Joe Moakley
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John Joseph "Joe" Moakley (April 27, 1927 – May 28, 2001) was a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts. Moakley was the last Democrat to chair the U.S. House Committee on Rules.
Moakley was born in Boston, Massachusetts, April 27, 1927. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Moakley was involved in the War in the Pacific from 1943 to 1946. After returning home, he attended the University of Miami in Miami, Florida from 1950 to 1951, and he received his LL.B. at Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 1956.
Moakley was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1953 to 1963 and a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1964 to 1970. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1968. He was a Boston City Councilman from 1971 to 1973, and an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives in 1970. Moakley was elected as an Independent-Democrat to the Ninety-third Congress in 1972, but changed party affiliation to Democrat on January 2, 1973. He was reelected as a Democrat to the fourteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1973 to May 28, 2001).
[edit] Fighting the Legislative Veto
Moakley is quoted and referenced in Barbara Hickson Craig's book (Chadha: The Story of an Epic Constitutional Struggle) on the groundbreaking court case INS v. Chadha (1983). Moakley's role in the affair was to hold in committee a controversial bill proposed by Representative Eliot Levitas. The bill proposed a sweeping generic legislative veto. Moakley saw that the flaws of the bill. Later, the Chadha case's verdict declared the legislative veto unconstitutional because the veto violated the bicameralism and presentment clauses of the Constitution. While others in Congress lamented the loss of the veto, Moakley commented that the Chadha decision would help strengthen Congress.
[edit] Later career
Joe Moakley chaired the Committee on Rules in the 101st Congress through 103rd Congresses.
Moakley managed to have a bridge in Boston named for his wife, Evelyn Moakley, after her death. The Evelyn Moakley Bridge is next to a U.S. Courthouse, which was subsequently named the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse after his death. '
Moakley's efforts led to the acquisition by Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater, MA) of a $10 million grant. The grant allowed the construction of the campus fiber network and a new regional telecommunications facility which dramatically enhances the teaching capability of the region's educational professionals and promotes the growth of the region's economy. The John Joseph Moakley Center for Technological Applications provides training in the use of technology for students, teachers, and members of the workforce. The three-story building houses a large computer lab, a television studio, an auditorium, and numerous classrooms.
Joe Moakley died on May 28, 2001, of Myelodysplastic syndrome in Bethesda, Maryland. His body was interred in Blue Hills Cemetery, Braintree, Massachusetts.
[edit] External links
- Joe Moakley and MDS at about.com
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- John Joseph Moakley Center at Bridgewater State College.
| Preceded by: Louise Day Hicks |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th congressional district January 3, 1973 – May 31, 2001 |
Succeeded by: Stephen F. Lynch |
