The Main Building at University College London

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions. In some regions of the world prominent public institutions are highly influential centers of research; many of these universities are ranked among the best in the world by THES - QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, McGill University, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Imperial College London.^[1]

Argentina[link]

The University of Buenos Aires is a public university in Argentina.

In Argentina the National Universities, also called "Public or State-run Universities", is the name used to refer to all those institutions whose creation arose from the enactment of a National Congress Act, except for those whose creation preceded that of the state itself (as is the case of the National University of Córdoba and the University of Buenos Aires). They lie as Public Law legal entities and their regular operation funding comes from the national state, pursuant to what is set out on the annual national budget act.

National universities hold the largest share of the entire Argentine university system: counting over 80% of the undergraduate population and with campuses stretched throughout to all provinces comprising the national territory, they account for over 50% of the country's scientific research while additionally providing technical assistance to both the public and private sectors.

Public universities are absolutely free (no fee is paid during the studies), and also the access to books in the universities' libraries. However buying in bookstores and studying material (such as photocopies of books which are very common) is usually paid for by each student. For low-income students there is a great variety of scholarships.

Australia[link]

In Australia, there are 38 public universities and 4 private universities. The private universities are Bond University, the University of Notre Dame Australia (both Australian), and two foreign universities, Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and Cranfield University (UK), which have campuses in Adelaide.

Australia's public universities are variously grouped:

• Some of the Group of Eight are the oldest and most prestigious public universities in Australia and include the Universities of Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne, New South Wales, Adelaide and Western Australia together with the Australian National University and Monash University. Three were established in the 19th century.
• Innovative Research Universities represent a number of research-intensive institutions, with most being established in the 1960s and 1970s. The group includes University of Wollongong, Charles Darwin University, Flinders University, Griffith University, James Cook University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University and University of Newcastle.
• The Australian Technology Network universities largely grew from the former Institutes of Technology and include RMIT University, Queensland University of Technology, Curtin University, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of South Australia. They gained university status in the late 1980s to the early 1990s as a result of the reforms of the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, John Dawkins.

Bangladesh[link]

Jahangirnagar University Campus, Dhaka, Bangladesh

There are 33 public universities in Bangladesh as of January 2010.^[2] The University Grant Commission is the monitoring body for all the public universities in Bangladesh. The Universities does not deal directly with the government, but with the University Grants Commission, which in turn deals with the government. Recently many private universities are established under the Private University Act of 1992. Some recognized public universities are, University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University (Only full residential university of Bangladesh), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Bangladesh Textile University, Jagannath University, Rajshahi University, Khulna University, Chittagong University, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (Oldest agricultural institution in Bangladesh), Bangladesh Agriculture University, Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Chittagong Vaterinary and Animal Science University, Islamic University, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Jessore Science & Technology University, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Patuakhali Science And Technology University, Rangpur University, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University, Comilla UniversityBangladesh University of Professionals, National University of Bangladesh etc.

Brazil[link]

UFPR - Federal University of Parana, in Curitiba

In Brazil, there are a few hundred public universities funded by the Federal or State governments, and they include the most renowned universities in the country, such as the University of São Paulo and the State University of Campinas. Professors are public servants, most of them tenured and selected by public contests, where international research publications is a major criterion for hiring. Teaching load is usually modest and leaves time for research. In contrast, most private institutions are for-profit enterprises which hire teachers on a per-hour basis and have little research when compared with the public ones (notable exceptions are certain private but non-profit universities, mostly affiliated with religious organizations, such as the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie of São Paulo and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

There are no tuition or entrance fees in public universities (a right established in the Brazilian Federal Constitution), but since they have thousands of applicants every year, because there are no tuitions or fees, only the best students can pass the entrance examination. In many Universities, there are quotas for students whose secondary (high school) education was made entirely in a public funded school (generally, the quota is 50%), and there are also racial quotas, but usually restricted to students from public high school too. Some Universities, like UFMG, the largest federal university in Brazil, give extra points in their admission tests instead of quotas. In UFMG a public high school student is granted a 10% bonus over his test grade, if he previously agrees to receive this advantage. Public school students that declare themselves as blacks or "pardos" (mixed race) have a 15% bonus, also if they previously agree to receive race based benefits. In recent years public funded higher education has grown a lot. Since 2005 the Brazilian Government has been offering a limited number of tuition grants to enable poor students to attend private universities.

Canada[link]

In Canada, education is a constitutional responsibility of the individual provinces. Most universities are established and operated under provincial legislation, but a few of the oldest were founded by Royal Charter. All major Canadian universities are publicly funded but maintain institutional autonomy, with the ability to decide on admission, tuition and governance.

The U15 is an organization of the country's fifteen leading research-intensive universities. Additionally, McGill University and the University of Toronto are members of the Association of American Universities, along with sixty public and private institutions in the United States. Private universities in Canada are relatively new and mostly exist at the undergraduate level.

Chile[link]

Casa Central (Headquarters), Universidad de Chile

In Chile, older, so called "traditional" universities are more prestigious than the ones created after 1980. Even though some of those "traditional" universities are non-profit private entities, they belong to same superior university council called Consejo de Rectores (Council of Chancellors); the Consejo de Rectores runs its own admission system called Prueba de Selección Universitaria or PSU, which is roughly similar to SAT. Even though state run universities are much cheaper than the private ones, they are not tuition free for the students. It is remarkable that Chile spends only 4% in education, compared to the 7% of GDP recommended by the UN for developed nations. And in Chile the financing of higher education, private and public, is contributed by 75% by self-effort of families. The most prestigious universities in Chile are the state run Universidad de Chile, the private with State contributions Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the private with State contributions Universidad de Concepción and the private with state contributions Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, these four universities admit the largest numbers of high scoring students in the PSU admission test and are responsible for the largest portion of research (with the Universidad de Chile at the top). The non-traditional universities are, the most part, for-profit universities, and, with a few exceptions, don't have the same prestige as the above "traditional" ones.

