Garrett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Montclair State College in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1984.[4]
Born in Bergen County in the town of Englewood, Garrett spent much of his life living in North Jersey. He is a proponent of preserving open space and protecting the Highlands, the Musconetcong River and the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1991, and was re-elected five times, serving from 1992 to 2003, representing the 24th legislative district, which covered all of Sussex County and several municipalities in Morris and Hunterdon counties.
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
Elections[edit]
Garrett unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Congresswoman Marge Roukema in the 1998 and 2000 Republican primaries.[1] In 2002, Roukema retired and Garrett won a contested five-way primary with 46% of the vote over State Assemblyman David C. Russo and State Senator Gerald Cardinale.[5]
In the 2002 general election, Garrett faced Democratic candidate Anne Sumers, an ophthalmologist and former Republican.[6] Garrett beat Sumers with 60% of the vote.[7]
Garrett was reelected in 2004 with 58% of the vote. In 2006, Garrett defeated Republican primary opponent Michael Cino. In the November 2006 general election, Garrett defeated Paul Aronsohn, a former employee of the U.S. State Department during the Clinton Administration, to win a third term. Garrett defeated Democrat Dennis Shulman 56%–42% in the 2008 general election. In 2010, Garrett defeated Tod Theise, receiving 65% of the vote. In 2012, Garrett defeated Democrat Adam Gussen with 55% of the vote.[8]
In 2014, Garrett defeated Democratic nominee Roy Cho with 55% of the vote.[9]
Garrett ran for re-election in 2016 as the Republican candidate, besting Michael Cino and Peter Vallorosi in the primary. Josh Gottheimer, his opponent, was the sole Democrat to file for election.[10] According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Garrett was one of five House challengers and incumbents who relied more on the financial world to fund his 2016 election campaign than most others running for a House seat, raising $213,755 from the securities and investment industry compared to $170,752 on average.[11]
Gottheimer won the general election on November 8, 2016 with 50.5% of the vote to Garrett's 47.2%.[12]
Committee assignments[edit]
Legislation[edit]
On May 8, 2013, Garrett introduced the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014 (H.R. 1872; 113th Congress), a bill that would modify the budgetary treatment of federal credit programs.[13] The bill would require that the cost of direct loans or loan guarantees be recognized in the federal budget on a fair-value basis using guidelines set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.[13] The bill would also require the federal budget to reflect the net impact of programs administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.[13] The changes made by the bill would mean that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were counted on the budget instead of considered separately and would mean that the debt of those two programs would be included in the national debt.[14] These programs themselves would not be changed, but how they are accounted for in the United States federal budget would be. The goal of the bill is to improve the accuracy of how some programs are accounted for in the federal budget.[15]
During his time in Congress, Garrett was a member of the Liberty Caucus.[16] He was a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, which serves as a policy alternative to the Republican Study Committee.[17] Garrett founded and led the House Constitution Caucus.[18] Garrett holds a lifetime rating of 99.3 from the American Conservative Union.[19]
Foreign policy[edit]
In 2007, Garrett led nineteen U.S. lawmakers to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives backing United Nations membership for Taiwan.[20]
Economic policy[edit]
In 2006, Garrett supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.[21] In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act, which was a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling".[citation needed]
Garrett voted to allow oil and gas drilling off the shore of New Jersey.[22] He voted against making "price gouging" by oil companies a crime,[23] and against the Further Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Hurricane Katrina Act of 2005.[24] He was one of four members of the House of Representatives to vote against an extension of unemployment benefits.[25]
Garrett voted against the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 during the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.[26] When opponents criticized Garrett for not signing a letter urging the House to provide prompt aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy, Garrett responded by saying he had signed nine other letters seeking aid and had helped sponsor a final bill authorizing money.[27]
Education[edit]
As a state legislator in 2005, he proposed public schools include lessons on intelligent design alongside evolution. Garrett said he would not advocate for a law mandating changes to the state curriculum.[28]
In July 2007, Garrett proposed an amendment to strike earmarked money in a spending bill for native Alaskan and Hawaiian educational programs.[29] Congressman Don Young of Alaska defended the funds on the floor of the House, saying, "You want my money, my money."[29] Young went on to suggest that Republicans had lost their majority in the 2006 election because some Republicans had challenged spending earmarks.[29] While Garrett did not ask for an official reprimand, other conservative Republicans took exception to Young's remarks that the funds in question represented his money. Members of the Republican Study Committee gave Garrett a standing ovation later in the day during the group's weekly meeting.[29]
LGBT issues[edit]
Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2015, Garrett supported the First Amendment Defense Act, a bill allowing companies to deny service to same-sex weddings due to religious objections.[30]
Also in 2015, Garrett refused to pay GOP campaign arm dues to the National Republican Congressional Committee because he said they were "actively recruiting homosexual candidates and had supported gay candidates in the past."[31] Garrett later clarified his remarks, saying that he is opposed to same-sex marriage due to his faith, but that he does not "have malice" toward any group of people.[32] Regarding his stance opposing gay Republican political candidates, he said that political opponents in the media distorted his views; while he affirmed that it was "everybody's right" to run for office, he reiterated his opposition to funding the campaigns of candidates who support same-sex marriage.[33]
Suffrage[edit]
In 2006, Garrett was the only congressman from New Jersey to vote against the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, citing his opposition to requirements to print non-English ballots.[34]
Personal life[edit]
Garrett is married and has two adult daughters.[35] They homeschooled their daughters because there was "no high school offering a Christian education" in their area.[36]
