Joe Moakley (
1927-
2001) was an
old school Boston Irish Catholic politician who served 15 terms in the US
House of Representatives and was the ranking
Democrat on the
House Rules Committee . He had served in the
Massachusetts legislature before narrowly winning his House seat in
1972. One of the most prominent things he's been involved in over the years has been heading up a task force, which became known as the "Moakley Commission", to investigate
human rights abuses in
El Salvador in the wake of the
1989 murder of six
Jesuit priests. The commission's findings resulted in the termination of
US military aid to that country.
He nearly retired in
1995, but his wife,
Richard Gephardt, and
Bill Clinton convinced him not to. This was probably prompted by health problems: he's had a
liver transplant, a
hip replacement, and most of his
kidneys removed. In February 2001, he learned that he had an incurable form of
leukemia. He planned on finishing out the length of his term and had decided not to seek a 16th term in
2002. However, he died of the disease on
Memorial Day,
May 28, 2001.
from C-Span.org:
Contact Information
E-mail: jmoakley@mail.house.gov
Web: www.house.gov/moakley/
Phone: (202) 225-8273
Fax: (202) 225-3984
Address:
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
District Office: Boston
District Phone: (617) 428-2000