China[link]

In China, nearly all universities and research institutions are public. They are usually run by the provincial governments. Some public universities are national which are directly administered by the central government. There are few private undergraduate colleges (mostly engineering schools) sponsored by some private enterprises and the majority of these are not entitled to give bachelor degrees. Currently, all important and significant centers for higher education in the country are publicly administered.

Costa Rica[link]

In Costa Rica the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Universidad Nacional, the Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Universidad Técnica Nacional and the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, all public universities, are among the nations most prestigious institutions. Nevertheless, the UN-sponsored University for Peace and the INCAE Business School (with campuses in Nicaragua and Costa Rica), are also notable.

Egypt[link]

Cairo University which became the prime indigenous model for other state universities in the region.

In Egypt, Al-Azhar University opened in 975 AD as the second oldest university in the world. It was followed by a lot of universities opened as public universities in the 20th century such as Cairo University, Alexandria University, Ain Shams University, Assiut University, Beni-Suef University, Zagazig University, Suez Canal University, Benha University, where tuition fees are totally subsidized by the Government.

Continental Europe[link]

• In Austria, most of the universities are public. The tuition fees are also regulated by the state and are the same for all universities. Except for some studies, notably medicine, everybody who fulfills the condition of a secondary degree is allowed to attend a public university. Private universities have existed since 1999, but they still need state accreditation.

• In Denmark, almost all universities are public and are held in higher esteem than their private counterparts. It is free to go to University in Denmark.

• In Finland all universities are public and free of charge.

• In France, most higher education organizations (universities and grandes écoles) are public and charge low tuition fees. Major exceptions are business schools such as HEC School of Management.

• In Germany, most higher education institutions are public and operated by the states and all lecturers and professors are public servants. From 1972 through 2006, public universities were free of tuition fees; however, since then some states have adopted low tuition fees.

• In Greece, all universities are public and enjoy de jure institutional autonomy, although in practice this autonomy is limited by ministerial interventions in issues such as student enrolment, academic recruitment and funding. With the exception of the Hellenic Open University, undergraduate programmes are offered tuition-free for Greek citizens, as are many post-graduate courses. Education is regarded as a constitutional responsibility of the state and the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. The article of the constitution regarding education was voted by the current parliament as one of those that will be amended by the next elected house of parliament. It is the intention of the current government to allow the establishment of private universities and recognize already existing private colleges as higher education institutions.

• In Ireland, nearly all universities, institutes of technology, colleges of education and some other third-level institutions are public, and the state pays the cost of educating its undergraduates. There are a few private institutions of higher learning, for example the National College of Ireland but none of them have university status and they are highly specialised.

• In Italy, almost all the universities are public, but they enjoy de jure institutional autonomy (limited by the state in practice, like in Greece). The majority of the funds came from the state and, therefore, students pay quite low tuition fees, decided by each university and related mainly to the student's family wealth, to the course and to the student's performances in the exams. A few scholarships, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, are also available for the best low-income students. Private funding, even for research, ranges from low to non-existent, compared to most other European countries.

• In Poland, universities are divided into a few categories; private universities which are operated by private citizens, societies or companies, and public universities created by Acts of Parliament. The Government pays all tuition fees, and other costs of students. Most private universities charge tuition fees directly to students, and these institutions are generally held in lower regard than public universities. A small number of private universities do not charge fees, such as John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, founded in 1918 and property of the Roman Catholic Episcopacy of Poland; the Polish Government pays all costs.

• In Portugal, there are 13 public universities, a university institute and a distance university. Higher education in Portugal provided by state-run institutions is not free, as a tuition fee must be paid, although being much lower than the tuition fees of the private ones. The highest tuition fee allowed by law in public universities was 901.23 euros/year (2007). The public universities include some of the most selective and demanding higher learning institutions in the country, noted for high competitiveness and nationwide reputation.

• In Spain there are a total of 74 universities. Most of them (52), including the most prestigious ones, are public, and are funded by the autonomous community (i.e., the federal state) in which they are based. As such, university funding may differ (though not significantly) depending on which Spanish region the university is based on. However, the central government establishes by law homogeneous tuition fees for all public universities, and as such university fees are much lower than those of their private counterparts. The highest tuition fee allowed by law was, as of 2010, of 14.97 euros per academic credit, amounting to roughly 840 euros/year for an average 60 credit full time course);^[3] tuition fees in private universities might reach 18,000 euros/year in comparison. Public universities are state-owned but granted a considerable degree of independence when it comes to self-government; they cannot, however, make free use of their assets (i.e., buy and sell assets as a private company would), and are subject to Spanish administrative law as any other public body of the state. In turn, public university administrators, lecturers and professors are granted civil servant status, which serves as a tenure because only under exceptional and very well justified circumstances can a civil servant lose his job under Spanish law. Research funding can be allocated either by the autonomous community or by the central government; in the former case, funding amount and conditions vary greatly from one autonomous community to another.

• In Sweden most universities are public. Education in Sweden is normally free, so there are no tuition fees at any university in Sweden

• In Turkey, many of the most renowned universities are public such as the Boğaziçi University, İTÜ, Yildiz Technical University, Karadeniz Technical University, Marmara University and METU, while at the same time a few of the notable universities are private such as Bilkent University.

Hong Kong[link]

See also: List of universities in Hong Kong

Eight institutions are funded by the University Grants Committee. The Academy for Performing Arts also receives funding from the government. The Open University of Hong Kong is also a public university, but it is largely self-financed. The Shue Yan University is the only private institution with the status of a university, but it also receives some financial support from the government since it was granted university status.

