Obey won't run for re-election
By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: May 5, 2010 11:00 a.m. |(37) Comments
Associated Press
David Obey
All Politics Blog
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisconsin) is expected to announce he won't run for re-election during a noon press conference.
The Journal Sentinel's Diana Marrero is in Washington and headed to Obey's press conference.
Obey, 71, is the third most-senior member of the House and holds one of the most powerful positions in the chamber.
"He's at the top of his power," said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Journal Sentinel last June. "Obey is among that small group of members who are having a major impact on the policy of the nation."
In a recent interview with the Journal Sentinel, Obey - who first ran for office to help bring about healthcare reform -- called the recent passage of a reform plan "one of the greatest advances for average working people in the history of the country."
The day after presiding as the House vote that pushed President Obama's reform plan over the top, Obey recounted the stories of people he met throughout his years as a congressman in explaining why he was so passionate about health care. He read from letters sent by constituents who said they were looking not for handouts, but for affordable health care coverage. And he spoke of his sister, who died of cancer years ago and feared leaving her husband and children with a pile of medical bills if she lived beyond when her insurance was set to run out.
"This is one of the last building blocks in really building a society that is based on justice," he said.
Obey has roughly $1 million in the bank he could have used to defend the congressional seat he's held for more than 40 years. That amounts to five times the campaign cash held by his strongest GOP challenger, Republican Sean Duffy. However, Duffy has been getting national press coverage for his campaign and a great deal of buzz within Republican circles.
Obey was the youngest member of Congress when he was sworn in in 1969, succeeding Mel Laird, who was appointed defense secretary.
Obey grew up in Wausau and was graduated from Wausau East High School. He later attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received a bachelor's degree. Obey completed graduate work in Soviet politics at UW, but later decided to run for the state Legislature.
Obey served three terms in the Assembly and was known for his role in setting up the state's technical college districts.
As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Obey helps makes spending decisions for every federal program.
Obey is also well known for his harmonica playing. He performs with his two sons and friends in a bluegrass band known as the "Capitol Offenses."