Early life, education, and early career

Barton was born in Waco, Texas, the son of Bess Wynell (née Buice) and Larry Linus Barton. He graduated from Waco High School. He attended Texas A&M University in College Station on a Gifford-Hill Opportunity Award scholarship and received a B.S. in industrial engineering in 1972. An M.Sc. in industrial administration from Purdue University followed in 1973. Following college, Barton entered private industry until 1981, when he became a White House Fellow and served under United States Secretary of Energy James B. Edwards. Later, he began consulting for Atlantic Richfield Oil and Gas Co., before being elected to the United States Congress, in 1984.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1984

Barton made his first run for elected office in 1984, when he entered the Republican primary for Texas's 6th congressional district after three-term incumbent Phil Gramm left his seat to run for the United States Senate that year. He finished first in the five-candidate field with 42% and very narrowly defeated Max Hoyt in the runoff with 50%. He then defeated Democratic nominee and former State Representative Dan Kubiak 57%-43%. Barton was one of six freshmen Republican U.S. congressmen elected from Texas in 1984 known as the Texas Six Pack. In 1986, Barton won re-election against Democratic candidate Pete Geren, who would later be elected to Congress from a neighboring district. Barton defeated Geren 56%-44%.

1988-2010

During this period, Barton won each re-election with 60% of the vote or more. His worst general election performance was in 2006, when he defeated Democratic candidate David Harris 60%-37%, a 23-point margin. The 2008 election was his second worst performance, defeating Democratic candidate Ludwig Otto by a 26-point margin, 62%-36%.

He was only challenged in the primary twice in this time period: 1992 and 1994. In 1992, he defeated Mike McGinn 79%-21%. In 1994, he defeated Jerry Goode 89%-11%.

2012

Because of the increasing controversy surrounding his record in office, election battles have been increasingly contentious. In 2011, a Super PAC was formed by Texas conservative groups to remove him and several other long-time incumbents from office. The Democratic National Committee has used Barton's comments in political ads, shown nationally against all Republican candidates. Several websites have been created and dedicated to simply removing Joe Barton from office. DefeatJoeBarton.com/ was created by Democratic challengers. All content was later removed, although the site is still owned.

Barton drew three primary challengers: Joe Chow, mayor of Addison; Itamar Gelbman, a security consultant; and Frank C. Kuchar, a Dallas businessman and former preacher. Chow is Texas' first Asian-American mayor. He called Barton “the most corrupt congressman in the State of Texas.” At the end of March 2012, Barton had $1.3 million in cash on hand, compared with $28,800 for Chow, $178,000 for Gelbman, and $463 for Kuchar.

2014

In the Republican primary on March 4, Barton won handy re-nomination to a sixteenth term in the U.S. House. He polled 32,579 (72.7 percent); his 2012 primary opponent, Frank Kuchar, trailed with 12,260 votes (27.3 percent). On November 4, Barton handedly won re-election over Democrat opponent Cozad. Barton serves as the Dean of the Texas Delegation for the 114th Congress.

2016

Barton polled 55,197 votes (68.7 percent) in a three-candidate field for the Republican House nomination in the March 1 primary election. The runner-up, Steven Fowler, received 17,927 votes (22.3 percent). Barton now faces the Democrat Ruby Faye Woolridge in the November 8 general election. She polled 22,954 votes (69.7 percent) in her three-candidate party primary.

Tenure

Barton voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in both of its manifestations.

In March 2011, Barton sponsored the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, which would repeal the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed by President George W. Bush. The 2007 law would set energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, effectively eliminating most or all incandescent light bulbs. Barton said "People don't want Congress dictating what light fixtures they can use."

Congressional Action

• Former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, primary House author of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and chairman of the House-Senate energy conference committee.
• Both initiated and eliminated "safe harbor" provision for MTBE (in Energy Policy Act of 2005).
• Co-founded the Congressional Privacy Caucus, cosponsor of the anti-spyware SPY ACT, initiated National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006.
• Opposed the extension of the Voting Rights Act in 2006
• Barton has been the lead representative in forcing the switch from analog to digital TV and auctioning off the public airwaves to private companies.

