Early life, education, and career

Harris's father was Zoltán Harris, an anesthesiologist who was born in Miskolc, Hungary, in 1911 and emigrated to the United States in 1950; his mother, Irene, was born in Poland.

Harris earned his B.S. in biology (1977) and his M.D. (1980) from The Johns Hopkins University. The University's Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health conferred the M.H.S. in 1995 in Health Policy & Management and also Health Finance & Management.

Harris served in the Navy Medical Corps and the U.S. Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander on active duty during Operation Desert Storm and currently serves as a commander. He has worked as an anesthesiologist, as an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, and as chief of obstetric anesthesiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Harris also served as commanding officer for the Johns Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit from 1989 to 1992.

Maryland General Assembly

Harris was first elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998 for District 9 for Baltimore County. He defeated his predecessor, Minority Leader F. Vernon Boozer, in the 1998 primary election. A major factor in the race was Boozer's role in derailing an attempt to ban partial-birth abortion a year earlier; the bill's sponsor, fellow state senator Larry Haines, supported Harris's primary bid. In the general election he defeated Democrat challenger Anthony O. Blades.

His district was later redrawn to be District 7, representing Baltimore County and Harford County. He defeated Democratic challenger Diane DeCarlo in the general election in 2002, and from 2003 to 2006 served as the minority whip. In 2006 he won re-election, this time defeating Patricia A. Foerster.

U.S. congressional campaigns

2008

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland, 2008 § 1st Congressional District

Harris defeated incumbent Republican Wayne Gilchrest and State Senator E.J. Pipkin in the Republican primary for Maryland's 1st congressional district. Harris ran well to the right of Gilchrest, one of the leading moderate Republicans in the House. He explained that he was upset with Gilchrest's decision to support a Democratic bill setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq and suspected that many of his constituents also felt that way. He was endorsed by the Club for Growth, which raised nearly $250,000 for him, and by former governor Bob Ehrlich, seven of 10 state senators who represent parts of the district, and House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell. His general election opponent Frank Kratovil attacked the Club for Growth's policies, and Harris for having its support. Gilchrest endorsed Kratovil for the general election.

The November election was expected to be very close, even though the 1st is considered to be very Republican on paper. This was partly due to the district's geography. Harris is from the Baltimore suburbs, while Kratovil was from the Eastern Shore, which is home to half the district's population. On election night, Kratovil led Harris by 915 votes. After two rounds of counting absentee ballots, Kratovil's lead grew to 2,000 votes. Forecasting that it would be nearly impossible for Harris to close the gap, most media outlets declared Kratovil the winner on the night of November 7. Harris finally conceded on November 11. While Harris won the Baltimore suburbs handily, it was not enough to overcome his deficit on the Eastern Shore. John McCain won this district by 19 points, his best showing in the state.

2010

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland, 2010 § 1st Congressional District*

Harris ran again in the 1st District in 2010. He defeated Rob Fisher, a conservative businessman, in the primary.

Harris's primary win set up a rematch against Kratovil. Libertarian Richard James Davis and Independent Jack Wilson also ran. In the November 2 general election, the district reverted to form, and Harris defeated Kratovil by 14 percent.

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland, 2012 § District 1

The National Journal's Cook Political Report named Harris one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012, noting that Maryland Democrats could redraw Harris's home in Cockeysville out of the 1st. Instead, Roscoe Bartlett's district was redrawn so as to beat him. Harris was a beneficiary of this remap, as the reconfigured 1st included several heavily Republican portions of Harford and Baltimore counties that had previously been in Bartlett's 6th district.

Harris skated to a second term, defeating Democratic challenger Wendy Rosen with 67 percent of the vote. Rosen had withdrawn from the race after being confronted with information about election-law violations. By the time she pulled out, however, ballots had already been printed. John LaFerla, who had narrowly lost to Rosen in the primary, was endorsed as Rosen's replacement, but could only be a write-in.

2014

Harris defeated Democrat Bill Tilghman in the 2014 congressional elections for Maryland's 1st district.

2016

Harris has not yet announced a 2016 congressional bid. He is widely expected to run for re-election in his seat. He is expected to face opposition in a Republican primary from former Maryland delegate Mike Smigiel.

In February 2016, Harris was the first congressman to endorse candidate Ben Carson for the Republican nomination for president. Two weeks after the endorsement, Carson announced following the 2016 Super Tuesday primaries that he "did not see a 'path forward'" and would not attend the next Republican debate in Detroit.

Controversies

Affordable Care Act

Harris's prominence as a medical doctor in opposition to government-run health care made him a lightning rod for attacks by supporters of the 2010 health care legislation. At a closed-door employee benefits briefing for new congressmen during the November 2010 freshman orientation, Harris was surprised to learn that the Federal employee health benefit plan would leave the new congressmen and their staffers without coverage until the following pay period, 28 days after inauguration. Concerned about this gap in coverage, he asked whether new government employees could purchase temporary coverage to fill this gap. "This is the only employer I've ever worked for where you don't get coverage the first day you are employed," he said through his spokeswoman, Anna Nix. Through a spokesman, his defeated opponent, Frank Kratovil, seized upon this dialogue, characterizing the question as a "demand" for special treatment and for access to the benefits he opposed in the new law. Furthermore, "Harris then asked if he could purchase insurance from the government to cover the gap," added an aide, who was struck by the similarity to Harris's request and the public option he denounced as a gateway to socialized medicine.

