Frank Lautenberg | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2011 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – June 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Torricelli |
| Succeeded by | Jeffrey Chiesa |
| In office December 27, 1982 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Nicholas F. Brady |
| Succeeded by | Jon Corzine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (1924-01-23)January 23, 1924 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 2013(2013-06-03) (aged 89) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Columbia University (BS) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank |  Technician Fifth Grade[1] |
| Unit |
|
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Frank Lautenberg on his opposition to the National Highway Designation Act of 1995 Recorded June 22, 1995 | |
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (/ˈlɔːtənbɜːrɡ/; January 23, 1924 – June 3, 2013) was an American businessman andDemocratic Party politician who served asUnited States Senator fromNew Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was originally fromPaterson, New Jersey.
Lautenberg was elected five terms as Senator. He first took office in December 1982 and served three terms, retiring from the Senate in 2001. Called upon to run again one year later due to circumstances surrounding his Senate colleagueRobert Torricelli's re-election campaign, Lautenberg returned to the Senate in January 2003 and was elected to one additional term in 2008. He died during his fifth term and remains New Jersey's longest serving senator, with a total of 28 years, 5 months and 8 days in office.
Before entering politics, he was an early partner in, and became the chairman and chief executive officer ofAutomatic Data Processing, Inc. In his early years, he served overseas in theU.S. Army Signal Corps from 1942 to 1946 as a part of the war effort, and after returning home his interest inAmerican political events increased. He has been called "the last of theNew Dealliberals" and was known for his legislative efforts againstdrunk driving, and his support of spending forAmtrak andurban public transportation, for strongerenvironmental regulations, greaterconsumer protections, and investigations of wrongdoing byWall Street.[2]
Lautenberg was born inPaterson, New Jersey, the son of Mollie (née Bergen) and Sam Lautenberg,Jewishimmigrants from Poland and Russia, who had arrived in the United States as infants.[3][4] He was named after his maternal grandfather, Frank Bergen, and close family friend and Paterson community activist, Raleigh Weintrob.[5][6][7]
When Lautenberg was 19, his father, who worked in silk mills, sold coal, farmed, and once ran a tavern, died of cancer. His mother then opened a sandwich shop to support the family.[8]
After graduating fromNutley High School in 1941, Lautenberg served overseas in theUnited States Army Signal Corps duringWorld War II from 1942 to 1946.[9] Then, financed by theGI Bill, he attended and graduated fromColumbia Business School's now-defunct undergraduate program in 1949 with a degree in economics.[8][10][11]
He worked as a salesman forPrudential Insurance and was the first salesman atAutomatic Data Processing (ADP), a payroll-management company. He became the company's CEO in 1975.[8]
He was the executive commissioner of thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey from 1978 to 1982.[8]
Lautenberg also served in roles with a number of Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, including as a member of theJewish Agency for Israel's board of governors and as president of theAmerican Friends of the Hebrew University.[12] In 1974, he became the youngestchair ever in the history of theUnited Jewish Appeal.[13] Within a year Lautenberg had increased its charitable intake to the second-highest level in its history.[14] He was also named to the President's Commission on the Holocaust in the late 1970s.[15][16]
Lautenberg contributed to Democratic candidates for years.[8] He donated $90,000 toGeorge McGovern's campaign for president in1972, earning himself a place on one ofRichard Nixon'senemies lists.[17] In1982, he ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. He faced nine other candidates: former State Banking Commissioner Angelo Bianchi, formerMorristownMayorDonald Cresitello, former CongressmanJoseph A. LeFante, labor leader Frank Forst, former CongressmanAndrew Maguire, Richard McAleer, businessman Howard Rosen,PrincetonMayorBarbara Boggs Sigmund, andPassaic CountyFreeholder Cyril Yannarelli.[18] Maguire was the favorite but Boggs' entry took votes away from him and Lautenberg spent a considerable amount of his own money. Lautenberg won with a plurality, taking 26% of the vote to Maguire's 23%, LeFante's 20% and Sigmund's 11%.[18][19]
The seat had been occupied by DemocratHarrison A. Williams, who resigned on March 11, 1982, after being implicated in theAbscam scandal. After Williams' resignation, Republican GovernorThomas Kean appointed RepublicanNicholas F. Brady to the seat. Brady served in the Senate through the primary and general elections but did not run for the seat himself. Inthe general election, Lautenberg faced popular Republican congresswomanMillicent Fenwick. She ran on a very progressive platform and polls in the Summer of 1982 put her ahead by 18 points. Even Lautenberg quipped that she was "the most popular candidate in the country."[19] Lautenberg spent more of his own money, eventually out-spending Fenwick two-to-one. He emphasisedPresident Reagan's unpopularity, reminded the voters that she would be a vote for a Republican majority in the Senate and called Fenwick, who was 72, "eccentric" and "erratic" but denied that he was referring to her age.[8][19] He did however point out that she would be almost 80 at the end of her first term and was therefore unlikely to gain much seniority in the Senate.[19] Lautenberg won by 51% to 48%, in what was considered a major upset.[19] Brady, who had just a few days left in his appointed term, resigned on December 27, 1982, allowing Lautenberg to take office several days before the traditional swearing-in of senators, which gave him an edge in seniority over the other freshman senators.
