John Nathan Hostettler was born on July 19,1961 and is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from January 3,1995, to January 3,2007, representing the Indiana's 8th congressional district.
43 Facts About John Hostettler
2.
John Hostettler lost his reelection bid for a seventh term to Democratic challenger Brad Ellsworth in the 2006 midterm election, ending a twelve-year congressional career.
3.
On December 3,2009, Hostettler announced his candidacy for the US Senate, but lost the primary to former Senator Dan Coats.
4.
John Hostettler was born in Evansville, as the eighth of ten children.
5.
John Hostettler grew up in rural Posey County near the Ohio and Wabash rivers.
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John Hostettler graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1983.
7.
Later that year, John Hostettler married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Ann Hamman.
8.
John Hostettler is a longtime member and former deacon of Westwood General Baptist Church in Evansville.
9.
John Hostettler became part of the 104th Congress, the first Republican majority in the House in 40 years.
10.
In subsequent years, John Hostettler depended on his base of fellow social and fiscal conservatives to keep him in office.
11.
Karen Hammonds, John Hostettler's sister, was his office manager and a campaign coordinator.
12.
Media has attributed this as an area of success and influence that helped John Hostettler achieve six straight victories.
13.
John Hostettler was one of 40 Republicans in the House to vote in March 1995 against a constitutional amendment to set 12-year term limits for Representatives.
14.
In 2002, John Hostettler met in Washington with eleven breast cancer survivors from Indiana who were seeking support for more research funding.
15.
Debate did not resume until John Hostettler withdrew his statement 20 minutes later.
16.
John Hostettler served on the House Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.
17.
In 1999, John Hostettler was appointed vice-chairman of the Armed Services Research and Development Subcommittee for the 106th Congress.
18.
In 2003, John Hostettler was appointed the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
19.
John Hostettler previously served as chairman of the Congressional Family Caucus, and was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
20.
In late 1995, John Hostettler was the sponsor of a bill passed by the House to repeal a District of Columbia law that allowed city workers to register domestic partners for health benefits.
21.
In January 1996, John Hostettler was one of 17 Republicans who voted against a legislation supported by House Speaker Newt Gingrich that ended a federal government shutdown.
22.
On October 10,2002, US Congressman John Hostettler was one of six House Republicans who voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that authorized the invasion of Iraq.
23.
In 2004, the House passed the John Hostettler-sponsored Marriage Protection Act.
24.
Spokesman Matt Faraci said John Hostettler voted against the hurricane measure because it included a provision making it easy for supposed do-gooders to pilfer federal funds.
25.
John Hostettler had introduced legislation in five consecutive Congress' to prevent organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union from collecting attorneys' fees when they win lawsuits challenging religious symbols on public land or religious groups' use of government property.
26.
In 2006, John Hostettler voted against a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.
27.
However, in January 1994 John Hostettler announced that he would run against Democrat Frank McCloskey, a six-term incumbent, in the November election, who John Hostettler claimed was among the House's biggest-spending liberals.
28.
John Hostettler was the first House incumbent to lose reelection in 2006.
29.
In 2007, John Hostettler decided to begin a book publishing company called Publius House.
30.
John Hostettler endorsed Chuck Baldwin, nominee of the Constitution Party in the 2008 presidential election.
31.
John Hostettler officially announced in a video posted by the campaign on December 3,2009, that he would seek the office held by retiring United States Senator Evan Bayh in the 2010 election, following much speculation.
32.
In February 2019, John Hostettler joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation as the head of the organization's state-based policy efforts.
33.
John Hostettler was one of the "true believers" in the Republican freshman class of 1995.
34.
John Hostettler favors the dissolution of the Department of Education, and voted against the No Child Left Behind Act because he felt education was a state matter.
35.
John Hostettler voted against most federal health care bills with the view that health care is a private or state matter.
36.
John Hostettler maintains that many federal environmental laws and regulations infringed on individuals' property rights.
37.
John Hostettler was very active on issues of religious freedom and expression.
38.
John Hostettler felt that preemptive military strikes were improper, and felt that the military should not go into action unless there was an "imminent threat" to national security.
39.
John Hostettler's spokesman said Hostettler never brought the gun, registered to the Congressman, to Washington, where handguns are illegal.
40.
John Hostettler did not have a house or apartment in DC, but slept in his office.
41.
John Hostettler agreed to a plea-bargained sentence of 60 days in jail, with the jail time to be conditionally discharged rather than served if he had no more legal problems in the next two years.
42.
On October 4,2004, a Kentucky judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest after John Hostettler failed to pay court costs, but it was recalled the same day after his attorney paid the $122.50.
43.
John Hostettler received strong support over the gun incident from an aviation security expert, Joseph Gutheinz, a retired NASA Office of Inspector General Senior Special Agent and a former Special Agent with both US Department of Transportation OIG and FAA Civil Aviation Security.