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 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 Louisiana's 5th congressional district 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 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, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. Passman served in the United States Navy during

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 ...

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 Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

following Nixon's resignation; Passman joined Earl Landgrebe 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 A Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibit the deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the federal and state governments, respectively, without due proces ...

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

References

1900 births 1988 deaths Louisiana Democrats United States Navy personnel of World War II Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Louisiana-politician-stub