John Nichols Boozman is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011.
50 Facts About John Boozman
2.
John Boozman is the brother of the late state senator Fay Boozman.
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John Boozman attended the University of Arkansas, where he played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and later graduated from the Southern College of Optometry.
4.
John Boozman co-founded a private optometry clinic in 1977 and worked as a volunteer optometrist for low-income families.
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John Boozman won a special election in 2001 to the US House of Representatives, where he served as assistant majority whip and sat on the Republican Policy Committee.
6.
John Boozman was an advocate for drug policy issues and chaired the Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, where he led the passage of bills expanding services for unemployed veterans.
7.
John Boozman was elected to the United States Senate in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln by a 21-point margin and becoming the first Republican to be elected to the seat since Reconstruction.
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John Boozman took office in January 2011 and is the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade and the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies.
9.
John Boozman is a senior member of the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
10.
John Boozman became the senior senator from Arkansas in 2015 when Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor left the Senate after his defeat by Tom Cotton.
11.
John Boozman's father, whose last address was in Rogers, Arkansas, was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force.
12.
John Boozman's elder brother, Fay Boozman, was a politician.
13.
John Boozman did not graduate from the University of Arkansas.
14.
John Boozman graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year as co-founder of Boozman-Hof Regional Eye Clinic in Rogers, which has become a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas.
15.
John Boozman established the low vision program at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock and worked as a volunteer optometrist at an area clinic that provides medical services to low-income families.
16.
John Boozman was elected to Congress in a special election after his predecessor, Asa Hutchinson, resigned to become the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
17.
In October 2002, John Boozman voted in favor of the Iraq Resolution that led to the Iraq War.
18.
John Boozman was named to the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug-Free America in 2003.
19.
John Boozman was the lead author of the Stop Marketing Illegal Drugs to Minors Act, a bill that would increase penalties on criminals who design and market drugs such as candy-flavored meth for kids.
20.
John Boozman was praised by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, earning the organization's Congressional Leadership Award in 2009.
21.
In 2006, Congress passed a John Boozman-authored provision promoting an expanded role for drug courts in efforts to reduce drug abuse and recidivism.
22.
John Boozman has used his seat on the Veterans Affairs Committee to pass legislation honoring the service and sacrifice of United States military veterans and increasing benefits to them and their families.
23.
The House passed several other John Boozman-authored bills, including one that creates grants to help disabled veterans adapt their homes and vehicles to meet their needs.
24.
In May 2004, John Boozman was appointed to the House Policy Committee, a committee of Republicans who vet issues and formulate legislation to address them.
25.
John Boozman was a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the 19 member countries of NATO and 20 associate countries.
26.
John Boozman was appointed vice-chairman of the British American Parliamentary Group, a group of American and British lawmakers who meet to discuss issues of concern and fortify the already strong alliance between the two nations.
27.
John Boozman was a member of numerous House caucuses, including the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, the National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, the Congressional Rural Caucus and the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus.
28.
John Boozman was one of the founding members of the Congressional I-49 Caucus to promote completion of Interstate 49, and chaired the Congressional Caucus on the Ivory Coast and West Africa Caucus.
29.
John Boozman told the Post and the Associated Press that White House officials had promised him that Griffin would be subject to Senate confirmation.
30.
In 2010, John Boozman did not run for reelection to the House and instead ran for the Senate seat held by incumbent two-term Democrat Blanche Lincoln.
31.
John Boozman became the first Republican to be popularly elected to a second term in the Senate from Arkansas.
32.
On March 6,2021, John Boozman announced he would seek a third term as Senator.
33.
John Boozman began his term in the Senate in January 2011.
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John Boozman voted for legislation requiring the Food and Drug Administration to improve safety by regulating non-corrective colored contact lenses as medical devices.
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John Boozman has introduced legislation to reform the No Child Left Behind Act.
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John Boozman introduced legislation in the 110th Congress calling for a study of the historic Butterfield Overland Mail Trail for the potential addition to the National Trails System.
37.
John Boozman has an A rating from the National Rifle Association for his support of gun rights.
38.
John Boozman voted with 40 Republicans and five Democrats to stop the bill.
39.
In September 2004, John Boozman voted for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
40.
In July 2006, John Boozman co-introduced and voted for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
41.
In December 2012, John Boozman voted against ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
42.
In February 2013, John Boozman voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
43.
In September 2012, John Boozman voted to block advancement of the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012, even though he partially authored the bill.
44.
In 2017, John Boozman was one of 22 senators to sign a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.
45.
John Boozman claimed that EPA regulations are creating a dirtier climate abroad and providing no gain to the United States.
46.
In January 2019, John Boozman was one of eleven Republican senators to vote to advance legislation intended to block Trump's intent to lift sanctions against three Russian companies.
47.
On May 28,2021, John Boozman voted against creating a January 6 commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
48.
John Boozman has raised Polled Hereford cattle that were competitive in the show ring, and in bull testing at Oklahoma State University.
49.
John's ophthalmologist brother, Fay Winford Boozman III, co-founded the Boozman Regional Eye Clinic with John after receiving his ophthalmology degree.
50.
John Boozman remained close with former Governor Mike Huckabee, and with his brother Fay until his accidental death on his farm in 2005, aged 58.