Tom Perriello

Another proposal Perriello pushed early in his tenure is a National Service Reserve Corps; it would enlist alumni of existing service groups during an emergency.

The Economy

In the first two months of his House stay, Perriello backed Barack Obama's stimulus plan and an expansion in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. In April 2009, however, he bucked his party on another major piece of domestic legislation: Citing the growing federal deficit, he was one of 20 Democrats to oppose the 2010 budget resolution.

He said he could support a compromise version of the Employee Free Choice Act if it protected secret-ballot elections.

Health-Care Reform

Perriello argued that the health-care system needs to be urgently reformed because of rising costs. "Health care is a travesty in this country," he said in 2008. "The status quo is not acceptable. We simply cannot afford to continue the situation that we have," he added in 2009.

But Perriello was not an easy vote for reform. In July 2009, he played a leading role in ensuring the House didn't pass major legislation before the summer recess. He then signaled he was leaning towards opposing it. "I've remained a no on the bill, but I'm very eager and hopeful to get to a yes," he said in September 2009.

Asked what would get him to a "yes" in a lengthy American Prospect interview, Perriello refused to offer specifics, instead arguing that the bill does not lower costs or adequately expand coverage. He stated that a reform bill must be deficit-neutral. At the end of September 2009, Perriello joined a group of 10 freshmen Democrats in demanding a list of changes to the bill, in particular deficit neutrality and tort reform.

But the Virginia Democrat ultimately supported the Senate version of reform, without a public option, that the House passed (and was enacted) in March 2010. He said local hospitals supported it and that the ultimate law wouldn't provide special deals to specific lawmakers.

"At the end of the day, this decision for me came down to whether working families would see savings at the kitchen table," Perriello said.

Social Issues

Perriello often talked about his faith as a guiding principle of his life and career, using it to justify what he describes as his calling to work in conflict zones and later to run for Congress.

Strongly opposed to the death penalty, Perriello was pro-abortion rights. He also argued that government should not be involved in defining marriage, and as such opposed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions. "I'm less interested in what Adam and Steve are doing in San Francisco than what what's going on with Adam and Eve right here and the flaws that we have all inherited in our tradition," he said.

Perriello did not support gay marriage, however, and during the 2008 campaign moved to block a Republican ad that claimed as much. He was not one of the 178 co-sponsors of H.R. 1283, legislation that would repeal "Don't ask, Don't Tell."

The Environment

Energy policy proved a major issue in Perriello's 2008 campaign. While he supported expanding off-shore drilling, he criticized the incumbent's emphasis on that policy. "I'm not going to stand here and tell people that [drilling] is going to solve the problem because it's not," he said. Instead, he advocated ending federal subsidies for oil companies, funding research into alternative energy and creating tax credits for households and businesses powered by renewable energy.

In June 2009, he voted in favor of the Waxman-Markey bill, which sought to curb greenhouse emissions by establishing a cap-and-trade system and developing renewable-energy sources. In defending the bill, Perriello cited the urgency of climate change and energy independence. "Maybe we should be called the conscience caucus," he answered Republicans who argued that this vote could prove Perriello's downfall in a red-leaning district.

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