Todd Young

Todd Young
United States Senator from Indiana Elect
Taking office January 3, 2017
Succeeding	Dan Coats
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Baron Hill
Succeeded by	Trey Hollingsworth (Elect)
Personal details
Born	Todd Christopher Young (1972-08-24) August 24, 1972 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Young
Children	4
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy (BS) University of Chicago (MBA) University of London (MA) Indiana University, Indianapolis (JD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1995–2000
Rank	Captain

Todd Christopher Young (born August 24, 1972) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 9th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. On November 8, 2016, Young was elected to the United States Senate in the general election.

Early life

Young was born August 24, 1972 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the second of three children of Nancy R. (née Pierce) and Bruce H. Young.^[1] He lived in Marion County, Indiana for several years before settling in Hamilton County, Indiana, where he attended public schools and won a state soccer championship.^[2] In 1990, Young graduated from Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana.^[3]

Military career

Just a few weeks after graduating high school, Young enlisted in the United States Navy and reported for duty in Newport, Rhode Island. In May 1991, he received an appointment from the Secretary of the Navy to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where his classmates elected him a class officer and he earned a varsity letter as a member of Navy's NCAA Division I soccer team. He graduated cum laude in 1995,^[4] earning a B.S. in political science, and accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Upon graduating from Annapolis, Young trained for six months as a rifle platoon commander at the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia where he qualified as an expert rifleman. In 1996, he completed the Naval Intelligence Officer Basic Course in Dam Neck, Virginia and was entrusted with a Top Secret security clearance. Young then led the intelligence department of VMU-2, an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron based in Cherry Point, North Carolina, where he participated in various military operations, including counter-narcotics activities in the Caribbean, and was trained in Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection.

In 1998, Young was transferred to Chicago, where he managed all Marine Corps officer recruiting operations in the greater Chicago and northwest Indiana region. Meanwhile, he attended night school at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, earning an MBA.

Post-military career

Young was honorably discharged from active duty in 2000 as a US Marine Captain. After leaving active duty, Young spent a year in London, attending the University of London's Institute of United States Studies. After writing a thesis on the economic history of Midwestern agriculture, in 2001 Young received his MA in American politics.^[5]

In the summer of 2001, Young traveled to former Communist countries in Eastern Europe where he studied the transition from centrally-planned economies to free markets through an executive education program with the Leipzig Graduate School of Management, the first private business school in eastern Germany. He worked as an adjunct professor of public affairs at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs and attended law school at night.^[6] In 2004, he joined Indiana-based Crowe Chizek and Company as a management consultant, helping state and local government clients improve service delivery to Indiana citizens.

In 2006, Young earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where he was President of the school's Federalist Society chapter. He joined Paoli, Indiana-based Tucker and Tucker, P.C. upon graduation.^[6] Young is a member of the 2007 class of the Indiana Leadership Forum.^[7] Since 2007, Young has also served as a part-time Deputy Prosecutor for Orange County, Indiana. In 2008, Young's peers elected him president of the Orange County Bar Association.

Early political career

In 2001, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he briefly worked at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think-tank. Then he joined the staff of U.S. senator Richard Lugar as a legislative assistant^[8] for energy policy. In 2003, Young volunteered for Mitch Daniels' campaign for governor of Indiana. He was a delegate to the Indiana Republican state convention and as a vice precinct committeeman. In 2007, Indiana's Young Republicans named Young the "Southern Man of the Year" for his leadership on behalf of the Republican Party in southern Indiana. In 2007, Young founded a fiscal responsibility advocacy group, the National Organization for People vs. Irresponsible Government Spending.^[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

On January 26, 2009, Young announced that he would run for the United States congressional seat in Indiana's 9th district as a Republican.^[9][10][11]

Young competed with fellow Republicans Mike Sodrel and Travis Hankins for the party's nomination for Congress and won, challenging incumbent Democrat Baron Hill in the general election. Young received endorsements from former Vice-President Dan Quayle^[12] as well as Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, Attorney General Greg Zoeller, Secretary of State Todd Rokita, Auditor Tim Berry, and Treasurer Richard Mourdock.^[11]

Young won the primary and general elections, defeating incumbent Baron Hill on November 2, 2010, and was seated in the 112th Congress in January 2011.^[13]

2012

Young defeated Shelli Yoder by a 55–45% margin in the newly redrawn 9th district.^[14]

Tenure

In the 112th Congress, Young voted with the Republican Party 95% of the time.^[15] In July 2012, Young took over as the lead sponsor of the REINS Act, a bill that passed the House in 2011 and would require congressional approval for rules with greater than $100 million in economic impact.^[16]

In the 112th Congress, Young was a member of the House Budget Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. On the latter, he focused on seapower, electronic warfare, and military grand strategy of the United States. During the first session of the 112th Congress, he employed one of the German Marshall Fund's Congressional Fellows as military legislative aide.

