Kenny Marchant: “Mr. Speaker, born in North Carolina but a Virginian since the age of 9, Jo Ann Davis set the standard for Republican…”

“Mr. Speaker, born in North Carolina but a Virginian since the age of 9, Jo Ann Davis set the standard for Republican women in Virginia. After graduating from high school in Hampton, Virginia, she attended Hampton Roads Business College and became a real estate agent. Prior to her election to the House of Representatives in November 2000, she served in the General Assembly of Virginia. Subsequently, she was the first Republican woman elected in her own right to the United States Congress from the Commonwealth. Congresswoman Davis served honorably for four terms as the representative of the First Congressional District of Virginia. During her tenure, Congresswoman Davis served on the House Armed Services Committee and on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Congresswoman Davis was particularly proud of securing funding for the construction of the Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, the CVN-21. In 2001, the House passed her first piece of legislation, H.R. 1015, the SGLI Adjustment Act which increased the amount of life insurance paid to beneficiaries of the Armed Forces who died in the performance of duty between November 2000 and April 2001. In 2005, Congresswoman Davis was diagnosed with breast cancer. Tragically, in 2007, the cancer returned and her condition rapidly worsened. Congresswoman Davis died in October at the age of 57 leaving behind her husband, Chuck Davis, and two sons and a granddaughter.”