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Biography
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold is an independent voice for Wisconsin in the United States Senate – an effective legislator who works across party lines, and a respected leader in both domestic and foreign policy.
Fighting
for Wisconsin
"We've
come to rely upon Senator Russ Feingold's appreciation for
the fact that government is run for the people." –
Wausau Daily Herald, September 30, 2006
Growing up in Janesville, Wisconsin, Feingold learned the values that guide his work in the Senate: a commitment to fiscal responsibility, honest and responsive government, and standing up for hardworking families.
Senator Feingold is proud to represent Wisconsin, and carry forward the state's progressive tradition, in the U.S. Senate. In order to make sure he knows what Wisconsinites are thinking, Feingold holds open meetings, known as listening sessions, in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties every year.
What Feingold hears in these sessions informs every issue he works on in the Senate, from his bipartisan efforts to eliminate wasteful spending to protecting our Great Lakes and strengthening our national security.
Since he was first elected to the Senate in 1992, Russ Feingold has built a record as a staunch advocate for Wisconsin's families. He has fought against unfair trade agreements that have sent our manufacturing jobs overseas, and he is working to support new job growth by expanding and extending the jobs tax incentive he helped pass in early 2010. Feingold has made important progress on his E4 Initiative – dubbed E4 for its focus on the economy, employment, education and energy – which supports Wisconsin's economy by boosting job creation, strengthening workforce development, and preparing our students to work in emerging industries. Feingold is also committed to strengthening public education, preserving clean air and water, helping veterans and military families, and supporting Wisconsin's farmers and rural communities.
Feingold also works for Wisconsin by helping people cut through government red tape. Senator Feingold's office has helped Wisconsinites with everything from getting federal benefits they are owed to finally getting a Purple Heart they earned, but never received, decades earlier. In addition, Feingold strongly supports FIRE Grants to assist Wisconsin fire departments, and a wide array of other grants that help Wisconsin communities.
Some
of Feingold's recent achievements include:
Supporting Wisconsin's Economy
The E4 Initiative – In the first year of his E4 Initiative, an effort to create jobs while addressing our nation's energy challenges, Feingold won some key victories. An E4 provision to boost green jobs by helping more buildings go green was included in the economic stimulus package. Another provision to prioritize federal research funding for energy, water quality, domestic security and transportation projects – top national priorities where Wisconsin has a strategic advantage – passed the Senate. And the Senate also passed Feingold's E4 provision authorizing the USDA, including the Forest Service, to partner with businesses, universities and other interested parties to advance new energy technologies.
Jobs Tax Credit – In March 2010, the HIRE Act was signed into law, which included a payroll tax break similar to the jobs tax credit Senator Feingold introduced. Feingold is working to extend and expand the jobs tax break to help more Wisconsin businesses create jobs.
Controlling in Government Spending
Paygo –In 2009, Feingold unveiled his Control Spending Now Act, which contains more than 40 proposals that together would reduce the deficit by about one half trillion dollars, including a proposal to restore a statutory version of the pay-as-you-go budget rule, known as "paygo." In January 2010, the Senate passed a version of the "paygo" statutory budget requirement as a way to help control spending.
Congressional Pay – In May 2010, President Obama signed into law legislation championed by Senator Feingold to cancel a pay increase for members of Congress scheduled for 2011. Feingold, who does not accept pay raises during his six-year term, has worked for years to try to end the automatic pay raise system. A proposal to end the back-door pay raise system is part of Feingold's Control Spending Now Act.
Cancelling Old Earmarks – In March 2010, the Senate passed Senator Feingold's effort to cancel old, unspent transportation earmarks. Feingold's bipartisan-supported amendment was based on a provision of his Control Spending Now Act and would provide immediate savings of $563 million.
