Texas Tech University
Where was John Carter (Texas politician) educated from 1959 to 1960?
John Carter ( Texas politician ) John Rice Carter ( born November 6 , 1941 ) is the U.S . Representative serving since 2003 . He is a Republican . The district includes the northern suburbs of Austin , as well as Fort Hood . Early life , education , and career . Carter was born in Houston , but has spent most of his life in central Texas . He graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in history in 1964 , and earned a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1969 . After graduating from law school , Carter served as the first general counsel to the Texas House of Representatives Agriculture Committee . Carter later began a private law practice in Round Rock . In 1981 , Carter was appointed as judge of the 277th District Court of Williamson County . He was elected to the post a year later , the first Republican elected to a countywide position in the county . He was reelected four times . U.S . House of Representatives . Elections . Carter retired from the bench in 2001 in order to run for Congress in the newly created Texas 31st District . After finishing second in the Republican primary , he defeated Peter Wareing in the runoff , which was tantamount to election in what was then reckoned as a heavily Republican district . For his first term , 2003–2005 , Carter represented a district that stretched from the suburbs of Austin to far western Houston , and included College Station , home of Texas A&M University . From the 2003 Texas redistricting until 2013 , Carter represented a district stretching from the fringes of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex through more rural portions of Central Texas . Redistricting after the 2010 census , which first affected the 2013–2015 term , reduced the 31st to Bell and Williamson counties . The 31st District now includes Fort Hood , home of the U.S . Armys 3d Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Cavalry Division . In the November 2016 general election , Carter won his eighth term in Congress . With 166,060 votes ( 58.4 percent ) , he defeated Democrat Mike Clark and Libertarian Scott Ballard , who received 103,852 votes ( 34.5 percent ) and 14,676 ( 5.2 percent ) , respectively . In the November 2018 general election , Carter defeated Democrat MJ Hegar , getting 144,680 votes ( 50.6% ) to her 136,362 votes ( 47.7% ) , the 3% margin was the smallest victory margin of his nine terms in Congress . Tenure . Carter is best known as the author of a law that made it easier to prove identity theft and provides stiff penalties for the offense . It was signed into law by George W . Bush in 2004 . In the 110th Congress , Carter sponsored and co-sponsored a number of bills including the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act , the Terrorist Death Penalty Act of 2008 , and a bill condemning the vandalism of the Vietnam War Memorial on the National Mall . On June 12 , 2009 , Carter signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R . 1503 , which would require the production of a birth certificate from presidential candidates . The bill was introduced as a result of conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S . President Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S . citizen . On September 15 , 2009 , in an opinion piece published in The Hill , Carter called the 111th Congress a house of hypocrisy after the House of Representatives voted to rebuke South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson for an outburst , but would not go after New York Representative and House Ways and Means Chair Charlie Rangel , who had been the subject of numerous ethical problems involving taxes and property . Carter is also a proponent of the Rangel Rule , where IRS penalties and interest would be eliminated if one paid back taxes , similar to the treatment Rangel , Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner , and former South Dakota Senator ( and one-time Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee ) Tom Daschle received after their tax problems were made public . Carter introduced a Privileged Resolution that would have forced the resignation of Rangel from his position as Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee after he declined to resign voluntarily , citing the inaction of the House Democratic Caucus and the ongoing investigations as reasons . The resolution failed along a largely party-line vote , with two Democrats and six Republicans breaking ranks . Carter amended his financial disclosure forms in mid-October 2009 to list nearly $300,000 in capital gains from the sale of ExxonMobil stock in 2006 and 2007 . Though Carter listed the sale of the assets , he did not list the actual amount of capital gains , on which he did pay taxes . On November 16 , 2009 , Carter introduced legislation to give combatant casualty status to the victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting , similar to those who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq . On May 16 , 2018 , Carter was named the new chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Appropriations following the retirement of Charlie Dent . He had previously served as chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations . Carter signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R . 4760 , the Securing Americas Future Act of 2018 , which failed to pass the House . On December 18 , 2019 , Carter voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump . Of the 195 Republicans who voted , all voted against both impeachment articles . Committee assignments . - Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Military Construction , Veterans Affairs , and Related Agencies ( Ranking Member ) - Subcommittee on Defense Party leadership and caucus memberships . - House Army Caucus ( Co-Chairman ) - House Republican Conference ( Secretary ) - United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus - Republican Steering Committee - Sportsmens Caucus - Tea Party Caucus - Congressional Cement Caucus - I-14 Caucus - Republican Study Committee Electoral history . Carter was re-elected to his tenth term in Congress on November 3 , 2020 . Year Winning candidate Party Opponent Party Personal life . Carter married his wife , Erika , in 1968 . They have four grown children and six grandchildren . Since 1971 , the couple has lived in Round Rock , Texas . External links . - Congressman John Carter official U.S . House website - John Carter for Congress