Global warming controversy

In 2005, prompted by a February 2005 Wall Street Journal article, Barton launched an investigation into two climate change studies from 1998 and 1999. In his letters to the authors of the studies he requested details on the studies and the sources of the authors grant funding. The Washington Post condemned Barton's investigation as a "witch-hunt". During Former Vice President Al Gore's testimony to the Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2007, Barton asserted to Gore that "You're not just off a little, you're totally wrong" (climate scientists have refuted Barton's assertion), stating that "Global Warming science is uneven and evolving." In 2013, when discussing the Keystone XL pipeline, he referred to the Genesis flood narrative in the Bible to argue that current climate change isn't man-made.

Autism bills controversy

Barton tried to block the bipartisan Combating Autism Act of 2006. He said that the money steered toward environmental causes of autism were not the reason he blocked passage of the bill.

The controversy stemmed from the conflict between two bills in the House and Senate. Barton introduced the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006, while Senator Rick Santorum introduced the Autism bill. Santorum said in a CNN interview that the Senate bill was intended to be "fit into" Barton's bill in the House bill. He stated that "I was in constant conversation with him and many House members all last week in an attempt to help the NIH bill come through the Senate, as well as try to move the Combating Autism bill through the Senate." Santorum stated that the Senate bill would investigate possible environmental causes, while the House bill would prevent that.

Barton let the bill die in committee, which upset many people who were vocal about saying Barton had sacrificed the interests of autistic children in the interests of the oil and gas companies that donate heavily to his campaign.

BP oil spill controversy

On June 17, 2010, Barton accused the White House of a "$20 billion shakedown" of oil giant BP after the company reached an agreement with the Obama administration to establish an escrow account to pay the claims of people harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He made the accusation at the outset of a House hearing where BP's chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, appeared for the first time before Congress. Facing Hayward at the witness table, Barton said, "I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words — amounts to a shakedown, so I apologize." Prior to the establishment of the agreement, the Obama administration had been public in their criticism of BP for the oil spill; Barton and other critics accused the White House of attempting to deflect criticism on how they handled the situation, which made it more difficult for BP to raise short-term funds in the capital market for their operations.

Barton's remarks were widely criticized by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, Vice President Joe Biden, GOP congressional leadership and fellow Republicans, some of whom called on Barton to relinquish his leadership role in the House Energy Subcomittee.

Barton later said that his earlier remarks had been "misconstrued" and that he believed BP was responsible for the accident. Later that day, he issued a statement apologizing for using the term "shakedown" and fully retracted his apology to BP.

Position on wind energy

At a 2009 hearing on renewable energy, Barton asserted that large-scale wind power projects could slow down God's method for cooling the earth and possibly contribute to global warming.

Barton has questioned the wisdom of deficit spending to fund an extensive national wind turbine energy generation grid.

Position on Keystone pipeline

In November 2011, Barton criticized President Barack Obama for delaying his decision on the Keystone pipeline. He said "We asked him to make a decision, not to wait another two years. That's bullshit.”

2011 CREW report

The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) put Congressman Barton on its CREW's Most Corrupt Report 2011. The article states that on Barton's 2008 financial disclosure statement, he inaccurately reported on the source of a natural gas interest that he bought into. The share was purchased through a longtime donor and supporter who later died. This was discovered by the Dallas Morning News in 2010. According to the Dallas Morning News article, Barton made over $100,000 on the investment. The article and CREW Report both point out how Barton buying this undervalued asset from an "advisor" on energy issues could be a conflict of interest to the Congressman's position as the Chair of the House's Energy Subcommittee. It quotes James Thurber, a professor of government at American University, as saying "If you are elected as a public servant to try to do what is right for the public generally and then you use that position to help bring in material wealth, I think it's unethical." Despite this discovery, Barton chose to neither respond to, nor correct his misreporting.

CREW also reported that Barton paid his wife Terri $57,759 in salary and bonuses, from his campaign funds in the 2006 election cycle. A spokesman said that Terri served as the campaign's outreach director and planned fund raising and special events. Barton's daughter Kristin was paid $12,622 in salary and bonuses and his mother, Nell Barton, was paid $7,000 for a car.

Position on crude oil ban

Barton expressed in September 2014, his full support of the United States lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports - an issue that sparked controversy among members of the Republican Party. Several research reports have found that exporting the glut of shale oil would ultimately lower U.S. and global fuel prices, rather than raise them, U.S. public opinion remains divided on the issue.

