Maurice Hinchey
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Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 years in Congress. A New York City native who moved to the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
where he attended high school and college, Hinchey had previously represented part of the area in the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
since 1975. As chair of that body's Environmental Conservation Committee, he took the lead in bringing
environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...
issues to the fore, particularly when he held hearings on the problems created by toxic waste disposal in the
Love Canal Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, infamous as the location of a landfill that became the site of an enormous environmental disaster in the 1970s. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals harmed the health of hund ...
neighborhood of
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...
. In his later years in Congress, he opposed
hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fra ...
to exploit the natural gas resources of the Marcellus Shale. Throughout his career, he was considered a political progressive for his liberal stands on other issues.


Early life, education and career

Hinchey was born to a working-class family on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, the son of Rose (Bonack) and Maurice D. Hinchey. He grew up in
Saugerties, New York Saugerties () is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 Census, a decline from 19,482 in 2010. The village of the same name is located entirely within the town. Part o ...
. After graduating from high school, Hinchey enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific on the destroyer USS '' Marshall''. After being honorably discharged, he spent two years working as a laborer in a cement plant. While in college, he earned his tuition working as a toll collector on the
New York State Thruway , direction_a = South , terminus_a = {{Jct, state=NY, I, 95 at the The Bronx, Bronx–Yonkers, New York City line , junction = {{plainlist, * {{jct, state=NY, I, 287, Parkway, Saw Mill, NY, 119 in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford * {{jct, state=NY, ...
. He graduated from the
State University of New York at New Paltz The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an ...
with a B.A. in 1968 and an M.A. in 1970. Hinchey first sought public office in 1972, with an unsuccessful race for the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
. Ulster County was a Republican stronghold, but Hinchey ran successfully in 1974, becoming the first Democrat to represent Ulster County since 1912. Hinchey remained in the Assembly until 1992 and was a member of the 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th and
189th New York State Legislature The 189th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1991, to December 31, 1992, during the ninth and tenth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgroun ...
s. He was particularly noted for his work on protecting the
natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...
. For 14 years, he chaired the Committee on Environmental Conservation. Hinchey also served on the Ways and Means, Rules, Banks, Health, Higher Education, Labor, Energy and Agriculture committees. During his chairmanship of the Committee on Environmental Conservation, the committee conducted a successful investigation into the causes of "Love Canal," the nation's first major toxic dump site. During his tenure, he aided in the passage of the country's first law concerning regulation of
acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but ac ...
. His committee also gained public attention for its investigation of the infiltration of the waste removal industry by
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
.


