A website named Government Track is a great resource to see which candidate stands where. According to this publication, Republican Congresswoman of Illinois’s 13th District Judy Biggert is a Moderate Republican.

There is no doubt that Ms. Biggert is an accomplished lady who has been a Congresswoman in Illinois since 1999, who is also a member of the House Committee on Education & Labor, House Committee on Financial Services and House Committee on Science and Technology. Not to mention the number subcommittee in each of the full committees.

According to her official website, since January 6th, 1999 Ms. Biggert has only missed an astonishing 1% or 36 votes out of 6932. However, of all the votes she has taken, 79% of the time she has voted with President George W. Bush and 89% of the time with the Republican Party. Illinois does not seem to take it too seriously because in each election she has won landslide victories.

In 2006 the Republican Congresswoman defeated Joseph Shannon (D) 58% to 42%. 2004, Ms. Biggert defeated Gloria Schor Anderson (D) 65% to 35%. 2002 and 2000 she defeated Tom Mason (D) 70% to 30%.

Though Harper released a statement last week criticizing Biggert for voting against Bush's plan for economic stimulus, Biggert says, after voting to pass the second revision of the bill, that she had very good reasons for rejecting that plan.

Biggert: "The improvements, even in that bill, didn't go far enough and I thought that we could do better...but with the clock ticking and the credit market freezing up, it became clear that the time for seeking better options had run out... But we did get the administrator of the FDC, Chris Cox to put in some Market to Market guidelines ...and included tax relief for all Americans."

Biggert argues further that she didn't ratify the first bill because it would hit those taxpayers who work to keep up with escalating mortgages the hardest. Now that there are some stipulations in the legislation to protect the taxpayers and homeowners, Biggert says that despite the bill's many flaws, she supports it in this time of financial crisis.

Recently Biggert managed to get her legislation, the Housing Counseling Bill, passed by the House. The Bill is focused on preventing foreclosure through mortgage-related counseling services for middle-class families suffering to make their mortgage payments in this weakened economy.

As the ranking member of the House Financial Services Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, Biggert has been very concerned with helping families find ways to maintain their homes. The bill authorizes $180 million over four years to the new Office of Housing Counseling within HUD which will fund local counseling and bring about a national effort to raise awareness about mortgage counseling.

Biggert: "Given the right refinancing options, these are people that can and would be able to make their monthly payments. But they need someone to help them evaluate their options, guide them through the process, and facilitate discussions with their bank."

Biggert Votes Against Bailout

In her speech on the House floor Biggert expressed apprehension about voting no to the bill. She stated,

"I rise today in reluctant opposition to this massive bailout of Wall Street. I understand why many of my colleagues are inclined to support it. The urge to act now and do something – anything – to restore investor confidence is compelling. Our economy faces great risks, and I agree wholeheartedly that the government must intervene in a big way to restore stability. But the plan we are considering today is not what my constituents want, it’s not what’s best for the average American taxpayer, and it’s not what’s best for this economy."

Offering alternatives, she suggests increasing the FDIC insurance limits on bank accounts and a "tax proposal" that she suggest will pump liquidity back into the market. Although it is unclear what her exact proposal is, many of her Republican collegues has suggested reducing corporate and capital gains taxes.