Thomas Edmunds Price (born October 8, 1954) is an American physician and Republican Party politician who served as the U.S. representative for , encompassing the northern suburbs of Atlanta, from 2005 to 2017. While in Congress, Price chaired the House Committee on the Budget, Republican Study Committee and Republican Policy Committee. He was appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services by President Donald Trump and served in that role from February to September 2017.
On September 29, 2017, he resigned as head of HHS following criticism of using government money to pay for private jet travel. In July 2018, the HHS inspector general urged the HHS to recoup at least $341,000 from Price for wasteful expenditures.
Early life, education, and medical career Price was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Dearborn, where he attended Adams Jr. High and Dearborn High School. Price's father and grandfather were both doctors. As a child, Price occasionally accompanied his grandfather on house calls in Toledo, Ohio. Until Price was the age of six, his father worked a dairy farm in Fowlerville, Michigan.
Price received his B.A. (1975) and M.D. (1979) degrees from the University of Michigan. He completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and settled in the suburb of Roswell, Georgia. He entered private practice in 1984 and returned to Emory as an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in 2002. He was the director of the orthopedic clinic at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, where he met his wife Betty, who worked there as anesthesiologist.
Price was a member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a politically conservative group founded in 1943 to "fight socialized medicine" and known to promote a range of scientifically discredited claims. The AAPS opposes Medicare and mandatory vaccination. Price is also a member of the American Medical Association. Before entering the state senate, Price was politically active as a member of the Republican Party and traveled with the Medical Association of Georgia in the early 1990s to oppose the Clinton health care plan of 1993.
Georgia Senate (1996–2005) Elections and results Price first ran for office after receiving a phone call from state senator Sallie Newbill in 1995. Newbill, who represented Georgia's 56th senate district, was planning to retire and personally asked Price if he was interested in succeeding her. Price accepted the offer and defeated Democrat Ellen Milholland in the election, 71–29%. In a 1998 rematch, he won re-election to a second term by defeating Milholland by a margin of 75–25%. In 2000 and 2002, he won re-election to a third and fourth term unopposed.
Price has cited discontent with government regulations of the health care industry as his primary reason for becoming involved in politics.
Committee memberships During his tenure as a state senator, Price served on the committees for Appropriations, Economic Development and Tourism, Education, Ethics, Health and Human Services, Insurance and Labor, Reapportionment and Redistricting, and Rules.
Tenure Price was elected minority whip of the Georgia state senate on November 6, 1998. He held this position until November 14, 2002, when Republicans took control of the state senate, and Price was elected majority leader – the first Republican to ever hold this position in Georgia. He was replaced as majority leader by Bill Stephens on June 17, 2003.
U.S. House of Representatives (2005–2017) Elections 2004
In late April 2003, Price formally announced his candidacy for Georgia's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The seat was being vacated by Republican Johnny Isakson, who had decided to pursue an opening in the U.S. Senate. Bob Barr, a former U.S. Congressman, was considered an early frontrunner in the race to replace Isakson, but Barr withdrew his candidacy for personal reasons, shortly before Price entered the race. Price went on to run against two fellow state senators, Chuck Clay and Robert Lamutt, as well as two state representatives, Roger Hines and Mark Burkhalter. Also taking part in the race was John McCallum, a former aide to U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
At the time, Georgia's 6th Congressional district included parts of Fulton, Cherokee, and Cobb counties. The district lines had been drawn so as to heavily favor Republicans - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the district a "honey pot" for the party and suggested that whoever won that year's primary would likely retain the seat "into the next decade". Isakson had won the previous election with eighty percent of the vote, and no Democrat entered the race to replace him.
Following Barr's withdrawal from the race, Lamutt, a millionaire venture capitalist who self-financed much of his own campaign, was generally considered to be the new frontrunner; although The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggested that Clay, who had previously run an unsuccessful campaign to be Lieutenant Governor of the state, likely had the most name recognition of the remaining candidates. Clay had also served as Republican minority leader in the state legislature, several years before Price became the party's majority leader. Price's residence in Fulton County was seen as a disadvantage, because the 6th district had been exclusively represented by Cobb County residents since 1991. All of Price's opponents on the final ballot lived in Cobb. Price considered relocating, in order to improve his chances in the race, but he ultimately decided against this.
