Allan Byron Swift (September 12, 1935 – April 20, 2018) was an American

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

award–winning broadcaster and politician who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for eight terms from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congressional District of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Biography

Swift was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, in 1935. He studied for two years at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

where he was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

Chapter. He received a bachelor's degree from the Central Washington College of Education in 1957. Prior to his sixteen years in Congress, Swift was a broadcaster in several stations throughout Washington State in the towns of Walla Walla ( KUJ), Ellensburg ( KXLE) and Bellingham (

KVOS-TV KVOS-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Bellingham, Washington, United States, serving the Seattle–Tacoma market as an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside Seattle-l ...

). At KVOS, he was Director of News and Public Affairs, producing a series of weekly public interest programs and documentaries and earning an

from the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

Congress

He was first elected to the House in 1978, replacing the retiring

Lloyd Meeds Edwin Lloyd Meeds (December 11, 1927August 17, 2005) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1965 to 1979. He represented the Washington's 2nd congressional district, second district ...

, for whom Swift had served as an administrative assistant from 1965 to 1969 and from 1977 to 1978. Swift won re-election in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992. Swift served on the powerful

Energy and Commerce Committee The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...

, of which he was the 5th ranking member during his final term and chair of the subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials. He also chaired the Subcommittee on Elections of the

House Administration Committee The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives, the security of the United States Capitol, and federal elections. History The Committee on Ho ...

. Among his accomplishments was authorship of

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law passed by the 99th United States Congress located at Title 42, Chapter 116 of the U.S. Code, concerned with emergency response preparedness. On Octobe ...

, which was designed to support emergency planning regarding

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

sites. Swift also authored and led the passage of the

National Voter Registration Act of 1993 The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), also known as the Motor Voter Act, is a United States federal law signed into law by President Bill Clinton on May 20, 1993, that came into effect on January 1, 1995. The law was enacted u ...

, otherwise known as motor-voter, which expanded voter registration options nationwide including drivers license offices and mail-in registration. He retired and did not run for re-election in 1994, an election in which the Democrats lost this seat.

Later career

Following his final term in Congress, Swift was Vice President of Governmental Affairs with

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

until its merger with

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

in 1996 and had a new railroad siding south of Blaine, WA named after him (Swift) . He was later a principal with the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, political strategy fir
Colling, Swift & Hynes
and a regular member of the internet based radio talk show called Backroom Politics. He and his wife, Paula, had two daughters, Amy Swift Donovan and Lauri Swift, and resided in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

Death

Swift died on April 20, 2018, in

References

Stennis Center for Public Service profile of Al Swift

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Allen 1935 births 2018 deaths American radio journalists American television journalists Central Washington University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) News & Documentary Emmy Award winners Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia Politicians from Tacoma, Washington Radio personalities from Washington (state) Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

Congress

Later career

Death

See also

References