Tom Feeney now with the Heritage Foundation.

[The Backlash Cometh]

Trying to push conservative goals in Florida, using a Florida branch of the foundation, it looks like?

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, will join the Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow, according to an announcement by the conservative think tank.

Here's the release:

"Former Rep. Tom Feeney will consult on community outreach in Florida as a visiting fellow with The Heritage Foundation, the prominent Washington think tank announced. Feeney, an Orlando attorney and longtime Oviedo resident, will participate in selected government, media and community relations projects for Heritage. He will help develop a newly formed community group, the Naples Committee for Heritage, and work to build membership across the state for the conservative policy research institute.

Elected in 1990 to the Florida House, Feeney was Jeb Bush's running mate in 1994 when Bush narrowly lost his first race for governor. In 1996, Feeney returned to the Florida House, and colleagues elected him speaker four years later. Feeney also served on the board and then as director of the James Madison Institute, a free-market think tank in Florida that drew attention for promoting school vouchers.

In 2002, the voters of the 24th District elected Feeney to the first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a member of the Financial Services, Judiciary and Science and Technology committees.
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A native of Abington, Pa., Feeney graduated from Penn State University in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He received his law degree in 1983 from the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Ellen, have two sons. The Naples Committee for Heritage is one of 10 "community committees" formed since 2005 by supporters of the think tank who desire to promote conservative public policies. Groups formed in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul, among other cities.

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