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American politician (born 1957)

Thomas Timothy Holden (born March 5, 1957) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the U. S. representative for from 1993 to 2013. Holden was the dean of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation during the 112th United States Congress. On April 24, 2012, Holden was defeated in the Democratic primary in his attempt to seek re election after the boundaries of his district were redrawn. He is now chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Holden was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He was a somewhat conservative Democrat who often bucked his party's voting trend, especially on social issues. For instance, he opposed abortion and gun control. However, he supported Democratic priorities on a number of issues. While Holden voted with a minority of House Democrats in favor of the authorization for the use of U. S. force in Iraq in October 2002 for President George W. Bush, he strongly opposed Bush's "surge" policy in January 2007. While Holden voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the signature legislative domestic policy achievement of President Barack Obama, in March 2010, he did vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by Obama, in February 2009. While Holden voted for legislation supported by President Bush that toughened bankruptcy laws and enacted the Halliburton loophole, he voted for the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Obama, in July 2010. According to opencongreess. com, Holden has voted with the Democratic leadership in Congress 73 percent of the time in recent years. He is ranked as one of the top fifteen most conservative Democrats in the House by the National Journal. In 2011, Rep. Holden became a co sponsor of Bill H. R.3261 otherwise known as the Stop Online Piracy Act. Holden withdrew his co sponsorship of SOPA on January 18, 2012.

Holden was nominated to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board by Gov. Tom Corbett on June 14, 2013. He was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate on November 13, 2013. He was named chairman of the PLCB by Gov. Tom Wolf on February 17, 2015. He was unanimously confirmed for a second term by the state Senate on June 29, 2016, and sworn in on July 11, 2016.