Congressional Career
In 1996, Cannon was the Republican candidate in Utah's 3rd District against Democratic incumbent Bill Orton, who had managed to hold the seat for three terms (all by fairly large margins) despite its heavy Republican tilt. This time, however, the district's partisan lean proved too much for Orton to overcome, and Cannon defeated him by four points. He never faced another general election contest nearly that close, and was reelected five times.
Cannon first entered the national spotlight in 1999, when as a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, he was one of 13 House "managers" who prosecuted the case against President Bill Clinton in the impeachment trial in the U. S. Senate.
Cannon was named Chairman of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee at the beginning of the 108th Congress in January 2003, and has served as its ranking Republican from 2007 - 2009. He also served on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
Cannon was also a member of the House Government Reform Committee. He served on the Subcommittees on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources as well as Regulatory Affairs. Cannon was also a member of the House Resources Committee, serving on the Energy and Mineral Resources and Forests and Forest Health Subcommittees.
In 2000, Cannon co-founded the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, which has nearly 130 members from both major political parties in 2008.
In January 2001, Cannon hired David Safavian as his chief of staff. Safavian left on May 16, 2002, to take a position at the General Services Administration. Safavian was arrested in September 2005 in connection with the Jack Abramoff corruption case, and was convicted in June 2006 on four felony counts.
In January 2003, Cannon was elected chairman of the influential Western Caucus, an organization of over 50 Congressmen working on resource management issues.
He was a cosponsor of HR 2043, legislation that would provide voting representation for the District of Columbia. The bill also gives another Congressional seat to Utah.
Read more about this topic: Chris Cannon
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