1. Robert William Kastenmeier was an American Democratic politician who represented central Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for 32 years, from 1959 until 1991.
16 Facts About Robert Kastenmeier
1. 2.
Robert Kastenmeier was a key sponsor of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.
3.
Robert Kastenmeier was on his way to the Pacific Theater as a 2nd Lieutenant when the war ended in 1945.
4.
Robert Kastenmeier was discharged from the Army on August 15,1946, with the rank of 1st Lieutenant, but opted to remain in the Philippines until 1948, working as a branch office director handling war claims for the United States War Department.
5.
In 1955, Robert Kastenmeier was elected justice of the peace for Jefferson and Dodge Counties, and he served until 1959.
6.
Robert Kastenmeier made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 1956, losing to Republican Donald Tewes by 11 points.
7.
Robert Kastenmeier won a third race with Tewes in 1960, and faced another close contest in 1962.
8.
Robert Kastenmeier voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
9.
Robert Kastenmeier was a member of the House Judiciary Committee for almost his entire congressional career.
10.
Robert Kastenmeier was Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice from 1969 until he left office.
11.
Robert Kastenmeier was active for many years in attempting to advance privacy laws, sponsoring or introducing 26 such bills between 1973 and 1991 to expand protections on communications privacy, financial privacy, rights of privacy from video surveillance, and confidentiality of medical records, among other topics.
12.
Robert Kastenmeier's efforts culminated in the successful passage of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which expanded government wiretap restrictions to mobile phones and electronic mail.
13.
Also in 1986, Kastenmeier was one of the impeachment managers appointed by the House in 1986 to prosecute the case in the impeachment trial of Harry E Claiborne, a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada who had been convicted of tax crimes but refused to resign his seat.
14.
Robert Kastenmeier helped to frame the impeachment resolution against Claiborne which ultimately resulted in his conviction in the United States Senate and removal from office.
15.
In 1990, Robert Kastenmeier unexpectedly lost his re-election bid to Republican Scott Klug, a former television anchor who was nearly 30 years his junior.
16.
Robert Kastenmeier lived in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and then Arlington, Virginia, where he died on March 20,2015.