In 2010, Young stated that he was uncertain what was causing the observed heating of the planet, that it could be caused by sunspots or normal cycles of nature, and that "the science is not settled."^[17] That same year he signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.^[18]

In 2011, he voted for the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011.^[19] In 2014, he said that it is "not necessarily the case" that there is a scientific consensus on climate change.^[20]

Sponsored legislation

• Fairness for American Families Act (H.R. 2668) – Introduced by Young on July 11, 2013, this bill would "amend the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to delay until 2015 the requirement that individuals maintain minimal essential health care coverage."^[21] The bill was proposed in response to a July 2, 2013 decision by the Obama Administration to delay the employer mandate found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but do nothing to the individual mandate requirement.^[22]

When he introduced the Fairness for American Families Act, Young argued that "rather than driving healthcare costs down, the individual mandate is imposing a new tax and burdensome costs on middle class families" and therefore "hardworking Americans deserve the same exemptions that President Obama is unilaterally granting to businesses and labor unions."^[22]

• Save American Workers Act of 2013 – is a bill to amend the way in which the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare) defines full-time worker by raising the 30-hour threshold to 40 hours a week, in an effort to remove the incentive some companies may have to reduce their employees' hours in order to avoid the employer healthcare mandate.^[23][24][25] Young introduced it into the House on June 28, 2013.^[25]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
  • Subcommittee on Human Resources Caucus Memberships
• Congressional Cement Caucus

2016 U.S. Senate race

Rather than run for re-election to the U.S. House, Young announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 election to fill the Senate seat of the retiring Dan Coats.^[26] Also filing for the Republican primary was U.S. Representative Marlin Stutzman. Although Young was certified as having submitted enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot, that official certification was challenged, and a tally by the Associated Press concluded that Young had fallen short.^[27] The state Election Commission scheduled a hearing on the challenge for February 19, 2016.^[27] The commission voted down the challenge with a 2-2 vote and Young remained on the ballot.^[28]

Young easily defeated Stutzman in the May 3 primary, taking 67 percent of approximately one million votes cast and securing the Republican nomination.^[29] Young was initially slated to face former U.S. Representative Baron Hill, whom Young had defeated in 2010 to win his congressional seat.

On July 11, 2016, Hill announced he was dropping out of the Senate race.^[30] Hill was replaced by former U.S. Senator from Indiana Evan Bayh.^[31] Young defeated Bayh in the November 8 general election, winning 52% of the vote to Bayh's 42%.^[32][33]

Young's campaign benefited from about $3,000,000 of outside spending by the Koch family and approximately $2,800,000 in outside spending by the National Rifle Association.^[34]

Personal life

Todd Young and Jennifer Tucker married in 2005; the couple has four children.^[35] Jennifer is the niece of former Vice President Dan Quayle, whose former U.S. Senate seat Young was coincidentally elected to.

Electoral history

References

External links

• Congressman Todd Young official U.S. House site
• Todd Young for Senate
• Todd Young at DMOZ
• Appearances on C-SPAN

United States Senators from Indiana
Class 1	Noble Hanna Tipton White Bright Wright Turpie T. Hendricks Pratt McDonald Harrison Turpie Beveridge Kern New Ralston Robinson Minton Willis Jenner Hartke Lugar Donnelly
Class 3	Taylor W. Hendricks Smith Hannegan Whitcomb Cathcart Pettit Fitch Lane Morton Voorhees Fairbanks Hemenway Shively Taggart Watson Van Nuys Jackson Jenner Capehart Bayh II Quayle Coats Bayh III Coats Young (Elect)