U.S. House of Representatives


Campaigns

In 1992, 28th District Congressman
Matthew F. McHugh Matthew Francis "Matt" McHugh (born December 6, 1938) is an American lawyer and former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York, serving from 1975 to 1993. Biography Early life and education McHugh was born ...
retired after 18 years in the House. Hinchey won the Democratic nomination for the district, which had been renumbered the 26th after New York lost three districts as a result of the 1990 census. He defeated Republican Robert Moppert, a county legislator in
Broome County Broome County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when B ...
(which includes Binghamton) in the November general election by a 50% – 47% margin. In 1994, Hinchey faced Moppert again; in that year's
Republican Revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...
wave election, Hinchey won by only 1,200 votes. Hinchey's district was significantly reconfigured when New York lost two Congressional seats after the 2000 census. Hinchey was threatened with dismemberment of his district or with having to run against a popular and well-established Republican incumbent, either
Ben Gilman Benjamin Arthur Gilman (December 6, 1922 – December 17, 2016) was an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Middletown, New York (state), New York, from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 2003 ...
or
Sherwood Boehlert Sherwood Louis Boehlert (September 28, 1936September 20, 2021) was an American politician from New York. He represented a large swath of central New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007. Boehlert, a Republican, ...
. In the intense political infighting over the
redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral distri ...
, however, Hinchey emerged as one of the winners. To protect two younger Republican incumbents, the Republicans agreed to sacrifice the district of the 79-year-old Gilman, who chose to retire. In return, the Democrats accepted a district that threw together two of their incumbents, Louise Slaughter and John LaFalce, prompting the latter's retirement. Hinchey's district was renumbered the 22nd and wound a narrow, contorted path across eight counties in the southern part of the state, from the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
through the
Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
and
Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...
to
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
, connecting the most politically liberal parts of the
Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...
and Borscht Belt regions. This
gerrymandered In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
configuration is similar to the former New York's 26th congressional district. Hinchey ran in historically Republican areas throughout his career (his Assembly district was held by Republicans from 1915 until McHugh won it for the Democrats in 1975). He is best categorized as having been a progressive
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
. For example, he was one of the first and most outspoken opponents of the 2003 war in Iraq, and one of only 11 co-sponsors of the Kucinich Resolution to impeach President Bush. He bridged the ideological gap with a reputation for supporting many measures to improve integrity in government, by popular (in New York) advocacy of strong environmental protection, and by diligent constituent services. He sat on the Appropriations Committee, a post that helped him to deliver federal support on programs important to his district. In 2010, Hinchey was elected to his tenth and final term, with a 52% to 48% margin over Republican George Phillips of Binghamton.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
** Subcommittee on Defense ** Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Narcotics Abuse and Control Caucus * Congressional Native American Caucus *
Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...
. * Education Caucus * International Conservation Caucus * Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus * Steel Caucus * Congressional Arts Caucus Hinchey was one of 31 members of the House who voted to uphold the objection to counting the 20 electoral votes from
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in the
2004 United States presidential election The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...
put forth by Ohio Rep. Tubbs Jones in order to encourage "a formal and legitimate debate about election irregularities". Republican President George Bush had won the state by 118,457 votes after a recount. On June 18, 2008, he stated: "Should the people of the United States own refineries? Maybe so. Frankly, I think that's a good idea," but conceded it was unlikely the government would do so, and suggested putting national pressure on the oil companies.


Hinchey and veterans

Hinchey, a strong supporter of pro-veteran policies, helped vote numerous pieces of legislation into law. In 2009, Hinchey was a member of the House of Appropriations Committee and was a part of the largest funding for the Department of Veterans' affairs in the past 30 years. Hinchey wrote the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act, which would provide the opportunity for veterans to hold the military accountable for insufficient healthcare.


Energy

Hinchey was an original co-sponsor of the Small Business Clean Energy Financing Act. The act contributed about $630 million in loans to environmentally friendly energy companies in the years between 2006 and 2009. Hinchey was a
solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
supporter; he helped organize the non-profit organization called The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC). TSEC supports the growth of a solar energy industry in New York, creating green jobs in the Hudson Valley area. Hinchey supported the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act. The bill supports green energy by offering rebates to homeowners who improve their homes to conserve more energy. In 2010 midterm elections, Hinchey clashed with his opponent over shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in upstate New York. Hinchey was against gas drilling in this area. Also, Obama's administration ignored a request by Hinchey to slow drilling in New York and Pennsylvania. Along with Rep.
Diana DeGette Diana Louise DeGette (; born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 ...
(D-Colo.) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Hinchey introduced legislation called the "
FRAC Act The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (, , dubbed as the FRAC Act) was a 2009 legislative proposal in the United States Congress to define hydraulic fracturing as a federally regulated activity under the Safe Drinking Water A ...
" which proposes lifting fracturing exemptions and forcing public disclosure.


Environment

Hinchey supported the Clean Air Act and did not approve of the Bush Administration's decision to roll back the New Source Review (NSR) component of the Act, fearing it would result in increased acid rain and more pollution of the lakes of the area. Hinchey appeared in the 2010 documentary ''
Gasland ''Gasland'' is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Josh Fox. It focuses on communities in the United States where natural gas drilling activity was a concern and, specifically, on hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), a method ...
'', discussing the
FRAC Act The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (, , dubbed as the FRAC Act) was a 2009 legislative proposal in the United States Congress to define hydraulic fracturing as a federally regulated activity under the Safe Drinking Water A ...
, which he co-sponsored.


