Bill Text: TX HR699 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Congressman Jack Brooks of Beaumont.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-08 - Reported enrolled [HR699 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR699-Introduced.html
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Congressman Jack Brooks of Beaumont.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-08 - Reported enrolled [HR699 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR699-Introduced.html
83R9103 BK-D | ||
By: Deshotel | H.R. No. 699 |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a legendary public official | ||
on December 4, 2012, when the Honorable Jack Bascom Brooks, one of | ||
the longest-serving Texans in the U.S. House of Representatives, | ||
passed away at the age of 89; and | ||
WHEREAS, Elected to office 21 consecutive times, Jack Brooks | ||
was a staunch advocate for the civil rights and labor movements and | ||
an outspoken proponent of fiscal responsibility; he played a | ||
pivotal role in the investigations of the Watergate and Iran-Contra | ||
scandals, and his close ties to Lyndon B. Johnson placed him at the | ||
president's side when he was sworn in, a moment that is preserved in | ||
one of the most iconic photographs in American history; and | ||
WHEREAS, Jack Brooks was born on December 18, 1922, in | ||
Crowley, Louisiana, and raised in Beaumont; his father died when he | ||
was only 13, and Jack worked to support the family as a carhop, | ||
grocery clerk, and newspaper reporter; he attended Lamar Junior | ||
College on a scholarship and later transferred to The University of | ||
Texas, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1943; | ||
during World War II, he served his country as a member of the Marine | ||
Corps; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Brooks began his career in politics in 1946, | ||
when he was elected to the Texas Legislature; he represented the | ||
citizens of Jefferson County for four years, during which time he | ||
earned a degree from The University of Texas School of Law; in 1952, | ||
he successfully ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, The youngest freshman in his congressional class, | ||
Mr. Brooks became a protege of House Speaker Sam Rayburn and then | ||
Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, two eminent statesmen in | ||
the powerful Texas caucus; a stalwart Democrat, he abided by his own | ||
code of ethics, and he often broke ranks with his fellow Southerners | ||
to support civil rights legislation; along the way, he developed a | ||
reputation for being bold, irascible, and impervious to criticism, | ||
the latter perhaps best expressed by his nickname, "Sweet Old | ||
Brooks," which he acquired by co-opting a rival's insult; and | ||
WHEREAS, On November 22, 1963, Congressman Brooks rode in the | ||
motorcade that accompanied President Kennedy through downtown | ||
Dallas, and in the tumultuous hours that followed the | ||
assassination, he accompanied Vice President Johnson as he took the | ||
oath of office aboard Air Force One; he remained a close friend and | ||
supporter of the new president throughout his tenure; and | ||
WHEREAS, Congressman Brooks led a number of committees and | ||
subcommittees during his time in office, including the House | ||
Committee on the Judiciary for six years and the House Committee on | ||
Government Operations for more than a decade; he amassed an | ||
extensive record of legislative accomplishments, which included | ||
helping to author the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights | ||
Act of 1965; ever loyal to the residents of his home district, he | ||
worked diligently to secure funds for a number of local programs and | ||
public works initiatives; and | ||
WHEREAS, Congressman Brooks was seldom afraid to challenge | ||
those in power; as a member of the judiciary committee during the | ||
Watergate scandal, he helped draft the articles of impeachment that | ||
prompted President Nixon to resign, and he was later involved in the | ||
investigation of the Iran-Contra affair; he also worked to root out | ||
wasteful government spending through the Inspector General Act and | ||
the legislation that became known as the Brooks Act; and | ||
WHEREAS, When this esteemed Texan concluded his tenure in | ||
1994, he had served more than four decades in the Texas and U.S. | ||
Houses; he continued to appear at local political events in his | ||
retirement and watched with pride as Democrats that he had | ||
mentored, including Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, rose to national | ||
prominence; over the years, he saw his legacy memorialized with | ||
several Southeast Texas landmarks that bear his name: a regional | ||
airport, a federal courthouse in Beaumont, and a park in Galveston | ||
County, as well as a statue in his likeness at Lamar University, | ||
complete with his trademark cigar in hand; and | ||
WHEREAS, In all his endeavors, Mr. Brooks enjoyed the love | ||
and support of his wife, the former Charlotte Collins, with whom he | ||
shared a rewarding union of more than 50 years; he took great pride | ||
in his children, Jeb, Kate, and Kim, and cherished spending time | ||
with his family; and | ||
WHEREAS, Unfaltering in his principles and unyielding in his | ||
dedication to his constituency, Jack Brooks made innumerable | ||
contributions to the state and the country he loved, and the legacy | ||
that he leaves behind will continue to inspire all those who assume | ||
the mantle of public service; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Jack | ||
Bascom Brooks and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his | ||
family: to his wife, Charlotte Brooks; to his children, Jeb Brooks | ||
and his wife, Janice, Kate Brooks Carroll and her husband, Rod, and | ||
Kim Brooks; to his grandchildren, Matthew Carroll and Brooke | ||
Carroll; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Jack | ||
Brooks. |