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of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (Low
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Biography
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
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.
Fighting
for Wisconsin
"We've
come to rely upon Senator Russ Feingold's appreciation for
the fact that government is run for the people." –
Wausau Daily Herald, September 30, 2006
Growing
up in Janesville, Wisconsin, Feingold learned the values that
guide his work in the Senate: a commitment to fiscal responsibility,
honest and responsive government, and standing up for hardworking
families.
Senator
Feingold is proud to represent Wisconsin, and carry forward
the state's progressive tradition, in the U.S. Senate. In
order to make sure he knows what Wisconsinites are thinking,
Feingold holds open meetings, known as listening sessions,
in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties every year.
What
Feingold hears in these sessions informs every issue he works
on in the Senate, from his bipartisan efforts to eliminate
wasteful spending and reform our health care system, to protecting
our Great Lakes and strengthening our national security.
Since
he was first elected to the Senate in 1992, Russ Feingold
has built a record as a staunch advocate for Wisconsin's families.
He has fought the unfair trade agreements that have sent our
manufacturing jobs overseas, and he is working to support
new job growth. Feingold's E4 Initiative -- dubbed E4 for
its focus on the economy, employment, education and energy
– is designed to support Wisconsin's economy by boosting job
creation, strengthening workforce development, and preparing
our students to work in emerging industries. Feingold is also
committed to strengthening public education, protecting our
environment, helping military families, and supporting Wisconsin's
farmers and rural communities.
Feingold
also works for Wisconsin by helping people cut through government
red tape. Senator Feingold's office has helped Wisconsinites
with everything from getting federal benefits they are owed
to finally getting a Purple Heart they earned, but never received,
decades earlier. In addition, Feingold strongly supports FIRE
Grants to assist Wisconsin fire departments, and a wide array
of other grants that help Wisconsin communities.
Some
of Feingold's recent achievements include:
Supporting Wisconsin's Economy
The E4 Initiative – In the first year of his E4 Initiative, an effort to create jobs while addressing our nation's energy challenges, Feingold has already had some key victories:
- Energy Efficiency upgrades – A provision of Feingold's E4 Initiative to boost green jobs by helping more buildings become energy efficient was included in the economic stimulus package. Feingold's legislation expands the types of projects eligible for the Qualified Energy Conservation Bond program.
- Helping small businesses – The Senate passed a provision of Feingold's E4 Initiative to prioritize federal research funding for energy, water quality and water security, domestic security and transportation projects – top national priorities where Wisconsin has a strategic advantage.
- Moving Energy Technologies to Market – A provision of the E4 Initiative allowing the USDA, including the Forest Service, to partner with businesses, universities and other interested parties to advance new energy technologies was enacted as part of a fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill. This government and businesses partnership could occur in the proposed Bioenergy Pilot Plant at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison.
Reining in Government Spending
Paygo – In January 2010, the Senate passed a fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go or "paygo" statutory budget requirement as a way to help control spending. A statutory paygo requirement means automatic across-the-board cuts in entitlement programs are triggered if new tax cuts or new entitlement spending is not offset so as not to add to the federal deficit. Feingold has been one of the Senate's leading supporters of restoring the statutory paygo rules, which helped balance the federal budget during the 1990s.
Pay Raise – Since 2000, Senator Feingold has been introducing legislation to end the stealth pay raise system in Congress. In March 2009 the Senate passed a bill based on Feingold's legislation to end this back-door pay raise system, which has been in place for 20 years. Feingold does not accept pay raises during his six-year term, following through on a pledge he made during his first campaign for U.S. Senate in 1992. All the pay he receives during his six-year term above that level available at the beginning of his term is returned to the Treasury Department.
Ending Wasteful Defense Spending – Senator Feingold made strides on behalf of Wisconsin taxpayers by helping reduce wasteful defense spending. For instance, at Senator Feingold's request, the U.S. Air Force committed to setting a goal of reducing wasteful spending on unnecessary spare parts by $50 million by the end of 2011.
