in November 2010, Murphy became a partner at Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild in the litigation department and an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law.
On April 26, 2011, Patrick Murphy was awarded the John F. Kennedy Jr. Award from the Brown University Democrats.
In June 2011, President Obama appointed Murphy to the United States Military Academy's Board of Visitors.
On March 20, 2013, he made his first official appearance as an MSNBC contributor on The Rachel Maddow Show. Murphy served as an expert on American politics, international affairs and military issues.
Murphy was mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of Veterans Affairs after Eric Shinseki offered his resignation on May 30, 2014.
Murphy serves on several boards, including: the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Widener University School of Law National Advisory Board, and he is the Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee Platform Committee.
Department of the Army
Shortly after being sworn in as the Under Secretary of the Army, Murphy assumed the role of Acting Secretary of the Army. Murphy served in the role for five months while Eric Fanning awaited confirmation.
During his tenure as Acting Secretary, Murphy developed a reputation for being a "Soldier's Secretary." He became well-known to soldiers for visiting units across the world, participating in physical training sessions, and for engaging them directly via social media and personally written army-wide emails.
On January 29, 2016, Murphy issued a formal directive opening all combat arms positions to females. After Fanning's confirmation, Murphy resumed his service as the Under Secretary of the Army.
Academia
Murphy served as a senior national security fellow at the Center For American Progress until his return to government service as Under Secretary of the Army.
Murphy was a fellow with the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago in Fall 2014. Murphy has served as an adjunct professor of law at Widener University in Pennsylvania, and as a professor of constitutional law at West Point.
Personal life
Murphy married Jennifer Safford on June 17, 2006. They have two children.
In 2010, Murphy was given the Fenn Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's New Frontier Award Committee. The award is presented to a distinguished young elected official in honor of Dan Fenn, the Kennedy Library's first director and a former member of President Kennedy's staff.
On May 12, 2015, Murphy was a survivor of the derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia. He suffered minor injuries, and was credited with assisting first responders in rescuing individuals trapped in his car. Several media outlets referred to his actions as "heroic".
Media
Murphy served as the host of Taking The Hill on MSNBC from 2013 to 2015.
Murphy earned an international CLIO Award in October 2014 for his partnership with Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons and the Wounded Warrior Project by highlighting positive veterans stories on their road to recovery on his MSNBC show.
Murphy was featured prominently in the HBO documentary The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Murphy was included for his role in leading the effort to repeal the policy. He was also featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Taking The Hill, which told the story of the 50 veterans of the Global War on Terrorism who ran for Congress in 2006.
Ben Affleck has credited Murphy for being a major inspiration for his portrayal of the character Stephen Collins in the 2009 movie State of Play.
Murphy authored an autobiography entitled Taking the Hill: From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress; it was published by Henry Holt and Co. (February 19, 2008); ISBN 978-0-8050-8695-9
References
External links
Media related to Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician) at Wikimedia Commons
- Patrick Murphy for Pennsylvania Attorney General
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at SourceWatch
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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