Fighting for Wisconsin Families
Establishing New Vet Centers in Wisconsin – Feingold led successful efforts to establish two new Wisconsin Vet Centers. In August 2009, a new Vet Center opened in Brown County, and another will open in La Crosse County in 2010. These centers help service members transition back to civilian life and provide veterans counseling for one of the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Pell Grants – Feingold, a long-time proponent of Pell Grants for college students, continued his efforts this year by supporting a fully offset measure to tie the program to the consumer price index, which would help ensure individual Pell Grant awards grow in future years.
Helping Family Farmers – The USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach, an office Feingold helped establish in 2008, was awarded $1.7 million in funding to focus on outreach, policies and programs for farmers in need of assistance, including small farmers and beginning farmers and ranchers.
Click here for more on Senator Feingold's record of accomplishment in the U.S. Senate.
A Record
of Bipartisanship and Reform
"Feingold
shows a knack for thinking through issues on a case-by-case
basis instead of marching in a partisan parade." -
The Door County Advocate, June 28, 2002
In addition to the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold bill, Feingold's long record of accomplishment on reform issues includes his key leadership role in the enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the strongest lobbying and ethics reform bill in congressional history, as well as work on many other reform initiatives.
"Sen. Russ Feingold deserves support in his efforts to bring the federal deficit under control."" – Oshkosh Northwestern, October 28, 2009
Throughout his career, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, has worked to bring Wisconsin's historic tradition of fiscal responsibility to Washington. In the face of record deficits, in 2009 Senator Feingold unveiled a comprehensive plan to help get our nation back on track: The Control Spending Now Act. This legislation includes critical reforms and new efforts to cut wasteful spending across the federal government. The bill would reduce the deficit by about one half trillion dollars over 10 years.
Click here for more information on Senator Feingold's history of bipartisanship.
Protecting
National Security and Americans' Rights and Freedoms
"Feingold
is right. This country's war is with al Qaeda, its outlaw
network around the world and state sponsors of terrorism.
That war is not being prosecuted with the vigor and relentlessness
it deserves, because U.S. boots are stuck in the Iraqi sands."
– Beloit Daily News, September 13, 2007
A member of both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, Feingold has worked to make sure the government focuses on our top national security policy – combating the global threat of al Qaeda. He has consistently advocated for a global approach to defeating al Qaeda and its affiliates. Feingold is also spearheading a Senate effort to ensure that the U.S. has better information and intelligence gathering around the world.
As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, Feingold is the Senate's top expert on Africa issues, and has called for directing critical attention and diplomatic resources to African countries, including those that are havens for terrorist activity. He is also an advocate for making human rights and the rule of law a priority in our relations around the world.
"Feingold…now
seems prescient with his reservations about whether Congress
should have been more cautious about writing and passing
The USA Patriot Act." – Green Bay Press Gazette, January
14, 2009
"[Feingold]
showed a willingness to stand up for the rule of law and
for the American people." – The Monroe Times, July
10, 2008
Feingold is a strong advocate for the rule of law through his service on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He cast the Senate's lone vote against the USA PATRIOT Act, and has fought to fix the Act, as well as wiretapping legislation, to protect the freedoms of law-abiding Americans. Feingold also has played a lead role in protecting the rights of consumers and preserving access to the courts. As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Feingold works to protect the civil rights of all Americans, including fighting against discrimination in the workplace and in the criminal justice system.
Background
In 1917, Feingold's family settled in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he was born to parents Leon and Sylvia on March 2, 1953. Feingold graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975, received a degree from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1977, and then went on to Harvard Law School, where he earned his degree in 1979.
In 1982, in his first try for elective office, Feingold defeated a longtime incumbent and was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate for the 27th District. Feingold was re-elected in 1986 and 1990. When Feingold first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, he won a tough three-way primary, and went on to defeat a two-term incumbent. Feingold was re-elected to the Senate in 1998 and 2004.
Senator Feingold has two daughters, Jessica and Ellen. Feingold is a member of Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He lives in Middleton, Wisconsin. |
