Biography
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
"[Feingold] showed
that a politician need not
shelve his conscience to achieve success."
- "A Principled Win, "The Washington
Post, November 5, 1998
Russ Feingold is an independent voice for Wisconsin
and the nation in the United States Senate - an effective
legislator who works across party lines, and a respected
leader in both domestic and foreign policy.
A leading defender of privacy and personal freedoms,
Feingold cast the Senate's lone vote against the USA
PATRIOT Act, and has fought to change the Act to protect
the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. He strongly
opposed the President’s decision to go to war
in Iraq, and was the first Senator to call for a timetable
to redeploy troops out of Iraq. Well known for pushing
through campaign finance reform in the Senate with
Republican Senator John McCain, Feingold has also
been a tireless advocate for restoring fiscal discipline
in Congress and reducing the federal deficit.
Fighting for Wisconsin
"The nation needs more leaders similar
to Feingold - a Democrat in the Wisconsin Progressive
Party tradition - who don't just talk the talk, they
walk the walk."
-"When Wis. Talks, Feingold Listens, "The
Wausau Daily Herald, June 3, 2001
"Feingold shows a knack for thinking
through issues on a case-by-case basis instead of
marching in a partisan parade."
- "Feingold Sets the Bar a Little Higher,"
The Door County Advocate, June 28, 2002
Since he was first elected to the Senate in 1992,
Russ Feingold has built a record as a staunch advocate
for working families. He supports health care for
all Americans, and is working to stop the flow of
jobs overseas and strengthen our public education
system. Feingold considers the fight against those
who attacked us on 9/11 to be our top national security
priority, and has worked to give more resources to
first responders on the front lines at home.
Feingold stays in touch with Wisconsin's communities
by visiting each of the state's 72 counties every
year to hold his Listening Sessions. At these town
hall style meetings, Feingold hears directly about
the issues that matter to the people of Wisconsin,
from supporting Wisconsin's farmers to protecting
our environment.
Some of Feingold’s recent legislative achievements
include:
• Securing benefits for families of injured
service members, and improving transition services
for veterans returning home.
• Increasing funding for dental health care,
and authoring a law that provides grants for states
to increase public access to defibrillators for victims
of cardiac arrest.
• Boosting resources for emergency managers,
and spearheading successful Senate efforts to ensure
every state in the country has a team trained to respond
in the event of a weapons of mass destruction attack.
• Working to designate the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness
Area in Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands, which was
completed in 2005.
A National Leader in Domestic and Foreign
Policy
Senator Feingold is proud to represent Wisconsin,
and carry forward the state's progressive tradition,
in the U.S. Senate. In addition to the landmark Bipartisan
Campaign Reform Act, Feingold's long record of accomplishment
on reform issues includes his key leadership role
in the successful efforts to pass the congressional
gift ban and lobbying disclosure legislation, as well
as work on many other reform initiatives.
Feingold is also a recognized leader in the fight
to cut wasteful spending and reduce the nation's growing
deficit. A ten-time winner of the Concord Coalition's
deficit hawk award, he is the lead author of legislation
to institute Pay-As-You-Go legislation to enforce
limits on federal spending in Congress. As a member
of the Senate Budget Committee, he has worked with
Republican colleagues to reform budget rules and restore
fiscal sanity to the congressional budgeting process.
A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feingold
has brought critical attention to the need to combat
terrorism without undermining the privacy and civil
liberties of law-abiding Americans. Feingold also
has played a lead role in protecting the rights of
consumers and preserving access to the courts. As
the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution,
Feingold works to protect the civil rights of all
Americans, including fighting against discrimination
in the workplace and in the criminal justice system.
As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and
the Chairman of the African Affairs Subcommittee,
Feingold has worked to keep the fight against terrorism
on track. Feingold opposed the war with Iraq because
he understood from the start that it would direct
critical resources away from the fight against the
forces that attacked us September 11, 2001, and their
allies. Feingold works to focus attention and diplomatic
resources on African countries that may be havens
for terrorist activity. Finally, he has long been
an advocate for making human rights a priority in
our foreign relations, in Africa and around the world.
In 2006, Feingold also became a member of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, where he has continued his
work to strengthen national security, and to build
a more effective and comprehensive approach to the
fight against terrorism. He also has worked to ensure
that Congress performs adequate oversight of intelligence
matters in the executive branch.
Background
In 1917, Feingold's family settled in Janesville,
Wisconsin, where he was born to parents Leon and Sylvia
on March 2, 1953. Feingold graduated from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975, received a degree from
Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1977, and
then went on to Harvard Law School, where he earned
his degree in 1979.
In 1982, in his first try for elective office, Feingold
defeated a longtime incumbent and was elected to the
Wisconsin State Senate for the 27th District. Feingold
was re-elected in 1986 and 1990. When Feingold first
ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, he won a tough three-way
primary, and went on to defeat a two-term incumbent.
Feingold was reelected to the Senate in 1998 and 2004.
Senator Feingold has two daughters, Jessica and Ellen.
Feingold is a member of Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha,
Wisconsin. He lives in Middleton, Wisconsin.
Russ_Feingold@feingold.senate.gov