Representative Judy Biggert: A Moderate

Representative Judy Biggert: A moderate Republican? On her official website, Representative Judy Biggert describes herself as a 'lifetime' resident of the state of Illinois who is proud to have served as a Republican representative for the 13th district in the House of Representatives since 1999. Biggert states that one of her proudest achievements is the legislation she authored during her first term in office (an impressive achievement given the heavy emphasis on seniority in Congress) that made it easier to report and track down computer-based sex crimes against children.

Children and education are an important part of Biggert's legislative mission: she is Co-Chair of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and has penned legislation to provide greater educational opportunities for homeless children. She states that she has tried to advance America's competitive edge in the new world economy by supporting expanded science and math educational initiatives ("Biography," 2010). There is even a 'Kids Corner' on her home page, to make the governing process accessible to children's understanding.

Although she is the grandmother of eight grandchildren, Biggert persuasively presents herself as a woman who is savvy about both the potential benefits and dangers of new technology. Her focus on trying to appropriately regulate new technological communication systems was demonstrated during the 110th Congress, when she "she successfully secured bipartisan passage and enactment of…the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits health insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of a person's genetic information" ("Biography," 2010).

Biggert identifies herself as an environmentalist and notes with pride that the President also signed into law her Energy Tech Transfer Act "which will help move breakthrough energy technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace, helping individuals and businesses dramatically reduce their energy usage" ("Biography," 2010). However, Biggert voted against the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007, in the name of fiscal conservatism and her resistance to increased taxes on businesses.

She also voted against the Renewable Energy Standards Bill which would have required all electric companies to use 15% renewable resources by 2020 and the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act which would have offered tax incentives to companies involved in renewable energy production and research ("Judy Biggert," Source Watch, 2010). Biggert's committee memberships reflect her stated interests in education, technology, and the financial industry. She is on the Education and Labor, Science and Technology, and Financial Services committees.

Her most powerful position is that of Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Biography, 2010). Regarding her service, perhaps given the public resentment of Congressional partisanship, and the relative popularity of the current Democratic president, Biggert calls herself a proud bipartisan in her self-authored biography, noting how President Obama has signed many of the laws that she helped create.

Yet on April 15th, Biggert issued a press release that sounded almost 'Tea Party'-ish in its tenor: "Tax day is a grim reminder that every dollar of waste, every unnecessary expenditure, and every misspent penny comes out of the pocket of a working American." Given Biggert's prominent position on the influential financial services committee, the vehemence of her statement is striking. Biggert has also opposed the President's healthcare reform bill, like almost other every Republican in the House and Senate. Biggert's claim to be bipartisan is not entirely unsubstantiated.

According to the nonpartisan media watch group Source Watch, she is widely called the most liberal Republican from Illinois -- a state that is known to be staunchly Republican, despite President Obama former service as its Senator. For example, Biggert is pro-choice. But when Republicans in the House have attempted to 'whip' more liberal members into line, Biggert has generally followed.

She voted for the original resolution authorizing the Iraq War -- as did many Democrats -- and also voted against Congress' resolution stating its disapproval of the Bush Administration's deployment of 20,000 more troops. Later, she voted against the Redeployment from Iraq Act that required the Bush Administration to make substantial reductions in troop numbers ("Judy Biggert," Source Watch, 2010). A supporter might say that Bigger is generally.