Members of Congress / Ray Thornton

Biographical Information

THORNTON, Raymond Hoyt (Ray), Jr., a Representative from Arkansas; born in Conway, Faulkner County, Ark., July 16, 1928; attended public schools at Leola and Sheridan, Grant County, Ark.; attended the University of Arkansas, 1945-1947; B.A., Yale University, 1950; attended law school at the University of Texas, 1950-1951; J.D., University of Arkansas, 1956; United States Navy, Korean conflict, 1951-1954, attained the rank of lieutenant; admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1956 and commenced practice in Sheridan and Little Rock; served as deputy prosecuting attorney, Pulaski and Perry Counties, 1956-1957; delegate from Grant and Jefferson Counties to the Seventh Constitutional Convention of Arkansas, 1969-1970; attorney general of Arkansas, 1971-1973; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-third and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1973-January 3, 1979); was not a candidate for reelection to the United States House of Representatives in 1978, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate; director, Ouachita Baptist University-Henderson State University Joint Educational Consortium, 1979-1980; president, Arkansas State University, 1980-1984; president, University of Arkansas, 1984-1990; elected to the One Hundred Second and to the two succeeding Congresses; served until his resignation on January 1, 1997 (January 3, 1991-January 1, 1997); was not a candidate for reelection to the United States House of Representatives, but was a successful candidate for election to the Arkansas state supreme court; justice, Arkansas state supreme court, 1997-2005. (Source.)

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Roles in Congress

· 104th Congress: Representative, Arkansas (Dist. 2), Democratic. Jan. 3, 1995, to Jan. 3, 1997.
· 103rd Congress: Representative, Arkansas (Dist. 2), Democratic. Jan. 3, 1993, to Jan. 3, 1995.
· 102nd Congress: Representative, Arkansas (Dist. 2), Democratic. Jan. 3, 1991, to Jan. 3, 1993.

Last Votes

Date	Vote	Position	GOP opinion	DEM opinion
9/28/96	Vote 455: H R 3610: Department of Defense Appropriations for F.Y. 1997	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/28/96	Vote 454: H RES 546: Consideration of Sine Die Resolutions	No	Yes	No
9/28/96	Vote 453: H R 4236: Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/28/96	Vote 452: H R 3163: State Authority Tax Compensation Act	No	Yes	No
9/28/96	Vote 451: H R 1332: Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1996	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/27/96	Vote 450: S 1505: Accountable Pipline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996	Yes	Yes	No
9/27/96	Vote 449: H R 4000: Reestablish Pow/Mia Procedures	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/27/96	Vote 448: S 39: Sustainable Fisheries Act	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/27/96	Vote 447: H R 4073: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center	No	Yes	No
9/27/96	Vote 446: H R 3539: Federal Aviation Authorization Act of 1996	No	Yes	No
9/27/96	Vote 445: H RES 540: Waiving Points of Order Against the Conference Report on H.R. 3539	No	Yes	No
9/26/96	Vote 444: H R 3841: Civil Service Reform Act	No	Yes	No
9/26/96	Vote 443: H R 4011: Congressional Pension Forfeiture Act	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 442: H R 3752: American Land Sovereignty Protection Act	No	Yes	No
9/26/96	Vote 441: H CON RES 189: U.S. Membership in South Pacific Organizations	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 440: H CON RES 145: Remove Russian Forces From Moldova	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 439: H R 3497: Snoqualmie National Forest Boundary Adjustment	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 438: H RES 535: Government Accountability Act	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 437: H R 2092: Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/26/96	Vote 436: H R 3456: Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act	Yes	Yes	Yes

Full list of votes by Ray Thornton