Position on online poker

Barton has expressed his desire for pro-poker legislation to come into effect on a federal level and is hoping to introduce a new bill on the subject in April/May 2015. This bill would introduce a federal-level regulatory framework that would allow for online poker to be offered in all states.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce (Chair emeritus)
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
• Congressional Privacy Caucus (Founder/Co-Chair)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Tea Party Caucus
• Congressional Cement Caucus

1993 U.S. Senate election

See also: United States Senate special election in Texas, 1993

In 1993, Barton ran in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Lloyd Bentsen, who became United States Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration. Barton finished third in the contest, behind state treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senator Bob Krueger, thus missing a runoff slot. He divided the more conservative vote in that election with House colleague Jack Fields of Houston.

Barton Family Foundation

The Barton Family Foundation was established in 2005 to support charities within the congressman's district. His daughter-in-law, Amy Barton, is the Foundation's Executive Director. Major energy corporations, such as the Chicago-based nuclear energy producer, Exelon Corporation, make major gifts to the Foundation. In June 2008, at a time when Barton had introduced legislation to assist corporations with the recycling of spent nuclear fuel, the corporation donated $25,000 to the Foundation. Exelon has also donated $80,000 to Barton's campaign funds. The Foundation gave $90,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club, this is the only recorded donation made by the Foundation in its seven-year history.

Personal life

Terri Barton divorced Joe Barton in February 2015. He has four children and five grandchildren.

Barton's office announced that on December 15, 2005 he suffered a heart attack and was taken to George Washington University Hospital.

Barton revealed during a congressional hearing on video games that he was a video game player. He announced that he had "worked way up to Civilization IV".

Barton has been an advocate of a playoff system to determine a national champion for college football, even introducing legislation to require that any game being marketed as a national championship game be a part of a playoff. On May 1, 2010, Barton grilled Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, saying of the BCS that, "It's like communism. You can't fix it." He also suggested that the 'C' be dropped from the BCS and it be called "the 'BS' system."

Electoral history

Texas's 6th congressional district: Results 1984-2014

Year		Republican	Votes	%		Democratic	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
1984		Joe Barton	131,482	57%		Dan Kubiak	100,799	43%
1986		Joe Barton	86,190	56%		Pete Geren	68,270	44%
1988		Joe Barton	164,692	68%		Pat Kendrick	78,786	32%
1990		Joe Barton	125,049	66%		John Welch	62,344	33%
1992		Joe Barton	189,140	72%		John Dietrich	73,933	28%
1994		Joe Barton	152,038	76%		Terry Jesmore	44,286	22%		Bill Baird	Libertarian	4,688	2%
1996		Joe Barton	152,024	76%		No candidate				Skeet Richardson	Independent	28,187	14%		Catherine Anderson	Libertarian	14,456	7%		Doug Williams	U.S.T.	6,547	3%
1998		Joe Barton	112,957	73%		Ben Boothe	40,112	26%		Richard Bandlow	Libertarian	1,817	1%
2000		Joe Barton	222,685	88%		No candidate				Frank Brady	Libertarian	30,056	12%
2002		Joe Barton	115,396	70%		Felix Alvarado	45,404	28%		Frank Brady	Libertarian	1,992	1%		B. J. Armstrong	Green	1,245	1%
2004		Joe Barton	168,767	66%		Morris Meyer	83,609	33%		Stephen Schrader	Libertarian	3,251	1%
2006		Joe Barton	91,927	60%		David Harris	56,369	37%		Carl Nulsen	Libertarian	3,740	2%
2008		Joe Barton	174,008	62%		Ludwig Otto	99,919	36%		Max Koch	Libertarian	6,655	2%
2010		Joe Barton	107,140	66%		David Cozad	50,717	31%		Byron Severns	Libertarian	4,700	3%
2012		Joe Barton	145,019	58%		Kenneth Sanders	98,053	39%		Hugh Chauvin	Libertarian	4,847	2%		Brandon Parmer	Green	2,017	1%
2014		Joe Barton	92,334	61%		David Cozad	55,027	36%		Hugh Chauvin	Libertarian	3,635	2%
2016		Joe Barton				Ruby Faye Woolridge					Libertarian

[ Source: Wikipedia ]