Otto Ernest Passman (June 27, 1900 – August 13, 1988) was an American politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Louisiana's 5th congressional district Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...

from 1947 until 1977. As a congressman, Passman chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Aid where he was a well-known opponent of foreign aid spending. Passman was born on June 27, 1900, in Franklinton, Louisiana, the son of Ed and Pheriby (née Carrier) Passman. Passman graduated from

Soule Business College Soule Business College (sometimes called Soulé's Business College, Soule Commercial College, or Soule College) was an educational institution focused primary on practical business skills, established by George Soule in New Orleans, Louisiana in ...

in 1929, and engaged in the manufacture and sale of appliances. He married Willie Lenora Bateman in the early 1920s, and she died in 1984. He married his secretary, Martha Kathryn Williams (1926–2005), later that year in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. Passman served in the United States Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

from 1942 until 1944, and after the war ended, Passman ran for Congress against incumbent Congressman Charles E. McKenzie. Passman defeated McKenzie in the 1946 Democratic primary. During Passman's time in Congress, winning the Democratic primary in Louisiana was considered tantamount to election. Passman was accused of influence peddling in the time leading up to the 1976 Primary. Jerry Huckaby challenged Passman in that election and defeated him by a 53% to 47% margin. During his tenure, Passman was one of only three Representatives who voted to reject the Judiciary Committee's report on the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

following Nixon's resignation; Passman joined

Earl Landgrebe Earl Fredrick Landgrebe (January 21, 1916 – June 29, 1986) was an American politician and businessman who served as a Republican senator in the Indiana Senate and member of the United States House of Representatives. During the Watergate sca ...

and Sonny Montgomery as the three opposed compared to 412 in favor. In his last years in office, Passman was sued for firing his deputy administrative assistant, Shirley Davis. When terminating Davis, Passman wrote that "it was essential that the understudy to my Administrative Assistant be a man." Davis alleged a violation of the

Due Process Clause In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except a ...

of the Fifth Amendment due to discrimination on the basis of sex. This raised a question of whether the earlier '' Bivens'' case, which authorized direct enforcement of the Fourth Amendment against federal officers, could also be expanded to other constitutional amendments. The Supreme Court determined in ''Davis v. Passman'' that Davis had a claim under ''Bivens'' and remanded the case for further hearing. After leaving Congress, Passman was charged with taking $273,000 from

Tongsun Park Tongsun Park (born in 1935 Sunch'ŏn, Korea) is a former South Korean lobbyist. He was involved in two political money-related scandals: Koreagate scandal in the 1970s, and the Oil-for-Food Program scandal of the 2000s. Park had a reputation a ...

while in Congress and was found not guilty after a trial in Monroe.

References

1900 births 1988 deaths Members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Louisiana Democrats United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American politicians Old Right (United States) {{Louisiana-politician-stub