Virginia Foxx
Encyclopedia
Virginia Foxx is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Republican Party
. The district takes in much of the northwestern portion of the state and a portion of Winston-Salem
.
, New York
. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, earning a bachelor's degree. She later earned a master's and doctoral degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
.
Foxx worked as a research assistant at UNC and later became a professor at Appalachian State University
. She was an English professor before moving into university administration.
From 1987 until her 1994 entry into politics, she was president of Mayland Community College.
. She was also one of only 33 Republicans to vote against the extension of the Voting Rights Act
in July 2006.
s.
, claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard
was not a hate crime. While debating the act at the House of Representatives, which was attended by Matthew Shepard's mother, she called the incident a "very unfortunate incident" but also "we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay." She continued that "It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills."
] passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country."
since 2005. Her son-in-law is a Turkish businessman, Mustafa Özdemir.
decided he would run for the United States Senate
, Foxx was first to join the race for congressman. North Carolina's 5th district is highly partisan. Because of this, the race quickly became one of the most expensive and nastiest in North Carolina's history.
In a field of eight candidates; Foxx had her nastiest arguments with Winston-Salem city councilman Vernon Robinson
. Robinson tarred her and the other candidates as liberals, even though Foxx was one of the most conservative members of the state legislature. He attacked Foxx claiming she had taken money from a gay rights group. Foxx stated that the group gave her a small donation during her campaign for the state Senate, but did not give her any more money after they saw her voting record. Although Robinson was the highest vote-getter in the primary, Foxx was still able to defeat him (55%-45%).
, which she easily won (59%-41%), was more cordial.
Foxx was briefly targeted for defeat in the 2006 elections
, but the Democrats' top choice, popular Winston-Salem mayor Allen Joines
, decided not to run. Joines later said that he didn't have the stomach for the kind of race he felt it would take to defeat Foxx. Her 2006 opponent was Roger Sharpe
, who was defeated.
Roy Carter of Ashe County, North Carolina
was Foxx's opponent for her seat in the 2008 election; she won by a substantial margin.
In November 2010, Foxx was reelected with about 65% of the vote.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. The district takes in much of the northwestern portion of the state and a portion of Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
.
Early life, education and career
Foxx was born in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, earning a bachelor's degree. She later earned a master's and doctoral degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
.
Foxx worked as a research assistant at UNC and later became a professor at Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
. She was an English professor before moving into university administration.
From 1987 until her 1994 entry into politics, she was president of Mayland Community College.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Education and the WorkforceUnited States House Committee on Education and the WorkforceThe Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. From 1947 until 1994 and again from 2007 to 2011, during Democratic control of the House, it was known as the Committee on Education and Labor.-History of the Committee:Attempts were...
- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary EducationUnited States House Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary EducationThe House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education is a standing subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce...
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training (Chairwoman)
- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
- Committee on RulesUnited States House Committee on RulesThe Committee on Rules, or Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor...
Hurricane Katrina
In September 2005, Foxx was one of 11 members of Congress to vote against the $51 billion aid package to victims of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. She was also one of only 33 Republicans to vote against the extension of the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
in July 2006.
Hero Act
The first bill sponsored by Foxx to have been signed into law since 2006, the Hero Act, signed by President Bush on Memorial Day, 2006, allows U.S. troops to increase their retirement savings by investing a portion of their combat pay into Individual Retirement AccountIndividual Retirement Account
An individual retirement arrangement is the blanket term for a form of retirement plan that provides tax advantages for retirement savings in the United States...
s.
Electronic Pay Stub Act
The second bill sponsored by Foxx and subsequently signed into law is the Electronic Pay Stub Act which gives federal employees the choice of receiving their pay stubs electronically. This legislation is projected to save taxpayers millions of dollars. Studies have shown that it costs 10 times more to purchase and distribute paper stubs than it does to distribute electronic stubs. This bill was signed into law in October, 2008.Troubled Asset Relief Program
Shortly after Congress approved the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Foxx identified a provision in the law that allowed her to force consideration of a measure to deny the second, $350 billion, tranche of the TARP bailout. On November 19, 2008, she introduced H.J.Res. 101, which met all of the parliamentary requirements for consideration once the President requested the second tranche. In the new, 111th Congress, she reintroduced the measure as H.J.Res. 3, and shortly before leaving office, President Bush requested the second tranche, thereby activating the trigger allowing for her to commandeer the House floor, even though she was not a member of the majority party. Her measure passed the House with the overwhelming bipartisan vote of 270-155; the act was never addressed in the Senate.Matthew Shepard Act
In April 2009, Foxx expressed opposition to the Matthew Shepard ActMatthew Shepard Act
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010...
, claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
was not a hate crime. While debating the act at the House of Representatives, which was attended by Matthew Shepard's mother, she called the incident a "very unfortunate incident" but also "we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay." She continued that "It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills."
Health care debate
When commenting on the House version of the reform bill that funds counseling for end-of-life issues, Foxx said, "Republicans have a better solution that won't put the government in charge of people's health care," and "(The plan) is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government." She later said that "we have more to fear from the potential of [the Affordable Health Care for America ActAffordable Health Care for America Act
The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system...
] passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country."
Turkish American Caucus
Virginia Foxx is a member of Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish AmericansCongressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
The "Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans" was established by US Congressmen Robert Wexler , Ed Whitfield and Kay Granger in March 2001....
since 2005. Her son-in-law is a Turkish businessman, Mustafa Özdemir.
Republican Primary 2003-2004
After 5th District Congressman Richard BurrRichard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives....
decided he would run for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, Foxx was first to join the race for congressman. North Carolina's 5th district is highly partisan. Because of this, the race quickly became one of the most expensive and nastiest in North Carolina's history.
In a field of eight candidates; Foxx had her nastiest arguments with Winston-Salem city councilman Vernon Robinson
Vernon Robinson
Vernon Lucius Robinson is an American candidate for U.S. Congress and former Winston Salem City Council member. He is known for two unsuccessful Congressional campaigns...
. Robinson tarred her and the other candidates as liberals, even though Foxx was one of the most conservative members of the state legislature. He attacked Foxx claiming she had taken money from a gay rights group. Foxx stated that the group gave her a small donation during her campaign for the state Senate, but did not give her any more money after they saw her voting record. Although Robinson was the highest vote-getter in the primary, Foxx was still able to defeat him (55%-45%).
General election campaign
In contrast to the primary, her general election campaign against Jim Harrell, Jr.Jim Harrell, Jr.
James Andrew "Jim" Harrell, Jr. was the Democratic nominee for U.S. House of Representatives from in 2004. He won 41 percent of the vote to Virginia Foxx's 59 percent. The seat had been open after the retirement of Richard Burr, who left to run a successful campaign against Erskine Bowles to...
, which she easily won (59%-41%), was more cordial.
Foxx was briefly targeted for defeat in the 2006 elections
United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina, 2006
The United States House of Representative elections of 2006 in North Carolina were held on 7 November 2006 as part of the biennial election to the United States House of Representatives. All thirteen seats in North Carolina, and 435 nation-wide, were elected....
, but the Democrats' top choice, popular Winston-Salem mayor Allen Joines
Allen Joines
Allen Joines is the current mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2009, he was also appointed chairman of the North Carolina Economic Development Board....
, decided not to run. Joines later said that he didn't have the stomach for the kind of race he felt it would take to defeat Foxx. Her 2006 opponent was Roger Sharpe
Roger Sharpe
Roger Sharpe is a public servant, author and North Carolina politician. He was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives from the state's Fifth congressional district in 2006, losing to incumbent Virginia Foxx....
, who was defeated.
Roy Carter of Ashe County, North Carolina
Ashe County, North Carolina
- History :Historical evidence shows that Ashe county was inhabited by Native Americans, which included the Cherokee, Creek, and Shawnee tribes. Pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, and other Native American artifacts have been found, indicating their presence...
was Foxx's opponent for her seat in the 2008 election; she won by a substantial margin.
In November 2010, Foxx was reelected with about 65% of the vote.
External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx official U.S. House site
- Virginia Foxx for Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- North Carolina Republican Party