Current Position: U.S. Representative (since January 2001)
Credit: Office of Steve Israel
Why He Matters
Israel is a moderate Democrat who has occasionally bucked his party’s leadership during more than eight years in Congress. He could give the party establishment a headache on a much larger scale if he challenges Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a 2010 Senate primary.
A lifelong New Yorker who got his start in politics as a congressional aide in the 1980s, Israel won election to the House in 2000 after surviving hard-fought contests in both the primary and general elections. Since then he has faced little opposition, and his Long Island seat became even safer after he struck a deal with neighboring Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) to redraw the lines of their districts during the once-a-decade redistricting process in 2002.
Israel joined the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and crossed party lines to support President George W. Bush on a number of key issues, most notably Bush’s 2001 tax cut package and the GOP prescription drug bill the following year. He has also espoused more hawkish views on foreign policy, voting to authorize military force in Iraq before later turning against the war.
Israel’s clout has increased following the Democratic takeover of Congress in 2006, as he has assumed key posts on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the powerful House Appropriations Committee. After President Barack Obama nominated Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state in November 2008, Israel publicly announced his interest in replacing her in the Senate. But he was overshadowed by the candidacy of Caroline Kennedy, and ultimately passed over by Gov. David Paterson (D) in favor of Gillibrand.
Though he initially said he would support Paterson’s pick, Israel has ramped up his fundraising and is not ruling out a Senate race in 2010.
At a Glance
Current Position: U.S. Representative (since January 2001)
Career History: President and CEO, Institute on Holocaust and Law (1998-2000); Huntington, N.Y. town board (1993-2000)
Birthday: May 30, 1958
Hometown: Wantaugh, N.Y.
Alma Mater: George Washington University, B.A. 1983
Spouse: Marlene Budd
Religion: Jewish
DC Office: 2457 Rayburn House Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3335
State/District Office: 150 Motor Pkwy Ste 108, Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788
Phone: 631-951-2210 or 516-505-1448
Email
Web site
Path to Power
Born in 1958, Israel grew up in Wantaugh on Long Island. He attended George Washington University, where he became involved in politics and worked as a congressional aide first for Rep. Robert Matsui (D-Calif.) and later for Rep. Robert Ottinger (D-N.Y.) After graduating in 1983, Israel joined the American Jewish Congress as its Suffolk County director in New York. He made his first run for elective office in 1987, mounting a failed bid to unseat a conservative incumbent in the Suffolk County legislature.
“It helped me develop a pretty thick skin,” Israel said about the loss in a 2000 interview with Newsday. “You have to get politically tough when you walk into a room that is 99 percent Republican to make a case for your candidacy.”
Following the defeat, Israel served as an aide to the Suffolk County executive for three years and launched his own public relations and marketing firm. Remaining in politics, he made his next run for office in 1993, winning a special election race for a seat on the Huntington Town Board, which was dominated by Republicans.
Run For Congress
Israel has said that he “spent his whole life dreaming of coming to Congress,” but it was far from clear that 2000 would be his year. In May, however, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) dropped his longstanding bid for the Senate, and New York Republicans turned to the incumbent congressman from the 2nd district, Rep. Rick Lazio (R), to run in Giuliani’s stead. With Lazio not running for re-election to the House, Israel entered the open race for his House seat.
Israel faced off in a close primary against a member of the Suffolk County legislature, David Bishop (D), who denigrated Israel’s role as a councilman in Huntington and accused him of giving raises to town employees who worked on his campaign. The two men even argued over whether Israel had been Bishop’s boss years earlier when they worked in the Suffolk County executive’s office.
After winning the September 2000 primary by just four percentage points, Israel advanced to a general election campaign against Joan Johnson, a local town clerk who was seeking to become the first black Republican woman in Congress. The race drew national attention, as Republicans entered the 2000 campaign clinging to a five-seat House advantage. Israel touted his business credentials and championed his work reducing the town debt in Huntington. He pledged his support for reducing the deficit and paying down the national debt, and he vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare. Israel was helped by stumbles from Johnson, who had to pull a TV ad that accused the Democrat of voting for tax hikes that he had opposed. He won by a comfortable margin, 48%-35%.
