Steve Stivers

Steven Ernst "Steve" Stivers (born March 24, 1965) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for OH's 15th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Stivers previously served in the Ohio Senate, representing the 16th district. He is a Colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard and served active duty in Iraq as Battalion Commander until December 2005.

Early life, education, and career
Stivers was born and grew up in Ripley, Ohio, the son of Carol Sue (née Pulliam) and Ernst Bambach Stivers. Steve is a recipient of the Eagle Scout Award.

Stivers attended The Ohio State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international relations in 1989 and an MBA in 1996. While attending Ohio State he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Stivers spent seven years at Bank One, three years at the Ohio Company, two years as Finance Director for the Franklin County Republican Party and five years as a staff member in the Ohio Senate. Stivers has worked as a Series 7 licensed securities trader with the Ohio Company.

Military service
Stivers has served in the Ohio National Guard since 1985 and holds the rank of Colonel in the Logistics branch. Stivers was called to active duty while serving in the Ohio Senate in October 2004. It was then that Stivers served in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Djibouti as Battalion Commander until December 2005. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his accomplishments as a battalion commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Elections
After redistricting, incumbent Republican Priscilla Mead decided to resign after only serving in the Ohio Senate for a year. Stivers was the "compromise candidate" after a Senate screening committee could not agree on him and fellow State Representative Jim Hughes, who were both running for the district. Stivers won a special election in January 2003 unopposed. He then won re-election in 2004 to a full senate term with 58% of the vote.

Tenure
Stivers served in the Ohio Senate from January 9, 2003 until December 2008.

He sponsored 12 bills while in office which became law, 11 of which were bipartisan. He was the lead sponsor of the following bills:
 * Legislation

- A comprehensive tort reform bill which was enacted in 2004.
 * Allowed members of the Armed Forces Reserves who are called to active duty to defer paying property taxes during the length of a deployment.
 * Provided doctors limited civil protections if they choose to give free care to uninsured people, resulting in more than $1 million of free care in Franklin County alone.
 * Worked to ensure those with disabilities in need of healthcare have the option to buy into Ohio’s Medicaid system.
 * Worked to strengthen Ohio's sex offender laws.

He also passed a balanced, fiscally conservative state budget, provided the largest personal property tax cut in Ohio history, and froze tuition rates for Ohio’s college students.

Committee assignments
Senator Stivers sat on a variety of Ohio Senate committees. He was the Chairman of the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, Vice-Chair of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, served on the Ways and Means Committee, the Judiciary Committee on Civil Justice, the Judiciary Committee for Criminal Justice, and also the Controlling Board.

Elections

 * 2008

In November 2007, Stivers announced he would run for election to Congress in Ohio's 15th District, a seat held by retiring Republican member Deborah Pryce. He won the Republican nomination and ran against Democratic nominee Mary Jo Kilroy, Libertarian Mark Noble and Independent Don Elijah Eckhart. Stivers lost by 2,311 votes, conceding on December 7, 2008 after a long vote recount.


 * 2010

Stivers won the Republican primary with 82% of the vote. He again faced Democratic incumbent Mary Jo Kilroy along with Constitution Party nominee David Ryon and Libertarian nominee William J. Kammerer. November 2, 2010 Kilroy conceded to Stivers.

2012

Stivers ran again in 2012 against Democratic nominee Pat Lang. He was endorsed by the NRA, National Right to Life, Ohio State Medical Association and United States Chamber of Commerce. Stivers was re-elected by 76,397 votes.

Tenure
Despite the urging of several political and media organizations as well as prominent leaders, Stivers refused to disclose any of his stances for the 2012 Political Courage Test.

Stivers voted against raising the debt limit and supports prioritizing spending in the even that the debt limit is reached. He was part of a proposal to add a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution. Stivers voted to offset the costs of disaster relief spending through discretionary budget cuts.
 * Budget

On April 25, 2013, Stivers introduced a bill that would alter the composition of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter to steel with a copper coat, which would save an estimated $433,000,000 over the course of ten years.

He voted to audit the Federal Reserve and its recent actions, specifically its involvement in mortgage loans.

Stivers supports all energy options, including green, nuclear, and clean coal and supports tax benefits for renewable energy usage. However Stivers opposes federal regulations on efficiency standards
 * Energy

Stivers is a strong supporter of gun rights and opposes any limits to Second Amendment rights. He supports loosening regulations for interstate gun purchases and supports veterans registering unlicensed firearms acquired from outside the United States.
 * Gun Control

Stivers is an opponent of government-run healthcare and has voted on numerous occasions against such. He supports privatized healthcare options opposes the use of federal funds for any healthcare program expansions or acts.
 * Healthcare

Rep. Stivers opposes the privatization of social security. In addition, he also opposes raising the retirement age from its current state.
 * Social Security

Stivers took the Taxpayer Protection pledge, insuring he would not support any tax raises. He supports a flat federal tax rate across the board for all income brackets.
 * Taxes

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
 * Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity


 * Republican Study Committee
 * Republican Main Street Partnership

Caucus memberships

 * Congressional Arts Caucus

Electoral history
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2008, Travis Casper  received 6 votes (<1%). In 2010, Bill Buckel (<1%) received 240 votes.