James C. Greenwood

Jim Greenwood
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 8th district
In office January 5, 1993 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Peter Kostmayer
Succeeded by	Mike Fitzpatrick
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 10th district
In office January 6, 1987 – January 5, 1993[1]
Preceded by	Edward Howard
Succeeded by	David Heckler
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 143rd district
In office January 6, 1981 – November 30, 1986
Preceded by	Margaret George
Succeeded by	David Heckler
Personal details
Born	(1951-05-04) May 4, 1951 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Christina "Tina" Paugh Greenwood
Religion	Presbyterian

James Charles "Jim" Greenwood (born May 4, 1951) is an American politician in the Republican Party. He represented Pennsylvania's Eighth Congressional District for six terms in the United States House of Representatives.

Greenwood became president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in 2004.^[2]

Personal life

Greenwood was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Holland, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dickinson College with a B.A. in sociology in 1973, served as an aide to state Representative John S. Renninger and as a houseparent for children with intellectual disabilities and emotional disorders. From 1977 until 1980, he was a caseworker for the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Service Agency, working with abused and neglected children.

He and his wife, Tina, have four children.

Political career

Greenwood was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980 as a Republican and the Pennsylvania Senate in 1986. In 1992, Greenwood defeated Democratic Congressman Peter H. Kostmayer for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania’s 8th district.

As a centrist with libertarian views on social issues and conservative stances on taxes and economic issues, Greenwood's overall voting record was moderate. He was known as an effective legislator.^[3] He voted against two of the four impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton in 1998, and sided with the House Democrats to oppose Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003. He also served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and was Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. In this role, he led investigations and held hearings on a variety of issues within the vast jurisdiction of the Committee including corporate governance, bioterrorism, port and border security, drug importation, and the safety of nuclear power plants.

A co-founder and co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus, Greenwood was the author of comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to preserve, protect, and research ocean resources. He also worked to increase communication among world leaders to address international environmental issues. As a member of the Education and Workforce Committee, he was a leading voice in the efforts to ensure that sufficient federal funds were appropriated to meet the needs of children in special education programs and to prevent school violence.

Greenwood announced in the midst of the 2004 congressional election that he would not seek re-election and retire. He had already won the 8th district's Republican primary, and his abrupt withdrawal raised many questions. Greenwood released a statement saying: "From time to time during my twenty four years of public service, I have been approached and offered other types of challenges and opportunities. Such has been the case in the last few days, and I am currently reviewing one of these opportunities. I will make my decision public in the very near future and will have no other statement until then."

After serving six terms in Congress, Greenwood was appointed President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a biotechnology trade association based in Washington, DC.^[4]

After politics

Greenwood is currently the president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).^[5] BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agriculture, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.^[6]

Greenwood is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Advisory Board.^[7] Greenwood is also a member of Marine Conservation Biology Institute's Board of Directors.^[8] In 2014, Greenwood joined the board of directors of the National Audubon Society.^[9]

Electoral history

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, write-ins received 12 votes. In 1998, Natural Law candidate Carolyn Boyce received 1,022 votes and write-ins received 15 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 34 votes.

References

External links

Media related to James C. Greenwood at Wikimedia Commons

• "Jim's Biography". www.house.gov/greenwood/. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 

• United States Congress. "James C. Greenwood (id: G000439)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Congressman James C. Greenwood at the Wayback Machine (archive index) – official U.S. House website
• James C. Greenwood at NNDB
• Interview with James C. Greenwood Discussing the issues and opportunities for the Biotechnology industry on PharmaTelevision (May 2007).