Democrat Judy Feder, 59, kicked off her campaign to unseat 26-year incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) at her home in McLean on July 11.
"I will be a different kind of congresswoman," said Feder, who is dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. "I have 30 years experience as a policy expert, an independent voice telling politicians things they don't want to hear. For years, I've fought the special interests standing in the way of giving all Americans access to affordable health care — and I've got the scars to prove it."
Over the next five months, Feder's campaign will focus on Wolf's record — particularly his support of what she calls "giveaways to the oil industry."
"For years, policy experts have warned us about the price of our addiction to oil," Feder said. "And how have President Bush and Congress responded? If our economy's been 'oiling' itself to death the way an alcoholic drinks himself to death, President Bush and Congress have been the chief enablers, buying drink after drink."
Wolf denied that he is beholden to the oil industry, pointing out that last year he asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate multinational oil corporations.
"If I'm such a friend of the oil industry, why would I have asked the FTC to investigate it?" Wolf said.
At her campaign kick off, Feder unveiled a "Declaration of Energy Independence" petition that calls upon Bush and Wolf to end "giveaways" to the oil industry — a move she asserted could save taxpayers more than $48 billion.