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Bill Gray | |
|---|---|
 | |
| House Majority Whip | |
| In office June 15, 1989 – September 11, 1991 | |
| Leader | Tom Foley |
| Preceded by | Tony Coelho |
| Succeeded by | David Bonior |
| Chair of the House Democratic Caucus | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – June 15, 1989 | |
| Leader | Jim Wright Tom Foley |
| Preceded by | Dick Gephardt |
| Succeeded by | Steny Hoyer |
| Chair of theHouse Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | James R. Jones |
| Succeeded by | Leon Panetta |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – September 11, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Robert N. C. Nix Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Lucien E. Blackwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Herbert Gray III (1941-08-20)August 20, 1941 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 1, 2013(2013-07-01) (aged 71) London, England |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Andrea Dash |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Franklin and Marshall College (BA) Drew University (MDiv) Princeton Theological Seminary (ThM) |
William Herbert Gray III (August 20, 1941 – July 1, 2013) was an American politician and member of theDemocratic Party who representedPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1979 to 1991. He also served as chairman of theHouse Committee on the Budget from 1985 to 1989 andHouse Majority Whip from 1989 to 1991. He resigned from Congress in September of that year to become president and chief executive officer of theUnited Negro College Fund, a position he held until 2004.
He was the fourth-highest-ranking member of the House at the time of his resignation and a minister inPhiladelphia. He was co-founder of the government lobbying and advisory firm,Gray Loeffler LLC, headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1]
Gray was born inBaton Rouge, Louisiana, and spent his early years in Florida, where his father was president ofFlorida Normal and Industrial Institute inMiami Gardens, and then ofFlorida A & M College in Tallahassee. In 1949, upon the death of his grandfather, Gray's family moved toNorth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated fromSimon Gratz High School. He attendedFranklin & Marshall College, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1963. He went on to obtain a master's in divinity fromDrew University in 1966 and a master's in theology fromPrinceton Theological Seminary in 1970. Gray received a L.H.D. fromBates College in 1994.
In 1972, Gray succeeded his father as the senior minister at Bright Hope Baptist Church inPhiladelphia. He was elected as aDemocrat to represent Philadelphia in theUnited States House of Representatives in 1978. He representedPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1978 until his resignation on September 11, 1991. He was the first African-American to chair theHouse Budget Committee and also the first to serve as theMajority Whip (1989–1991). As chairman of the Committee on Budget, Gray introduced H.R. 1460, an anti-Apartheid bill that prohibited loans and new investment in South Africa and enforced sanctions on imports and exports with South Africa. This bill was an instrumental precursor to theComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (H.R. 4868).
Gray resigned unexpectedly from Congress in 1991 to serve as president of the United Negro College Fund from 1991 to 2004. The move was considered surprising and prompted speculation that it may have been connected with an investigation into alleged campaign finance violations by the Gray team.A Pennsylvania Senate seat had been left vacant when SenatorJohn Heinz was killed in a plane crash. Major-party candidates were chosen by the party committees because it was too late for a primary. The speculation was that Attorney GeneralDick Thornburgh struck a deal with Gray, who not only had been the subject of an investigation into campaign finance irregularities but also a grand jury investigation into his church's financial affairs. It was reported that Gray agreed not run in the special election and in return Thornburgh would drop the investigations. Thornburgh resigned as Attorney General and ran for the Senate seat himself, though he lost in an upset to DemocratHarris Wofford.[2][3][4][5][6]
Gray served as a special adviser to the President andSecretary of State for Haitian affairs in 1994. He was named to thePoliticsPA list of "Pennsylvania's Top Political Activists."[7]
Outside politics he was also a businessman who has been a director atDell from 2000. Gray was a director ofJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co.,Prudential Financial Inc.,Rockwell International Corporation,Visteon Corporation andPfizer. He retired from Bright Hope Baptist Church in 2007 and was succeeded by Kevin R. Johnson.
Gray was married to the former Andrea Dash; they had three sons. Gray was a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Gray died on July 1, 2013, in London, while attendingthe Wimbledon tennis tournament.[8]
In 1997, he received the Four Freedoms Award for the Freedom of Worship.[9]
In 2014, President Barack Obama signed U.S. House resolution 4838 directing Amtrak to rename Philadelphia's30th Street Station to William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.[10]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district 1979–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Budget Committee 1985–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | House Majority Whip 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Response to the State of the Union address 1984 Served alongside:Max Baucus,Joe Biden,David L. Boren,Barbara Boxer,Robert Byrd,Dante Fascell,Tom Harkin,Dee Huddleston,Carl Levin,Tip O'Neill,Claiborne Pell | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Response to the State of the Union address 1986 Served alongside:Tom Daschle,George Mitchell,Chuck Robb,Harriett Woods | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the House Democratic Caucus 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | House Democratic Whip 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
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Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on the Budget | ||
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