James J. Howard
Chair of theHouse Committee on Public Works and Transportation
In office January 3, 1981 – March 25, 1988
Preceded by	Bizz Johnson
Succeeded by	Glenn M. Anderson
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's3rd district
In office January 3, 1965 – March 25, 1988
Preceded by	James C. Auchincloss
Succeeded by	Frank Pallone
Personal details
Born	James John Howard (1927-07-24)July 24, 1927 Irvington, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	March 25, 1988(1988-03-25) (aged 60) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Catharine's Cemetery inSea Girt, New Jersey
Party	Democratic
Profession	Teacher

James John Howard (July 24, 1927 – March 25, 1988) was an American educator andDemocratic Party politician who representedNew Jersey's 3rd congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1965 until his death from a heart attack inWashington, D.C. in 1988.

He was born on July 24, 1927, inIrvington, New Jersey. Howard graduated fromSt. Rose School,Belmar, in 1941,Asbury Park High School in 1947,St. Bonaventure University, in 1952; and earned aMaster of Education degree fromRutgers University-New Brunswick in 1958.

Prior to being elected to the House, Howard served in theUnited States Navy in the South Pacific from December 30, 1944, to July 19, 1946; teacher and acting principal in theWall Township Public Schools from 1952 to 1964.

Elected as aDemocrat to theEighty-ninth and to the eleven succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1965, until his death from a heart attack inWashington, D.C., on March 25, 1988.^[1]

On May 23, 1967, Howard created a public controversy over theM16, the basic combat rifle in Vietnam, beginning after he read a letter to the House of Representatives in which a Marine in Vietnam claims that almost all Americans killed in theBattle of Hill 881 died as a result of their new M16 rifles jamming. By the end of 1967, the problem had been resolved.

In 1974, he introduced the idea of a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. And Congress soon imposed a nationwide 55 MPH (90 km/h) speed limit by threatening to withhold highway funds from states that did not adopt this limit. It was estimated a speed of 55 mph (89 km/h) used 17% less fuel per mile than a speed of 75 MPH (120 km/h). It was also believed, based on a noticeable drop the first year the limit was imposed, that it cut down on highway deaths, but later studies were more mixed on this point.^[2] In addition, Howard authored an innovative coordinated surface transportation policy and program.

Howard's other notable, enduring contributions to the fight for enhanced highway safety include sponsorship of a myriad of bills such as: the Howard-Barnes anti-drunk driving legislation (1982); the Child Restraint Law (1984), which increased funding for state child passenger safety programs; legislation establishing a uniform minimum drinking age of 21 (1984); the National Driver's Register (1982); the National Infrastructure Act (1983); and the Motor Carrier Act (1980), which was the first regulatory reform of the trucking industry in half a century that, among other things, increased federal aid for truck safety programs.

Howard served as chairman of theCommittee on Public Works and Transportation (Ninety-seventh throughOne Hundredth Congresses).

At the time of his death, Howard was fighting an effort by transportation-related businesses move to persuade Congress to "complete" truck deregulation, a move they said would save billions in distribution costs. Upon his death the committee chairmanship passed to Rep.Glenn M. Anderson (D-CA).

Frank Pallone filled the seat vacated by Howard's death in 1988.

Howard was a resident ofSpring Lake Heights, New Jersey.^[3] He died on March 25, 1988 and is interred in St. Catharine's Cemetery inSea Girt, New Jersey.

• On September 21, 1985, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center was destroyed by a fire. On October 11, 1989, agroundbreaking ceremony was held atSandy Hook, New Jersey for the construction of a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) marine research laboratory to be occupied by scientists from theDepartment of CommerceNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'sNational Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as well as from state agencies through the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium (NJMSC), and academic institutions in New Jersey. The new laboratory, was completed in about three years and named theJames J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory to honor the late U.S. Representative who strongly supported marine research'. The primary mission of the Howard Laboratory is to conduct research inecology, leading to a better understanding of both coastal and estuarine organisms and the effects of human activities on nearshore marine populations.
• TheGovernors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) named their highest honor theJames J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award. The award honors an individual for sustained outstanding leadership in endeavors that significantly improve highway safety. The recipient of this award must have undertaken a concerted, long-term effort to make our nation's highways safer and has made a significant contribution to the field of highway safety. The recipient must have established and implemented programs or have been responsible for notable advancements in technology or research throughout the years that have yielded a demonstrated safety impact.

• TheAsbury Park main train station and bus terminal was torn down and rebuilt as theJames J. Howard Transportation Center.
• On April 6, 1988, PresidentRonald Reagan signs H.R. 4263 namingInterstate 195 (I-195) in New Jersey theJames J. Howard Interstate Highway. Interstate 195 is an east–west freeway linking Trenton to the Jersey Shore.
• Department of Veterans Affairs'sVeterans Health Administration established theJames J. Howard Veterans Outpatient Clinic inBrick Township, New Jersey, to provides primary care and specialty services to local veterans.
• Fort Monmouth's Eatontown Gardens, 600 family housing units in fifty two buildings, constructed 1953–1954, was renamed for Congressman James J. Howard in recognition of his long-time support for Fort Monmouth and his contributions in Congress to the welfare of soldiers and the Army.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)

• United States Congress."James J. Howard (id: H000840)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• James John Howard atThe Political Graveyard
• James J. Howard atFind a Grave
• Governors Highway Safety Association
• James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1927 births
• 1988 deaths
• People from Irvington, New Jersey
• People from Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey
• Military personnel from Essex County, New Jersey
• Military personnel from Monmouth County, New Jersey
• Politicians from Essex County, New Jersey
• Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey
• Democratic Party United States representatives from New Jersey
• Asbury Park High School alumni
• Rutgers University alumni
• St. Bonaventure University alumni
• United States Navy personnel of World War II
• 20th-century United States representatives

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• People appearing on C-SPAN