Indonesia[link]

Indonesia has thousands of higher educational institutes. Generally, there are three types of higher educational institutes: Universities, High Schools or Institutes and Academies. Universities usually offer science oriented degree such as Doctoral Degree (Doktor/Strata 3), Master Degree (Magister/Strata 2) and Undergraduate (Sarjana/Strata 1). Some universities also offer professional degrees. High Schools or Institutes generally offer professional degree. The educational system in high school or institutes usually based on an expertise such as health, economic, engineering, etc. Academy usually offer full professional degree (nursing, tourism, enterprise management, etc.) The study length for university and high school is normally four years (undergraduate), two years (master degree) and four years (doctoral degree); academy has shorter study length, three years on average. There are public and private educational institutes in Indonesia. The government (Ministry of National Education) provide public universities, institutes, high schools and academies in each province. The private educational institution usually provided by religious organizations, public organizations, and some big companies.

Some of the leading public universities are:

• University of Indonesia
• Gadjah Mada University
• Bogor Agricultural University
• Sebelas Maret University
• Padjadjaran University
• Brawijaya University
• Hasanuddin University
• Airlangga University
• Diponegoro University
• Bandung Institute of Technology
• Sepuluh November Institute of Technology

India[link]

In India, most universities and nearly all research institutions are public. There are some private undergraduate colleges (mostly engineering schools) and the majority of these are affiliated to a public university. Few other private colleges are partially aided by the state and central governments which results in reduced fees for the students. But all important and significant centers for higher education in the country are publicly administered.Indira Gandhi National Open University "IGNOU" is the public university here, which is the largest university in the world now. This university is "National University" as well as "International University".

Israel[link]

There are eight official universities in Israel. In addition, there are a few dozen colleges and other institutes of higher learning, as well as about a dozen foreign university extensions. All are academically supervised by the Council for Higher Education in Israel (CHEI). The main difference between a university and a college in Israel is that only a university can issue doctorate degrees. Theoretically, a college can apply to the CHEI to upgrade its status to university.

Japan[link]

In Japan, public universities refer to schools that are not national universities but are run by local governments, either prefectural or municipal. According to the Ministry of Education, public universities have "provided an opportunity for higher education in a region and served the central role of intellectual and cultural base for the local community in the region", and are "expected to contribute to social, economical and cultural development in the region";^[4] this contrasts to research-oriented aspects of national universities.

As of April 2006, there were 76 public universities, compared to 87 national and 571 private universities, and 127,872 students attended the schools. The number of the public universities has increased sharply in recent years; in 1980 there were only 34 public universities and in 1993 there were 46. Since July 2003 when the Local Independent Administrative Institutions Law was put into effect, public universities have been allowed to be incorporated.^[5] The average tuition in public universities for 2007 fiscal year was 536,238 yen, the average entrance fee 399,351 yen and the average application fee 17,095 yen.^[6]

Kenya[link]

In Kenya, the Ministry of Education controls all of the public universities. Students are enrolled after completing the 8-4-4 system of education and attaining a mark of B+ or above. Students who meet the criteria for government sponsorship receive a loan from the Higher Education Loan Board. They are expected to pay back after completing higher education.

Mexico[link]

UNAM campus in Mexico City

In Mexico, the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), sometimes simply known as the "National University of Mexico", was founded in 1910. It is the largest university in the country and one of the largest in the world with over 250,000 students including its system of high schools. By percentage, it contributes the most to the country's academic research and cultural development although there are other significant public institutions such as the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, and the federal state-run universities.

Nepal[link]

Tribhuvan University is the first public university of Nepal. The university is highly reputed both in Nepal as well as abroad, and runs various programs in a wide number of academic disciplines. It operates through six different schools, and also provides affiliation to various colleges across the country. Kathmandu University is also the public university of Nepal founded by government act in 1991. Due to high fee and single person's administration, many people think that this university is a private university however it is not (see kathmandu University type). The university offers new and demanding subjects especially in the field of science and technology through different schools.

New Zealand[link]

In New Zealand, all eight universities are public. Public funding is supported by research grants. The oldest (University of Otago) was established in 1869 by Provincial Ordinance. From 1870 to 1961, there was effectively a single university structure - the University of New Zealand - with constituent colleges located in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. In 1961, the constituent colleges were dissolved into four independent universities by the New Zealand Parliament to become the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Canterbury and University of Otago. This change also established a new university in Hamilton, the University of Waikato. Two associated agricultural colleges - Massey and Lincoln - subsequently become universities in 1963 and 1990 respectively. An eighth university (Auckland University of Technology) was formed in 2000 by an Order in Council under the Education Act 1989.^[7]

Pakistan[link]

In Pakistan, universities receive guidance and are partially regulated by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) (formerly the University Grant Commission). There are around 67 public and 57 private universities in Pakistan.^[8] The University of Punjab is the biggest public university followed by the University of Karachi.

Peru[link]

View of the historical campus of the National University of San Marcos, the oldest university of the Americas.

In Peru, the admission test required to enter national (public) universities requires higher scores. The public opinion sees this from the four century old National University of San Marcos (the oldest university of the Americas, founded in May 1551), that it has seen as the most respected public education institution in the country. Also many other public universities follow the same rigorous pattern used at San Marcos university, like National Agrarian University, the National University of Engineering and Federico Villarreal University.

Puerto Rico[link]

School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico.

Historical Quadrangle, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

• Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
• College University of San Juan
• College University of Criminal Justice of Puerto Rico
• Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico
• School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico or Puerto Rico's School of Fine Arts
• Technological Institute of Puerto Rico

Manatí Campus

San Juan Campus

• University of Puerto Rico

Aguadilla Campus

Arecibo Campus

Bayamón Campus

Carolina Campus

Cayey Campus

Humacao Campus

Mayagüez Campus

Medical Sciences Campus at San Juan

Ponce Campus

Río Piedras Campus at San Juan

Utuado Campus

Philippines[link]

Universities and colleges in the Philippines are controlled and managed by the Commission on Higher Education. There are more than 500 government-run higher education institutions, of which 436 are state colleges and universities, including satellite campuses, 31 local colleges and universities, and a handful of community colleges.

In 2008, state colleges and universities have a PHP 26.2-billion budget, out of which PHP 19.4 billion will be funded by direct subsidies.^[9]

Russia[link]

In Russia, about 7.5 million students study in thousands of universities.

