Cathy McMorris Rodgers
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| Cathy McMorris Rodgers | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | George Nethercutt |
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| 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.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] Politics
[edit] 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]
[edit] 2004 congressional campaign
In 2004 McMorris Rodgers received 59.7%[6] of the vote in an open seat. During her campaign, she gained endorsements from the following: 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, United States Chamber of Commerce.[7]
[edit] Freshman term 2005-2007
McMorris Rodgers was sworn into the United States 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 information technology (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]
Her committee assignments included Armed Services[2], Natural Resources,[2] and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, Education and Labor[2], Speaker’s High-Tech Working[2], and Chairwoman of the National Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)[8]
McMorris Rodgers also served as the Freshman Class representative on the Steering Committee and on the Republican Whip Team.[2]
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.[9]
[edit] 2006 congressional reelection
In November 2006 McMorris Rodgers won reelection with 56.4% of the vote and her Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark earned 43.6%.[10]
Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers received a 100% rating from the American Veterans and the Vietnam Veterans of America for votes during the 109th Congress. The Veterans of Foreign Wars released a list of veteran’s accomplishments during the 109th Congress, all of which were supported by McMorris including: 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 G.I. Bill for the 21st century, and authorizing a program to allow all disabled military retirees to full military retirement pay and disability compensation without offset.
[edit] Sophomore term 2007-2009
In 2007, McMorris Rodgers became the Republican 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.[11]
[edit] 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.
- ^ 2004 General Election > Federal Offices > Results
- ^ Upper Left
- ^ McMorris (WA05) - Issue - Taskforce to Improve the National Environmental Policy Act will highlight its economic impacts on Eastern Washington
- ^ McMorris (WA05) - Issue - Taskforce to Improve the National Environmental Policy Act will highlight its economic impacts on Eastern Washington
- ^ 2006 General Election Results
- ^ Postman, David (2007-01-22). McMorris to head women's caucus. Postman on Politics. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
[edit] External links
- Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers official U.S. House website
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers for U.S. Congress official campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
| Preceded by George Nethercutt |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 5th congressional district 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
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