Ben Chandler - U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives

Chandler currently represents the Sixth Congressional District of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives and has since a special election in 2004. Although Chandler is a Democrat, the Sixth Congressional District strongly leans Republican, rated by Charlie Cook in his Cook Partisan Voting Index as “R + 7,” meaning a generic Republican running against a generic Democrat would win by 7 points more than he would nationally (e.g. if he would win 50% statewide, he would win 59% in the Sixth).

He is a moderate to conservative Democrat and in its 2010 vote rankings, National Journal rated Chandler as being the ideological center of the House of Representatives. Although Chandler is a Democrat and has supported many Democratic bills including supporting healthcare for children through the SCHIP law and the Recovery Act, he has also voted against some large pieces of Democratic-led legislation including the Wall Street Bailout and against the healthcare reform bill.

Chandler is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a fiscally conservative Democratic caucus. This caucus is generally composed of Democrats serving Republican leaning congressional districts. He serves as the Chair of the national Blue Dog Task Force on Oversight and Regulatory Review. According to the website, this taskforce "The Task Force on Oversight and Regulatory Review is responsible for taking a look at the nearly 8,000 regulations issued annually by the federal government and for analyzing these new rules to ensure Congressional intent is appropriately followed. Under the leadership of Chair Ben Chandler (KY-06) and Vice-Chair Tim Holden (PA-17), the Task Force monitors implementation efforts, identifies overly burdensome regulations and seeks to modify rules problematic to job creation."

Chandler has voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, against the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, against Cut, Cap and Balance Act and for funding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

In 2010 Chandler was criticized for accepting campaign contributions from embattled Congressman Rep. Charles Rangel’s National Leadership PAC.

In September 2010, Kentucky.com reported that Chandler was one of several “moderate Democrats facing tough re-election bids who are bucking the Obama administration and pushing to extend tax cuts at every income level.”

In 2011, Chandler voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.

Taxes

Chandler is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.