In his first term, Lautenberg pushed theNational Minimum Drinking Age Act, which was passed in 1984.[17] The same year, he spoke at theDemocratic National Convention, though he was overshadowed by New York GovernorMario Cuomo, who gave the keynote speech.[19]
Inthe 1988 election, Lautenberg was opposed by RepublicanWall Street executive, former college football star Brigadier GeneralPete Dawkins, who won the 1958Heisman Trophy for theArmy Black Knights. After trailing in early polls, the Lautenberg campaign, headed by Democratic consultantJames Carville, ran an aggressive advertising campaign enumerating Lautenberg's legislative accomplishments and raising the possibility that Dawkins' candidacy was intended solely as a stepping stone to the presidency, as well as pointing out his lack of roots in New Jersey. Lautenberg ultimately came from behind to win re-election, 54% to 46%.[8][19] The race was named the 17th-nastiest in American political history by political scientistKerwin Swint in his bookMudslingers: The 25 Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time.[17]
Following his re-election, Lautenberg became a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST), which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in light of the sabotage ofPan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.[20]
AfterBoris Perchatkin’s speeches in the US Congress in 1989[21][22][23] along with RepresentativeBruce Morrison, Lautenberg was a primary sponsor of what became known as theLautenberg Amendment, which first passed in 1989.[24] The amendment granted presumptive refugee status to Jewish people and members of other groups from the Soviet Union, and facilitated theemigration of hundreds of thousands of Jews to the United States.
Lautenbergwas re-elected in the 1994Republican Revolution, defeating New Jersey State Assembly SpeakerChuck Haytaian by 50% to 47%.
In 1999, two popular Republicans were considering running against Lautenberg: the incumbent GovernorChristine Todd Whitman and former GovernorThomas Kean.[19] Polling showed Lautenberg trailing both of them.[19] Lautenberg also did not get along with his New Jersey Senate colleagueRobert Torricelli, and suspected that he was encouraging Whitman to run against him.[19] Torricelli's relationship with Lautenberg had been very rocky, especially when Lautenberg directly accused Torricelli of encouraging Whitman to challenge him for his Senate seat. Lautenberg raised his concerns in a meeting with Democratic senators in 1999, and Torricelli responded by shouting, "You're a fucking piece of shit, and I'm going to cut your balls off!"[25] Lautenberg was also less than enthusiastic at the prospect of fundraising for a grueling campaign, and did not want to have to spend more of his own money.[26]
He announced his retirement in 2000, but denied it was because he thought he would lose to Whitman or Kean, saying that he had been vulnerable in previous elections, and, "Mr. Vulnerable always wins."[19] His fellow Democrat and businessman,Jon Corzine,was elected to replace him.
Almost immediately, Lautenberg regretted his decision, especially after neither Whitman nor Kean ran against Corzine in the general election (instead, CongressmanBob Franks ran for the seat, and was defeated). He also was said to be missing his days working in the Senate.[19] He had considered reversing his decision and running for re-election, but since his rival, Senator Torricelli, had encouraged Corzine to run in the first place, Lautenberg would likely have had trouble restarting his campaign.[26] A little over a year after he left office, however, Lautenberg found an opening.
