Dave Obey

The Honorable Dave Obey
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Speaker	Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by	Jerry Lewis
Succeeded by	Hal Rogers
In office March 29, 1994 – January 3, 1995
Speaker	Tom Foley
Preceded by	William Natcher
Succeeded by	Bob Livingston
Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Leader	Richard Gephardt Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by	Joseph M. McDade
Succeeded by	Jerry Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 7th district
In office April 1, 1969 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Melvin Laird
Succeeded by	Sean Duffy
Personal details
Born	David Ross Obey (1938-10-03) October 3, 1938 Okmulgee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party	Republican (Before 1957) Democratic (1957–present)
Spouse(s)	Joan Obey
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin, Madison
Religion	Roman Catholicism

David Obey Center for Health Sciences at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau

David Ross "Dave" Obey (/ˈoʊbiː/ OH-bee; born October 3, 1938)^[1] was the United States Representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district from 1969 to 2011. The district includes much of the northwestern portion of the state, including Wausau and Superior. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and served as Chairman of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations from 1994 to 1995 and again from 2007 to 2011.

On May 5, 2010, Obey announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress in November 2010. He left Congress in January 2011, and was succeeded by Republican Sean Duffy. He began working for Gephardt Government Affairs, a lobbying firm founded by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, in June 2011.^[2]

Early life, education and career

Obey was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, the son of Mary Jane (née Chellis) and Orville John Obey.^[3] Soon after his birth, his family moved back to his parents' native Wisconsin, and Obey was raised in Wausau, Wisconsin, where he has lived since.^[3] He graduated from Wausau East High School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from and did his graduate work in Soviet politics^[4] at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Before serving in Congress, Obey worked as a real estate broker.

Early political career

Obey grew up as a Republican. However, he was so angered after seeing his teachers falsely branded as Communists by backers of Joseph McCarthy that he became a Democrat in the mid-1950s, sometime between the ages of 16 and 18.^[5]

He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1963 and served there until 1969.

U.S. House of Representatives

Tenure

Obey was the longest-serving member of either house of Congress in Wisconsin's history. He was also the third longest-serving member of the House, after fellow Democrats John Dingell and John Conyers, both of Michigan.

In Congress, Obey chaired the commission to write the House's Code of Ethics. Among the reforms he instituted was one requiring members of the House to disclose their personal financial dealings so the public would be made aware of any potential conflicts of interest. Obey served as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee from 2007 to 2011; he briefly chaired this committee from 1994 to 1995 and served as its ranking Democrat from 1995 to 2007. He also chaired its Subcommittee on Labor.

Obey was one of the most liberal members of the House; he considers himself a progressive in the tradition of Robert La Follette.^[6] Obey had risen to the position of fifth ranking House Democrat since his party retook control of Congress.

Obey also is remembered for being the congressman who intervened when fellow Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. approached Republican Jean Schmidt on the House floor in 2005. Ford was upset because Schmidt had called Congressman John Murtha a coward for advocating a redeployment of American forces in Iraq.

Obey holds a critical view of the mainstream American news media, as evidenced by his words on June 13, 2008, upon the sudden death of NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert. Obey said of Russert: "Tim Russert's death is not just a body blow for NBC News; it is a body blow for the nation and for anyone who cherishes newsmen and women who have remained devoted to reporting hard news in an era increasingly consumed by trivia."^[7] Dave Obey announced an end to his congressional career on May 5, 2010, with press releases being released on May 6. ."^[8]

Education

On June 30, 2010, Obey proposed an amendment to a supplemental war spending bill that would allocate $10 billion to prevent expected teacher layoffs from school districts nationwide. The amendment, which passed the House on July 1, 2010, proposed siphoning off $500 million from the Race to the Top fund as well as $300 million designated for charter schools and teacher incentive pay.^[9] In response, the White House released a statement threatening a veto if the bill is passed by the Senate.^[10]

Healthcare

On March 21, 2010, Obey swung the same gavel used to pass Medicare in 1965, but this time to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[11][12]

Political campaigns

Obey was elected to the House to replace eight-term incumbent Republican Melvin R. Laird, who was appointed Secretary of Defense under President Richard Nixon. Obey, only 30 when he was elected, became the youngest member of Congress upon taking his seat, as well as the first Democrat ever to represent the district. He was elected to a full term in 1970 and has been reelected 18 times. He has only faced serious opposition twice. In 1972, during his bid for a second full term, his district was merged with the neighboring 10th District of Republican Alvin O'Konski, a 15-term incumbent. However, Obey retained 60 percent of his former territory, and was handily reelected in subsequent contests.

In 1994, Obey only won reelection by seven points as the Democrats lost control of the House during the Republican Revolution.

2008

2010

Obey was expected to run in 2010, having raised a warchest of $1.4 million. However, Obey was facing tough poll numbers in his district, plus his age and the death of close colleague John Murtha and his frustration with the White House convinced him to bow out of the race.^[13][14]

Upon his retirement, the seat was won by Republican Sean Duffy who defeated Democrat State Senator Julie Lassa.

Controversy

On June 25, 2009, Obey got into a squabble on the House floor with fellow Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California. After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Obey and Waters split apart from a heated conversation about an earmark requested by Waters for a public school employment training center in Los Angeles that was named after herself. Obey rejected the earmark as violating policies against so-called "monuments to me." Waters revised her request to go to the school district's whole adult employment training program, so the district could decide whether the money would go to the school named after herself. Nonetheless, Obey let it be known that the earmark would be denied. She approached him and complained, shouting, "You’re out of line!" while walking down toward the well in the House chambers. Obey shouted back, "You’re out of line!" before turning and walking away, but stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted, "I'm not going to approve that earmark!" He again turned away while Waters huddled with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and was overheard saying, "He touched me first." before being escorted into the cloakroom. Obey went to talk with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer when Waters briefly returned again, telling her colleagues, "He touched me." before returning to the cloakroom. An aide to Waters said that Obey had pushed her while Obey's spokesperson, Ellis Brachman, placed the blame on Waters for escalating the situation.^[15]

Books

• Foreword to Along Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail by Eric Sherman and Andrew Hanson III (2008, University of Wisconsin Press) ISBN 978-0-299-22664-0
• Raising Hell for Justice: The Washington Battles of a Heartland Progressive (2008, University of Wisconsin Press) ISBN 978-0-299-22540-7

References

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin
• A Hard-Edged Cheesehead and the Power of the Purse, Silla Brush, U.S. News & World Report, July 8, 2007
• BBC World News America interview with David Obey on his retirement
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Chairmen of the United States House Committee on Appropriations Stevens Washburne Dawes Garfield Randall Holman Atkins Hiscock Randall J. Cannon Holman Sayers J. Cannon Hemenway Tawney Fitzgerald Sherley Good Davis Madden Anthony Wood Byrns Buchanan Taylor C. Cannon Taber C. Cannon Taber C. Cannon Mahon Whitten Natcher Obey Livingston Young Lewis Obey Rogers