Rich Nugent

Richard B. Nugent (born May 26, 1951) is the U.S. Representative for FL's 11th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is formerly the Sheriff of Hernando County, Florida. On November 2, 2010 Richard Nugent defeated Democratic nominee James Piccillo, to replace retiring Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite. Nugent is a member of the Tea Party Caucus and believes that Communists are a "national security threat."

Early life, education, and early law enforcement career
Richard B. Nugent was born on May 26, 1951. He is a native of Evergreen Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was a steel worker and his mother was a homemaker.

Nugent graduated from St. Leo College, located in St. Leo, Pasco County, Florida with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He went on to earn a Master of Arts Degree from Troy State University. In 1991 Congressman Nugent graduated from the FBI National Academy.

Right out of high school Nugent joined the Illinois Air National Guard. Honorably discharged after six years, Congressman Nugent decided to continue serving as a police officer in the city of Romeoville, Illinois. After serving as a police officer in Romeoville for 12 years, Nugent and his family moved to Hernando County, Florida in 1984, where he joined the Hernando County Sheriff's office as a deputy.

Sheriff of Hernando County
Richard Nugent was first elected Sheriff of Hernando County in 2000, defeating James E. "Eddie" McConnell in a close election.

Election results
He was elected Sheriff in 2000. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2008. In 2000, Nugent was endorsed by incumbent Sheriff Tom Mylander. In 2004, he was endorsed by the St. Petersburg Times



2010 election
Republican Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite made the decision not to run for re-election in the 5th Congressional District of Florida, due to health concerns. She quietly asked Nugent to run for her seat and he agreed. Rich Nugent easily won the Republican primary. He was endorsed during his campaign by former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, as well as several Florida newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and the Tampa Tribune.

Rich Nugent beat Tea Party favorite Jason Sager in the primary and won against Jim Piccillo (D) in the general election. The New York Times had rated this race as solidly Republican. The Ocala online newspaper reported that In the 5th Congressional District, Nugent swept past Democrat Jim Piccillo, a political newcomer from Lutz, receiving 67 percent of the vote to 33 percent.

Tenure
Richard B. Nugent was sworn into Congress on January 3, 2011 to represent the 5th Congressional District of Florida. He succeeded Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, who chose not to run because of health concerns.

Congressman Nugent, in just two months as a member of Congress has co-sponsored 29 pieces of legislation, including H.R. 2 - Repeal of the Health Care Law Act, H.R.25 - The Fair Tax Act of 2011, H.R. 49 - American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act, H.R. 121 - Congressional Budget Accountability Act, H.R. 127 - to deauthorize appropriation of funds to carry out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, H.R. 144 - Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, H.R. 154 - Defund the Individual Mandate Act, Hr. 177 - Death Tax Repeal Act, H.R. 178 - Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, H.R. 333 - Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act and H.R. 42` - To eliminate automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress. Nugent has also co-sponsored several important House Resolutions, including H.J. Res.1 - Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Congressman Nugent claims to be committed to fighting against what he terms out of control spending presently happening in Washington. He opposed the $700 billion bailout by President Bush, a temporaty fix for de-regulation of the banking and finance industries, two unfunded Bush era wars, and a decades-long wage decrease. He also opposed the Obama Administration's $862 billion stimulus package, which was an attempt by President Obama to bolster a damaged economy.
 * Spending cuts

Nugent has pledged to fight to reduce spending in Washington. He also believes that parts of government spending (including the Health Care Law) are unconstitutional. He claims that his main reason for opposing continued deficit spending is simply that American families just cannot afford it anymore. Nugent claims to believe that each American family's share of the national debt already stands at $118,000 and asks the question "what happens to these families when the federal government's bill comes due? He has signed on as a co-sponsor to both balanced budget amendments offered by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

Nugent signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 25, better known as "The Fair Tax". This legislation introduced by Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), repeal the federal income tax, and replace it with a transparent tax on consumption.
 * Tax Reform

Congressman Nugent opposed the passage of President Obama's health care legislation and has vowed to work for its repeal. He has stated that he is open to listening to anybody's plan to save and reform Medicare so long as benefits are completely unchanged for those 55 and up. He has stated he will ensure that Americans can keep the coverage they already have..
 * Health Care Act

Committee assignments
Nugent currently serves on the Committee on House Administration and the House Committee on Rules.

Members of the Committee on House Administration are charged with the oversight of federal elections and the day-to-day operations of the House. With the 112th Congress, two subcommittees were added to the Committee's jurisdiction, the Subcommittee on Elections and the Subcommittee on Oversight. The Committee on Rules was first constituted in 1789. It is commonly known as "The Speaker's Committee" because it is the mechanism that the Speaker uses to maintain control of the House Floor. Congressman Nugent belongs to several House caucus groups, including the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus, The Constitution Caucus, The Military Family Caucus, and the Tea Party Caucus.

Personal life
In 1975, Rich married the love of his life, Wendy. Together they have three boys. The Nugent family have been members of the First United Methodist Church of Spring Hill since 1985.

= Resources =