‘Look out for the needy’: Rep. Gwen Moore reflects on nearly 20 years in Congress

By Charlotte Scott and Melody Kloepfer - Spectrum News

WASHINGTON – Representative Gwen Moore of Milwaukee was elected to Congress in 2004, becoming the first, and to this day only, Black person to represent Wisconsin in Washington.

She reflected on her victory almost two decades ago. 

“I felt a tremendous responsibility when I won, to not just be the first Black person to win, but to make a difference,” said Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee. “Even though Milwaukee at that time–the African Americans were in the minority–I had a fantastic coalition of people that supported me.”

Born in Racine, Moore has lived most of her life in Milwaukee. After working in the city and state governments, she was elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 1988, and entered Congress in 2005. Moore’s resume is defined by her work fighting for marginalized communities. She says she has used her personal experiences to inform her decisions in Congress across a variety of issues from education, to health care, to housing. 

“Look out for the needy, not the greedy,” she said. “An organizing principle of looking out for the poor has really been a guiding light for me in my entire career. Every time I vote, every time I come here, I check to see whether or not I am looking out for those people who can’t afford six-figure lobbyists to come and serve their interests.” 

A survivor of domestic violence, Moore has been a leader in reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, which supports comprehensive responses to domestic violence.

"Violence needs to be interrupted,” she said. “We can't succumb to our former belief that, oh, if a man and a woman are having a fight, that's their private business. It's everybody's business.” 

Another issue that is personal to Moore is removing lead pipes from the Milwaukee water system, which got a boost when President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. When her granddaughter was pregnant, Moore bought her bottled water to prevent the possibility of lead poisoning. Now, Moore sees lead pipes being pulled out of the ground in her district.

“To be able to drive through the city and see people work and digging up those pipes, you see the orange cones out there, and to see people working, getting jobs, this is very, very fulfilling,” Moore said. “And to realize that people may not know my name. They may not know how I contributed, but I contributed.” “To be able to drive through the city and see people work and digging up those pipes, you see the orange cones out there, and to see people working, getting jobs, this is very, very fulfilling,” Moore said. “And to realize that people may not know my name. They may not know how I contributed, but I contributed.”

With Democrats now in the House minority, Moore said she has become frustrated by all the partisan bickering. She points to Republicans who demanded stronger border security but then rejected a bipartisan bill negotiated by Senators and the White House to do just that, after former President Donald Trump urged them to reject the measure.

“I really enjoy things that are accomplished in a bipartisan effort. And it’s very, very frightening to be in an environment where your colleagues are punished if they work with you,” she said. “And they can’t come to the conversation with any authenticity because of fear of retribution from the party.”

Moore bucked some in her own party recently when she voted against a bipartisan bill to increase the Child Tax Credit, which addresses child poverty. She said the legislation will leave the poorest children behind by requiring parents to earn a certain amount of money to claim the full credit. It’s an issue she won’t give up on. 

“My twentieth year in Congress! I want to get it back into the majority. I want the child tax credit to be fully refundable, no work requirements, that we just provide a well-deserved child supplement. That’s what I’d love to do with my twentieth year,” Moore said. 

Moore, who is 72, said her work in the last Congress, which was controlled by Democrats, “buoyed my mood to realize how much we could get done.” She is seeking an eleventh term in the House this November.