Henry Hyde | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Gilman |
| Succeeded by | Tom Lantos |
| Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Brooks |
| Succeeded by | Jim Sensenbrenner |
| Chair of theHouse Republican Policy Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Leader | Bob Michel |
| Preceded by | Mickey Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Chris Cox |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Harold R. Collier |
| Succeeded by | Peter Roskam |
| Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
| In office January 13, 1971 – January 10, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Lewis V. Morgan |
| Succeeded by | William D. Walsh |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 18th district | |
| In office January 10, 1973 – January 3, 1975 Serving with Lawrence DiPrima,Robert F. McPartlin | |
| Preceded by | Bernard McDevitt |
| Succeeded by | Robert Downs |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 16th district | |
| In office January 11, 1967 – January 10, 1973 Serving with Hellmut Stolle,William M. Zachacki,Ralph C. Capparelli, Roman Kosinski | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Roger McAuliffe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henry John Hyde (1924-04-18)April 18, 1924 Chicago,Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 2007(2007-11-29) (aged 83) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1952) Republican (1952–2007) |
| Spouse(s) | Judy Wolverton |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Duke University Georgetown University (BA) Loyola University Chicago (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1944–1968 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit | United States Navy Reserve |
Hyde, as chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee, outlines the Aviation Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1996 Recorded August 2, 1996 | |
Henry John Hyde (April 18, 1924 – November 29, 2007) was an American politician who served as aRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the6th District ofIllinois, an area ofChicago's northwestern suburbs. He was Chairman of theJudiciary Committee from 1995 to 2001, and theHouse International Relations Committee from 2001 to 2007. Hyde is most famous for being a vocal opponent ofabortion; to this end, he was the primary sponsor of theHyde Amendment, which largely bars the payment of abortions with federal funds.
Hyde was born in Chicago, the son of Monica (Kelly) and Henry Clay Hyde.[1] His father wasEnglish and his mother wasIrish Catholic. His family supported theDemocratic Party. Hyde graduated fromSt. George High School in 1942.[2] He attendedDuke University, where he joined theSigma Chi fraternity, graduated fromGeorgetown University and obtained his J.D. degree fromLoyola University Chicago School of Law. Hyde playedbasketball for theGeorgetown Hoyas where he helped take the team to the1943 championship game.[3] He served in theNavy duringWorld War II. He remained in theNaval Reserve from 1946 to 1968, as an officer in charge of the U.S. Naval Intelligence Reserve Unit in Chicago. He retired at the rank ofCommander. In 1955, Hyde joined theKnights of Columbus, and was a member of Father McDonald Council 1911 inElmhurst, Illinois.[4]
He was married to Jeanne Simpson Hyde from 1947 until her death in 1992; he had four children and four grandchildren.[5]
Hyde's political views began drifting rightward after his collegiate years. By 1952, he had become a Republican and supportedDwight Eisenhower for president.[5] He made his first run for Congress in 1962, losing toDemocratic incumbentRoman Pucinski in the 11th District.
Hyde was elected to theIllinois House of Representatives in 1967 and served asMajority Leader from 1971 to 1972. He served in the Illinois House until 1974, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November, 1974 as one of the few bright spots in what was a disastrous year for Republicans in the wake of theWatergate scandal. He faced a bruising contest against formerCook County state's attorneyEdward Hanrahan, but was elected by 8,000 votes.
Hyde was one of the most vocal and persistent opponents ofabortion in American politics and was the chief sponsor of the eponymousHyde Amendment to the House Appropriations bill that prohibited the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions throughMedicaid. In 1981, however, he and U.S. SenatorJake Garn ofUtah, another abortion opponent, broke with theNational Pro-Life Political Action Committee, when its executive director,Peter Gemma, issued a "hit list" to target members of both houses of Congress who supportedabortion rights. Hyde said such lists are counterproductive because they create irrevocable discord among legislators, any of whom can be subject to a "single issue" attack of this kind. Gemma said he was surprised by the withdrawal of Garn and Hyde from the PAC committee but continued with plans to spend $650,000 for the 1982 elections on behalf of anti-abortion candidates.[6] In 1993 the 1976 Hyde Amendment law was amended to allow payments for abortions in case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.[7]
An original sponsor of theBrady Bill requiring background checks for gun buyers, Hyde broke with his party in 1994 when he supported a ban on the sale ofsemi-automatic firearms. An original sponsor of family leave legislation, Hyde said the law promoted "capitalism with a human face." Hyde played a key role in the reauthorization of theVoting Rights Act in 1981.[8]
He was also involved in debates over U.S.-Soviet relations,Central America policy, theWar Powers Act,NATO expansion and the investigation of theIran-Contra affair, and sponsored theUnited Nations Reform Act of 2005,[9] a bill that ties payment of U.S. dues forUnited Nations operations to reform of the institution's management.
Hyde was a member of theHouse Judiciary Committee for his entire tenure in the House. He was its chairman from 1995 until 2001, during which time he served as the leadmanager during thePresident Clinton impeachment trial.
From 1985 until 1991, Hyde was the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Intelligence.[10] Hyde and the committee's senior Democrat, U.S. Rep.Tom Lantos (D-CA), authored America's worldwide response to theHIV/AIDS crisis in 2003 and landmark foreign assistance legislation creating theMillennium Challenge Corporation and expanding U.S. funding for successful microenterprise initiatives.