South Africa[link]

Old Arts Building at the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa

South Africa has 23 public tertiary educational institutions, either categorised as a traditional university or a comprehensive university (providing theoretical and vocational training). Prominent public South African universities include the University of Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Pretoria, University of Stellenbosch, University of Witwatersrand, Rhodes University and the University of South Africa. Monash University of Australia established a campus in Johannesburg in 2001.

Sri Lanka[link]

In Sri Lanka all universities are public universities with most funded by government via the University Grants Commission which handles undergraduate placements and staff appointments. Therefore these are not independent institutions.

Taiwan[link]

Taiwan has more than 150 universities (2/3 were established after the 1980s), while only 1/3 of them are public universities. Tuition fees at public universities are less than half those of private universities because the Taiwan government puts more funding to the public universities. Additionally, public universities are more accredited and more prestigious in Taiwan and the majority of top-ranking schools are public. Therefore, most students choose public universities for their tertiary education.

Thailand[link]

Chulalongkorn University main auditorium in Thailand

Thailand The demands of officials specialized in various fields by the government in the late 19th century Siam was an aftermath of King Rama V's bureaucratic reforms, which aimed to transform the feudal Thai society into a modernized state. In 1899, the king founded the School for Training of Civil Officials (Thai: โรงเรียนสำหรับฝึกหัดวิชาข้าราชการฝ่ายพลเรือน) near the northern gate of the Royal Palace. Those who graduated from the school would became royal pages. Being royal pages, he must learn how to administrate organization by working closely with the king, which is a traditional way of entrance to Siamese bureaucracy. After being royal pages, he would then served in the Mahattai Ministry or other government ministries. Currently, Thailand has 24 public universities Does not include private universities.

United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, public funding provides around two-thirds of all universities' funding,^[10] with the exceptions of the University of Buckingham^[11] and BPP University College, are currently funded mainly by government teaching and research grants.^{[citation needed]} From September 2012 government funding for teaching and background funding for research will be substantially reduced, with one study indicating that annual Government funding for teaching and research will make up just 15% of universities’ income by 2015.^[12] At all English universities, excluding the University of Buckingham and BPP University College, the UK government also caps tuition fees;setting the maximum that a university can charge,^[13] student funding and student loans. The state controls the founding of universities, through royal charters. The UK government commissions and regulates a research assessment and teaching review. However, unlike in some Continental European countries, the UK government does not own universities' assets, and university staff are not civil servants. Government regulation arises as a condition of accepting funding from bodies such as HEFCE and any university can choose to leave the HEFCE regulated system at any time.^[14]

In Scotland, the first degree studied is free and paid for by the Scottish government <"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15126753">; as a result of EU law, this means that students from other EU countries can study for free. There is also a change of direction funding in which a student can change course or degree after a year without imposing financial penalties or having to pay extra <"http://www.saas.gov.uk/faqs_special_circumstances.htm">.

With the release of the 2010 Browne report and the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review, this model of funding higher education has been modified in England. From 2012 much more of the responsibility for funding undergraduate university teaching will be placed on students, through increased student loans provided by the UK government.^[13] The government will also continue to fund research, give limited funding to master's degrees and will continue to contribute (albeit in a reduced manner) to some undergraduate degrees, particularly those in the natural sciences.^[13] Different arrangements will continue to apply elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

United States[link]

In the United States, most public universities are state universities founded and operated by state government entities; the oldest being the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The University of Georgia, although the overall oldest school now designated as public is The College of William & Mary (founded in 1693 and first considered private). Every U.S. state has at least one public university to its name, and the largest states have more than thirty. This is partly as a result of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts, which gave each eligible state 30,000 acres (120 km²) of federal land to sell to finance public institutions offering courses of study in practical fields in addition to the liberal arts. One example of a state university that is a top tier school in the world that is state funded is the University of California system. Their top campuses include San Diego, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. Many U.S. public universities began as teacher training institutions and eventually were expanded into comprehensive universities. Examples include University of California, Los Angeles, formerly the southern branch of California State Normal School, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, formerly Milwaukee Normal School, and Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State Teachers College.

Many U.S. public universities began as teacher training institutions and eventually were expanded into comprehensive state universities. One example is the University of North Alabama, formerly Florence State Teachers College, located in Florence, Alabama.

States generally charge higher tuition to out-of-state students. The higher fees are based on the theory that students from the state, or much more often their parents, have contributed to subsidizing the university by paying state taxes, while of out-of-state students and their parents have not. It has never been determined whether the U.S. Constitution would allow the federal government to establish a federal university system; the only federally chartered public universities that currently exist are those under the auspices of the U.S. military, such as West Point. In addition, Gallaudet University and Howard University are federally chartered private universities in Washington, DC.

Historically, many of the prestigious universities in the United States have been private. Some public universities are also highly prestigious and increasingly selective though; Richard Moll designated such prestigious public universities Public Ivies. At schools like the University of Michigan, UCLA, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a vast majority of the departments are consistently highly ranked.

Public universities generally rely on subsidies from their respective state government. “The historical data for private and public institutions reveal that public institutions have always been more dependent on external support than have private institutions.”^[15] Recently, state support of public universities has been declining, forcing many public universities to seek private support. The real level of state funding for public higher education has doubled from $30 billion in 1974 to nearly $60 billion in 2000. Meanwhile, the percent of state appropriations for the cost of schooling per student at public university has fallen from 78% in 1974 to 43% in 2000.^[16] The increasing use of teaching assistants in public universities is a testament to waning state support.^[17] To compensate, some professional graduate programs in law, business, and medicine rely almost solely on private funding.

There are a number of public liberal arts colleges, including the members of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.

