Jo Ann Davis Tribute

Jo Ann served her country well as a Congresswoman for nearly 6 years.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and fought the disease with the same passion as she approached everything else in her life. This was her second bout with the disease.She will be missed by her husband and two sons, and her electorate.

 From her official Website:

Representative Jo Ann Davis (VA-1) - Biography

First elected to Congress in November of 2000, Jo Ann Davis brings to Washington a fresh perspective from outside the political Washington D.C. beltway. The first elected female Republican to the United States House of Representatives from the Commonwealth, Jo Ann is deeply in touch with the constituents of "America’s First District." Concentrating on a district first approach to her role in Congress, Jo Ann’s emphasis is on local issues before D.C. politics. This principle remains the bedrock of the Congresswoman’s convictions and plays an integral role in her service to her community.

The 110th Congress has signaled significant leadership opportunities for the fourth term Representative. In addition to her committee work on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Jo Ann also serves on the Armed Services Committee, where she was chosen as the ranking member of the Readiness Subcommittee.  The Congresswoman’s committee assignments enable her to work on legislative initiatives of great interest to Virginia’s First District and the country as a whole.

 Issues affecting the First District are Jo Ann’s priority, and throughout her time in Congress, Davis has worked for important projects in the First District.

National security and shipbuilding is essential to the health of the district, and during her tenure, Davis secured $160 Million for construction on the Navy’s next generation aircraft carrier, CVNX, and more recently, $47 Million for the removal of a portion of the James River Reserve Fleet, otherwise known as the Ghost Fleet.

A strong advocate for both our men and women in uniform and federal employees, Congresswoman Davis maintains continued success in passing landmark legislation to correct significant benefit shortfalls. In March of 2001, the House passed Jo Ann’s first piece of legislation - HR 1015, the SGLI Adjustment Act, which increased the amount of Servicemember’s Group Life Insurance paid to beneficiaries of members of the Armed Forces who died in the performance of their duty between November 1st, 2000 and April 1st, 2001.

Further inspired by the trials of Stafford County Pentagon survivor Louise Kurtz, Jo Ann moved through legislation to correct pension shortfalls for injured federal employees. HR 978 changes the way a federal employee’s benefits are calculated during a disability by increasing the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) benefit to cover any shortfall.

In addition to HR 1015 and 978, Representative Davis was successful in passing legislation that revised the boundaries of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument to allow the National Park Service to purchase 110 acres of additional land surrounding the national treasure located in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Continuing her work to help regulate the amount of interstate waste that the Commonwealth is forced to import, Jo Ann passed legislative language in HR 2673 directing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to evaluate truck transport solid waste containment procedures in order to keep our roads safe and environmentally sound. Davis was also successful in passing language to establish a series of random safety inspections of trash trucks to ensure that they met safety road regulations.

Aware of the need to cut government waste and save taxpayer dollars, one of Davis’ current priorities is legislation designed to reign in government waste and inefficiency by preventing redundancy in government programs. H.R. 75, the "Government Accountability and Streamlining Act," would require the Comptroller General of the United States to determine whether any proposed legislation in the House or Senate creates any new "federal entities, programs or function" that are redundant of any existing federal program.

With many legislative accomplishments behind her, Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis looks forward to continuing her work for the people of "America’s First District" during the 109th Congress. Jo Ann believes that Congress should work to strengthen our national defense while holding down spending in other areas. Davis is also an advocate of tax relief for all who pay taxes, and believes that the federal government must reign in growth and spending to provide this tax relief.

As a former real estate broker and small business owner, Jo Ann opened Davis Management Company in 1988 and Jo Ann Davis Realty in 1990. In this capacity, Jo Ann focused her attention on achieving the highest level of ethical standards for her industry, serving first on the Grievance Committee of the Virginia Peninsula Association of Realtors and then on its Professional Standards Committee.

An avid horse enthusiast, Jo Ann and her husband of 31 years reside in Gloucester. Jo Ann and Chuck have two grown sons and one granddaughter.