James P. Moran, Jr. (D)*

Current Job:

Investor

Birth Date:

May 6, 1945

Religion:

Catholic

Education:

College of the Holy Cross, BA Economics
University of Pittsburgh, MPA Public Administration

Biography:

James P. Moran Jr., was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and resides in Alexandria. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the College of the Holy Cross in 1967 and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1970.

Moran worked for an investment firm on Wall Street in 1968. He then worked for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as an auditor, accountant and budget analyst from 1970 to 1975.

From 1975 to 1977, he worked for the Library of Congress as a senior specialist in budgetary and fiscal policy. From 1977 to 1980, he was senior staff member to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.

He was a stockbroker from 1979 to 1988. He also worked as a consultant to a defense contractor.

Moran was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 1979. He was elected mayor in 1985 and re-elected in 1988.

He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1990.

Moran is married to LuAnn Bennett and has four children — two from each previous marriage.

Profile:

Jim Moran resides in a strongly Democratic district bordering Washington, D.C., and remains a popular figure despite a number of gaffes and ethical questions about his finances.

He was forced out of his party leadership post in 2003 after a furor over his remarks that American Jews were pushing the nation toward a war with Iraq. He agreed to step down from his position as regional whip at the insistence of Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

It was the latest in a string of embarrassing revelations for Moran.

In 2002, The Washington Post disclosed that Moran vigorously lobbied for bankruptcy reform legislation shortly after receiving an unusual deal to restructure the debt he owed to a bank that supported the measure. Moran denied his activity violated ethics laws and he was not charged with any wrongdoing.

A bizarre case surfaced in 2000 when Moran grabbed an 8-year-old boy after the boy claimed to have a gun and demanded his car keys. The boy and his parents said the child was only admiring Moran's car when Moran grabbed him.

Also, a week before the 2000 election, The Washington Post disclosed that Moran accepted an unsecured $25,000 personal loan from a lobbyist who ran for Congress. In a filing, he also disclosed his acceptance of a $50,000 loan from America Online founder James Kimsey in January, 2001. He said he repaid it with interest in three months.

Mary Moran, the congressman's wife for 11 years, filed for divorce in 1999, one day after placing an emergency call to police during a domestic argument at the couple's Alexandria home in late June. No charges were filed, and Moran brought his own divorce complaint three weeks later. In their court filings, each blamed the other for money problems that mounted after their daughter was diagnosed at age 2 with brain and spinal cancer.

Moran's temper has flared numerous times during his years in Congress. He made headlines during President Clinton's impeachment debate by saying that, if he was Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, he would have punched the president — a political ally — in the nose.

Moran has been consistently faithful to Democratic positions. He voted for a ban on assault-style weapons, the Clinton budgets and introduced legislation in 2004 to ban the commercial sale of .50-caliber rifles, which he described as military-grade weapons less regulated than handguns.

However, Moran favored legislation that would expand the death penalty for federal crimes and shorten the appeals process for condemned prisoners. Moran also worked for women's issues and co-sponsored a bill to give more discretionary power to police officers on the beat.

Moran serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

The American Conservative Union gave his 2005 voting record a score of 4 points out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 90 points.

Campaigns:

James Moran was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, ousting eight-term incumbent Stan Parris with 52 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 1992 with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Kyle McSlarrow. He defeated McSlarrow again in 1994 with 59 percent. In 1996, he was re-elected with 66 percent of the vote, defeating Republican James Otey. In 1998 and 2000, he handily defeated Republican Demaris Miller.He was re-elected in 2002 and 2004 with 60 percent of the vote, but only after spending about $900,000 to survive a close primary challenge in 2004.Moran was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 1979. He became vice mayor in 1982 because he was the highest vote-getter in the council elections that year. In 1985, he won his first three-year term as mayor and was re-elected in 1988.