See also[link]

University portal

• Private university
• State university system
• National university
• Prefectural university

References[link]

Jim Moran
Official Congressional portrait from 2006
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Stanford Parris
Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia
In office 1985–1990
Preceded by	Charles E. Beatley
Succeeded by	Patsy Ticer
Personal details
Born	James Patrick Moran, Jr. (1945-05-16) May 16, 1945 (age 67) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	LuAnn L. Bennett (m. 2004–2006) Mary Howard (1988–2003)
Relations	James Patrick Moran (father) Brian Moran (brother)
Children	Four
Residence	Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	College of the Holy Cross (B.A.) University of Pittsburgh (M.P.A.)
Occupation	Investment broker Federal employee
Signature
Website	Official House website Campaign website

James Patrick "Jim" Moran, Jr. ( /mɵˈræn/; born May 16, 1945) is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 8th congressional district, serving since 1991. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in Northern Virginia and includes the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington County, and a portion of Fairfax County.

Jim Moran was the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia for five years from 1985 to 1990, when he resigned to run for Congress. He defeated Republican incumbent Stanford Parris in the general election on November 6, 1990, and was sworn in the following January. Since then he has served ten consecutive terms as a member of the Congress. He is of Irish descent and is the son of professional football player James Patrick Moran, Sr. and the brother of Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Brian Moran.

Early life, education, and business career[link]

Moran, the oldest of seven children, was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, a working-class suburb west of Boston. His parents were Dorothy (Dwyer) and James Patrick Moran, Sr., a professional football player for the Boston Redskins in 1935 and 1936; outside of football he worked as a probation officer.^[1] Both his father and mother were Roosevelt Democrats and supporters of the New Deal. Moran attended Marian High School in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Moran played college football on an athletic scholarship at the College of the Holy Cross,^[2] where his father had been a football star in the early 1930s. Moran was awarded a B.A. in economics in 1967. In 1970 he received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. During a campaign in 1992, Moran admitted that he had tried marijuana during his early twenties.^[3]

After a brief career as a stockbroker, and attending graduate school, Moran moved to Washington, D.C.^[2]

Early political career[link]

He worked for five years at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, as a budget officer, then became a senior specialist for budgetary and fiscal policy at the Library of Congress. His final position, from 1976 to 1979, was on the staff of U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.^[4]

In 1979, Moran was elected to the Alexandria, Virginia, City Council. He was deputy mayor from 1982 until his resignation in 1984 as part of a nolo contendere plea bargain to a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge, which courts later erased. The incident stemmed from charges that Moran had used money from a political action committee to rent a tuxedo and buy Christmas cards; both of which were later judged by the Commonwealth Attorney to "fit the definition of constituent services", and were dismissed.^[5]

In 1985 Moran was elected Mayor of Alexandria. He was reelected in 1988,^[6] and resigned after he was elected to Congress in November 1990.

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

In 1990, Moran first won election to the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Stanford Parris. During the campaign, Parris compared Moran to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein; saying that "The only three people I know who support Saddam Hussein's position are Moammar Gadhafi, Yasser Arafat and Jim Moran." Moran angrily responded by saying that Parris was a "a deceitful, fatuous jerk", and that he wanted "to break his nose".^[7][8] Moran's well-financed campaign also focused on Parris' opposition to abortion. Moran upset Parris, winning by 7.1 percent.^[9] He was sworn into office in January 1991.^[10][10]

In the next two elections, Moran faced Republican lawyer Kyle McSlarrow. During the 1992 campaign, McSlarrow accused Moran of "lying to the public". Moran responded by portraying McSlarrow as a drug abuser, referring to the candidate's admitted use of cocaine and marijuana while at the University of Virginia.^[11] Moran compared McSlarrow to Parris, saying that Parris had "[t]en times more integrity than McSlarrow. He didn't create lies."^[12] In 1994, Moran's daughter Dorothy was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. (She is still alive as of 2011.) During the campaign, neither Moran or McSlarrow used the negative tactics of two years earlier. On his campaign strategy that election, McSlarrow said "It would not be a community service to shut down this campaign, but I probably will not talk much about Moran."^[13]

In 1998 and 2000, Moran faced Republican and flat tax advocate Demaris H. Miller. In the 1998 campaign Miller accused Moran of flip-flopping in his support of President Bill Clinton, after Moran, who had been a vocal supporter of the Clinton White House, voted in favor of opening an impeachment inquiry following the Monica Lewinsky scandal.^[14]

In 2008, Moran beat a primary challenger with 86% of the vote. In the general election, he faced Republican Mark Ellmore and Independent Green Ron Fisher. He won with 68 percent of the vote to Elmore's 30 percent.^[15]

In November 2009 Ellmore announced he would again challenge Moran, but dropped out of the race four months later.^[16] In the June 2010 Republican primary, attorney Matthew Berry narrowly lost to retired U.S. Army Colonel J. Patrick Murray, after a last-minute mailing attacking Berry's homosexuality.^[17][18] Fisher again was on the ballot.^[19] During the campaign, Moran was criticized by military advocacy groups and conservatives for saying, at a local Democratic committee meeting, that Murray had not "served or performed any kind of public service".^{[20][21][22][23]} Moran responded by commending Murray's military service, while saying that he used the phrase in relation to Murray not having engaged in "local civic engagement" and not having served in local office.^[24] In November 2010, Moran was re-elected to an eleventh term with 61% of the vote.^[25]

Tenure[link]

Moran represents Virginia's 8th congressional district, an area in Northern Virginia that is just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.; the district includes Arlington county, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church. The redistricting that followed the 2000 census also gave Moran a portion of Reston, Virginia. His district is located in the Dulles Technology Corridor and is the home of many federal defense contractors as well as a significant number of those who work in the information technology industry. Many federal employees also reside within the district, mostly due to its proximity to Washington and because both the United States Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, among others, are headquartered there.^[26]

During the mid nineties, Moran co-founded and later co-chaired the Democratic Leadership Council, a coalition of Democratic lawmakers who consider themselves to be moderates with regard to commerce, budgeting, and economic legislation, but vote as a liberal on social issues.^[27] Moran is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the largest caucus operating within the Democratic caucus, which works to advance progressive issues and opinions. He joined the caucus prior to the 111th Congress.^[28][29]

1990s[link]

