Amo Houghton - Congressman

Congressman

In 1986, Houghton was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican. Houghton reportedly was among the richest members of the House, with a wealth of $475 million, however, most of that amount was related to trusts in which he had no beneficial interest. Houghton had a moderate voting record and was founder of the Republican Main Street Partnership, which he formed to encourage a more moderate stance to public issues. He served on the International Relations and Ways and Means Committees. He was frequently called upon to serve as a broker between Democratic and Republican members on critical issues since he was a champion for improving civility between political parties. He unsuccessfully sought out a Republican to challenge Tom DeLay for the spot of majority leader. He was one of only four Republicans to vote against all the impeachment articles against President Clinton, and in 2001, Houghton was one of only three Republicans to vote against permanently repealing the estate tax. While he voted with Republicans on most issues relating to the budget, he also voted with the Democratic Party on issues of environmental protection, civil rights and funding for the arts and education. On October 10, 2002, he was among the six House Republicans who voted against the resolution authorizing the invasion of Iraq. On April 7, 2004, Houghton announced his intentions not to seek a tenth term in Congress. On January 3, 2005, Houghton's term as a congressman expired.

Houghton throughout his career was one of Upstate New York's most well known and respected Republican members of Congress; he was usually re-elected with more than 70% of the vote. He clashed occasionally with the increasingly Southern, socially conservative orientation of the party. For example, Houghton was one of the most vocal pro-choice Republicans in Congress.

He was succeeded by John R. "Randy" Kuhl, a former State Senator and Bath lawyer.