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[Page S2430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING JIM MOODY
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the career and
legacy of former U.S. Representative Jim Moody, who passed away on
March 22, 2019. Born James Powers Moody, he was an influential leader
in Democratic politics in Wisconsin in the 1970s and 1980s.
Born in 1935 in Virginia, Jim spent much of his childhood abroad. His
father was an official with the American Red Cross, and his mother
worked in relief efforts for refugees. Jim was heavily influenced by
his parents' international focus, and he developed a passion for
foreign cultures and global affairs at an early age. He attended school
in Shanghai before graduating from an English-language high school in
Athens, Greece.
After graduating from Haverford College in Pennsylvania in 1957, Jim
worked in the former Yugoslavia and Iran with CARE, an international
humanitarian organization. He joined the Peace Corps in the
organization's early days and established the first Peace Corps
programs in Pakistan and Bangladesh. He spoke many languages, including
Greek, Farsi, Croatian, Spanish and French.
Jim received a master's degree it public administration from Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy's School of Government in 1967 and a
doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in
1973. Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential campaign inspired Jim's
exploration of politics. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly
in 1976 and to the State Senate in 1978. With his mother at his side as
his campaign manager, he ran for and was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1982 from Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District in
southeastern Wisconsin, where he served five terms.
Moody was a progressive voice in Congress in the spirit of
Wisconsin's greatest progressive, Robert M. ``Fighting Bob'' La
Follette. He was an early advocate of gay rights and wilderness
preservation. In 1991, he authored a federally funded universal health
care bill to cover the 37 million Americans who lacked insurance at the
time, including 550,000 Wisconsinites. He proposed paying for the
coverage with higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.
After an unsuccessful U.S. Senate race in 1992, he returned to his
passion for international affairs. In 1995, he became the chief
financial officer of the United Nation's International Fund for
Agricultural Development, which focuses on improving the living
standards in the agricultural sectors of developing countries. He
served on the board of the National Iranian American Council and as an
elections observer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Ukraine. His post
congressional career also included work as professor, an economist and
a financial adviser
Jim Moody took his role as a public servant very seriously. It was a
responsibility and an honor that he carried proudly. He cared deeply
about the economic stability and well-being of his constituents and of
people around the globe. He will be fondly remembered as one of
Wisconsin's great progressive leaders.
____________________
