Bob Stump, 76; Former Arizona Congressman Backed Veterans
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Stump, 76, who represented Arizona in Congress for 26 years and served as chairman of the House committees on armed services and veterans affairs, died Friday at a Phoenix long-term care center of myelodysplasia, a rare blood disorder, said Lisa Atkins, his longtime chief of staff.
Stump, a Republican, was a strong supporter of increased spending on the military and veterans. He retired from Congress in 2002.
Born in Phoenix, Stump served in the Navy during World War II, graduated from high school after the war and from the University of Arizona in 1951.
He served four terms in the Arizona House of Representatives and five terms in the Arizona state Senate. Stump was first elected to the 95th Congress on Nov. 3, 1976, as a Democrat. He changed parties in 1981 after voting for President Reagan’s tax cuts.
Stump took over the Armed Services Committee chairmanship in 2001 and used the position to push for President Bush’s missile defense plan, a pay raise for military personnel and $2 billion in additional military construction.
In April 2002, he announced that health problems, which he didn’t disclose at the time, would keep him from seeking another term.
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