John E. Moss
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John Emerson Moss (April 13, 1915 – December 5, 1997) was an American
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran and politician of the Democratic Party, noted for his championing of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) through multiple sessions 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 ...
where he served from 1953 to 1978.


Biography

Moss was born in Hiawatha, Carbon County, Utah, in 1915, and moved with his family to
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, in 1923 where he attended public school and Sacramento Junior College. He held various sales, credit executive, and retail jobs from 1938 and 1943. In 1935 he married Jean Kueny, the daughter of Joseph and Winnefred (née West) Kueny of Galt, California. Together they had two daughters, Jennifer Afton and Allison Effie. In 1938 he joined the California Democratic State Central committee where he remained until 1980. He died in
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, in 1997. Moss served in the
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during World War II and was elected to the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
in 1949, where he served as the Democratic floor leader until 1952.


U.S. House of Representatives

Moss served in the US House of Representatives for
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for 13 terms from 1953 until he retired in 1978. He was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties in 1958 and ran unopposed in 1960. Moss earned the distinction of never being defeated in an election for public office. Moss held the chair for the following subcommittees in the House of Representatives: * Special Subcommittee on Government Information * Foreign Operations and Government Information Subcommittee of the House Government Operations Committee * Commerce and Finance and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittees of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce * Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce He also served on the following committees: * Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans * Subcommittee on Government Information and Individual Rights * Subcommittee on Legislation and National Security * Committees on Post Office and Civil Service and House Administration * Joint Committee on Atomic Energy


Tenure

His legislative record includes: * Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which he authored and sponsored through several iterations *
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, which he authored and advocated * Federal Trade Commission Improvements Act, also known as the Magnuson-Moss Act * Deregulatory legislation to establish
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* Consumer protection legislation, including protection against hazards related to automobiles, toys, tires, flammability standards for children's clothing, and toxins. Moss also played an active role in furthering legislative oversight, chairing hearings related to the World Uranium Cartel,
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foreign security surveillance during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, abuse in federal contracting,
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,
defensive medicine Defensive medicine, also called defensive medical decision making, refers to the practice of recommending a diagnostic test or medical treatment that is not necessarily the best option for the patient, but mainly serves to protect the physician ag ...
, pricing and supply of
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, passive restraint systems for passenger cars, regulation of
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, and amendments to the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from Bribery, bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is applic ...
. Congressman Moss is considered the father of modern legislative oversight. On May 1, 1973, Moss was also the first to call for the House to set up procedures for a bill of impeachment during the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
.


Freedom of Information Act

Moss has been noted for his determination in passing the Freedom of Information Act into law. As chairman of the Government Information Subcommittee it took Moss 6 congressional sessions (over 12 years) to get the Freedom of Information Act through Congress successfully.Gold, Susan Dudley. 2012. Freedom of Information Act. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. Much of the desire for government transparency stemmed from the Department of Defense and Congressional committees evaluation of the nation's classification system in the late 1950s. They determined that the misuse of government classification of documents was causing insiders to leak documents that were marked "confidential". The Moss Committee took it upon itself to reform confidentiality policy and implement punishments for the overuse of classification by officials and departments.Lemov, Michael Dudley. 2011. People's Warrior: John Moss and the Fight for Freedom of Information and Consumer Rights. New York: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. The landmark bill was signed into law by a reluctant
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
on July 4, 1966.Ciaramella, C
The Freedom of Information Act—and the Hero Who Pioneered It
''Pacific Standard Magazine''. July 13, 2016

''Miami Herald''. August 3, 2016


Death and burial

Moss died in San Francisco on December 5, 1997, and was interred in Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum in Sacramento.


References


Further reading


External links


John E. Moss Foundation web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, John E. Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California 1915 births 1997 deaths Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Carbon County, Utah 20th-century members of the California State Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives