Jim Moran

From SuperDelegates.org

Source: Wikipedia

[edit] Background

James Patrick "Jim" Moran Jr. (born 16 May 1945 in Buffalo, New York) has represented the 8th congressional district of Virginia since 1991. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

His brother, Brian Moran, is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

[edit] Early life

Congressman Moran grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Boston. He attended the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a masters degree in Public Administration. Voters elected him to the Alexandria, Virginia, City Council in 1979. He served as deputy mayor from 1982 to 1984, when he resigned as part of a Nolo contendere plea bargain to a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge, which courts later erased. Moran subsequently ran successfully for Mayor of Alexandria in 1985.

[edit] Congress

Elected to the House in 1990, he serves on the House Appropriations Committee. In 1998, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Moran was one of 31 House Democrats who voted with Republicans to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton. During his time in the House, Moran has been involved in a few controversies related to personal financial dealings with lobbyists and business interests. He served as the chief Democratic sponsor of a bankruptcy reform bill after a major credit card issuer gave him a large home equity loan under favorable terms. Moran contended in press accounts that his support for the bankruptcy bill had nothing to do with this loan.

On October 10, 2002, Jim Moran was among the 133 members of the House voting against authorizing the invasion of Iraq.

Politically, Moran is a New Democrat, and is affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council. On economic issues he often breaks with his party, supporting CAFTA and other free trade agreements, harsher bankruptcy laws, and increased restrictions on the right to bring class action suits. However, he strongly supports gay rights and gun control, and voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. At different times he has voted to ban flag-burning and partial-birth abortions, though he has reversed his positions on both issues.

He is a cosponsor of legislation to provide the District of Columbia with voting representation(HR 2043).

Moran appeared on The Colbert Report as part of the series Better Know a District. During the appearance he described himself as "gentle," but later jokingly punched Colbert in the face after Colbert called Moran a "coward."

On 2/10/08, Rep. Moran is expected to endorse Barack Obama.