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Claudine Schneider

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Claudine Schneider
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Rhode Island's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991
Preceded byEdward Beard
Succeeded byJack Reed
Personal details
Born
Claudine Cmarada

(1947-03-25) March 25, 1947 (age 77)
Clairton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEric Schneider (1972-1985, divorced)[1][2]
EducationRosemont College
Windham College (BA)
University of Rhode Island

Claudine Schneider (née Cmarada; born March 25, 1947) is an American politician and executive who served five terms as a Republican U.S. representative from Rhode Island from 1981 to 1991. She was the first,[3] and to date only, woman elected to Congress from Rhode Island.

She is the founder of Republicans for Integrity, which describes itself as a network of "Republican former Members of Congress who feel compelled to remind Republican voters about the fundamentals of [the Republican] party and to provide the facts about incumbents' voting records."[4]

Life and career

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Schneider with President Ronald Reagan in 1981
Schneider with President George H. W. Bush in 1990

Schneider was born Claudine Cmarada in Clairton, Pennsylvania. On her father's side, she is of Slovak descent.[5] Schneider attended parochial schools. She studied at the University of Barcelona, Spain, and Rosemont College (Pennsylvania). She obtained a B.A. degree from Windham College (Vermont) in 1969. She also attended the University of Rhode Island Program in Community Planning.

She was the founder of the Rhode Island Committee on Energy in 1973, and was appointed executive director of the Conservation Law Foundation in 1974. She became Federal coordinator of Rhode Island Coastal Zone Management Program in 1978. She worked as a producer and host of a public affairs television program in Providence from 1978 to 1979.

Congress

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Schneider was elected as a Republican to the 97th Congress and was re-elected to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1991 for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district.

Clean energy and climate change

Schneider’s hallmark legislative initiatives in Congress centered on promoting clean energy (especially energy efficiency) policies and preventing global warming through federal action and international cooperation. Her 1989 Global Warming Prevention Act established the goal of a 20% reduction in atmospheric CO2 levels from 1988 levels by 2000 through a mix of federal and state energy policies. This comprehensive omnibus bill was revenue-neutral and enjoyed bipartisan support from 144 Members of Congress. Although it did not pass into law in its entirety, two of the bill’s titles were subsequently incorporated into federal energy regulatory policies: creation of the nation’s first appliance energy efficiency standards (which became the Energy Star program) in the bill’s Title II and the creation of least-cost electric utility planning in the bill's Title I.[6]

A longtime advocate of environmental protection and hazardous waste-prevention measures,[7][8] Schneider was responsible in 1985 for creating the first economic incentive to reduce hazardous waste production. Her measure, the “waste-end” tax – was endorsed by the White House and included in the House version of the Superfund Bill.

Schneider’s other legislative initiatives included the cofounding of the Congressional Competitiveness Caucus[9] in 1987 together with Hewlett Packard CEO John Young. The caucus hosted briefings by top corporate CEOs. In 1994, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Competitiveness Policy Council.

In 1986, Schneider organized a series of television debates and exchanges between Members of Congress and the Soviet parliament (the Supreme Soviet) through satellite hookup between the capitals of the two superpowers. Initially dubbed “CongressBridge,” the goal of Schneider and her congressional colleague Rep. George Brown was “to break the 27-year public silence between Soviet and American politicians since the 1959 Moscow ‘kitchen debate’ between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev.” In the United States, the series of forums between the two countries’ legislators aired on ABC in 1987 as Capitol to Capitol, and Schneider went on to receive an Emmy Award for her role in initiating and co-producing with Peter Jennings these live and unedited programs.

In 1988, Schneider sponsored legislation requiring U.S. cooperation with foreign countries on biodiversity and environmental protection. Her bill was signed into law on October 25, 1988 by President Ronald Reagan.

