33 Facts About Jim Talent

1.

James Matthes Talent was born on October 18,1956 and is an American politician who was a US Senator from Missouri from 2002 to 2007.

2.

Jim Talent is a Republican and resided in the St Louis area while serving in elected office.

3.

Jim Talent is a distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a member of the Defense Policy Board.

4.

Jim Talent is a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington DC lobbying firm.

5.

Jim Talent grew up in Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis.

6.

Jim Talent's mother, Marie Frieda, was an independent court reporter who was raised on a small farm near DeSoto, Missouri.

7.

Jim Talent was from a Christian background; her German ancestors had settled in Jefferson County, Missouri beginning in 1832.

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8.

Jim Talent graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Chicago Law School, receiving his JD in 1981.

9.

Jim Talent was inspired to become a Christian while listening to one of Luis Palau's radio broadcasts in his car.

10.

Jim Talent pulled over and accepted Jesus Christ into his life then.

11.

Jim Talent began his political career in 1984 when he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives.

12.

Jim Talent served four terms there, the last two as minority leader.

13.

Jim Talent went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Joan Kelly Horn in the general election, despite being heavily outspent.

14.

Jim Talent served as chairman of the Small Business Committee from 1997 to 2001.

15.

Jim Talent did not seek re-election to Congress in 2000, instead running for governor.

16.

For ten months in 2001, Jim Talent worked for Washington lobbying firm Arent Fox, During this time, Jim Talent was not allowed to directly lobby Congress, and he was not licensed to practice law in Washington, leading some Democratic opponents to accuse the lobbying firm of using his appointment as an illegal conduit to donate toward his upcoming Senate race.

17.

Jim Talent was sworn in later that month to fill out the balance of Mel Carnahan's term.

18.

Jim Talent was criticized for not returning the money received from Americans for a Republican Majority, a PAC formed by Tom DeLay.

19.

Jim Talent received a number of endorsements for his re-election, including from the Missouri Farm Bureau, the St Louis Police Officers' Association, the Missouri Pork Association, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the Missouri Corn Growers Association, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

20.

McCaskill and Jim Talent debated each other on Meet the Press on October 8,2006.

21.

Jim Talent did not enter the race, which was won by Democrat Jay Nixon.

22.

Jim Talent is widely regarded by political analysts as a reliable conservative, receiving a life score of 93 out of 100 from the American Conservative Union.

23.

Jim Talent supported the Medicare prescription drug benefit called Medicare Part D, the purpose of which is to reduce the amount seniors pay for their prescription drugs.

24.

Jim Talent called for waiving a one percent penalty for senior citizens who missed the deadline to sign up for the program.

25.

Jim Talent voted against an amendment allowing Medicare to negotiate a bulk purchase discount for prescription drugs.

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26.

Jim Talent supported and proposed legislation to allow trade organizations to sponsor health insurance plans, which he believes would provide uninsured workers the opportunity for more affordable health care.

27.

On February 10,2006, Jim Talent withdrew his support for the bill, citing the need to balance research and protection against human cloning.

28.

On May 1,2006, Jim Talent announced his opposition to the proposed ballot-initiative.

29.

Jim Talent did take a position on the ballot-initiative in Missouri, called Proposition B, that would raise the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 per hour, or to the level of the federal minimum wage if that is higher, with subsequent adjustments for inflation.

30.

Jim Talent said he believed it was a state issue, but stated he supports minimum wage increases if they are coupled with tax breaks for small businesses.

31.

Jim Talent believed that increasing the minimum wage could reduce the number of jobs by raising the cost of doing business.

32.

Jim Talent has been outspoken about what he sees as the nation's vulnerability to a growing bioterrorism threat.

33.

Jim Talent is Vice Chair of the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, which has concluded that, unless action is taken, a biological attack within the United States is increasingly likely and will become a probability by 2013.