From keeping our country safe to strengthening public education and bringing jobs to North Carolina, Congressman David Price understands the issues that matter to Triangle families.  

The son of an English teacher and a high school principal, David grew up in the small town of Erwin, Tennessee, near the North Carolina border.  At an early age, he learned the importance of education and its ability to improve lives, and throughout his career he has championed educational opportunity at all levels.  

David began his undergraduate studies at Mars Hill College in the North Carolina mountains.  He transferred to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill after winning a Morehead Scholarship and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and mathematics.  He received both a Bachelor of Divinity (1964) and a Ph.D. in political science (1969) from Yale University.  Before entering Congress David taught political science and public policy at Duke University.

Price and his wife Lisa were married in 1968 and settled in Chapel Hill in 1973.  After being a stay-at-home mother for many years, Lisa worked for Chapel Hill Mayors Jonathan Howes and Ken Broun and later helped found North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.   She was its Executive Director until retiring in 2007.  The Prices have two children and two grandchildren.  Karen is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles, and Michael teaches evolutionary psychology at Brunel University in London.  He is married to the former Jade Gibson of Fredericksburg, VA; they are the parents of Charles Albert born in 2006, and Margaret Elizabeth, born in 2009.

David is a member of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, where he has taught Sunday School and chaired the official board.

A Strong Record of Service

David has worked in Congress to promote the values and interests of Triangle residents.  He serves on the Appropriations Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.  He also serves on the subcommittees for Transportation and Housing, which funds critical infrastructure and economic development needs, and Military Construction-VA, which supports our troops in the field and after their deployments.  In addition, David chairs the House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan commission to strengthen representative institutions in emerging democracies throughout the world, including countries of strategic importance to the United States like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

From his post as Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, David has become a steadfast advocate for our first responders, who are on the front lines of protecting our communities.  He has been widely credited for his efforts to protect critical fire and police department funding, for his efforts to rebuild the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after it was weakened under the Bush Administration, and for his insistence that we make the deportation of criminal aliens a top immigration enforcement priority.

Among David’s top priorities in Congress are improving public schools and making higher education more affordable for all North Carolinians.  He wrote and helped pass the Price Education Affordability Act (Public Law 105-34), which gives parents and students a tax break on their education loans.  He also authored legislation to recruit high quality teachers to classrooms throughout America, modeled after North Carolina’s successful Teaching Fellows program (Public Law 110-315). And he authored legislation to strengthen high-tech worker training through community and technical colleges with his Advanced Technical Education Act (Public Law 102-476).

David has also enacted legislation to help consumers understand the consequences of making only the minimum payment on their credit cards (Public Law 111-24), and to ensure that candidates for public office stand by the content of their ads with specific disclosure statements (Public Law 107-155).  

"In touch with the Triangle, working for us."

David knows that the last few years have been tough for Triangle families, and that’s why he has made job creation his top priority.  David will continue to push for practical steps to create jobs and strengthen the economy, rather than going back to the failed policies of the past. He believes our economic recovery depends on three strategies, each dependent on the others: continued investment and business incentives to spur economic growth, tough new rules to protect consumers and taxpayers from Wall Street abuses, and a return to balanced budgets and reduced debt.  

He has fought for North Carolina by securing investments in the people and infrastructure of our region through the Recovery Act.  He helped pass major legislation to give individuals greater control over their health care -- ending abusive insurance practices like denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and protecting patients from rapidly escalating premiums and fine print that limits coverage when it is needed most.  He continues to support a national energy policy that will reduce our dependence on oil and transition us to a clean energy economy.    

Like so many others in the region, David and his family have long cherished the Triangle's good schools, safe neighborhoods, and thriving business climate.  As our 4th District Congressman, he is committed to maintaining and enhancing that quality of life through improved public education and worker training, better roads and transit options, enhanced air and water quality, and targeted investments in research and innovation.  David believes in the Triangle's success story, and his accomplishments in Congress will help continue that legacy for generations to come.