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Jim's Biography

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Committees and Leadership Positions

Congressman Jim Moran was elected to his tenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2008. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, where he serves on the Defense, Interior and Labor Health and Human Services Subcommittees.

Jim was recently elected by his colleagues to serve in a leadership role as a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. The Steering Committee serves a critical and influential function in the caucus by deciding which committees Members will chair and serve on in the House.

Congressman Moran Co-Chairs the "Congressional Prevention Coalition," a bipartisan, bi-cameral caucus formed to raise awareness in Congress on disease prevention and health promotion to identify strategies that can lead to a healthier nation. He also created and leads the "Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Funds," a group study established issues surrounding sovereign wealth funds and their potential to affect geopolitics, and the U.S. and international economies.

Education

Representative Moran graduated from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs with a master's degree in Public Administration in 1970 after receiving a B.A. in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross in 1967.

Public Service

Following graduate school, Jim was accepted into a prestigious financial management internship program through the Department Health, Education and the Workforce (HEW; now known as Department of Health and Human Services). The internship became a full time position, and after five years as a Budget Officer with HEW, he joined the Library of Congress as a senior specialist for budgetary and fiscal policy. The Congressman finished out his career as a federal employee with the Senate Appropriations Committee as a professional staffer serving Chairman Warren Magnuson from 1976 to 1979.

During his employment with the federal government, Congressman Moran volunteered to serve on no fewer than ten local public service committees, including but not limited to:

• Chair, United Way
• Vice Chair, NoVa Association for Mentally Handicapped Citizens
• Mental Health Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Board
• Chair, Human Development Committee, National League of Cities
• Chair, Aging Committee, Council of Governments
• Community Development Block Grant Board
• Volunteer Bureau
• Chair, Affordable Housing Task Force
• Chair, Forum for Social Service Agencies
• Del Ray Civic Association

Elected Public Service

Jim Moran's elected public service career began in 1979 with his election to the City Council in Alexandria, Virginia. Jim served as Vice Mayor of Alexandria from 1982 to 1984, and was elected Mayor in 1985.

In 1990, Jim ran and won the honor of representing Virginia's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 8th consists of the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, Arlington County, and portions of Fairfax County, including the districts of Lee, Mason, Providence, Mt. Vernon and Reston.

Leadership on the Issues

Throughout his two decades of service, Congressman Moran has demonstrated vigorous leadership in support of regional transportation solutions, the environment, women's issues, technology, fair and open trade, and fiscal discipline. He is also well known for his efforts to protect federal employees and military retirees. He co-chairs the Congressional Prevention Coalition Caucus, the Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Funds and is active on human rights issues, particularly involving women in the developing world.

In the mid-1990's, Congressman Moran co-founded the New Democratic Coalition, a group of approximately 75 middle of the road House Democrats committed to fiscal responsibility, free and fair trade, technology, and maintaining America's security and economic competitiveness.

Congressman Moran has been named "High Technology Legislator of the Year" by the Information Technology Industry Council for his work to avoid a Y2K computer crisis. He was named to the "Legislative Hall of Fame" by the American Electronics Association for his work on a range of technology legislation, such as digital signatures and H1B visas.

Over the years, Congressman Moran has been the chief sponsor of numerous bills and resolutions designed to improve the quality of the federal workforce by advancing pay comparability with private counterparts and improving health, retirement and transit benefits.

As a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, Jim has left his mark on the region by boosting investments in federal research and development, steering federal dollars to generate defense and technology jobs in Northern Virginia, advancing procurement reform, and played an instrumental role in resolving the 1991 real estate credit crunch.

Beyond the millions of dollars in federal grants that he has helped secure for local roads, educational programs, law enforcement, low income housing, and social services, Congressman Moran has:

• Won enactment of legislation that prevented personal information on state drivers licenses from being sold for commercial purposes
• Secured passage of the "V-Chip" requiring that all new televisions contain technology enabling parents to prevent minors from viewing sexually explicit and violent programs
• Authorized replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge
• Closed Lorton prison and preserved its green space
• Established a "One Strike and You're Out" requirement for drug dealers operating in public housing
• Provided seed capital to help jump start four new transit services in Northern Virginia, including "TAGS" in Springfield, "REX" along Route 1, "George" in Falls Church, and the "Georgetown Connector" in Rosslyn, as well as forthcoming service along the Route 1 and Columbia Pike corridors in Arlington.

Jim Moran has also been a lead advocate of reducing harmful emissions from this region's antiquated coal-fired power plants, protecting green space and green infrastructure and restoring local streams to a more natural state. In 2008, he received near perfect ratings from the League of Conservation Voters and other similar scores from organizations committed to animal protection, gun control and human rights.

 

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