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Home / Biography / Biography
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(A brief version of the following biography can be found here).
Representative David Price, a lifelong educator, serves on the House Appropriations Committee and its Homeland Security and Military Quality of Life/Veterans Affairs subcommittees.
This year in Congress, Price is working to improve education by recruiting our nation's brightest young people to go into teaching. He is a recognized leader in foreign policy, serving as ranking Democrat on the Democracy Assistance Commission, which he initiated to strengthen parliaments in emerging democracies.
Among Price's other priorities are ensuring personal and national security, providing affordable housing, making health care accessible, and accelerating highway and transit development in the Triangle.
Personal Background
Born in 1940, Price grew up in the small town of Erwin in East Tennessee. His father was a high school principal and his mother was an English teacher.
Price studied at Mars Hill College and was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his B.A. from UNC in 1961, and continued his education at Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree (1964) and a Ph.D. in Political Science (1969).
Price and his wife Lisa were married in 1968. Lisa is Executive Director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence. They have two grown children, Karen, a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, and Michael, who teaches evolutionary psychology at Brunel University in London. Michael is married to the former Jade Gibson of Fredericksburg, VA, and they welcomed the Prices’ first grandchild, Charles Albert, on June 2, 2006.
Price is a member of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, where he has taught Sunday School and chaired the official board.
Professional Activities
Price taught political science and public policy at Duke University. He is the author of four books on Congress and the American political system.
Price serves the House Democratic Caucus as Assistant Whip. He co-chairs the Democratic Budget Group, a forum on national fiscal priorities and policies, as well as the Democratic Caucus Faith Working Group.
Price was named a “Champion of Science” by the Science Coalition in 2002 and 2004, and he received the 2003 ASEE Engineering Deans Council Award for his support of engineering education and research. He was awarded the Charles Dick Medal of Merit from the North Carolina National Guard, and he has been recognized with the American Political Science Association's Hubert H. Humphrey Public Service Award. He has also been honored by Voices for AmeriCorps, the NC Low-Income Housing Coalition, the NC Public Transportation Association, the Association of Community College Trustees, the National Association of Land-Grant Colleges and State Universities and other organizations for his work in housing, education, and transportation policy.
Legislative Accomplishments
Education & Research -- Currently, Price is working to pass his Teaching Fellows Act, which encourages our nation's best and brightest students to become teachers. The Advanced Technology Education program at the National Science Foundation, which a Price-authored bill established in 1993, upgrades training for jobs in high-tech fields. He also wrote the Price Education Affordability Act, passed in 1997, which allowed families to deduct the interest on student loans and to withdraw money from an IRA for education expenses without penalties. Price has also promoted increased federal investment in biomedical, environmental, and other research, much of it based in North Carolina.
Foreign Policy – Price has emerged as one of Congress’s leaders on foreign policy. This year, the House passed his Democracy Assistance Commission, a 16 member-panel that will work directly with leaders of emerging democracies like Indonesia, Georgia, and Macedonia. Price is the top-ranked Democrat on this special commission, which will begin working with members of the new parliaments this year. The House has also passed legislation introduced by Price to regulate the use of private contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Price pushed Congress to hold the Bush Administration accountable for the conduct of the war in Iraq, and he continues to be active in the effort to negotiate a just peace in the Middle East.
Campaign and Election Reform – Price added “Stand By Your Ad” provisions, which require candidates to appear in their ads and take responsibility for their contents, to the new campaign finance reform law. In 2005, he introduced a companion bill which extends "Stand By Your Ad" to Internet ads and automated phone calls. He also helped author legislation that enables local jurisdictions to “buy out” inaccurate voting machines and replace them with new, improved equipment. That legislation was included in the Help America Vote Act, signed into law in 2002.
Housing -- Price helped make home financing available to many more low-income families by securing capital reserves for a program that successfully demonstrated how to make more families eligible for mortgages. He also has successfully pushed for increased housing opportunities for senior citizens and first-time home buyers. He initiated the Home Equity Loan Consumer Protection Act, requiring lenders to disclose the full terms of home equity loans to consumers.
Transportation -- Price has worked to connect Orange, Durham, and Wake Counties with regional rail service by securing over $60 million for the initial planning and construction of the much-needed system. Price also fought for expedited construction and expansion of US 1, US 64, NC 55, and the Raleigh Outer Loop and has pushed for an improved rate of return on North Carolina's federal gas tax money.
Environment -- In addition to supporting improvements in the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, Price secured planning and construction funds for a state-of-the-art Environmental Protection Agency laboratory in the Research Triangle Park. He also was instrumental in requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to raise the Falls Lake dam level to ensure Raleigh's future water supply and in securing stream cleanup and wastewater processing grants for North Carolina communities.
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Brief Biography
Looking for a quick summary of David's accomplishments? Click here.
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