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana
1st district	Prince Call Boon Blake Boon Proffit Owen Embree Albertson Lockhart Miller Lockhart Niblack Law Niblack Fuller Heilman Kleiner Hovey Posey Parrett Taylor Hemenway Foster Boehne Sr. Lieb Denton Luhring W. Wilson Rowbottom Boehne Jr. Schulte Madden Benjamin Hall Visclosky
2nd district	Jennings Carr Ewing J. W. Davis Ewing J. W. Davis Thompson Henley Dunham English Cravens Kerr Wolfe Williams Humphreys Cobb O'Neall Bretz Hardy Miers Chaney Cullop Bland Greenwood Durgan Halleck Landgrebe Fithian Sharp McIntosh Pence Chocola Donnelly Walorski
3rd district	Test O. Smith Test Carty Carr Graham Carr J. L. White T. Smith Robinson Dunham Dunn Hughes Dunn Harrington R. Hill Hunter Holman Kerr Carr Bicknell Stockslager Howard Brown Tracewell Zenor Cox Dunbar Gardner Dunbar Crowe Pettengill Grant Crook Crumpacker Nimtz Brademas Hiler Roemer Souder Stutzman Banks (elect)
4th district	Lane Dunn T. Smith Cravens C. Smith Julian Parker Lane Cumback Foley Holman Farquhar Holman Julian Je. Wilson New Sexton New Holman Watson Holman Griffith Dixon Benham Canfield Farley Gillie Kruse Adair Roush Quayle Coats Long Souder Buyer Rokita
5th district	McCarty Rariden Kennedy Brown Wick Brown Hendricks Parker Holloway Kilgore Julian Coburn Holman Browne Matson Cooper Overstreet Faris Holliday Moss Sanders N. Johnson Gillen Griswold Harness Walsh Beamer Roush Roudebush Hillis Jontz Buyer Burton Brooks
6th district	Kinnard Herod Wick Wallace J. W. Davis Dunn Gorman Hendricks Barbour Gregg Porter Dumont Coburn Voorhees Hunter Robinson Myers Browne H. Johnson Watson Barnard Gray Comstock Elliott Larrabee Jenckes N. Johnson Harden Wampler Roudebush Bray Evans Burton Pence Messer
7th district	Hannegan A. White Howard Lane Wright McGaughey Thompson McGaughey J. G. Davis Scott J. G. Davis Voorhees Washburn Orth Manson Cason Landers Hanna Matyr Peelle English Bynum Henry Overstreet Korbly Moores Updike Ludlow Greenwood Landis Noland Bray Myers Pease Kerns J. Carson A. Carson
8th district	Pettit McDonald Mace Ja. Wilson A. White Orth Tyner Hunter Hostetler Peirce Lamb Johnston Brookshire Faris Henry Cromer Adair Vestal Boehne Jr. La Follette Mitchell Denton Merrill Denton Zion Hayes Cornwell Deckard McCloskey Hostettler Ellsworth Bucshon
9th district	Sample Cathcart Fitch Eddy Shanks Cason M. White Orth Doxey Ward Cheadle Waugh Hanly Landis Morrison Purnell Crowe E. Wilson Hogan E. Wilson Hamilton B. Hill Sodrel B. Hill Young Hollingsworth (elect)
10th district	Kennedy Rockhill Harlan Brenton Chamberlain Case Mitchell Edgerton Defrees Williams Sayler Haymond Calkins Motte T. Wood Owen Patton Hammond Hatch Crumpacker Peterson W. Wood Gray Springer Harvey Harmon Harvey Roudebush Dennis Sharp Jacobs Jr. J. Carson
11th district	Harlan Pettit Shanks McDowell Stilwell Shanks Packard Evans Cowgill Steele Martin Steele Landis Rauch Kraus Cook Hall Griswold Larrabee Ludlow Jacobs Sr. Brownson Barr Bruce Jacobs Jr. Hudnut Jacobs Jr.
12th district	Hamilton Colerick Lowry J. B. White McClellan McNagny Leighty Robinson Gilbert Gilhams Cline Fairfield Hogg Ludlow
13th district	Baker Calkins Shively Ford Shively Conn Royse Brick Barnhart Hickey Pettengill
At-large	Hendricks Jennings Packard / Orth / Williams
Territory	Parke Thomas Jennings