Schiff, Steven, 1947-1998

Steven Schiff, born March 18, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, served as the US Representative from the First Congressional District of New Mexico (Albuquerque and its environs) from 1989 to 1998 as a member of the Republican Party. Schiff received a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Chicago, in 1968. In 1972, he graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico. Schiff enlisted as an Airman Basic in the New Mexico National Guard in 1969. In 1994, he achieved the rank of Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. After stints as an Assistant District Attorney (1972-1977) and Assistant Albuquerque City Attorney and Counsel for Albuquerque Police Department (1979-1981), Schiff was elected (1980) and re-elected (1984) to the office of District Attorney for Bernalillo County. In 1988, he successfully ran for the open congressional seat in the First Congressional District of New Mexico. In the US House of Representatives, Schiff sat on the Committees on the Judiciary and its subcommittees on Crime and on Commercial and Administrative Law, where he advocated for stricter juvenile justice and convict sentencing policies. On the Committee on Science, Space and Technology - in which Schiff chaired the Subcommittee on Basic Research and sat on the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment - Schiff focused on underwriting the missions of Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories and transferring technology for application in the private and public sectors. Serving on the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Schiff targeted healthcare fraud and served on the Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice. As a member of The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (commonly known as the 'ethics committee'), Schiff took part in the investigation of Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Schiff believed in fiscal conservatism and strongly championed the interests of business. He took firm policy and political stances in favor of harsher punishments for criminals. As a Member of Congress, Schiff did not approve of NATO operations in the Balkans, yet he undertook missions to Bosnia and Iraq in his position with Air Force Reserves. Schiff made sustained inquiries into the incident at Roswell and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Schiff was the son of Alan Jerome Schiff (born 3/6/19, died 2/18/90) and Helen Marion Ripper (born 8/11/19) and the brother of Maury Leon Schiff (born 2/26/42), a physicist. On November 8, 1968, Schiff married Marcia Lewis (born 11/1/48) in Chicago, Illinois. They produced two children, Jaimi (born 10/2/77) and Daniel (born 10/15/81). After an extended battle with skin cancer, Schiff died from melanoma on March 25, 1998. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

From the description of Steven Schiff Papers, 1977-1998 (bulk: 1989-1998). (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 289019570

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