Representative James O. McCrery

James Otis McCrery III (born September 18, 1949) is an American lawyer, politician, and lobbyist who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988 to 2009. He represented Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, based in the northwestern quadrant of the state, and served 11 terms in Congress. Over the course of his tenure, McCrery became a prominent figure in tax and trade policy and played a significant role in the legislative process during a period of substantial political and economic change in the United States.

McCrery was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and reared in Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana. He graduated from Leesville High School in 1967. He then attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, in Lincoln Parish, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both English and history in 1971. Pursuing a legal career, he enrolled at the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in Baton Rouge, receiving his law degree in 1975. That same year, he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law.

From 1975 to 1978, McCrery practiced with the law firm of Jackson, Smith & Ford in Leesville. His interest in public service led him to Washington, D.C., where from January through August 1979 he served as a staff member to U.S. Representative Buddy Leach, a fellow Leesville native. In August 1979, McCrery resigned from Leach’s staff to join the staff of the Shreveport City Attorney’s office, gaining additional experience in municipal legal affairs. After Leach was unseated in the 1980 election by Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer III of Bossier City, McCrery returned to congressional service as district manager and later legislative director for Representative Roemer, working closely on constituent services and legislative matters. In 1984, he left Capitol Hill to return to the private sector in Louisiana, joining Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a major forest products company, where he remained until his election to Congress four years later.

McCrery entered elective office following a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives, and he served continuously from 1988 until January 3, 2009, as the representative of Louisiana’s 4th District. A member of the Republican Party, he participated actively in the democratic process and represented the interests of his northwestern Louisiana constituents through 11 terms in office. During his congressional career, he served through changing political majorities and shifting national priorities, including the end of the Cold War, the economic expansions and contractions of the 1990s and 2000s, and the early years of the global war on terrorism.

Within the House of Representatives, McCrery rose to positions of significant influence, particularly on fiscal and economic matters. He became a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, the chamber’s chief tax-writing body, and ultimately served as the committee’s ranking member. Had the Republican Party maintained control of the House following the 2006 elections, he would have been in line to chair the Ways and Means Committee; instead, the chairmanship passed to Democrat Charles B. Rangel of New York. In addition to his work on Ways and Means, McCrery served on the Executive Committee of the National Republican Congressional Committee, where he helped guide party strategy and candidate support, and he was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of more moderate Republicans focused on pragmatic, centrist policy approaches.

McCrery’s legislative work encompassed tax policy, trade, Social Security, Medicare, and other core areas of federal economic and social policy. As a senior Republican on Ways and Means, he was involved in shaping major tax and budget legislation and in debates over entitlement reform and international trade agreements. He also focused on issues of particular concern to his district and state, including the energy industry, forestry and timber interests, and military installations in northwestern Louisiana, reflecting the economic base of the region he represented.

In 2008, after more than two decades in Congress, McCrery chose not to seek reelection. He completed his final term on January 3, 2009, and was succeeded as representative for Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District by John C. Fleming, a fellow Republican. Following his departure from Congress, McCrery continued his involvement in public policy as a lobbyist and policy adviser in Washington, drawing on his extensive experience in tax and economic legislation.