Former Rep. John Spratt remembered as 'skilled and deeply principled lawmaker'

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — John Spratt, a former longtime Democratic congressman from South Carolina who successfully pushed for a balanced budget deal in the 1990s but was unseated decades later when his district turned Republican, has died. He was 82.

Spratt died Saturday night at home, surrounded by family, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease, his daughter, Catherine Spratt, said in a post on Facebook.

Tributes quickly poured in for Spratt, who represented South Carolina’s 5th District for nearly 30 years.

Former President Bill Clinton hailed Spratt as a “skilled and deeply principled lawmaker” who was willing to work with anyone to pass legislation to make a difference in people’s lives.

In a condolence letter to the family, according to Spratt’s daughter, President Joe Biden wrote that, “Guided by his wit, wisdom, decency and grace, John deeply understood the promise of America, and he fought tirelessly to bring people together to help us live up to that promise.”

Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, in a post on X, called Spratt a man of “unmatched intellect, integrity, and kindness,” and said he would order flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff on the day of Spratt’s funeral.

Christale Spain, chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Party, said in a news release that Spratt “earned respect on both sides of the aisle, and he will be remembered for his courageous work to enhance and improve healthcare, support for our military, and his strengthening of rural communities leaves a lasting impact that will be felt for generations.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, a South Carolina native, said he “often teased that Mr. Spratt had probably forgotten more about the federal budget than the majority of Members had ever known,” calling him “brilliant, kind, and beloved by many.”

First elected to Congress in 1982, Spratt rose through the ranks to become chairman of the House Budget Committee and the second-highest-ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

One of his proudest accomplishments, his daughter said, was his role in passing the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997.

“I’ll always be grateful for the chance to work with him, especially on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which he co-authored and helped produce record surpluses,” Clinton said. “John was a true public servant and a really good man.”

As much of the South tilted toward the GOP, Spratt hung on to his congressional seat, fending off challengers as Republicans redrew congressional maps in their favor.

Spratt’s district had been in Democratic hands for more than 100 years until Republican Mick Mulvaney defeated Spratt in a 2010 race for the seat. Mulvaney held it for three terms before going on to serve President Donald Trump’s first administration as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and for more than a year, as acting White House chief of staff.

South Carolina now has six Republicans and one Democrat — Rep. Jim Clyburn, who recently won his 17th term representing the state’s 6th District — in its U.S. House delegation. Only one other district, the 1st, was briefly won by a Democrat before reverting to Republican hands.

“Serving in Congress with John Spratt was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Clyburn wrote in a post on X, calling his former colleague “a friend and confidant, a colleague and counselor, and a mentor and partner,” as well as “an inconspicuous genius and the most ordinary, extraordinary person I have ever known.”

Spratt graduated from Davidson College, where he was student body president. Winning a Marshall Scholarship to Oxford, he studied economics, and earned a law degree from Yale. Spratt was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal after serving as a captain in the Army from 1969 to 1971, coming home to South Carolina that year to practice law with his father.

Eleven years later, he was elected to his first U.S. House term.

Survivors include his wife, Jane Stacy Spratt — to whom he was married for 56 years — three daughters, and several grandchildren.