In 1995, Moran had to be restrained by the Capitol Police after a shoving match with California Republican Duke Cunningham on the house floor over President Bill Clinton's decision to send U.S. troops to Bosnia. "I thought he had been bullying too many people for too long, and I told him so," Moran recalled. "He said he didn't mean to be so accusatory ... After that, he would bring me candy from California." Moran said that after the encounter he found Cunningham crying in the cloakroom.^[30]

During the final years of the Clinton administration, Moran was critical of the President: In 1998, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Moran was one of only 31 House Democrats to support launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton. He told Time magazine that "This whole sordid mess is just too tawdry and tedious and embarrassing ... It's like a novel that just became too full of juicy parts and bizarre, sleazy characters."^[31] Moran is also reported to have told First Lady Hillary Clinton that if she had been his sister, he would have punched her husband in the nose. Moran eventually decided not to vote for impeachment, explaining that Clinton had not compromised the country's security, and that he still respected him for what he had accomplished as President. Moran proposed a resolution demanding that Clinton confess to a pattern of "dishonest and illegal conduct" surrounding his sexual involvement with Monica Lewinsky.^[32][33]

2000s[link]

Moran has been voted High Technology Legislator of the Year by the Information Technology Industry Council and has been voted into the American Electronics Association Hall of Fame for his work on avoiding the Year 2000 crisis and his support of the IT Industry and defense contractors in Northern Virginia. He cosponsored failed bills in 2005 to provide the District of Columbia with a House seat and to prohibit slaughter of horses.^[34][35]

On April 28, 2006, Moran, along with four other members of Congress (the now-deceased Rep. Tom Lantos of California, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, and James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts), and six other activists, was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., and spent 45 minutes in a jail cell before being released. They were protesting the alleged role of Sudan's government in ethnic cleansing in Darfur. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Their protest and civil disobedience was designed to embarrass the military dictatorship's ongoing genocide of its non-Arab citizens."^[36]

The day after the Virginia Tech Massacre in 2007, Moran told a local radio station that the assault weapons ban should be reinstated and blamed the National Rifle Association, which he accused of getting a "free ride", and President George W. Bush for blocking gun control legislation. He further warned that if gun control legislation was not passed, then shootings such as the one at Virginia Tech will happen "time and time again." He later dismissed charges that he was politicizing the shooting, telling Politico that "as a legislator, your immediate reaction is to think something could be done to avoid this. I don't know why the idea of figuring out how to avoid it is a political partisan issue."^[37]

Shortly before the June 2008 Virginia Democratic primary, Moran endorsed Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for the presidency over New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Explaining his endorsement, he told a local newspaper that the long term goal of closing Alexandria's coal-fired power plant would be more attainable under Obama than under Clinton. Obama won the Virginia primary, and carried the state when he won the general election in November.^[38]

In May 2009, Moran introduced a bill that would restrict broadcast advertisements for erectile dysfunction or male enhancement medication. He said that such ads were indecent and should be prohibited on radio and television between the hours of 6 am and 10 pm, in accordance with Federal Communications Commission policy. Later that year, Moran and former presidential candidate and former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean held a town hall meeting on the issue of health care at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia. The meeting was interrupted several times by protesters, most notably pro-life activist Randall Terry, who, along with about half a dozen supporters, caused such a commotion that he had to be escorted out by police. The incident was replayed several times over the next few weeks on television as an example of the tension at town halls that fall.^[39][40]

In February 2010, on the House floor, Moran called for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the military policy of discharging soldiers on active duty who are openly homosexual. He spoke about a letter penned by a gay soldier who was then serving in the Afghanistan War, who had "learned that a fellow soldier was also gay, only after he was killed by an IED in Iraq. The partner of the deceased soldier wrote the unit to say how much the victim had loved the military; how they were the only family he had ever known... This immutable human trait, sexual orientation, like the color of one's skin, does not affect one’s integrity, their honor, our commitment to their country. Soldiers serving their country in combat should not have their sacrifices compounded by having to struggle with an antiquated Don’t ask, don’t tell policy. Let's do the right and honorable thing and repeal this policy."^[41][42]

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Moran has worked to allocate federal funding to projects in Northern Virginia, usually in the technology and defense industries. He also assisted in authorizing the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, a bridge between Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince George's County, Maryland, which had gained a reputation over the years among Northern Virginia residents as the site of numerous rush-hour traffic jams.^[4][43]

On March 9, 2010, Moran was named to succeed Norm Dicks of Washington as the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. The chairmanship gave Moran authority over appropriations to the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts; among other things. Moran said he was excited to be able to play a role in protecting the environment and conserving natural resources.^[44][45]

2010s[link]

Moran became the ranking member of the subcommittee after the Democratic Party lost control of the House of Representatives following the November 2010 elections.

After President Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address, Moran was interviewed by Alhurra, an Arab television network. During the interview, he said, "a lot of people in [the United States of America]...don't want to be governed by an African-American" and that the Democrats lost seats in the 2010 election for "the same reason the Civil War happened in the United States...the Southern states, particularly the slaveholding states, didn't want to see a president who was opposed to slavery."^[46] The remarks received national media attention.^[47][48] The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin said the remarks were "beyond uncivil" and "obnoxious".^[49]

Jim Moran attending the Rosslyn pit stop at Bike-to-Work Day DC 2012

On March 16, 2012, Moran was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, DC at a protest against human rights abuses perpetrated by the Sudanese government, specifically bombings in the Nuba Mountains and refusal to allow humanitarian aid organizations access to refugees. He was charged with disorderly conduct and released, along with George Clooney and several others.^[50][51]

Moran occasionally makes appearances on MSNBC, usually on Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Ed Show.^[52][53]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships[link]

• LGBT Equality Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Bike Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition (co-founder)
• Sudan Caucus^{[citation needed]}
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus

Political positions[link]

Social issues[link]