Medical marijuana

Hinchey introduced the Hinchey–Rohrabacher amendment in 2001, to prohibit the
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
from taking actions to interfere with the implementation of state
medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
laws. The amendment failed 152–273 upon its initial vote in 2003 and was defeated several more times in subsequent years up until Hinchey's 2012 retirement. In 2014, however, the amendment passed the House as the
Rohrabacher–Farr amendment The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment (also known as the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment) is legislation first introduced by U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey in 2001, prohibiting the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation ...
and was signed into law, providing supporters of medical cannabis with a key victory at the federal level. In 2009, the
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Comm ...
approved adding a provision authored by Hinchey to the committee report on the fiscal 2010 Justice Department appropriations bill, requesting "clarification of the Department's policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities."


Abortion

Hinchey supported a
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
position on abortion issues. He was a cosponsor of the
Freedom of Choice Act In United States politics, the Freedom of Choice Act was a bill which sought to codify into law for women a "fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when ...
and the
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE or the Access Act, Pub. L. No. 103-259, 108 Stat. 694) (May 26, 1994, ) is a United States law that was signed by President Bill Clinton in May 1994, which prohibits the following three things: ...
, which seeks federal protection of free access to women's clinics and he fought Republican attempts to reduce abortion rights. Hinchey was also an advocate for family planning programs, including the Title X program. However, Hinchey opposed
late-term abortions Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to as late-term abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, ''late'' is not precisely defined, and different medical publicati ...
except where necessary to protect the health of the mother.


Other memberships

* Board of Visitors for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point * Member, National Conference of State Legislators * National Guard and Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization * New York State Council of Governments * Member, board of directors, Ulster-Greene ARC * Member, board of directors, WAMU Public Radio Member, Eastern Regional Conference of the Council of State Governments and chair of its Environment Committee


Honors

Hinchey was made an Officer of the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
on September 4, 2009, by the Ambassador of the Netherlands in capacity of
Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...
. He was awarded the Dutch royal order for his work to commemorate the quadricentennial anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration and discovery of the river in New York and for Hinchey's efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Netherlands relationship.


Later votes

Representative Hinchey voted yes on H.R. 2433 Veterans Opportunity to Work Act of 2011. This law will amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in the laws relating to the employment and training of veterans, and for other purposes. Hinchey, in August 2010, voted yes on the "Offshore Drilling and Other Energy Laws Amendments." This regulates or controls the use of oil and natural gas. It also increases safety on blowout preventers on oil wells, as well as upping the penalty for leaking or spilling of oil or "other hazardous substances" into the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. He also voted to repeal
Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
in March 2010. This makes it illegal to dismiss someone from the army for being homosexual, having engaged in or suspected of engaging in "homosexual acts." Another bill Hinchey voted yes on, the Aid to States for
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
, Teacher Employment and Other purposes, passed in the House in August 2010. This budgets $10 billion to the Education Jobs Fund to be given to the states for teacher hiring and training. It also increases
Federal Medical Assistance Percentages Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) are the percentage rates used to determine the matching funds rate allocated annually to certain medical and social service programs in the United States of America. FMAP eligible programs are joint fed ...
(FMAP) to states in need and lengthens the period for states to increase their FMAP. In November 2011, he voted to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the national motto and "encourag the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions."


Speeches and public statements

In a letter sent on November 10, 2010, to
Jeffrey Zients Jeffrey Dunston Zients (born November 12, 1966) is an American business executive and government official who served as Counselor to the President and the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator from January 2021 to April 2022. He was the ...
, the acting director of the
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
, Hinchey promoted the support of
Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Mission and purpose Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...
. This program helps high-school dropouts find careers and receive their high school diplomas or GED's. He asked Zients for increased federal funding for this recovery program in the 2012 budget. On October 18, 2010, Hinchey held a Medicare forum to reassure seniors about provisions in the health care bill that would or would not change parts of
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
and Medicare. He stated that the health care reform bill would increase the efficiency of Medicare; the Act would not cut into Medicare or social security funding. Hinchey wrote a letter to President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in October 2010 regarding Social Security. In the letter, he described to Obama how he believes social security is important and urged the President to increase its budget in the upcoming year.


