David Ross Obey (pronounced Oh-Bee), who was to become Wisconsin's longest serving congressman, was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma on October 3, 1938. In 1941 his family moved to Wausau, Wisconsin where the families of both of his parents had previously resided. As a teenager David Obey worked for his father's floor covering business to contribute to the family income, and after graduation from Wausau High School in 1956 he attended the University of Wisconsin's Wausau extension campus for two years in order to save money. In 1956 Obey graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a B.S. degree in political science. A national scholarship allowed him to continue work toward an M.A. with a specialization in Russian Area studies which he completed in 1963.
Obey developed an early interest in politics. Although his first political activity was delivering campaign literature for Republican Joseph R. McCarthy, eventually Obey embraced the political philosophy of the La Follette Progressives that was carried forward in Wisconsin by the Democratic Party. As a student at the University of Wisconsin beginning in 1958 Obey was a member of the Young Democrats, and he participated in the electoral campaigns of Gaylord Nelson, Robert Kastenmeier, and William Proxmire.
In 1962, while still a graduate student, Obey married Joan Lepinski and later in the year he was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly. He was reelected in 1964, 1966, and 1968. Because of the intelligence and hard work that was to be a hallmark of his political career Obey quickly rose to a leadership position. He served as vice-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance and was elected assistant minority leader. In 1966 Obey received the Legislative Leadership Award of the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
In April 1969 Obey was elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Melvin Laird when he became Secretary of Defense. Because Obey was a Democrat and the long-serving Laird was a Republican, unusual attention was paid to Obey's victory. Obey was reelected in 1970 and in every election thereafter through 2008 by comfortable margins. His closest race came in 1972 when, as a result of redistricting, Obey's district was combined with the 10th District of Alvin O'Konski, and he was forced to run against O'Konski.
While still a freshman legislator Obey achieved a political coup when he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee. Obey would eventually serve on and chair some of the most important of the Appropriations subcommittees. In 1975 Obey received an appointment to the Labor-Health and Social Services and Education Subcommittee (L-HSSE) which exercised broad oversight of labor, education, and human services agencies and programs. The responsibilities of L-HSSE launched Obey's interest in cancer research and occupational health and safety. Later, as chair he was able to advocate for increased funding for programs in education, health, and labor. Obey was also appointed to the Foreign Operations Subcommittee. In the following years as both member and chair (1985-1995) he traveled abroad on numerous fact-finding missions during which he met with foreign leaders. Obey was instrumental in shrinking foreign military assistance in favor of humanitarian aid, ending the support to the Nicaraguan contras, and encouraging a settlement in the Middle East. In 1977 Obey's seat on the Appropriations Committee also won him one of the committee's designated positions on the House Budget Committee, the body that exercised responsibility for determining overall budget priorities. In 1994 Obey was elected chairman of the Appropriations Committee, serving through January 1995. He was elected chairman again in 2007 prior to which he had been the committee's ranking Democrat. In 1983 Obey was appointed to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), a standing committee that examined economic trends. He served as chairman from 1985 to 1986 and from 1993 to 1994. At Obey's urging the JEC examined the nation's growing economic inequality and the negative implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
During the 1970s Obey was a leader within the liberal Democratic Study Group in its efforts to reform House operations. In 1974 he chaired the Commission on Administrative Review, also known as the Obey Commission, which made sweeping recommendations concerning congressional ethics, campaign financing, and the internal operations of Congress. The committee's code of ethics was accepted, but its other recommendations would not come until later. In the following years Obey was a consistent critic of the role of money in electoral campaigns, and he introduced many bills to limit the influence of political action committees.
On May 5, 2010, Obey announced that he would not seek reelection. In 2011 he began working for Gephardt Government Affairs, a lobbying firm founded by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt.
