Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye (b. September 7, 1924) was a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Hawaii. Inouye was first elected to the Senate in 1962. He died on December 17, 2012, from a respiratory illness.
Then-Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz was appointed to fill the seat until a special election could be held to fill the vacancy in 2014. Schatz went on to win the special election.[1][2]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Inouye was a "rank-and-file Democrat."[3]
Biography
Inouye was born on September 7, 1924, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Kame (née Imanaga) and Hyotaro Inouye. He is a Nisei Japanese-American (an American-born child of Japanese immigrants) and grew up in the Bingham Tract, a Chinese-American enclave within the predominantly Japanese-American community of Mo'ili'ili in Honolulu. He graduated from Honolulu's President William McKinley High School.[4]
Inouye was at the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 as a medical volunteer.[5] In 1943, when the U.S. Army dropped its ban on Japanese-Americans, Inouye curtailed his premedical studies at the University of Hawaii and enlisted in the Army.[6] He was assigned to the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most-highly decorated unit in the history of the US Army.[7]
Due to the loss of his arm, Inouye abandoned his plans to become a surgeon, and returned to college to study political science under the GI Bill. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He earned his law degree from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1953.[8]
Career
- 1954-1958: Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives
- 1958-1959: Hawaii Territorial Senate
- 1959-1963: U.S. House of Representatives
- 1963-2012: U.S. Senate
Inouye had continuously represented Hawaii in the U.S. Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959, serving as Hawaii's first U.S. Representative and later a senator. Inouye was the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. At age 87, Inouye was the second-oldest current senator, after 87 year old Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. He was also a recipient of the United States Medal of Honor.[9]
Inouye serving as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate made him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history.[10]
Committee assignments
U.S. Senate
2011-2012
Inouye served on the following committees:
- United States Senate Committee on Appropriations (Chairman)[11]
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense (Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation[11]
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs[11]
- United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration[11]
- United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing[11]
Issues
Political Positions
Following Senator Byrd's death on June 28, 2010, Inouye became the longest-serving living senator and President pro tempore of the United States Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession. Sen. Byrd still holds the record for longest-serving senator of all time.[9]
Elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Inouye won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Cam Cavasso (R), Jim Brewer (G), Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan (L), and Jeff Jarrett (I) in the general election.[12]
| U.S. Senate, Hawaii General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Daniel K. Inoyue Incumbent |
74.8% | 277,228 | |
| Republican | Cam Cavasso | 21.6% | 79,939 | |
| Green | Jim Brewer | 2.1% | 7,762 | |
| Libertarian | Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan | 0.8% | 2,957 | |
| Independent | Jeff Jarrett | 0.7% | 2,697 | |
| Total Votes | 370,583 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Inouye paid his congressional staff a total of $2,882,557 in 2011. He ranked 14th on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 16th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Hawaii ranked 10th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[13]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Inouye's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,968,020 and $4,404,999. That averages to $3,186,509.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[14]
National Journal vote ratings
2011
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Inouye ranked 26th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators.[15]
Voting with party
Daniel Inouye voted with the Democratic Party 95 of the time, which ranked 21 among the 51 Senate Democratic members as of November 2011.[16]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Daniel + Inouye + Hawaii + Senate
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
On May 24, 2008, Senator Inouye married Irene Hirano, who served as President of the U.S.-Japan Council. He was married for nearly 57 years to Margaret Awamura Inouye, a former instructor at the University of Hawaii, who passed away on March 13, 2006. He had a son, Ken, who is married to Jessica Carroll from Rochester, New York, and a granddaughter Mary Margaret "Maggie" Inouye.[9]
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Abercrombie picks Schatz to replace Inouye in U.S. Senate," December 26, 2012
- ↑ Associated Press, "Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii Dead at 88" accessed December 17,2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "Daniel Inouye," accessed March 3, 2012
- ↑ Inouye, accessed October 13, 2011
- ↑ [Associated Press (Chicago), "Keynoter Knows Sting of Bias, Poverty," St. Petersburg Times, accessed October 13, 2011]
- ↑ [Associated Press (Chicago), "Keynoter Knows Sting of Bias, Poverty," St. Petersburg Times, accessed October 13, 2011]
- ↑ Military, "100th Batallion, 442nd Infantry", accessed October 13, 2011
- ↑ [Associated Press (Chicago), "Keynoter Knows Sting of Bias, Poverty," St. Petersburg Times, August 27, 1968 accessed October 13, 2011]
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Daniel Inouye: United States Senator for Hawaii, "Biography" accessed October 13, 2011
- ↑ Politico, "Daniel Inouye now in line of presidential succession" accessed October 13, 2011
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Dan Inouye: U.S. Senator for Hawaii, "Committees" accessed October 13, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Daniel Inouye"
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Inouye, (D-Hawaii), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Voting With Party," accessed July 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Oren Long |
U.S. Senate - Hawaii 1963–2012 |
Succeeded by - Brian Schatz |