Debt ceiling

On October 16, 2013, Harris voted against the motion to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.

DC cannabis reform

In 2014 Harris led the charge to block a recently adopted Washington D.C. cannabis decriminalization bill. His amendment led to a call from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to boycott tourism to Rep. Harris's district and the boycott of Maryland's 1st District, as well as an online campaign requesting that D.C. area businesses refuse him service at their establishments. In November 2014, D.C. residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis for adults with 68% in favor. Despite this, Harris said he would use "all resources available to a member of Congress to stop this action". On December 9, 2014, congressional leaders announced a deal on a spending bill that included language that will prohibit the D.C. referendum from taking effect. Harris noted that "the Constitution gives Congress the ultimate oversight about what happens in the federal district." Harris believes that cannabis is a gateway drug and has no proven medicinal use. Harris may face a 2016 Republican primary challenge based in part on his opposition to the District's marijuana law.

Shortly after his success in blocking the District's decriminalization legislation, attn.com published an article claiming that Harris' action was tainted by a conflict of interest. According to attn.com, Harris' third largest campaign donor is the pharmaceutical corporation Emergent BioSolutions, based in Rockville, Maryland. One of Emergent's products is epsil, "a fast-acting treatment that reduces the pain associated with oral mucositis," which is a common complication of chemotherapy from cancer treatment. Marijuana has been recognized formally in a number of states as having immense therapeutic potential for cancer patients, and in states where medical marijuana has legalized, the number of pharmaceutical pain killers prescribed has dropped significantly. The congressman has not explicitly addressed this issue.

Maya Angelou

In 2016, Harris opposed legislation to block the naming of a North Carolina post office in honor of poet Maya Angelou. Harris said that her support for communism disqualified her for the honor. "She supported the Communist revolution in Cuba, and my parents escaped a communist country," Harris explained.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on highways and transit
  • Subcommittee on water resources & Environment

In October 2015, Harris was named to serve on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.

Congressional Caucuses

Boating Chesapeake Bay Caucus Coal General Aviation

Hungarian American GOP Doctors Immigration Reform Marcellus Shale Natural Gas

Northeast Agriculture Republican Israel Caucus Republican Study Sportsmen's

Electoral history

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1998	Maryland Senate, District 9	General		Andy Harris	Republican	24,814	61%		Anthony O. Blades	Democratic	15,780	39%
2002	Maryland Senate, District 7	General		Andy Harris	Republican	23,374	57.8%		Dianne DeCarlo	Democratic	16,991	42.1%		Write-ins		44	0.1%
2006	Maryland Senate, District 7	General		Andy Harris	Republican	23,453	56.6%		Patricia A. Foerster	Democratic	17,972	43.3%		Write-ins		35	0.1%
2008	United States House of Representatives, Maryland's 1st congressional district	Primary		Andy Harris	Republican	33,627	43.4%		Wayne Gilchrest	Republican	25,624	33.1%		E.J. Pipkin	Republican	15,700	20.3%
2008	United States House of Representatives, Maryland's 1st congressional district	General		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	177,065	49.1%		Andy Harris	Republican	174,213	48.3%		Richard James Davis	Libertarian	8,873	2.5%		Write-ins		35	0.1%
2010	United States House of Representatives, Maryland's 1st congressional district	General		Andy Harris	Republican	155,118	54.1%		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	120,400	42.0%		Richard James Davis	Libertarian	10,876	3.8%		Write-ins		418	0.15%
2012	United States House of Representatives, Maryland's 1st congressional district	General		Andy Harris	Republican	212,204	63.4%		Wendy Rosen	Democratic	92,812	27.5%		Muir Wayne Boda	Libertarian	12,857	3.8%		Write-ins		17,887	5.3%
2014	United States House of Representatives, Maryland's 1st congressional district	General		Andy Harris	Republican	176,342	70.4%		Bill Tilghman	Democratic	73,843	29.5%		Write-ins		233	0.1%

Personal life

Harris was married for 30 years to Sylvia "Cookie" Harris, who died suddenly on August 28, 2014 after a bout with a prolonged unknown illness. He and Mrs. Harris have five children. Harris resides in Cockeysville, Maryland, and considers himself a "citizen-legislator," maintaining his medical practice while in the State Senate.

Andy Harris has been an active member in the community as a member of the Knights of Columbus, an officer in the Thornleigh Neighborhood Improvement Association (vice-president, 1984-85; president, 1985-86), a member of the Board of Directors of the Sherwood Community Association, 1987-91, and served as Vice President of St. Joseph's School Home-School Association from 1992 to 1994. Also, he has been on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Leadership Council, 1995-98, a member of the North Central Republican Club (treasurer, 1997-98; vice-president, 1998), and finally as a Delegate to the Republican Party National Convention, 2004. Harris has received the Dr. Henry P. and M. Page Laughlin Distinguished Public Officer Award from the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland in 2001.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]