Moran speaking at an event for Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Moran has voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and he was in favor of repealing the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.^[41] He also supports gun control, voting for the Brady Bill and supporting a reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban.^[37][54] At different times he has voted to ban flag-burning and partial-birth abortions, though he has reversed his positions on both issues. On education, he has expressed support for the public education system, universal pre-kindergarten, and full funding for the No Child Left Behind program.^[55] Moran has been given a 100% rating by the NARAL and 0% by the National Right to Life Committee, indicating a pro-choice voting record. He also voted to expand research of embryonic Stem Cells and to allow minors to go across state lines to receive abortions.^[54]

On immigration, Moran supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and does not support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country or the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police.^[56] He was a cosponsor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009 (H.R.4321), which the House did not pass.^[57] He has been given an overall immigration reduction grade of D by NumbersUSA.^[58] The American Immigration Lawyers Association has scored him as having voted 31 times for the organization's position and 7 times against the organization's position.^[59]

In September 2009, Moran was one of 75 members of the House of Representatives to vote no on a bill to eliminate any federal funds going to community organizer ACORN.^[60]

Environment[link]

Moran has listed the environment as one of his top issues, citing his high marks from the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club. He has used his positions as a member of the Appropriations Committee and as chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to allocate federal funding for hiking trails^[61] and wildlife reserves in his district.^[62]

He has also voted to ban logging on federal lands. He has criticized the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inaction on climate change, saying that "EPA had a historic opportunity to tackle head-on one of the greatest threats to our existence—global warming. Instead they balked under pressure from the administration, concluding the problem is so complex and controversial that it cannot be resolved." He has also endorsed and voted for the Clean Air Act and says that global warming is an important issue to him.^[54] In 2010, Moran also expressed discontent with President Barack Obama's decision to allow oil drilling off the coast of the United States.^[63][64]

Economy, budget, and taxes[link]

Moran often breaks with his party on economic issues. For example, he has supported Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and other free trade agreements,^[54] harsher bankruptcy laws, and increased restrictions on the right to bring class action suits.^[54]

He voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Reform and Accountability Act. He supports pay-as-you-go budgeting and believes "that the American government needs to strive to build up a surplus when possible, so that there are funds to support and sustain our country during tough financial times." Moran has called former President George W. Bush "Fiscally irresponsible."^[54][65]

Moran has said he supports the redistribution of wealth, saying in November 2008 that "We have been guided by a Republican administration who believes in this simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards the means of redistributing wealth."^[66] He also says on his website that the recession was largely "a result of the imbalance in the distribution of wealth over the last eight years and an absence of oversight and accountability."^[54]

Social programs[link]

Moran has called Social Security "a safe, stable, and dependable source of financial assistance for retirees and their families," and strongly opposes privatizing Social Security, saying that it would "cripple the system". It is his position that any changes to the current system must "promote its long-term solvency without disrupting the core principles on which the program was founded."^[67]

Moran has expressed support for Universal Healthcare and more specifically the public health insurance option, saying at a town hall meeting in Reston, Virginia, in August 2009 that "It could do the most to bring down long-term medical costs and to adequately insure every American."^[68][69] Moran voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which passed in November 2009, saying about the bill on his website that the "cost of doing nothing is simply too high for the American people to carry who today pay more than twice what people everywhere else on earth pay but yet live no longer nor healthier lives".^[70]

Defense[link]

Moran voted against authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 and did not support the troop increase for the Afghanistan War proposed by President Barack Obama in 2009, saying first that he appreciated Obama's "careful consideration regarding the U.S.'s engagement in Afghanistan", but later defining the issues on which he and the President disagreed:

"Our security concern is Al-Qaeda, not the Taliban. Eight years ago we went into Afghanistan to eliminate al-Qaeda and the “safe haven” that Afghanistan’s Taliban were providing the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qaeda has no significant presence today in all of Afghanistan.... Instead of increasing our troop presence, the U.S. should limit its mission in Afghanistan to securing strategic Afghan population centers with the troops currently on the ground."^[71]

Other[link]

Moran does not support granting statehood to the District of Columbia.^[72] However, he has voted to allow Washington, D.C., to send a voting representative to the United States Congress.^[73]

Moran is in favor of stronger prohibitions against animal fighting.

Controversies[link]

Reputed conflicts of interest[link]

MBNA loan[link]

Moran's support for harsher bankruptcy law provisions and sponsorship of stricter bankruptcy legislation brought allegations in 2002 that his support came in return for financial favors by financial institutions which could benefit from such laws. In January 1998, one month before he introduced the legislation, credit card bank MBNA advocated that it would restrict the ability of consumer debtors to declare bankruptcy. Moran received a favorable debt consolidation loan from the bank that allowed him to avoid personal bankruptcy arising from credit card and stock market losses. The $447,000 loan at a favorable interest rate was the largest loan to an individual MBNA issued in 1998. Its belated disclosure triggered a Federal Elections Commission investigation into whether or not it constituted an improper contribution.

The Lieutenant Governor of Virginia at the time, Tim Kaine, joined Republican lawmakers in calling for a House Ethics Committee investigation into the loan, saying that Moran had made "an error in judgment" by accepting it. In his own defense, Moran said that the timing of the legislation's introduction was coincidental and had nothing to do with the loan. MBNA spokesman Brian Dalphon said that the bank had offered the mortgage package not knowing that Moran was a member of Congress, and that the loan "made good business sense" because with the mortgage loan, "we improved our position by getting security for an unsecured loan.... He had credit cards with us, he was having financial difficulties; this put him in a better position to be able to pay us back from a cash-flow standpoint."^[74][75]

PMA group[link]

The House Ethics Committee investigated several members of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, including Moran, Peter J. Visclosky, Norm Dicks, Marcy Kaptur and the late John Murtha, who was the chairman at the time, for a conflict of interest in the allocation of the government contracts to clients of the PMA Group, which donated nearly a million dollars to Moran's political action committee, as well as a significant amount of money to the gubernatorial campaign of Moran's younger brother, Brian.^[76] Moran said that he was unaware of "who made donations", and "how much they gave", and therefore was not affected by the donations when allocating the funding.^[77]

