ABOUT RANDY :
Biography
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J.
Randy Forbes, a Republican, represents the diverse and expansive
Fourth District of Virginia. Elected
in a special election in 2001, and now serving his third term in the
U.S. House of Representatives, Randy has
focused his efforts in Congress on protecting the security and
sovereignty of our nation, preserving the moral and historical roots
of our country, expanding military and veterans benefits, growing
educational opportunities for our children, and promoting economic
development through fiscal responsibility.
Since
his election to Congress, Randy’s commitment to constituent
service has quickly
become a model on Capitol Hill.
By placing a high priority on direct communication with
constituents
and by partnering with the 18 cities and counties in his
encompassing district, Randy has earned a reputation for his ability
to aptly serve the needs of the citizens of the Fourth District.
Additionally, in
Washington
, his service on
three important House committees has enabled him to address key
defense, judiciary, science and technology issues on a national
level.
As
a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Randy believes in
providing our military with the proper tools, facilities, and
training to be the most effective military in the world.
Since
taking office, Randy has supported initiatives that directly
strengthen our national defense, including
logistics training, modeling & simulation, and shipbuilding
& ship repair. He
has sponsored legislation that ranges from the prosecution of
Weapons of Mass Destruction to the reformation of the military mail
system. Randy also sits
on the Armed Services Readiness
Subcommittee, which oversees the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
process.
Randy
has also championed the needs of men and women who serving our
country by voting for initiatives to improve housing, benefits, and
quality of life off the battlefield, as well as body armor and
state-of-the-art protection on the battlefield.
Equally important, he knows that our nation’s commitment to
those who have served our nation does not end when they retire and
in three short years, Randy has become a leading defender of
veterans’ rights in Congress.
On
the House Judiciary Committee, Randy addresses significant national
issues including combating terrorism, addressing illegal
immigration, balancing the federal budget, and reforming medical
liability.
His is particularly involved with issues relating to the moral
welfare of our nation such as preserving traditional marriage and working
to ban such practices as partial-birth abortion and human cloning.
Randy
works with the House Science Committee to provide oversight for
energy, space, science and technology issues. As the Committee's
only member from
Virginia
, Randy strongly supports efforts to enhance our nation's space and
aeronautics program. He promotes continued research and development
so that the
United States
may maintain its competitive leadership in economic innovation and
medical research & development.
Randy
serves on several congressional caucuses, or focus groups,
including:
-
Congressional
Prayer Caucus (Founder & Chair)
-
Congressional
Modeling & Simulation Caucus (Founder & Chair)
-
Congressional
China
Caucus (Founder & Chair)
-
Navy/Marine
Corps Caucus (Co-chair)
-
Congressional
Boating Caucus
-
Judicial
Activism Working Group
-
Alzheimer's
Task Force
-
Army;
Coast Guard; Special Operations Force Caucuses
-
Military
Retiree-Veterans Caucus
-
Cancer
Working Group
-
Missing
and Exploited Children's Caucus
-
Internet
Caucus
-
Chesapeake
Bay
Watershed Task Force
-
House
Republican
Israel
Caucus
-
Children's
Caucus
-
Diabetes
Caucus
-
Immigration
Reform Caucus
-
Historic
Preservation Caucus
Randy's
commitment of service to others has been the cornerstone of his
professional career. A life-long resident of
Virginia
, he began his career in the private practice of law helping small
and medium-sized businesses and ultimately became a partner in the
largest law firm in southeastern
Virginia
. In 1989, he served the Commonwealth of Virginia in the General
Assembly, first as a member of the House of Delegates, and then as a
state senator in 1997. He served in both houses as a floor leader,
and was chief patron of some of
Virginia
's most important legislation in the past decade
ranging from school construction to the abolition of parole.
Randy
graduated from
Great
Bridge
High School
in
Chesapeake
in 1970. He was valedictorian of his 1974 class at
Randolph-Macon
College
. In 1977, Randy graduated from the University of Virginia School of
Law.
Randy
attends Great Bridge Baptist church, where he has taught Sunday
school for over 20 years. He was born and raised in
Chesapeake
,
Virginia
where he still resides with his wife Shirley. He and Shirley have
been married since 1978 and have four children: Neil,
Jamie,
Jordan, and Justin.