Davis' father and grandfather largely influenced his political career path. "My father served in the state prison system for years. He was a major influence in my life," he said. "My grandfather was part of the Eisenhower administration. Political influence came from my grandfather."
Amherst experience
Davis recalls his years at Amherst quite fondly. As a political science major, he remembers taking several influential and memorable classes with Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions Hadley Arkes. Davis explained that Amherst fostered his passion for politics. "I always wanted to be a politician. I was very interested in politics in college. I was a thoroughly outspoken conservative at a time when most of the students [at Amherst] were liberals," he said.
The strong anti-Vietnam War movement was another factor that sparked his budding interest in politics as a student. "A speaker was brought in to discuss the war and I remember students and faculty members sitting in a car, refusing to let him speak as a form of protest," he said.
Davis has many positive memories about his time at the College. He particularly remembers his devotion to extracurricular activities. Davis participated in several extracurricular activities and remained devoted to them throughout his time at the College. "I was a member of the Amherst College Republicans, worked at the radio station for a period of time and served as an elected member of the College Council," he said.
After Amherst
After graduating from Amherst, Davis worked in the U.S. Army for a few years and then attended the University of Virginia School of Law. Soon after graduating from law school, Davis began his political career as chief elected official of Fairfax County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to his election to Congress in 1994, he worked for the local government for 15 years. Since initially winning his seat on Capitol Hill, Davis has won reelection an impressive five times. His endurng popularity is due to his unwavering commitment to give back to the community. Davis says he has "the opportunity to make a difference in the world and in [his] country."
Years in Congress
During Davis' first year in Congress, he authored and co-sponsored the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and the D.C. Financial Control Board Act-both became laws.
Davis has received many awards throughout the course of his political career. The National Federation of Independent Business, the American Electronics Association's High Tech Hall of Fame and the Boys and Girls Club are among many organizations that have recognized the Congressman for his work.
Davis served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1998 to 2002. His fondest memories while working as committee chairman revolved around election time. "I oversaw the 2000-02 congressional elections and defined predictions," he said. "We had pretty innovative strategies and the Republican committee's projections were very accurate. Statistically, those of the Democratic committee were far less accurate."
In 2001 Davis became chair of the subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee in charge of technology and procurement policy. In this capacity, Davis worked to pass the E-Government Act of 2002. "I worked with Senator Joseph Lieberman," he said. "We worked on a legislation that would give the D. of C.'s elected officials authority to approve a significant portion of the budget." Unlike other city governments, D.C. cannot significantly move funds around to meet the city's changing needs. Instead, it takes an act of Congress. In 2002, for example, the nation's capital needed to reallocate funds to support the movement of children from foster care to adoption. This funding transfer was delayed for months until the supplemental appropriations bill moved through Congress.
Responding to 9/11
Immediately following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Davis helped propose a non-discrimination policy concerning the treatment of Arabs and Muslims in the United States. "The non-discrimination policy focused on not singling these groups immediately after 9/11 occurred," he explained. In 2004, Davis authored significant portions of the 9/11 Implementations Act, including the streamlining of the security clearance process and the strengthening of the FBI's personnel procedures.
Recent political reforms
Davis is currently co-chair of the Information Technology Working Group, an organization he founded to promote a better understanding of issues important to computer and technology industries. "In time, I hope to create more information technology (IT) legislation. I've been promoting the technology campaign," he said. "I have offered a lot of IT legislation and sponsored reform bills concerning IT development."
Davis' legislative accomplishments were recognized in January 2003, when he was elected to chair the House Government Reform Committee for the 108th Congress. He also serves on the Subcommittee on Government Management Finance and Accountability, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Subcommittee on Economic Security Infrastructure Protection and Cyber security and the Subcommittee on Management Integration and Oversight.
Recently, Davis was appointed chair of the House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. "I am currently overseeing the investigation of the Hurricane Katrina devastation. The government was not ready for a storm of this size," he said. "Resource allocation was not good, and we can consequently learn from this situation. It may end up costing tax payers millions of dollars."
As chair of this investigation board, Davis is currently analyzing what else went wrong during Hurricane Katrina. "The evacuation plans in New Orleans are not what they should have been. So many people were forced to leave, and we should have had a better plan on what to do," he said. "The problem began with a lack of telecommunication structure. No one could communicate with anyone else. A terrible communication breakdown occurred because it was such a terrible disaster and devastation."
Voting rights in D.C. are also a very relevant issue for Davis. Currently, over 500,000 people live in D.C. and they all lack direct voting representation.
He is also working on regulating the tobacco industry and wants to pass a number of technology bills. In March of last year, Davis introduced legislation to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority over new and existing tobacco products and marketing practices. The industry could potentially be required to change the contents of cigarettes to decrease toxins, to disclose the findings of tobacco industry research and the contents of cigarettes, and to place more explicit health warnings on packaging.
Some of his short-term goals while serving on the 109th Congress include a postal reform bill, driver's license security and a meters system. In July 2005, Davis introduced legislation that would provide the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority with $1.5 billion for capital improvements in exchange for enhanced accountability from the transit.
Improving education
Like many of his peers, Davis has plans for bettering education for children in America. "I am a huge believer in seeing to it that federal education funding can be spent as local school districts see fit," he said. "Education is so important for competition in our society today. The higher education system in America is the best, but we have to work on giving more people opportunities to compete. ... The lower education system needs to be revamped. I am in support of more testing, more accountability, more money for these schools and longer school years."
The House of Representatives narrowly approved the nation's first federally-funded school voucher plan in 2003. Davis authored the plan with two other representatives. "It would give poor families an opportunity to send their children to private schools," he explained. "Education is such an important factor in driving success and competitiveness in the world that we live in today."
Balancing the budget
A major challenge that Davis believes the federal government must face today is the budget deficit. "It has been a huge long-term problem for us," he said. Throughout his career, Davis has openly discussed how important it is for the U.S. Federal Government to share budget information with the American public. According to Davis, the sharing of information is critical to education, the provision of social services, environmental protection and to all levels of law enforcement. "The government needs to be transparent. The government needs to know how to do this, while sharing information with the public," he said. "Otherwise, it becomes tough, painful and inefficient to democracy, which is most important."
Combatting Steroids
Legislation concerning the use of steroids in the United States has put Davis in the spotlight. Davis explained the steroid issue, "Currently I'm attending steroid hearings and we are discussing the wide abuses of steroids. There are many things that we can do concerning steroid abuse in this country," he elaborated, "I'm not working on the steroid legislation alone. I am currently working with Henry A. Waxman, a Democratic representative from California." In April, Davis and Waxman announced a hearing on the National Football League (NFL) steroids policy. Davis explained that examining the effectiveness of the NFL's policy is a key part of understanding why 500,000 high school students today have tried steroids.
Long term goals
Davis explained that one of his major goals for the current session of Congress is to "prepare the nation for a world that is so based on competition." He is striving for a 21st century government to meet 21st century challenges. Davis wants to further all of his legislation plans to promote national security and national competitiveness. The efficient movement of information is central to Davis' future plans for defending American citizens.