John Linder

John Elmer Linder (born September 9, 1942) is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011.

While the proposed bill has yet to have a major effect on the tax system, the Fair Tax Act has the highest number of cosponsors among tax reform proposals (attracting 76 in the 110th United States Congress), gathering much stronger support than popular flat tax legislation.

A number of congressional committees have heard testimony on the FairTax; however, it has not been voted on in either Chamber.

The bill is cosponsored by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, but has not received support from the Democratic leadership.

Matching legislation has been introduced into the Senate by Georgia Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

Linder has worked with interest groups such as Americans for Fair Taxation as well as National Taxpayers Union.

His district was numbered the GA's 4th congressional district from 1993 to 1997, the GA's 11th congressional district from 1997 to 2003, and the GA's 7th congressional district from 2003 until 2011.

He is a member of the Republican Party.

Since 1996 Linder has backed the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent of the time.

Since 1996 Linder has backed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at least 90 percent of the time except in 2005 where he backed them 75 percent of the time.

Throughout his career he has supported groups like National Small Business Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Restaurant Association, and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

He also has backed the interests of the NRA throughout his career.

A former dentist, Linder has received $40,100 from health professionals as well as $57,900 from the health sector as a whole.

He was defeated for a second term as chairman after a poor showing in the 1998 mid-term elections.

Linder first introduced the legislation in July 1999 to the 106th United States Congress.

He has reintroduced substantially the same bill in each subsequent session of Congress.

His legislation, the Fair Tax Act, 2005 and the Fair Tax Act, 2007, was a proposal for changing United States tax laws to replace all federal personal income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, self-employment taxes, gift taxes and inheritance taxes with a national retail sales tax and monthly tax rebate to households of citizens and legal resident aliens.

He voted in favor of reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act in 2005.

He opposed transferring prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

In 2006, he voted against renewal of the Voting Rights Act.

Linder is coauthor of The FairTax Book with radio talk show host Neal Boortz, which spent time atop the New York Times bestseller list.

The book discusses H.R.25, also known as the Fair Tax Act, which Linder sponsored.

He voted in favor of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

He voted against reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act in 2006.

In 2006, he co-sponsored a measure to repeal the estate tax.

Linder voted against a minimum wage increase in 2007.

Linder voted against the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

He voted against the re authorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 2007, and voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993.

They released a follow-up book FairTax: The Truth in 2008.

He also ran his own lending firm so he receives backing from the Insurance and Finance sector amounting to $86,839 as 12/31/2008.

He has received $25,401 from the Construction industry and $25,300 from the Energy and Natural Resources industry.

Overall in the 2008 cycle he has a total income of $581,976 of which he spent $375,540, and by the end of the cycle he had accumulated no debt at all.

Linder opposes abortion and has voted for anti-abortion legislation.

He voted against the 2008 Medicare bill that was vetoed by George W. Bush.

Linder chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign funding arm of House Republicans, during the 105th Congress.

In the 109th and 110th Congresses, Linder took a leadership role in the effort to enact fundamental tax reform.

Linder voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the related Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Linder announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of the 111th Congress.

In March 2019, he was announced as President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next United States Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; Linder was not confirmed and his nomination expired at the end of the Trump administration.

He was born in Deer River, Minnesota, was educated at the University of Minnesota Duluth, served in the United States Air Force, was a dentist and businessman, president of a lending institution, and a member of the Georgia House of Representatives where he served for seven terms.