James C. Greenwood - Political Career

Political Career

Greenwood was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980 as a Republican and the Pennsylvania Senate in 1986. In 1992, Greenwood defeated Democratic Congressman Peter H. Kostmayer for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania’s 8th district.

As a Rockefeller Republican with moderate-to-liberal views on social issues and conservative stances on taxes and economic issues, Greenwood's overall voting record was moderate. He was known as an effective legislator civil justice issues and securities fraud. He voted against two of the four impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton in 1998, and sided with the House Democrats to oppose Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003. He also served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and was Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. In this role, he led investigations and held hearings on a variety of issues within the vast jurisdiction of the Committee including corporate governance, bioterrorism, port and border security, drug importation, and the safety of nuclear power plants.

A co-founder and co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus, Greenwood was the author of comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to preserve, protect, and research ocean resources. He also worked to increase communication among world leaders to address international environmental issues. As a member of the Education and Workforce Committee, he was a leading voice in the efforts to ensure that sufficient federal funds were appropriated to meet the needs of children in special education programs and to prevent school violence.

Greenwood announced in the midst of the 2004 congressional election that he would not seek re-election and retire. He had already won the 8th district's Republican primary, and his abrupt withdrawal raised many questions. Greenwood released a statement saying: "From time to time during my twenty four years of public service, I have been approached and offered other types of challenges and opportunities. Such has been the case in the last few days, and I am currently reviewing one of these opportunities. I will make my decision public in the very near future and will have no other statement until then."

After serving six terms in Congress, Greenwood was appointed President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a biotechnology trade association based in Washington, DC.