Phil Gingrey

John Phillip "Phil" Gingrey, M.D. (b. July 10 1942, Augusta, Georgia), an American obstetrician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 11th District of Georgia.

Biography
Gingrey received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Georgia Tech, and then attended Medical College of Georgia. He then worked as an obstetrician and served two terms as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1999 to 2003.

Family
He is married to the former Billie Ayers; they have four children:  Billy, Gannon and Phyllis Gingrey, and Laura (Mrs. Neill).

Election to Congress
Georgia gained two districts after the 2000 Census, but the Democratic-controlled state legislature wanted to see more Democrats in the congressional delegation. They produced a map that was designed to elect seven Democrats and six Republicans; the delegation at the time consisted of eight Republicans and three Democrats. In the process, they drew Republicans Bob Barr and John Linder into the same district. The new district was numbered the 7th — Barr's former district number — but contained most of the territory in Linder's 11th District.

The remainder of Barr's former territory was renumbered the 11th and redrawn to be more Democratic. Gingrey faced Democrat Roger Kahn, who had lost to Barr in 2000, and narrowly defeated him by three points. He had a far easier time against Democrat Rick Crawford in 2004.

The Republicans won control of the state legislature in 2004, and immediately redrew the district map again. In the process, they made Gingrey's district a solidly Republican district. He won a third term with 70% of the vote.

Views
In the Georgia Senate he supported outlawing abortion and supported the individual's right to keep and bear arms. He also strongly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Though not in Congress he gave his support to the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts.

In March 2005 Gingrey was one of several United States Congressmen, who are also physicians, such as Bill Frist and Dave Weldon, who offered medical opinions about the medical condition of Terri Schiavo". The tragedy of the situation is that with proper treatment, now denied, Terri's condition can improve", Gingrey stated at the time. Sciavo Autopsy Shows Massive Brain Injury

In his June 15 2004 e-mail newsletter to constituents, Gingrey wrote that the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was a "model detention facility," that "hard-working, honorable American troops at Gitmo are doing everything possible to treat enemy combatants in a manner consistent with the principles of the Geneva Convention" and that the U.S. "should work to make the prisons in Iraq more like Gitmo". The newsletter was sent to constituents on the same day that the officer recently relieved of command at Abu Ghraib prison, Brigadier Gen. Janis Karpinski gave an interview to the BBC's Radio 4, in which she alleged that the officer in charge of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Prison, Major Gen. Geoffrey Miller, was in fact responsible for ordering policy changes that led to the behavior many regard(ed) as a form of torture.

Regarding the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal in March 2007, Gingrey, who never served in the Armed Forces, caused controversy by trying to minimize the unsanitary conditions at the hospital. From the floor of the House, he argued:


 * "[I]t’s not a five-star hotel, make no mistake about it, but it’s not a flophouse. It’s not a dump. It’s not a dive. It needs some work, no question about it. I’m not making excuses, of course ... [I] was glad to know that those cockroaches were belly up. It suggested to me that at least someone was spraying for them."

Media
Stephen Colbert interviewed Congressman Gingrey on his Better Know a District segment. Colbert asked, "The war in Iraq. Great War — or the greatest war?" Gingrey responded that it may be the greatest war. Colbert asked Gingrey if he was a "Georgia peach" and Gingrey responded in the affirmative.

Contributors
Gingrey has depended heavily on political contributions from fellow physicians to finance his re-election campaigns. The American College of Radiology Association, Harbin Clinic, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American College of Cardiology were among his largest contributors in the 2004 election cycle.

Gingrey has also received $30,000 from ARMPAC, former House Majority Leader's Tom DeLay's PAC. In the 2004 election cycle, ARMPAC was Gingrey's third largest contributor. After the Delay scandal, Gingrey returned all $30,000.