David Price (American politician)
Encyclopedia
David Eugene Price is a professor
and the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 1997 and previously from 1987 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party
. The district includes portions of Raleigh
, Cary
, as well as all of Durham
and Chapel Hill
, and surrounding suburbs.
, Price attended Mars Hill College
in Mars Hill, North Carolina
when it was a junior college
. He later transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, after winning a scholarship, and became a member of The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies
. He earned a degree in 1961. Originally intent on becoming an engineer, Price continued his education at Yale University
where he received a theology
degree (1964) and a Ph.D. in political science
(1969).
He served as an aide to Alaska
Senator Bob Bartlett
from 1963 to 1967 and then entered academia
, working as a political science
and public policy
professor at Duke University
from 1973 until his first campaign for Congress in 1986. He also served as a Duke professor during 1995 and 1996, when he was not in Congress.
Price worked for the North Carolina Democratic Party
from 1979 to 1984. Price has written a political science textbook entitled The Congressional Experience, from the perspective of a candidate for office, and then, a member of Congress.
Price also served as executive director and then state chair for the North Carolina Democratic Party prior to being elected to Congress.
Price first entered Congress in 1987 after defeating one-term Republican U.S. Congressman Bill Cobey
56%-44%. Price won re-election in 1988 and 1990 with 58%. In 1992, he won re-election with 65%.
1994
In 1994, he was narrowly defeated by Republican Fred Heineman
, who won by a margin of less than 1% during the Republican Revolution
, in part to lower-than-expected turnout in the Democratic stronghold of Orange County
(home to Chapel Hill), but despite the fact that heavily Republican Randolph County
had been eliminated from the Fourth District during redistricting prior to that election year.
1996
In 1996, Price defeated Heineman in a rematch 54%-44%. He was helped in part by voters who were not happy with the lack of progress made by the freshman class on the goals of the Contract with America
.
1998-2006
Price won re-election by wide margins in recent years 1998 (57%), 2000 (62%), 2002 (61%), 2004 (64%), and 2006 (65%).
2008
Price's opponent in the 2008 election was Republican B.J. Lawson
. Lawson was called the most formidable opposition Price has faced since he was defeated by Heineman in 1994, and ran television ads, which Price's opponents usually do not do. Despite increased efforts and expenditures by his Republican opponent, Price still defeated Lawson 63% to 37%.
2010
On September 8, 2010, Price launched his reelection campaign. Price defeated Lawson in a rematch 56% to 44%.
As chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for determining the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, Price is seeking to focus immigration enforcement efforts on criminal convicts. For "[defending] critical emergency management and homeland security priorities," Price was honored with the 2008 Congressional Recognition Award by the National Emergency Management Association.
Price authored a provision of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 which made the interest on student loans tax deductible, and legislation creating the Advanced Technological Education program at the National Science Foundation, which provides grants for high-tech education in community colleges and was enacted in 1993.
Price voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
, reasoning that "the harmful effects of the credit crisis on all North Carolinians were too great for the federal government to sit on the sidelines." In December 2009, he voted for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which enacted more stringent regulations on the financial industry in order to protect consumers and taxpayers from another financial crisis.
Price is also the author of legislation to reform the public financing system for presidential campaigns.
Price also serves as Chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, which works through peer-to-peer partnerships with emerging democratic legislatures to assist in the development of the fundamental building blocks of legislative government. He is chair of the House Democracy Assistance Commission.
in London. They have two grandchildren, Charles Albert, born in 2006, and Margaret Elizabeth, born in 2009. Today, Price resides in Chapel Hill
and is a member of the Binkley Memorial Baptist Church.
Price appeared as a contestant on the nighttime version of the CBS
game show
Password, which aired on November 28, 1963, while he was a graduate student at Yale. His celebrity partner was Gloria Stuart
, and they lost to James Stewart
and his contestant partner. Price won a consolation prize of $50.
Price received the 2011 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities from the North Carolina Humanities Council.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and the U.S. Representative
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 1997 and previously from 1987 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. The district includes portions of Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Cary
Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...
, as well as all of Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
and Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, and surrounding suburbs.
Early life, education, and academic career
Born in Erwin, TennesseeErwin, Tennessee
Erwin is a town in and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,610 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area...
, Price attended Mars Hill College
Mars Hill College
Mars Hill College is a private, coed, liberal-arts college affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The college is located in the small town of Mars Hill, North Carolina, due north of Asheville, western North Carolina's largest city...
in Mars Hill, North Carolina
Mars Hill, North Carolina
Mars Hill is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,764 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Mars Hill College, which is named after the town. The town is located approximately one mile west of Interstate 26, and due north of Asheville, western North...
when it was a junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
. He later transferred to 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...
, after winning a scholarship, and became a member of The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies
The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies
The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, commonly known as Di-Phi, are the debate and literary societies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.- History :...
. He earned a degree in 1961. Originally intent on becoming an engineer, Price continued his education at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he received a theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
degree (1964) and a Ph.D. in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
(1969).
He served as an aide to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
Senator Bob Bartlett
Bob Bartlett
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party.Bartlett was born in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from the University of Alaska in 1925, Bartlett began his career in politics...
from 1963 to 1967 and then entered academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, working as a political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
professor at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
from 1973 until his first campaign for Congress in 1986. He also served as a Duke professor during 1995 and 1996, when he was not in Congress.
Price worked for the North Carolina Democratic Party
North Carolina Democratic Party
The North Carolina Democratic Party is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are located in the historic Goodwin house which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street...
from 1979 to 1984. Price has written a political science textbook entitled The Congressional Experience, from the perspective of a candidate for office, and then, a member of Congress.
Price also served as executive director and then state chair for the North Carolina Democratic Party prior to being elected to Congress.
Elections
1986-1992Price first entered Congress in 1987 after defeating one-term Republican U.S. Congressman Bill Cobey
Bill Cobey
William Wilfred Cobey, Jr. is a former one-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina....
56%-44%. Price won re-election in 1988 and 1990 with 58%. In 1992, he won re-election with 65%.
1994
In 1994, he was narrowly defeated by Republican Fred Heineman
Fred Heineman
Frederick K. "Fred" Heineman was a Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, serving between 1995 and 1997....
, who won by a margin of less than 1% during the Republican Revolution
Republican Revolution
The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
, in part to lower-than-expected turnout in the Democratic stronghold of Orange County
Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
(home to Chapel Hill), but despite the fact that heavily Republican Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
had been eliminated from the Fourth District during redistricting prior to that election year.
1996
In 1996, Price defeated Heineman in a rematch 54%-44%. He was helped in part by voters who were not happy with the lack of progress made by the freshman class on the goals of the Contract with America
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Larry Hunter, who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text...
.
1998-2006
Price won re-election by wide margins in recent years 1998 (57%), 2000 (62%), 2002 (61%), 2004 (64%), and 2006 (65%).
2008
Price's opponent in the 2008 election was Republican B.J. Lawson
B.J. Lawson
William "B.J." Lawson is a Republican Party politician who ran for the United States House of Representatives in North Carolina's 4th congressional district in both the 2008 and 2010 elections....
. Lawson was called the most formidable opposition Price has faced since he was defeated by Heineman in 1994, and ran television ads, which Price's opponents usually do not do. Despite increased efforts and expenditures by his Republican opponent, Price still defeated Lawson 63% to 37%.
2010
On September 8, 2010, Price launched his reelection campaign. Price defeated Lawson in a rematch 56% to 44%.
Tenure
Price was an early opponent of the Iraq War and has sponsored a bill to bring the conduct of private military companies working in Iraq under legal jurisdiction of the United States. He has also introduced legislation to prohibit contractors from performing interrogations of prisoners in the custody of intelligence agencies.As chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for determining the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, Price is seeking to focus immigration enforcement efforts on criminal convicts. For "[defending] critical emergency management and homeland security priorities," Price was honored with the 2008 Congressional Recognition Award by the National Emergency Management Association.
Price authored a provision of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 which made the interest on student loans tax deductible, and legislation creating the Advanced Technological Education program at the National Science Foundation, which provides grants for high-tech education in community colleges and was enacted in 1993.
Price voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
, reasoning that "the harmful effects of the credit crisis on all North Carolinians were too great for the federal government to sit on the sidelines." In December 2009, he voted for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which enacted more stringent regulations on the financial industry in order to protect consumers and taxpayers from another financial crisis.
Price is also the author of legislation to reform the public financing system for presidential campaigns.
- The greatest threat to democracy is the increasing concentration of major electronic media in ever fewer hands.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AppropriationsUnited States House Committee on AppropriationsThe Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
- Subcommittee on Homeland SecurityUnited States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland SecurityThe House Subcommittee on Homeland Security is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:**...
(Ranking Member) - Subcommittee on the Legislative BranchUnited States House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative BranchThe United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:**...
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Humanities Caucus (Co-Chair)
- House Democratic Caucus
- International Conservation CaucusUnited States Congressional International Conservation CaucusThe U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus is a bipartisan congressional organization that was founded in September 2003 with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for...
- National Service Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Arts Caucus
Price also serves as Chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, which works through peer-to-peer partnerships with emerging democratic legislatures to assist in the development of the fundamental building blocks of legislative government. He is chair of the House Democracy Assistance Commission.
Personal life
Price married his wife, Lisa Kanwit, in 1968. They were longtime Democratic Party activists together, and they have two children: Karen, a filmmaker; and Michael, a professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Brunel UniversityBrunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
in London. They have two grandchildren, Charles Albert, born in 2006, and Margaret Elizabeth, born in 2009. Today, Price resides in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
and is a member of the Binkley Memorial Baptist Church.
Price appeared as a contestant on the nighttime version of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Password, which aired on November 28, 1963, while he was a graduate student at Yale. His celebrity partner was Gloria Stuart
Gloria Stuart
Gloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, activist, painter, bonsai artist and fine printer. Over a Hollywood career which spanned, with a long break in the middle, from 1932 until 2004, she appeared on stage, television, and film, for which she was best-known...
, and they lost to James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and his contestant partner. Price won a consolation prize of $50.
Price received the 2011 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities from the North Carolina Humanities Council.
External links
- Congressman David Price official U.S. House site
- Price for Congress official campaign site