Mary Bono Mack - Congressional Career

Congressional Career

She followed the Republican Party line 89% of the time, according to Congressional Quarterly. In 2004, she received an 84% approval rating from the Christian Coalition of America, but this fell to 33% in 2008. In 1999, she voted in favor of the Largent Amendment, to ban adoption by same-sex couples in Washington, D.C. Mack has, however, voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment twice. In 1998, Mack was added to the House Judiciary Committee by the Republican leadership in anticipation of the consideration of impeachment proceedings against then President Bill Clinton, thus becoming the only Republican woman on the committee. Bono Mack proceeded to vote along party lines on all four motions for impeachment, which were decided 21 to 16. During the full House floor consideration of the four impeachment motions, Mack voted for impeachment on all four articles while some moderate Republican House members voted against Articles II, III, and IV.

Some of the congresswoman's legislative history includes a bill that calls for country-of-origin labeling for fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as several energy-saving bills to reward companies for utilizing clean burning fuel technologies and increase the energy-efficiency of federal buildings. In 2000, Bono Mack helped pass legislation that established the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument in the Palm Springs region. The House of Representatives passed her Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass (SPY ACT), which would protect an individual's personal information on the Web. Also, Bono Mack has sponsored legislation that provides funding for obesity studies and improved nutrition programs nationwide, autism research, and Federal funding under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Act.

Mack was a leading proponent of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, the so-called Mickey Mouse Law, which extended the terms of copyright. Giving a speech on the floor of Congress in favor of the bill, Bono Mack said:

Actually, Sonny wanted the term of copyright protection to last forever. I am informed by staff that such a change would violate the Constitution.... As you know, there is also Jack Valenti's proposal for the term to last forever less one day. Perhaps the Committee may look at that next Congress.

She won her sixth term in 2008 with 58% of the vote, down slightly from 60.7% in 2006.

In December 2010, she was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly homosexual service members.

She has received numerous awards from such organizations as Americans for Tax Reform, National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the SunLine Transit Agency for her support of alternative fuel technologies. She signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

In 2011, she voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a provision allowing the government and/or the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.