Despite this handicap, Price had out-raised his opponents by late July, and although he was briefly overtaken by Clay, he reclaimed his top position in the 6th district race within a few months. In February 2004, it was reported that Clay and Price were the two highest-funded candidates in that year's Congressional races, nationwide. Federal election law put a limit of $2,000 on individual contributions to the campaigns, but Lamutt activated a clause that raised this limit to $6,000 for his opponents, when he loaned $600,000 to his own campaign. Lamutt would eventually increase this loan to $1.5 million, while Clay loaned at least $500,000 to his own campaign. In late April 2004, it was reported that Price had put a loan of $200,000 into the race. Despite this disparity in self-funding, Price had received contributions from a significantly higher number of donors than his opponents. At least $300,000 of Price's campaign funds came from the health care industry.
In the final week of the election, several polls had Price ahead. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution endorsed Clay over Price and the others, arguing that there was "little difference among the contestants on the issues", but that Clay had exhibited the greatest skill as a negotiator, while in the state legislature. Burkhalter and McCallum were not on the final ballot. On July 11, 2004, a televised debate was held between the remaining candidates. The election was then held on July 20. While early voting results showed Lamutt in the lead, Price overtook him by the end of the night and finished in first with 35% of the vote. Lamutt came in second, earning 28% of the vote, and Clay took third with 21% of the vote. Because Price failed to earn over 50% of the vote, a run-off election between him and Lamutt was scheduled for August 10.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution proceeded to endorse Price in the run-off election, arguing that he had demonstrated strong leadership abilities in the state senate, during "difficult budget years". Lamutt was generally favored to win though, based on the assumption that he would consolidate the vote in Cobb County. A televised debate between Price and Lamutt was held on August 1, and early voting began the following day - the first time in Georgia state history that early voting was allowed in a runoff election. Price upset expectations by winning 54% of the vote - carrying about 80% in Fulton County and about 40% in Cobb County. Price then won the general election unopposed.
2006 Georgia's 6th Congressional district was redrawn in 2005 to include all of Cherokee County. Additionally, it gained the northern tip of DeKalb County and retained only the eastern section of Cobb County. That Fall, John Konop, a businessman from Cherokee, announced that he would challenge Price in the Republican primary. Konop ran to the right of Price on immigration policy and criticized Price's support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He also argued that Price's support for transportation and energy bills would increase the federal deficit. Price defended these bills, arguing that the former would return more tax-payer money to Georgia and that the latter could potentially help the United States achieve energy independence. Price raised $1.5 million throughout the primary campaign, while Konop merely raised around $50,000. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution endorsed Price in the primary election, suggesting that Price could play an important role in shaping future healthcare legislation. A televised debate between the candidates was held on July 7, 2006, and the election was then held on July 18. Price defeated Konop, 82%–18%.
Price then faced a Democratic challenger in the general election - Steve Sinton, a media figure from Cobb County, who had co-founded the liberal talk radio news network Air America. Sinton argued that the Republican-controlled Congress had been irresponsible in its spending policies and oversight of the Iraq War. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution considered these to be valid concerns but endorsed Price for re-election, arguing that he would better represent the conservative 6th district's constituents. In November, Price won re-election to a second term with 72% of the vote.
2008–2014 Price was unopposed in the 2008 Republican primary. He then ran against Democratic candidate Bill Jones, a retired air force pilot, in the general election. Jones was described by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a moderate. He cited Price's opposition to an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program as one of his primary reasons for entering the race. Jones managed to raise over $225,000 - more than any other Democratic challenger in Georgia's congressional elections that year. An easy victory for Price was still predicted though. A debate was scheduled for October 21, 2008, but Price was not in attendance, as Congress was in session at the time. Jones was still allowed to deliver remarks at the event. Price carried a large margin of victory over Jones, earning 69% of the vote.
In 2010, Price was unopposed in both the primary and the general election. He was again unopposed in the 2012 and 2014 primaries, but faced Democratic challengers each year in November. In 2012, Jeff Kazanow, a business consultant, narrowly beat Robert Montigel, a small-business owner, in the 6th district's Democratic primary. Montigel went on to become the district's Democratic nominee in 2014. Price won re-election to a fifth term in 2012, beating Kazanow with 64% of the vote, and to a sixth term in 2014, beating Montigel with 66% of the vote.
2016 After being unopposed in the 2016 Republican primary, Price faced Democratic challenger Rodney Stooksbury in the general election. Stooksbury, said to be a retired aeronautic, was described by the media as a "ghost candidate", as he had no public photographs, official website, or social media presence. When CBS46 sent a reporter to his listed address, there was no answer, and Stooksbury's supposed neighbors had never heard of him. The Stooksbury campaign spent a mere $346. Despite the handicap of possibly not existing, Stooksbury performed better than any of his predecessors - Price won the election, but only carried 61% of the vote.
Tenure