Congress
In 1965, Brooks sponsored the Act that opened up the government information technology market for competitive contracts, a move subsequently credited by computer experts as significantly contributing to technological advances and which, in 2002, was the reason for Brooks being selected as "Post Newsweek Tech Media’s civilian executive of the last twenty years" by the Government Computer News.
Subsequently, in 1967, Brooks opposed the move of the US Patent Office to attempt to introduce guidelines for software patentability.
When the House first began requiring financial disclosures in the late 1970s, Brooks became known as one of the richest men in Congress, having acquired a number of banks and other businesses during his years in office.
During his congressional tenure, he held many leadership roles on committees and subcommittees, including chairmanship of the House Committee on Government Operations from 1975 through 1988, and chairmanship of the House Committee on the Judiciary between 1989 and 1995. He became the senior member of the Texas Congressional delegation in 1979, a position he held until he left office.
As a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Brooks helped write the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; he was one of the few southern congressmen to support civil rights legislation. He was a leader in the investigation that uncovered millions of dollars in public funds expended at the vacation homes of President Nixon. During the impeachment proceedings following the Watergate scandal in 1974, he drafted the articles of impeachment against Nixon, subsequently adopted by the Committee.
Among the bills sponsored by Congressman Brooks were the Single Audit Act of 1984, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1991, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
As the leader of the Government Operations Committee, Brooks oversaw legislation affecting budget and accounting matters and the establishment of departments and agencies. He also helped pass the Inspector General Act of 1978, the General Accounting Office Act of 1980, and the Paper Reduction Act of 1980.
In 1988, a law introduced by Brooks was passed, banning Japanese construction companies from participating in American public works projects for the next year. The rationale ostensibly justifying this legislation was that Japan had already placed obstacles before American construction companies seeking work in that country.
Brooks' sponsorship of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which eventually was incorporated with an amendment to ban semi-automatic firearms, probably contributed to his electoral defeat by Republican Steve Stockman, despite Brooks' life membership in the National Rifle Association and his personal opposition to the ban.
On his office desk, Brooks kept a silver paperweight with the inscription "Fighting Marine".
The gavel used by Brooks during the Judiciary Committee's 1974 impeachment hearings was made from wood taken from President Nixon's 1973 inauguration stand.
Read more about this topic: Jack Brooks (politician)
Famous quotes containing the word congress:
“Such is the labor which the American Congress exists to protect,—honest, manly toil,—honest as the day is long,—that makes his bread taste sweet, and keeps society sweet,—which all men respect and have consecrated; one of the sacred band, doing the needful but irksome drudgery.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Any officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“I have been up to see the Congress and they do not seem to be able to do anything except to eat peanuts and chew tobacco, while my army is starving.”
—Robert E. Lee (1807–1870)