[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 63 (Thursday, April 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[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.

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