Arctic offshore drilling

In May 2010, Hinchey, along with two other Progressive democrats,
Lois Capps Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; January 10, 1938) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 22nd District from 1998 to 2003 ...
and
Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...
, began a petition to ask Obama to delay
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
from beginning exploratory drilling near
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. They wanted to understand the causes of the Gulf oil spills before Shell went ahead with
Offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...
. Hinchey and the others were worried about the environmental effects if an accident were to occur; in the Arctic waters, a spill would not be contained as in the Gulf spill. Another priority was assuring native communities would not be harmed; since they often depend on fish and marine life to sustain them, their resources would be depleted if a spill happened.


Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program

After the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' first disclosed the existence of the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program in late 2005, Hinchey was among the earliest members of Congress to criticize the program. Not long after, Hinchey—along with three other House Democrats—
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
of Georgia,
Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included much of the western part of the city of ...
of California, and
Lynn Woolsey Lynn C. Woolsey (born November 3, 1937) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, her district included all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She was a me ...
of California—wrote the Justice Department, requesting an investigation to determine whether Bush administration violated any laws in authorizing and carrying out the program. As a result, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) commenced an investigation. It was later disclosed the OPR investigation was closed when President Bush refused to allow the Justice Department attorneys who were to conduct the investigation to have the security clearances to conduct the inquiry. After a public outcry, President Bush capitulated and allowed the investigators to have their security clearances so they could conduct the inquiry.


1994 gun incident

In December 1994, Hinchey was issued a summons after X-ray machines at
Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
found a loaded .32-caliber handgun in his
carry-on luggage The term hand luggage or cabin baggage (normally called carry-on in North America) refers to the type of luggage that passengers are allowed to carry along in the passenger compartment of a vehicle instead of a separate cargo compartment. Passen ...
before he boarded a flight. Hinchey claims to have forgotten the handgun was in his luggage. He pleaded no contest and was fined.


Retirement

In January 2012, Hinchey held a
news conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
at Senate House in Kingston, where he had announced his first run for Congress two decades earlier, to announce his retirement. "It's time for someone else", he told assembled reporters. His illness and age had been factors. He denied his decision to step down had anything to do with the state's pending redistricting but said he wanted to make his intentions clear before the process was completed. His departure was seen as making it easier for the state's Democratic Party to decide which member of its congressional delegation would have to give up their district since New York had to eliminate two of its seats that year. Hinchey's seat was one of two, the other being that of newly elected Republican Bob Turner, eliminated in redistricting.


Personal life

On April 22, 2011, Hinchey's office announced he was being treated for a curable form of colon cancer. A statement released by his office said Hinchey would have surgery at the Albany Medical Center, receive treatment at the Ulster Radiation Oncology Center in
Kingston, New York Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...
, and also undergo chemotherapy. The statement said he would continue to work during his treatment. Hinchey had three children, one of whom, Michelle, went on to become a
New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...
. He and his wife, Ilene Marder Hinchey, resided together in
Saugerties, New York Saugerties () is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 Census, a decline from 19,482 in 2010. The village of the same name is located entirely within the town. Part ...
.


Death

Shortly after being treated for colon cancer, Hinchey began experiencing symptoms of
frontotemporal dementia Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or frontotemporal degeneration disease, or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes. FTDs broadly present as ...
, a diagnosis that his family did not make public until 2017. Hinchey died from the disease at his home in Saugerties on November 22, 2017, at age 79. In December 2017, the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
passed a resolution honoring Hinchey. On July 26, 2018, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
signed a bill renaming the Saugerties Post Office after Hinchey.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinchey, Maurice 1938 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Deaths from frontotemporal dementia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Hurley, New York People from Saugerties, New York People from the Catskills People from Tribeca State University of New York at New Paltz alumni United States Navy sailors