In the 2002 primaries leading up to themidterm elections. Torricelli won the Democratic nomination for a second term in the Senate. The Republican candidate wasDoug Forrester, the mayor ofWest Windsor Township. It was expected that Torricelli would win the election by a significant margin, as no Republican had won election from New Jersey sinceClifford P. Case was elected to his final six-year term in 1972 in the seat Torricelli was currently occupying. However, an ongoing investigation into the Senator's activities and business dealings resulted in federal corruption charges being filed against him before the election.[8] The subsequent drop in voter support in the weeks that followed resulted in Torricelli's decision to withdraw from the race on September 30, 2002.[19][26][27]
After overtures were made to retired SenatorBill Bradley, CongressmanFrank Pallone, and future SenatorRobert Menendez to take over as candidate, the New Jersey Democratic Party called upon Lautenberg and he accepted the nomination. This was met with an almost immediate challenge by Forrester and the Republicans as New Jersey law forbade the replacement of candidates on the ballot after a certain deadline. The ballot name change was unanimously upheld by theNew Jersey Supreme Court,[28] who cited that the law, as written, did not consider the possibility for an emergency resignation and said that Forrester would have an unfair advantage if Torricelli was left on the ballot.[26] TheU.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case. With the popular Lautenberg now in the race, Forrester's lead in the polls evaporated and Lautenberg won the election by a 54% to 44% margin.
Despite having served over 18 years in the Senate, upon Lautenberg's return he was treated like other freshman senators with respect toseniority. This was despite the fact that he had agreed to run for office with the implicit understanding that Democratic leaderTom Daschle would allow him to retain seniority and serve on the Appropriations Committee. He was reported to have been upset with his treatment and commented that "when you come down from a relatively lofty position of seniority, the atmosphere is different", having been given one of the least prestigious office spaces behind a fire exit door.[29]
Back in the Senate, Lautenberg was once again considered one of the chamber's mostliberal members. He waspro-choice, supported gun control, introduced many bills increasing penalties forcarjacking andcar theft, and criticized theBush administration onnational security issues.[17] He was heavily involved in various anti-smoking andairline safety legislation. He also co-sponsored legislation to increase drunk driving penalties. He was probably best known as the author of the legislation that banned smoking from most commercial airline flights.[30] He also is known for authoring theRyan White Care Act, which provides services to AIDS patients. Upon his return to the Senate, Lautenberg was the first U.S. senator to introduce legislation calling for homeland security funds to be distributed solely on the basis of risk and vulnerability.[31]
In 2005, he became a leading voice within the Senate in calling for an investigation into theBush administration payment of columnists.[32]
WhenJon Corzine resigned from the Senate to becomeGovernor of New Jersey, Lautenberg became the senior senator again in 2006. This also made him the only person to have been both the junior and senior senator from New Jersey twice each.[citation needed] Lautenberg received an "A" on theDrum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.[33]
In 2007, Lautenberg proposed theDenying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2007, designed to deny weapons purchases by persons that the government has placed on the terrorist watchlist. On June 21, 2007, Lautenberg passedClifford Case for the most votes on the Senate floor of any United States Senator in New Jersey history.[34]
In February 2006, Lautenberg announced his intention to run for re-election in2008, saying that deciding not to run for re-election in 2000 "was among the worst decisions of his life."[35] Lautenberg formally announced his candidacy on March 31, 2008. His campaign manager was Brendan W. Gill.[36]
CongressmanSteve Rothman and State SenatorJohn Adler both mooted the possibility of running, but said they would defer to Lautenberg. In private he called them "the pallbearers".[19] Ultimately, both declined to run. Instead, CongressmanRob Andrews announced he would challenge Lautenberg for renomination in theDemocratic primary. Also running wasMorristownMayorDonald Cresitello, who had run against Lautenberg in the 1982 Senate primary. Andrews ran a poor campaign, "best remembered—if it's remembered at all—for its ineptness."[19] He was also tarred with his vote for the Iraq War. Lautenberg's New Jersey Senate colleagueBob Menendez also came to his aid and Lautenberg defeated Andrews 59% to 35% in the June 3 primary.[19] He then defeated former CongressmanDick Zimmer in the general election 56% to 42%.[37]
TheNew York Times editorial board endorsed Mr. Lautenberg's candidacy for Senate during the 2008 cycle.[38]
Both opponents cited Lautenberg's age among reasons to vote against him. Andrews, for example, referenced Lautenberg's own 1982 defeat ofMillicent Fenwick, in which Lautenberg was alleged to have referred to Fenwick's age (Fenwick was 72 at the time; Lautenberg was 84 in 2008). Lautenberg denied he made Fenwick's age an issue, saying he only ever questioned Fenwick's "ability to do the job."[39]
In June 2010, Lautenberg compared thedevil withDubai.[40] Lautenberg was quoted as stating, "We wouldn't transfer the title to the devil, and we're not going to transfer it toDubai." According to a Foreign Policy in Focus article, Lautenberg defended his remarks due to theUAE's refusal to support U.S. policy toward Israel and Iran.[40] According to theArab American Institute, Lautenberg apologized in a letter upon meeting with Arab American Institute representatives.[41]
On February 14, 2013, Lautenberg announced he would not seek re-election.[42] In the press conference, Lautenberg joked "Is it too late to change my mind?" and joked that he would pray "something goes wrong" so he could be called on to run again.[17]
At the time of his death from viral pneumonia at age 89, Lautenberg was the oldest serving senator and the last remainingWorld War II veteran in the Senate.[17][43][44]
Lautenberg served on the following committees:[45]
Frank Lautenberg married Lois Levenson in 1956,[63] with whom he had four children: Ellen, Nan, Lisa, and Joshua.[64] Their 31-year marriage ended in divorce, in 1988.[64] On 25 January 2004, he married his companion of nearly 16 years, Bonnie S. Englebardt.[65] He also had two stepdaughters, Danielle Englebardt and Lara Englebardt Metz with Bonnie; and 13 grandchildren.