During her time in Congress, Schneider supported funding for the arts, the Legal Services Corporation, food stamps and busing, while also opposing the funding for the B-1 Bomber, the MX Missile and the proposed Clinch River Breeder Reactor.[10] Schneider sponsored a bill proposing a resolution for cooperation with foreign countries on environmental protection, the bill being signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.[11] Schneider was a supporter of abortion rights.[12][13][14]

In 1985, she was interviewed by David Wallechinsky for his book, "Midterm Report: The Class of '65: Chronicles Of An American Generation" (1986). It was later published as "Class Reunion '65, Tales of an American Generation," written from the perspective of two decades post-high school graduation.[15] Twenty-eight contemporary graduates were interviewed, Wallechinsky noting the profound impact of the Vietnam War on their lives.[15]

Senate campaign

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She did not stand for re-election in 1990 to the 102nd Congress but was an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Senate in challenging long-time incumbent Senator Claiborne Pell, losing 61.8% to 38.2%.[16]

Later career

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After leaving Congress, she served as a member of the faculty of the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

She is a resident of Boulder, Colorado, where she works as an independent consultant, specializing in environmental matters and ecological economics.[17] Schneider endorsed Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the 1992, 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.[18][19][20][21][22]

In June 2022, Schneider was one of eleven former Republican House representatives to sign a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to pass an LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill.[23] Schneider has been critical of the fossil fuel and gas industries and Republicans' support of them.[24]

Schneider was one of six petitioners represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in Trump v. Anderson, a 2023 case brought before the Colorado Supreme Court ruling Donald Trump ineligible for the 2024 presidential election on grounds of violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[25][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rep. Claudine Schneider, R-R.I., and her husband of 12..."
  2. ^ "CHARGING IN". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ "SCHNEIDER, Claudine". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Home". republicansforintegrity.org.
  5. ^ U.S. legislators with Czech-Slovak roots Archived 2008-11-15 at the Wayback Machine at CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  6. ^ Schneider, Claudine (1989). "Preventing Climate Change". Issues in Science and Technology. 5 (4): 55–62. ISSN 0748-5492. JSTOR 43311075.
  7. ^ Schneider, Claudine (1988). "Hazardous Waste: The Bottom Line Is Prevention". Issues in Science and Technology. 4 (4): 75–80. ISSN 0748-5492. JSTOR 43310612.
  8. ^ "WHAT GOES UP DOESN'T HAVE TO". Washington Post. 2024-02-25. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  9. ^ "Public Issues and the Role of Public Relations: Perspectives for the 1990's | Institute for Public Relations". instituteforpr.org. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  10. ^ "HOUSE SETS TERMS FOR MONEY TO BUILD A PROTOTYPE REACTOR". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "H.J.Res.648 - A joint resolution to encourage increased international cooperation to protect biological diversity".
  12. ^ <Crisis - Volume 6 - Page 15
  13. ^ Who's Who of Women in World Politics; 1991
  14. ^ "RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS OF 100TH CONGRESS". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ a b Midterm Report, the Class of ’65: CHRONICLE OF AN AMERICAN GENERATION by David Wallechinsky, Los Angeles Times, Charles Trueheart, September 28, 1986. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "Our Campaigns - RI US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Claudine Schneider". Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  18. ^ "REPUBLICANS FOR CLINTON : Press Release - 1028/92". 28 October 1992.
  19. ^ Heuvel, Katrina Vanden (28 September 2004). "United Progressives for Victory". {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  20. ^ "Republicans who backed Obama say they may vote for him again".
  21. ^ R.I.'s former GOP congresswoman, Schneider backs Clinton to counter 'embarrassing' Trump; Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal, October 4, 2016. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  22. ^ Here are the prominent Republicans backing Biden; Devan Cole, CNN, September 3, 2020. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  23. ^ Former GOP members of Congress urge lawmakers to pass federal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination legislation; Brooke Migdon, June 14, 2022; The Hill. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  24. ^ "Claudine Schneider: America's oil and gas industry unpatriotic". 3 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Six Colorado voters sue to remove Trump from the state's 2024 ballot". NBC News. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  26. ^ Miru (2023-09-06). "Lawsuit filed to remove Trump from ballot in CO under 14th Amendment". CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved 2024-01-05.

Sources

[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district
1981–1991 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
(Class 2)
1990 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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