Redistricting
Israel avoided a difficult re-election fight for his second term in 2002 when Lazio, who had lost his Senate race to Hillary Rodham Clinton, decided against trying to win back his old House seat. Partnering with Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Israel worked to solidify his political future during the redistricting process in 2002 by swapping Republican-leaning areas in his district for a swath of King’s 3rd district with more Democratic voters. The move helped turn a Republican voter registration advantage of 19,000 in Israel’s district into a Democratic advantage of 6,000 voters.
New York Senate Race
In November 2008, Israel jumped into a Democratic free-for-all when word leaked out that President Obama would select Clinton as his secretary of state. Gov. David Paterson (D) would pick Clinton’s replacement, and Israel joined several members of the state’s House delegation in publicly acknowledging his desire to be selected. But the scramble among House members was quickly overshadowed by the entry of Caroline Kennedy into the race.
Israel struggled to gain attention for his bid; when he traveled to Buffalo to meet with the city’s mayor and other upstate Democrats, his trip was treated as an afterthought. Israel did receive an audience with the governor when the two traveled to Iraq together in December 2008, but it was unclear how seriously he was considered for the post.
Although Israel said in the days before Paterson announced his choice that he would not run against the governor’s pick in 2010, he soon backed off those statements after Gillibrand’s selection drew criticism from many liberal Democrats. Always known for his fundraising skills, Israel continued to aggressively raise money in preparation for a possible Senate bid in early 2009, and he told Newsday in April that he had “been encouraged by more and more people across New York to take on a larger mission. With over a year and a half until the next election, I haven't ruled anything out.”
The Issues
Though he votes far more often with his fellow House Democrats than Republicans, Israel has crafted an image as a centrist who espouses bipartisanship. He joined the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition upon his election to the House, but in 2005 he co-founded a separate group known as the bipartisan Center Aisle Caucus. By 2008, the group claimed 60 members and held its meetings at a Chinese restaurant on Capitol Hill. “We would prefer to act where we can have agreement rather than scream at each other over contentious issues where we would never agree,” Israel said in describing the group’s philosophy.
Israel has been known for his more moderate views on the economy and foreign policy, while he holds liberal stands on most social issues, favoring abortion rights and stem-cell research and opposing a ban on same-sex marriage. Israel has garnered a 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters in the 110th Congress and an 86% lifetime rating from the American Civil Liberties Union. He broke with Democrats to back President George W. Bush’s first round of tax cuts in 2001 and an initial version of the Republican prescription drug bill in 2002, citing benefits for his constituents. Israel voted in favor of the Iraq war and has long backed the nation of Israel, the Jewish state and his namesake.
The Economy
Israel supported the initial $750 billion bailout for the financial sector in fall 2008 as well as ongoing efforts by the Obama administration to address the broader economic crisis. But though he voted for the Wall Street rescue in 2008, he struck an increasingly populist tone in 2009, voting in favor of a steep tax on the widely rebuked bonuses given to executives of AIG. He voiced strong backing for the President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, touting in particular the $90 billion he helped secure for new energy investment.
Energy Security
A post on the powerful House Appropriations Committee has deepened Israel’s focus on energy independence, which he targets as an issue of national security. He told Politico in 2008 that he spends about 75% of his time on energy issues. Israel sits on the Energy Appropriations subcommittee and co-founded a separate House caucus on energy and environmental sustainability.
He proposed a $200 billion, 10-year plan for energy security centered on increasing investment in research-and-development along with incentives for small businesses, to be paid for largely by allowing the Bush tax cuts on top earners to expire.
The Network
In the House, Israel has forged alliances with members of both parties. He works often with the other Long Island members of Congress, including Rep. Tim Bishop (D), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D), Rep. Peter King (R), and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D), whose district also includes parts of Queens. Israel partnered with Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Ill.) to form the Center Aisle Caucus in 2005.
On the national scene, Israel has had to work himself back into the favor of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after supporting her then-rival, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a race for minority whip in 2001. He says any ill-will has long been forgotten, citing his plum assignment on the House Appropriations Committee beginning in 2007. In 2008, he strongly supported Hillary Rodham Clinton (then a New York senator) in the Democratic presidential nomination fight, but like most of her backers, he campaigned for Barack Obama in the general election.
