U.S. House of Representatives (2003–2017)
Elections ;2002 After redistricting, Murphy ran for the newly redrawn
18th Congressional District in
2002. The district had previously been the 20th, represented by four-term
Democrat Frank Mascara. However, the legislature re-drew the district after the 2000 Census in such a way that a large portion of Mascara's district ended up in the neighboring
Johnstown-based 12th District, represented by an incumbent of 28-years
John Murtha. The new district lines were harshly criticized, in part because in some areas portions of several neighborhoods—and even streets—were split between districts. In parts of the eastern part of the district, one side of the street was in the 18th while the other was in the 12th. In parts of the western portion, one side of the street was in the 18th while the other was in the
14th. In the most extreme example, nearly all of Mascara's hometown of
Charleroi was drawn into the 12th district, except that a long tendril extending from Allegheny County to Mascara's house stayed in the 18th. After a legal battle, the courts largely upheld Pennsylvania's redistricting plan after some minor modifications. Murphy was a member of the committee that redrew Pennsylvania's congressional map, and rumors abounded that he'd reconfigured the district for himself, even though numerous Democrats were also on the committee. Mascara challenged Murtha in the Democratic primary for the 12th District, since the newly configured 12th was geographically more his district than Murtha's. However, Murtha easily defeated Mascara. This removed a significant barrier to Murphy. Even though Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 70,000 registered voters, it was somewhat friendlier to Republicans than the old 20th had been. Murphy won the Republican primary unopposed and won the general election, defeating Democrat Jack Machek 60%–40%. ;2004 Murphy won re-election to a second term, defeating Mark Boles 63%–37%. ;2006 In 2006, Murphy was confronted by
KDKA News reporter Andy Sheehan with evidence indicating his District Office employees were illegally working on his campaign. Murphy was challenged by Democrat Chad Kluko, a telecommunications executive, in the November 2006 general election. Murphy won re-election to a third term, defeating Kluko 58%–42%. ;2008 Murphy was challenged by Democrat
Steve O'Donnell, a
Monroeville health care executive. Murphy won re-election to a fourth term, defeating O'Donnell 64%–36%. ;2010 Murphy was challenged by Democrat Dan Connolly. Murphy was endorsed by Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC and the
US Chamber of Commerce. Murphy won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Connolly 67%–33%. ;2012 For the first time in Murphy's career, he was challenged in the Republican primary. Evan Feinberg, also of
Upper St. Clair, was a 28-year-old political novice and "
Tea Party" favorite, was endorsed by Senators
Rand Paul and
Tom Coburn,
FreedomWorks, and ABC Contractors. Murphy had the backing of two
anti-abortion groups:
National Right to Life Committee and PA Pro-Life Federation. He was also endorsed by former Governor
Tom Ridge, former Congresswoman
Melissa Hart, Allegheny County Republican Party Chairman
Jim Roddey, State Representative
Mark Mustio, State Senate candidate D. Raja, the
NRA Political Victory Fund, and the
Fraternal Order of Police of Allegheny County. Murphy won the primary 63%–33%. In the general election, he won re-election to his sixth term, defeating
Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi 64%–36%. ;2014 Murphy successfully ran for re-election to a seventh term in the U.S. House in the 2014 election. He was re-nominated unopposed in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election, since no candidates filed to run in the Democratic primary. ;2016 Murphy was unopposed in the primary and the general election. He was re-elected to his eighth term in the U.S. House. This would be his last election to the House after later resigning on October 21, 2017.
Tenure On November 26, 2005, Murphy was injured during a traffic accident in Iraq while riding in a van along with fellow Congressmen
Jim Marshall and
Ike Skelton. The van swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and overturned, injuring Murphy and Skelton. The two were airlifted to
Ibn Sina Hospital in
Baghdad. After an
MRI indicated head and neck injuries, Murphy was flown to the U.S. Military's
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for further tests, which indicated no permanent damage. After wearing a
neck brace for a brief period, Murphy made a full recovery. He opposed both Wall Street bailouts in 2008, the $820 billion stimulus package supported by President Obama, and the climate change/greenhouse gas initiative bill known as "Cap and Trade". Murphy was named a "Hero of the Taxpayer" by
Americans for Tax Reform. Notably, he voted to increase the
debt limit along with historic budget cuts in August 2011. Prior to that, he approved the "short term" debt limit increase. Murphy supported a House earmark ban in theory but made nearly $14 million in earmark requests in 2010. The left-leaning lobbying group called
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress titled "Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)". Murphy was included on the list. CREW issued its analysis of Murphy's alleged ethical lapses. Murphy co-sponsored the
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, along with Democratic Representative
Tim Ryan of Ohio. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives on September 29, 2010, received bi-partisan support. The final vote was 348–79. The measure would authorize the
United States Department of Commerce to impose tariffs and countervailing duties against goods from countries with currencies that it deems are undervalued. Murphy told WDUQ that the goal was to "protect domestic manufacturers and the steel industry from countries unwilling to compete fairly in the global marketplace". He added that by tying China's currency to the dollar and not floating its currency on the open market, China could undercut US manufacturers by 40%. In other words, manufacturers in China could make and ship products to the US for less than a US manufacturer could buy the raw materials. The Senate failed to take up the legislation, and Murphy reintroduced the bi-partisan measure in February 2011. Both members also held briefings for congressional staffers with questions on the shooting.
Mental health advocacy and legislation Following
the December 14, 2012 mass shooting of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Murphy organized a series of hearings across the nation on the issue of mental health. Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the shooting, had been diagnosed with a range of mental health problems which deteriorated severely and, "combined with an atypical preoccupation with violence... (and) access to deadly weapons... proved a recipe for mass murder," according to the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate. Murphy's hearings included testimony by families who experienced firsthand the shortage of available beds and the legal limits placed on efforts to get help for members. Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds recounted the death of his son who, after being recommended for psychiatric commitment, was sent home because of a lack of available beds. Gus Deeds went on to stab his father before committing suicide. Murphy drafted a bill called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 422–2 in July 2016. The bill attracted support in the press and with various advocacy organizations, with one writer in The Wall Street Journal pointing out that Murphy's bill was the only one likely to have prevented shootings such as those that felled Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as well as other victims of a spate of shootings. The bill was later folded into the larger 21st Century Cures Act and included the following provisions: • Created the Office of Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. • Mandated better coordination of federal programs, creating an advisory board to oversee the effort. • Mandated more scientifically based models to create standards for reviewing grants and mental health program funding.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Energy and Commerce •
Subcommittee on Environment and Economy •
Subcommittee on Health •
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (chair) Murphy previously served on the Veterans Affairs and Government Reform committees.
Caucus memberships •
Congressional Steel Caucus (chair) • 21st Century Healthcare Caucus •
Congressional Arts Caucus • Doctor's Caucus (co-chair) • Mental Health Caucus • Men's Health Caucus •
Republican Main Street Partnership •
United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus ==Extramarital affair, office chaos, and resignation==