In 1981, after leaving theHouse Banking Committee, Hyde went on theboard of directors ofClyde Federal Savings and Loan, whose chairman was one of Hyde's political contributors. According toSalon.com, from 1982 until he left the board in 1984, Hyde used his position on the board of directors to promote the savings and loan's investment in risky financial options. In 1990, the federal government put Clyde inreceivership, and paid $67 million to cover insured deposits. In 1993, theResolution Trust Corporation sued Hyde and other directors for $17.2 million. Four years later, before pretrial investigation and depositions, the government settled with the defendants for $850,000 and made an arrangement exempting Hyde from paying anything. According to Salon.com, Hyde was the only member of the congress sued for "gross negligence" in an S&L failure.[11]
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As a member of the congressional panel investigating the Iran-Contra affair, Hyde vigorously defended theRonald Reagan administration, and a number of the participants who had been accused of various crimes, particularlyOliver North.[12] QuotingThomas Jefferson, Hyde argued that although various individuals had lied in testimony before Congress, their actions were excusable because they were in support of the goal of fightingcommunism.[13]
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Hyde argued that the House had a constitutional and civic duty to impeachBill Clinton forperjury. In the Resolution on Impeachment of the President, Hyde wrote:[14]
What we are telling you today are not the ravings of some vast right-wing conspiracy, but a reaffirmation of a set of values that are tarnished and dim these days, but it is given to us to restore them so our Founding Fathers would be proud. It's your country—the President is our flag bearer, out in front of our people. The flag is falling, my friends—I ask you to catch the falling flag as we keep our appointment with history.
Clinton was impeached by the House on two charges: perjury and obstruction of justice. Hyde served as chiefHouse manager (prosecutor) at the President's trial in the Senate; he became known for his remarks in his closing argument:
A failure to convict will make the statement that lying under oath, while unpleasant and to be avoided, is not all that serious ... We have reduced lying under oath to a breach of etiquette, but only if you are the President ... And now let us all take our place in history on the side of honor, and, oh, yes, let right be done.
Despite Hyde's efforts, President Clinton was acquitted of both perjury and obstruction of justice. With a two-thirds majority required for conviction, only 45 senators voted for conviction on the perjury charge and only 50 on the obstruction of justice charge.[15]
Despite being on opposites sides during the impeachment, Hyde was good friends with representativeBarney Frank who praised his efforts to keep the impeachment "personality free".[16]
While Hyde was spearheadingthe impeachment of PresidentBill Clinton amid the revelations of theClinton–Lewinsky affair, it was revealed that Hyde himself had conducted an extramarital sexual affair with a former beauty stylist named Cherie Snodgrass, who was also married. Hyde admitted to the affair and attributed the relationship as a "youthful indiscretion". He was 41 years old and married when the affair occurred. Hyde said the affair ended when Snodgrass' husband confronted Mrs. Hyde. At the time, Snodgrass was 29, also married and had three children.[17]
The Snodgrasses divorced in 1967. The Hydes reconciled and remained married until Mrs. Hyde's death in 1992.[18]
As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Hyde was involved in some of the highest level debates concerning the response to theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001. In the aftermath of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks, Hyde cautioned against attacking Iraq in the absence of clear evidence of Iraqi complicity, tellingCNN'sRobert Novak that it "would be a big mistake."[19] One year later, however, he voted in support of the October 10, 2002House resolution that authorized the president to go to war with Iraq. In response to Rep.Ron Paul's resolution requesting a formaldeclaration of war, Hyde stated: "There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them. ... Inappropriate, anachronistic, it isn't done anymore."[20]
In 2006, Hyde made the following observation in regard to theBush Administration's proclaimed objective of promotingdemocracy in theMiddle East:
Lashing our interests to the indiscriminate promotion of democracy is a tempting but unwarranted strategy, more a leap of faith than a sober calculation. There are other negative consequences as well. A broad and energetic promotion of democracy in other countries that will not enjoy our long-term and guiding presence may equate not to peace and stability but to revolution.[21]
Hyde was reelected 15 times with no substantive opposition. This was mainly because, over time, his district was pushed further intoDuPage County, a longstanding bastion of suburban Republicanism. However, by the turn of the century, the demographics of his district shifted, leading his 2004 Democratic challenger Christine Cegelis to garner over 44% of the vote—Hyde's closest race since his initial run for the seat. On April 18, 2005 (his 81st birthday), Hyde announced on his website that he would retire at the expiration of his term (in January 2007).[22] A few days earlier, it had been reported that Illinois Republicans were expecting this announcement, and it was further reported that Illinois State SenatorPeter Roskam had emerged as a leading contender for the Republican Party's nomination. In August 2005, Hyde endorsed Roskam as his successor.[23]
Hyde was named a Papal Knight of theOrder of St. Gregory the Great byPope Benedict XVI in 2006, in recognition of his longtime support for political issues important to the Roman Catholic Church.
Hyde received thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on November 5, 2007, awarded by President Bush.[24] Hyde was hospitalized, recovering from open-heart surgery, and could not attend the ceremony in person.
Hyde died November 29, 2007, nearly eleven months after leaving office, atRush University Medical Center in Chicago following complications fromopen heart surgery at Provena Mercy Medical Center inAurora, Illinois several months earlier. His funeral Mass was presided by CardinalFrancis George of Chicago, and was attended by several dignitaries, including then Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi and future Speaker of the House JohnBoehner, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Saint Charles, Illinois.[25]
| Illinois House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 6th congressional district 1975–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Intelligence Committee 1985–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee 1995–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse International Relations Committee 2001–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Republican Policy Committee 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
