Robert Henry Bob Michel was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years.
FactSnippet No. 677,817 |
Robert Henry Bob Michel was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years.
FactSnippet No. 677,817 |
Bob Michel represented central Illinois' 18th congressional district, and was the GOP leader in the House, serving as House Minority Leader during his last 14 years in Congress .
FactSnippet No. 677,818 |
Bob Michel did not seek re-election in the 1994 mid-term elections, where Gingrich led the Republican Revolution that resulted in the GOP taking control of the House for the first time in 40 years.
FactSnippet No. 677,819 |
Bob Michel's father was an immigrant from Alsace and his mother was the daughter of German immigrants.
FactSnippet No. 677,820 |
Bob Michel received a Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University.
FactSnippet No. 677,821 |
Bob Michel was well respected across the aisle and was good friends with Democrats such as Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill and Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski.
FactSnippet No. 677,822 |
Bob Michel served as Minority Whip from 94th Congress through the 96th Congress.
FactSnippet No. 677,823 |
Bob Michel served from 1959 to 1980 as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, including 12 years as the ranking Republican on the Labor, Health, Education and Welfare Subcommittee.
FactSnippet No. 677,824 |
In March 1988, Bob Michel voted against the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 .
FactSnippet No. 677,826 |
Bob Michel stirred a controversy in 1988 when he recalled enjoying and participating in blackface minstrel shows as a young man, and said he missed the shows.
FactSnippet No. 677,827 |
Bob Michel compared the removal of racially offensive words in songs such as "Ol' Man River" to the Soviet re-writing of history.
FactSnippet No. 677,828 |
Bob Michel later apologized for having given offence, explaining that he was honestly attempting to understand and accept changes in U S culture.
FactSnippet No. 677,829 |
Bob Michel characterized Gingrich's revolt as "a thousand points of spite".
FactSnippet No. 677,830 |
In 1993 Bob Michel gave the rebuttal to President Bill Clinton's first State of the Union speech, criticizing the economic policies of the newly inaugurated president.
FactSnippet No. 677,831 |
Bob Michel was later criticized for obstructing Clinton's economic stimulus plan.
FactSnippet No. 677,832 |
Bob Michel was succeeded in Congress by his longtime chief of staff, Ray LaHood.
FactSnippet No. 677,833 |
Bob Michel was one of the recipients of the first Congressional Distinguished Service Award in 2000, along with John Rhodes, Louis Stokes, and Don Edwards.
FactSnippet No. 677,834 |
In 1994, Michel received the U S Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.
FactSnippet No. 677,835 |
Bob Michel Bridge, carrying Illinois Route 40 across the Illinois River at Peoria, is named after Robert H Michel as is the Robert H Michel Student Center at Bradley University.
FactSnippet No. 677,836 |
Bob Michel was married to Corinne Woodruff from 1948 until her death in 2003.
FactSnippet No. 677,838 |