In February 2010, the panel cleared Moran and the others, saying that they violated no laws. The panel concluded, as part of its 305 page report, that "simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor... does not support a claim that a member's actions are being influenced by campaign contributions" .^[78] After PMA's founder, Paul Magliocchetti, plead guilty in September 2010 to six years of campaign finance fraud,^[79] Moran said that he would not return the $177,700 in PMA Group-related donations that he received from 1990 to 2010.^[80]

AIPAC and the Iraq War[link]

Comments prior to the Invasion of Iraq[link]

Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Moran told an anti-war audience in Reston, Virginia, that if "it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should". This brought criticism from many of his own party, including, among others, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and Senator Joe Lieberman. Nancy Pelosi, who was House Minority Leader at the time, remarked that "Moran's comments have no place in the Democratic Party."^[81]

Moran apologized for the remarks, saying that "I should not have singled out the Jewish community and regret giving any impression that its members are somehow responsible for the course of action being pursued by the administration, or are somehow behind an impending war... What I was trying to say is that if more organizations in this country, including religious groups, were more outspoken against war, then I do not think we would be pursuing war as an option."^[82][83]

Criticism of AIPAC[link]

Moran was criticized by Jewish groups again in 2007 for remarks made in an issue of Tikkun, a California-based Jewish magazine, which were said to have placed blame for the Iraq War on the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Moran told Tikkun that AIPAC is "[t]he most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful – most of them are quite wealthy – they have been able to exert power."^[82][83]

Moran's remarks were criticized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the National Jewish Democratic Council. Ronald Halber, executive director of the first group, said that Moran "uses several age-old canards that have been used throughout history that have brought violence upon Jews... He uses clearly anti-Semitic images such as Jewish control of the media and wealthy Jews using their wealth to control policy." He was also criticized by many House Democrats, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Energy and Commerce committee chairman Henry Waxman, who said that Moran's remarks were inaccurate and "deeply offensive". House Republican Whip, the sole Republican Jewish member of Congress, and fellow Representative from Virginia Eric Cantor said that Moran's remarks were "bigoted".^[84]

However, Rabbi Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun, defended Moran's position, writing in the September–October issue of his magazine that "It's the kind of statement I would have made to any religious community, or to any labor movement audience, citing their own failures to act as a critical factor in why we had gotten involved." Moran stood by his remarks in the interview, saying in a separate interview that the pro-Israel lobby had not represented mainstream U.S. Jewish opinion in recent years, most notably with its Middle East policies, which he characterized as directly aligned with those of the Bush administration.^[85] In a statement Moran further affirmed that it was not his position American Jews were responsible for the Iraq War, and that his remarks to the magazine were directed solely at AIPAC. It stated that Moran "recognizes the progressive nature of the Jewish community as a whole, and notes that if the rest of America voted the way Jews vote, the U.S. would not be in the war in Iraq today, and would have health care for all, and would not be involved in discriminatory treatment of gays or of immigrants."^[86]

"Taliban ticket"[link]

In 2009 Moran was speaking at a get out the vote rally for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds when he said "I mean, if the Republicans were running in Afghanistan, they'd be running on the Taliban ticket as far as I can see." Moran was referring to the Virginia Republican ticket of Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli. A McDonnell spokesperson said the comment was "negative" and "vicious".^[87]

Reported assaults[link]

During his tenure as mayor of Alexandria (1985–1990), Moran was reportedly accused of assault, though no charges were ever filed. Alexandria police officers have refused to discuss Moran's tenure as Mayor publicly, but several officers said privately that his behavior would have led to the arrest of "ordinary citizens."^[88]

In April, 2000 parents of an 8-year-old boy filed a complaint against Moran for allegedly assaulting their son who was admiring Moran's car. "He choked me and then cussed at me," the boy told The Washington Times. "I thought he was going to kidnap or kill me...All I told him was that I liked his car."^[89]

Insider trading[link]

In November 2011, author Peter Schweizer published a book, Throw Them All Out, which included an allegation that Moran used information he got from a September 16, 2008 briefing, in which Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned of an impending financial crisis, for his stock market activity:

"September 17, 2008, was by far Moran’s most active trading day of the year. He dumped shares in Goldman Sachs, General Dynamics, Franklin Resources, Flowserve Corporation, Ecolabs, Edison International, Electronic Arts, DirecTV, Conoco, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Apple, CVS, Cisco, Chubb, and a dozen more companies."

Moran made more than 90 trades that day.^[90]

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Moran has been married three times. His second wife, Mary Howard Moran, filed for divorce in 1999, one day after an argument at the couple's Alexandria home which resulted in a visit by the police.^[94] The Congressman provided his own divorce papers a few months later, and in 2003 the couple officially separated.^[95] He remarried in 2004 to real estate developer LuAnn Bennett. In December 2010, Moran and Bennett announced they were separating.^[96]

Moran is the father of four children, including Mary Moran, who works at the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA),^[97] and Dorothy, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor during her father's campaign for reelection against Kyle McSlarrow in 1994. It was said at the time that she had only a twenty percent chance of living to age five, but after almost two years of chemotherapy and herbal therapies she was designated cancer free.^[13][98]

His brother, Brian Moran, is a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and currently the head of the Virginia Democratic Party. He was an unsuccessful primary candidate for Governor of Virginia in the 2009 election.^[99]

Moran, who was a stockbroker before running for public office, made more than 537 options trades, which had a potential value of more than $3 million, between 1995 and 2003, according to The Washington Post. In 1999 Moran lost approximately $120,000 from options investments. During divorce proceedings in 2003, the attorneys for his second wife described the trading as "stock market gambling" in court papers. Since his remarriage to LuAnn Bennett in 2004, Moran's disclosure statements have shown him to have one of the most actively traded portfolios in Congress. In May 2010, Moran's Chief of Staff, Austin Durrer, said that Moran had not personally made any trades for the past five years.^[100]

References[link]