The son of an English teacher and a high school principal, US Rep. David Price knows the issues that matter to working families, from ensuring financial security to making affordable higher education a reality. In fact, education quickly became the focal point of David's life.

Growing up in the small mountain town of Erwin, Tennessee, near the North Carolina border, David was taught the importance of education and its ability to improve lives from an early age, and throughout his career, he has championed educational excellence at all levels, fighting to ensure that children enter elementary school "ready to learn," that we recruit and retain top students for teaching careers, and that we open wide the doors of opportunity for advanced training and higher education.

David went to Mars Hill College, a junior college in the North Carolina mountains, and transferred as a junior to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill after winning the prestigious Morehead Scholarship. He continued his education at Yale University, where he earned his Bachelor of Divinity (1964) and a Ph.D. in political science (1969).

David and his wife Lisa recently celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary. They have two grown children, Karen and Michael, who both attended North Carolina public schools. Since 1973, David has taught political science and public policy at Duke University. He is a member of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, where he has taught Sunday school and served as chairman of the church board.

David has long been involved in state and local politics and was first elected to Congress in 1986. He has represented the Triangle area for nearly 14 years and serves on two of the most influential committees in the House of Representatives: Appropriations and Budget.

David knows that working families deserve peace of mind in their daily lives and in their future plans - from going about their travels and work, to financing their children's education, to counting on their retirement savings. He understands very well that the economic downturn and quality of life that attracted his family and so many others to the Triangle were the result of enlightened leadership, and he is committed to public policies - improved public education and worker training, a diversified transportation system, more opportunities for home ownership, enhanced air and water quality, targeted investments in research - that will help continue and enhance our success story.

David believes that we must provide the educational opportunities that our people need to succeed in the world economy. He helped write and pass legislation that includes the most important expansion of educational opportunity since the GI Bill. This package of educational assistance, including the Price Education Affordability Act, makes a two-year community college education virtually cost-free. It makes a four-year college education much more affordable for the children of working parents. Knowing that the education provided by community colleges is especially critical in a lagging economy, David also worked to strengthen community colleges this year with the reauthorization of his Advanced Technology Education Act, which upgraded curricula and teaching methods to help train students for jobs in the high-tech sector. Accomplishing these goals will put our nation back on the road of investing in our people and the skills they will continue to need as we build a stronger nation in this new century.