Jim Moody

For the actor, see Jim Moody (actor).

Jim Moody
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 5th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Henry S. Reuss
Succeeded by	Tom Barrett
Personal details
Born	(1935-09-02) September 2, 1935 Richlands, Virginia
Political party	Democratic

James Powers "Jim" Moody (born September 2, 1935) is an American economist, and former Democratic member of the U.S. Congress. Moody represented Milwaukee, Wisconsin in Congress from 1983 to 1993.

Background

Jim Moody was born in Richlands, Virginia, son of James P Moody and Jane Johnson Moody.

He attended the Anglo-American High School in Athens, Greece. He went on to receive his B.A. from Haverford College in 1957. After two years of financial work on Wall St, he successfully applied to serve as the CARE representative in Yugoslavia, covering each republic from Slovenia in the north to Macedonia on the Greek border. After two years working with CARE throughout Yugoslavia he was then assigned by CARE to Iran to lead a special feeding program assisting hospitals and schools—and direct periodic earth quake relief.

He was recruited in the early Peace Corps period to set up its first program in both Pakistan and Bangladesh—the first two Peace Corps programs in Continental Asia. His Responsibilities included negotiating the country-PC agreements and matching arriving volunteers with their assignments in both urban and village settings.

He returned to DC for the next year as Pak desk officer then accepted the position of USAID Loan Officer for its then capital development program for SE Asia. After two years at USAID he earned an MPA at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. He then earned a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by appointment as Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He also taught occasional courses at University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Political career

Taking leave from University teaching, Moody was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1976, then was elected to the State Senate in 1978, where among his contributions were bills that (1) successfully deregulated monopoly truck hauling in the state, and (2) stopped the (then supported by labor and business) commitment to build a major freeway through Milwaukee’s lakefront park. He was also the floor leader in passing no-fault divorce legislation and decriminalization of homosexual activities.

In 1982 he was elected to the US Congress to represent Wisconsin's 5th congressional district, serving five terms thru 1992. In Congress he was elected by his peers to the House Ways & Means Committee and there assigned to the International Trade and Health/Medicare subcommittees. Among his bills he sponsored or co-sponsored was legislation for single-payer universal health care. Also bills in wilderness preservation and pro-competition truck hauling. Also legislation to prevent federal start-up employment incentives to be used for strike breaking. While in Congress he co-founded the organization that became the National Security Archive Project which continues today as a major force for transparency in federal government actions, especially overseas. Also, based on his Bangladesh experienced, co-founded the Congressional support coalition for International Family Planning (then a very embroiled issue strongly opposed by President Regan). His 1992 race for US Senate—based on the “up or out” mantra of the Peace Corps—did not bring victory.

Professional career after Congress

Following the November 1992 election Moody served as the deputy director of the team preparing President-elect Bill Clinton’s first federal budget (labeled “Eat Your Broccoli First”) that led to the first federal surplus in years. In ’94 Moody taught Healthcare Economics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and graduate level economics at the Maryland School of Public Policy. (He continues to teach occasional courses on the US Congress at both the University of Maryland and the University of California’s DC campus).

In 1995 Jim Moody was nominated and approved as both Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the UN agency International Fund for Agricultural Development (one of 3 UN development agencies headquartered in Rome, Italy). IFAD’s central focus is raising productivity and living standards in the agricultural sectors of developing countries—crop improvement, village-level micro-finance, etc. in rural areas of 40+ countries to which IFAD lent $700–$900 million annually at very concessional interest rates. As VP Moody filled in frequently for IFAD’s president who necessarily travels a great deal. As chief financial officer Moody directly managed $23+ million in IFAD’s liquid assets and $2.2 billion in IFAD’s reserve fund investment portfolio. He was directly responsible for proposing and administering the agency’s own annual budget of $50 million.

After leaving Rome in 1997 due to a serious family medical situation, Moody was appointed President and CEO of InterAction, a DC-based coalition of American non-profit organizations. In 2000 Moody accepted an offer as Senior Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Inc. Then in 2005 moved to Merrill Lynch as Financial Advisor and Vice President. In November, 2012 he accepted an offer to move to the Oppenheimer Company as Associate Director - Investments.

External links

• United States Congress. "Jim Moody (id: M000881)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Jim Moody, Wisconsin Historical Society