Cathy McMorris Rodgers
| Cathy McMorris Rodgers | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | George Nethercutt |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
|
|
|
| Born | May 22 1969 Salem, Oregon |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Brian Rodgers [1] |
| Religion | Christian[1] |
Cathy McMorris Rodgers is a Republican politician. She was born in Salem, Oregon on May 22 1969.
She has represented Washington's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since January 2005. McMorris Rodgers defeated Democrat Don Barbieri in the 2004 Congressional elections and in 2006 defeated Democratic rancher Dr. Peter Goldmark.
Biography
Cathy was born and raised on a farm. She worked in the family owned and operated business, the Peachcrest Fruit Basket Orchard and Fruit Stand, in Kettle Falls, WA for 13 years. [2] She is the descendant of pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail in the early 1850s to the Pacific Northwest where her father's family pursued agriculture and her mother's family worked in the forestry industry.[2] McMorris Rodgers has one brother, Jeff McMorris, who served as her campaign manager in 2004.
In 1990 Cathy earned a BA in Pre-Law from Pensacola Christian College[3] (an unaccredited school[4] ). In 2002 she received an Executive MBA from the University of Washington. [5]
On 5 August 2006 in San Diego, Cathy McMorris married Brian Rodgers, a retired Navy commander and a Spokane, Washington native. Rodgers is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and the son of David Rodgers, the mayor of Spokane from 1967 to 1977. In April 2007, she became the first member of Congress in more than a decade to give birth while in office, with the birth of Cole McMorris Rodgers. [1] The couple later announced their child was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Cathy currently lives in Stevens County, Washington. She enjoys playing the
piano, swimming, and reading American history. Cathy says she lives by former President Ronald
Reagan's motto: "There's no limit to what a person can do or where one can go if one doesn't mind who gets the
credit."[2]
Politics
State Representative
1994-2004 Washington State House in Olympia, 7th Legislative District Representative. From 2002-2003, she served as the House Republican leader [2], the top leadership post for the House Republicans. She was the first woman to lead a caucus in the House, and the youngest since World War II. She chaired the House Commerce and Labor Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, and the State Government Committee.[5]
2004 congressional campaign
In 2004 McMorris Rodgers received 59.7% [2] of the vote in an open seat. During her campaign, she gained endorsements from:
- Washington State Law Enforcement Association
- Washington State Farm Bureau
- Association of Washington Businesses
- Western Fish & Wildlife Federation
- Washington Property Rights Alliance
- Associated Builders and Contractors
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce [3]
Freshman term 2005-2007
McMorris Rodgers was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on January 4, 2005. She actively supports missions to protect and expand Fairchild Air Force Base and worked to keep the base off the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list.[2] McMorris Rodgers co-introduced Health IT legislation and is co-leading a statewide Health IT task force to position Washington state for future Health IT advancements with Congressman Adam Smith, D-WA.[2] McMorris Rodgers sponsored the American Competitiveness Amendment to the College Access and Opportunity Act. The bi-partisan amendment takes steps to improve math, science, and critical foreign language education.[2]
Committee assignments
- Armed Services[2]
- Natural Resources[2]
- Education and Labor[2]
- Speaker’s High-Tech Working[2]
- Chairwoman of the National Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)[4]
McMorris Rodgers also served as the Freshman Class representative on the Steering Committee and on the Republican Whip Team.[2]
Leadership opportunities
McMorris Rodgers was selected to serve as the Chairwoman of the National Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She oversaw the NEPA hearings across the country, reviewing the current implementation of the Act. NEPA has broad economic impacts through permitting and study requirements for transportation, public works projects, important oil and gas development, healthy forests, mining, grazing and other federal projects. [5]
2006 congressional campaign
In 2006 McMorris Rodgers received 56.4% of the vote. [6]
The Goldmark campaign made national Republican scandals an issue in the campaign, including Congressman Bob Ney (who plead guilty to bribery) and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who gave the McMorris Rodgers campaign a $5,000 contribution through ARMPAC, Delay's political action committee.[6][7][8]
Cathy McMorris Rodgers donated the $2,500 she received from former Congressman Ney to the Red Cross.[9]
Sophomore term 2007-2009
Co-chair of Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues
Cathy McMorris Rodgers is the new co-chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. The Democratic co-chairwoman is Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif. The caucus has pushed for pay equity, tougher child support enforcement, women's health programs and law protecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.[10]
Issue Positions
Representative McMorris Rodgers' ratings by various interest groups:[[7]][11]
- National Taxpayers Union 61 percent in 2005
- Americans for Tax Reform 92 percent in 2005
- National Federation of Independent Business 100 percent in 2005-2006
- US Chamber of Commerce 93 percent in 2005
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council 100 percent in 2005
- Washington State Parent Teacher Association 92 percent in 2003-2004
- American Land Rights Association 91 percent in 2006
- FreedomWorks 71 percent in 2005
- Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 2006
- National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 2005-2006
- The Humane Society of the United States 28 percent in 2005-2006
- Concerned Women for America 100 percent in 2005-2006
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 22 percent in 2005
- Family Research Council 100 percent in 2005
- Citizens Against Government Waste 73 percent in 2005
- Disabled American Veterans 0 percent for the year 2005
- Disabled American Veterans 66 percent in 2006
- American Veterans 100 percent in 2006
- Vietnam Veterans of America 100 percent in 2006
Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers received a 100% rating from the American Veterans and the Vietnam Veterans of America for votes during the 109th Congress.[11]
McMorris Rodgers was rated 100% for supporting the following[11]:
- Flag Protection Act
- Veterans Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
- Veterans Benefits Improvement Act
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visiting Center Act
- Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act
- National Defense Authorization Appropriation bills
- Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriation bills.
The Veterans of Foreign War released a list of veteran’s accomplishments during the 109th Congress, all of which were supported by McMorris including[11]:
- Ensuring sufficient funding for the Veterans Health Care Administration
- Ensuring the VA disability compensation program is preserved in its current form
- Securing authority and full funding for the GI Bill for the 21st century
- Authorizing a program to allow all disabled military retirees to full military retirement pay and disability compensation without offset
References
- ^ a b Congressional Biography - Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. congress.org. Capitol Advantage LLC. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Project Vote Smart Project Vote Smart - Representative McMorris. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Accreditation Database and Information", Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ a b Biographical Information - McMORRIS RODGERS, Cathy. Congressional Biographical Directory. United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Sanders, Eli. "Easy Mark? Eastern Washington Democrats Eye U.S. House Seat", The Stranger: Seattle's News, 2006-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-09-20.
- ^ "Contributions from ARMPAC to 109th Members of Congress, 1994-2006", Project for an Accountable Congress, Institute for America's Future, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Sennett, Frank. "Polls could entice donors to support Goldmark campaign", The Spokesman-Review, 2006-08-18. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
- ^ Camden, Jim. "What was that about an ill wind?", Spin Control, The Spokesman-Review, 2006-09-18. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Postman, David (2007-01-22). McMorris to head womens' caucus. Postman on Politics. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ a b c d McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (2007-01-24). McMorris Recognized for her Support of Veterans. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
External links
- U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers official House site
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - Cathy McMorris Rodgers campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues - Cathy McMorris Rodgers issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Cathy McMorris Rodgers campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Cathy McMorris Rodgers voting record
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers for U.S. Congress official campaign site
| Preceded by George Nethercutt |
U.S. Representative Washington's 5th District 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
| Washington's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators | Patty Murray (D), Maria Cantwell (D) |
| Representative(s) | Jay Inslee (D), Rick Larsen (D), Brian Baird (D), Doc Hastings (R), Cathy McMorris (R), Norman Dicks (D), Jim McDermott (D), Dave Reichert (R), Adam Smith (D) |
| All delegations | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
