Jim Matheson

Matheson was a strong supporter of Wall Street regulation, voting in favor of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the strongest set of Wall Street reforms since the 1930s.

In a comment on this legislation, Matheson stated, "Nearly two years ago the subprime mortgage meltdown triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. We've been living under the same set of rules that were in place before the financial crisis sparked the job-killing recession. Now, that is about to change."

James David Matheson (born March 21, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Representative from Utah from 2001 to 2015.

His father, Scott M. Matheson, served as governor of Utah from 1977 to 1985, his mother, Norma Matheson, served as First Lady of Utah and a prominent figure in the state Democratic Party, and his brother, Scott Matheson, Jr., was the 2004 Democratic nominee for Governor.

Matheson is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Prior to entering politics, Matheson worked in the energy field, working for several different companies and studying environmental policy.

He later started his own energy consulting firm.

His wife, Amy, is a pediatrician and they have two sons, William and Harris.

He joined a group that was in favor of increased compensation for people who were affected by the radiation from Cold War atomic testing.

The radioactive fallout from nuclear tests caused the cancer that killed Matheson's father.

Matheson was co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, a conservative group of 25 Democrats in the House.

He was also a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

During his congressional tenure, he was the only Democrat in Utah's Congressional Delegation.

During his time in Congress, Matheson was relatively conservative by national party standards.

He represented Utah's 2nd district from 2001 to 2013 and its UT's 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the Democratic Party.

While in office, he was Utah's only congressional Democrat, and his district was one of the most Republican-leaning districts to be represented by a Democrat.

Matheson regularly voted in favor of the wars in the Middle East, having voted for the 2003 Iraq invasion and opposing the bill to remove troops from Libya in 2011 and Pakistan in 2010.

He did, however, vote in favor of requiring a time-table for withdrawal from Afghanistan, after opposing the bill in two previous votes.

In March 2007, Matheson was one of 14 Democrats who voted against a bill that would require President George W. Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq by September 1, 2008.

In November 2009, during intense debates over American health care reform, Matheson voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

When President Obama named Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at a time where he needed Matheson's vote for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, The Weekly Standard posted an article that said "Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their vote to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah."

In the National Journal ratings in 2010, Matheson was more conservative than 51% of his colleagues, but more liberal than 49%, making him one of the most conservative Democrats, yet a centrist overall.

On November 3, Matheson voted against requiring public disclosure of bonuses and golden parachute arrangements (agreements between a company and an employee specifying that the employee will receive significant benefits if they are terminated).

This was a bill that the Democrats heavily supported and the Republicans opposed; only five other Democrats voted against the bill.

However, Matheson's NARAL Pro-Choice America rating dropped to 0% in 2010, while he garnered a 50% rating from the National Right to Life Committee.

Matheson voted against raising the federal debt limit, as well as against both Republican and Democratic budgets that did not reduce the deficit.

Matheson, a former energy industry businessman, voted against authorizing the construction of new oil refineries.

In 2011, Matheson voted to extend expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act and voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012.

Matheson leans anti-abortion but supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

He was rated 55% from National Right to Life Committee indicating a mixed record on abortion and 30% from NARAL indicating an anti-abortion voting record.

In July 2011, Matheson was one of five Democrats to vote for the Cut, Cap and Balance Act.

On December 17, 2013, Matheson announced he would not seek reelection in the 2014 elections.

In January 2013, Matheson was one of sixteen Democrats that voted against the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was the last minute solution to the U.S. fiscal cliff.

Matheson released a statement saying that "to address the fiscal cliff, legislation must include a strong framework for real deficit reduction. Sadly, this bill falls short."

Matheson is also opposed to the No Child Left Behind Act, believing that education is a local issue and federal funds should come with minimal strings attached.

Matheson also believes that the "Highly Qualified Teacher" requirements should be more flexible, and that states should have alternative options to the single standardized test used in No Child Left Behind.

In 2015, he joined the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs as a lobbyist.

There was speculation that Matheson, a moderate Democrat, might run in 2016 for Governor of Utah or for the Utah U.S. Senate seat coming open then, but this did not happen.

On June 13, 2016 he was named the CEO of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, a trade organization for rural electric cooperatives, and on July 19, 2016, he succeeded fellow former Representative Jo Ann Emerson as CEO.

Matheson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and obtained an A.B. from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.