Lautenberg resided inMontclair, New Jersey for much of his Senate career and last resided in nearbyCliffside Park.[66][67] In 2024, Lautenberg was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentJoe Biden, a Senate colleague for over two decades.[68]
On February 19, 2010, his office announced that Lautenberg had been diagnosed with a diffuse largeb-cell lymphoma (an aggressive but curableblood cancer that appears in organs like the stomach) atMount Sinai Medical Center in New York.[69] He had been hospitalized with profuse gastric bleeding following a fall in hisCliffside Park, New Jersey, home shortly after returning from aHaiti trip with a 12-member congressional delegation.[70] He was released from the hospital on February 25, 2010.[71] Six to eightchemotherapy treatments of the intensiveR-CHOP regimen followed every 21 days over several months, and a doctor for Lautenberg at the time said a full recovery was expected. Lautenberg continued his Senate work between treatments. On June 26, 2010, the senator announced that he was cancer-free.[72]
In 2010, Lautenberg's wealth was estimated to be between $55 million and $116.1 million, making him the fifth-wealthiest Senator.[8] Lautenberg began collecting modern art after his election to the Senate, much of which was sold after his death.[73]
Lautenberg died atNewYork–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on June 3, 2013, ofviral pneumonia.[74] He was 89.
Lautenberg was returned to Washington by anAmtrakfuneral train. "Amtrak is honored to be chosen to carry him back to Washington, D.C. one final time," wrote Amtrak Chairman Tony Cosica and President/CEOJoseph Boardman in a joint public statement of condolence, "thank you Sen. Lautenberg for your service to the nation."[75]
On June 6, 2013, his bodylay in repose atop theLincoln Catafalque within the Senate chamber at the Capitol.[76] He was buried on June 7, 2013, with full military honors atArlington National Cemetery.[77]
Congress passed on September 20, 2013, a spending bill, H.J.Res.59 – Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014, that included a $174,000 tax-free death benefit payment to his widow. An annual salary payment to the widow or family member of a deceased lawmaker is a long-standing tradition for theUnited States Congress going back to the 1800s.[78]
On June 4, 2013, GovernorChris Christie announced that aspecial election to fill the vacant Senate seat would be held on October 16, 2013. A special primary, which was won byCory Booker as theDemocrat andSteve Lonegan as theRepublicancandidate, was held on August 13, 2013.[79][80]
On June 6, 2013, Christie appointed RepublicanNew Jersey Attorney GeneralJeffrey Chiesa to fill the Senate seat until the elected winner could be sworn in.[81]
On October 17, 2013, Democrat Cory Booker was announced the winner of the special election. He has held the seat ever since.
TheFrank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area is an offshoremarine protected area fordeep-sea corals off the coast of theMid-Atlantic states of the United States, established in 2016 and named after Lautenberg.[82][83][84]
The results for Lautenberg's elections to the US Senate:[85]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew Jersey (Class 1) 1982,1988,1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew Jersey (Class 2) 2002,2008 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 1) from New Jersey 1982–2001 Served alongside:Bill Bradley,Robert Torricelli | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Budget Committee 1997–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey 2003–2013 Served alongside:Jon Corzine,Bob Menendez | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
