by Jim Kouri - GOP Representative Steve King's comments regarding Barack Obama created a firestorm within the mainstream news media. However, few Americans are familiar with Congressman King.
"[Obama will] certainly be viewed as a savior for [the Islamic terrorists]," Rep. Steve King told The Associated Press. "That's why you will see them supporting him ...."
Steve King was first elected to Congress by the people of Iowa’s Fifth District on November 5 th, 2002. As a husband, father, and small business owner, Steve King was compelled to seek political office as he witnessed the intrusion of government into the daily lives of average citizens like himself.
Founding King Construction in 1975, Steve King began his business with one bulldozer, and built it into a company that continues today under the ownership and management of his oldest son David. One of the many lessons learned while growing both his family and his business was that government was often overreaching, and that all too often elected officials were unwilling to do anything about it. Finding himself frustrated with the status quo, Steve King climbed down off his bulldozer and ran for State Senate.
Serving six years in the Iowa Senate, then Senator Steve King served as the Chairman of the State Government Committee and Vice Chairman of the Oversight Budget Committee. He was a member of the Appropriations Committee, Judiciary Committee, Business and Labor Committee, and the Commerce Committee. His work in the Iowa Senate helped to successfully eliminate the inheritance tax, enforce workplace drug testing, strengthen parental rights, pass tax cuts for working Iowans, and pass the law that made English the official language in Iowa.
Since his election to Congress, Steve King has served on the House Agriculture Committee. Long an advocate of value added agriculture, Congressman King’s first bill proposed expanded tax credits for ethanol producers, and for the first time included producers of biodiesel, providing additional incentive for the developing renewable fuels industry. Since that time, Iowa’s Fifth District has risen to the status of number one in biodiesel production and second in the production of ethanol. As the industry continues to develop and facilities come on line, Iowa’s fifth district is on pace to be the leading producer of both biodiesel and ethanol in the nation by the end of 2007.
Congressman King also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, where he sits on the Constitution Subcommittee and is the Ranking Member of the Immigration Subcommittee. Well known for carrying a copy of the Constitution in his coat pocket, Congressman King is conversant in not only the content but the history and context of our Country’s founding document. As a tireless defender of the Constitution and the rule of law, Steve King has become a national voice for the millions of Americans who are calling for effective border enforcement and an end to illegal immigration.
Because of his background as a small business owner, and the knowledge that 97% of all businesses in Iowa are small businesses, Congressman King sought a special waiver to serve on a third committee and was appointed to the House Small Business Committee. His goal has consistently been to restrict the government regulations that slow the growth of business and jobs. Having built his business under the regulations and restrictions created by the government, it is now government that is having to adjust to a bulldozer operator in Congress!
Receiving recognition from his colleagues for his leadership and conservative principles, Congressman King was selected to chair the powerful and legendary Conservative Opportunity Society in 2006. Best known for energizing Republicans to regain the majority of the House of Representatives in 1994, King was encouraged to serve a second term as chair in 2007 as the process of regaining the majority is once again at hand. Congressman King also joined the influential Republican Study Committee in 2007. This group of Republican leaders works to infuse public policy with conservative principles.
Steve King lives with Marilyn, his wife of 35 years, on an acreage near Kiron where they have made their home for nearly 30 years. Active members of St. Martin ’s Church in Odebolt, Steve and Marilyn King maintain strong ties to small town Iowa even as the demands of Congressional service have taken them to Washington . The Kings are blessed to have their three grown sons living and working nearby, and recently welcomed the birth of their second granddaughter. They enjoy escaping DC to spend time at home with family and friends.