Fighting for Wisconsin Families
Establishing New Vet Centers in Wisconsin – In August 2009, a new Vet Center opened in Brown County and the VA announced that another will open in La Crosse County in 2010. Vet Centers help with the transition back to civilian life by providing service members and veterans and their families information about programs designed to assist them and counseling for one of the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Senator Feingold led the Wisconsin congressional delegation's effort to establish these new Wisconsin Vet Centers.
Pell Grants – Feingold, a long-time proponent of Pell Grants for college students, continued his support this year for increased funding for the program. The fiscal year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, along with mandatory funding for the Pell Grant program, will boost the maximum Pell Grant award by $200 to $5,550 for the 2010 award year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also provided over $15 billion in funding for the Pell Grant program.
Great Lakes Restoration – Feingold was part of a bipartisan group of senators supporting an effort to fully fund the president's proposed Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The senators' request for the full $475 million in funding to be included in the recently enacted Department of Interior appropriations bill was granted. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will help fight invasive species, such as Asian Carp, and address problems including non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment.
Funding for the USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Advocacy and Outreach, an office Feingold helped establish in 2008, was awarded $1.7 million in funding to focus on outreach, policies and programs for farmers in need of assistance, including small farmers and beginning farmers and ranchers.
A Record
of Bipartisanship and Reform
"Feingold
shows a knack for thinking through issues on a case-by-case
basis instead of marching in a partisan parade." -
The Door County Advocate, June 28, 2002
In addition
to the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known
as the McCain-Feingold bill, Feingold's long record of accomplishment
on reform issues includes his key leadership role in the enactment
of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the strongest
lobbying and ethics reform bill in congressional history,
as well as work on many other reform initiatives.
"Feingold
has distinguished himself nationally by working hard to
impose fiscal controls." – Wisconsin State Journal
March 22, 2006
"If
you are looking for serious budgeters, Sen. Russ Feingold
ought to qualify." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March
15, 2004
Feingold
is leading a new effort with Senator John McCain to cut wasteful
spending by ending the unauthorized earmarks that amount to
billions of taxpayer dollars a year. 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. Feingold has also been a tireless advocate
for restoring fiscal discipline in Congress and reducing the
federal deficit. A ten-time winner of the Concord Coalition's
deficit hawk award, he is the lead author of legislation to
eliminate unauthorized earmarks, and has worked to re-institute
Pay-As-You-Go requirements on new mandatory or entitlement
spending in Congress.
Protecting
National Security and Americans' Rights and Freedoms
"Feingold
is right. This country's war is with al Qaeda, its outlaw
network around the world and state sponsors of terrorism.
That war is not being prosecuted with the vigor and relentlessness
it deserves, because U.S. boots are stuck in the Iraqi sands."
– Beloit Daily News, September 13, 2007
A member
of both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees,
Feingold has worked to make sure the government focuses on
our top national security policy -- combating the global threat
of al Qaeda. He has been a leading voice for redeploying from
Iraq to focus our resources and attention on that global threat.
Feingold is also spearheading a Senate effort to ensure that
the U.S. has better information and intelligence gathering
around the world.
As chair
of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa, Feingold is the Senate's
top expert on Africa issues, and has called for directing
critical attention and diplomatic resources to African countries,
including those that are havens for terrorist activity. He
is also an advocate for making human rights and the rule of
law a priority in our foreign relations, in Africa and around
the world.
"Feingold…now
seems prescient with his reservations about whether Congress
should have been more cautious about writing and passing
The USA Patriot Act." – Green Bay Press Gazette, January
14, 2009
"[Feingold]
showed a willingness to stand up for the rule of law and
for the American people." – The Monroe Times, July
10, 2008
Feingold
is also strong advocate for the rule of law through his service
on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He cast the Senate's lone
vote against the USA PATRIOT Act, and has fought to change
the Act, as well as recent wiretapping legislation, to protect
the freedoms 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.
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. |
