Jack Brooks (politician)

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Congressman Brooks is the unobscured man to the right of Mrs. Kennedy
Congressman Brooks is the unobscured man to the right of Mrs. Kennedy

Jack Bascom Brooks (born December 22, 1922) is a retired politician from the U.S. state of Texas, who served for more than 40 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Brooks was born in Crowley, Louisiana. Brooks attended Lamar University and University of Texas at Austin. Brooks served in the United States Marine Corps in World War II. Brooks served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1947 to 1951.

In 1952, Brooks was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas's 2nd district as a Democrat. During the 1950s and 1960s he was one of the more liberal Southern Congressmen on issues like labor and civil rights while remaining conservative on issues like the death penalty and gun control. In 1966, he changed to representing Texas's 9th congressional district. Brooks was the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Government Operations from 1975 through 1988 and the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary from 1989 until 1995.

Congressman Brooks expressed alarm at the 1967 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.

In 1994, Brooks was defeated by Republican Steve Stockman. Brooks's sponsorship of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which was ultimately passed with the Federal assault weapons ban incorporated as an amendment, probably contributed to his defeat, despite Brooks's life membership in the National Rifle Association.

A park in Galveston County and a federal courthouse in Beaumont, Texas are named in his honor.


Preceded by
William L. Smith
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 16-1 (Beaumont)

1947–1951
Succeeded by
William C. Ross, Sr.
Preceded by
Jesse M. Combs
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 2nd congressional district

1953–1965
Succeeded by
John Dowdy
Preceded by
Clark W. Thompson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 9th congressional district

1965–1995
Succeeded by
Steve Stockman
Preceded by
Peter Rodino
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
1989–1995
Succeeded by
Henry Hyde
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