Ralph Straus Regula (December 3, 1924 – July 19, 2017) was an American politician from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...

, the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

and 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 the ...

. He represented

Ohio's 16th congressional district The 16th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R). It is located in the northeast of the state, covering Wayne County and with arms extending north into the suburbs of Cleveland, and east into Grea ...

for 18 terms from 1973 to 2009. In the

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed ...

(2007–2009), he was the second longest serving Republican member of the House of Representatives (after

Bill Young Charles William Young (December 16, 1930 – October 18, 2013) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 2013. A Republican from Florida, Young served as chairman of the ...

of Florida).

Early life

Regula was born in Beach City, Ohio on December 3, 1924. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 ...

. After his service, he attended

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

using his

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

. He met his wife, the former Mary Rogusky, while at Mount Union. After graduating in 1948, he became a schoolteacher while studying at the William McKinley College of Law in Canton.

Career

He was elected to the

Ohio Board of Education The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for primary and secondary public education in the state. The Ohio State Board of Education is the governing body of the department an ...

and served on that body from 1960 to 1964. He was elected to the

in 1964 and served one term before winning a seat in the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. In 1972, President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

nominated longtime 16th district Congressman

Frank T. Bow Frank Townsend Bow (February 20, 1901 – November 13, 1972) was a noted Ohio jurist and politician who served as a Republican Congressman in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1951, until his death from heart fai ...

as the

United States Ambassador to Panama The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Panama since its separation from Colombia in 1903. The rank of the U.S. chief of mission to Panama was originally Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, but it was upgraded to ...

, which opened the door for Regula to run for the seat. Regula went on to win 18 terms in Congress. Regula was ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, Human Services and Education funding in the 110th Congress. The subcommittee's budget, the largest discretionary domestic account, was over $140 billion. Regula, a former teacher and principal, was a Congressional leader in pushing for alternative solutions in improving reading skills, developing teacher training and increasing

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

funding so that poorer and middle class students can obtain two and four year degrees. He increased by millions of dollars the amount of federal money committed to research in fighting cancer, heart disease and birth defects. Regula was a member of the moderate

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a 501(c)(4) organization that was allied with the congressional Republican Main Street Caucus. The Partnership continues to exist, while the Caucus was dissolved by its members in February 2019. His ...

and supports stem cell research. Regula was also a Congressional leader in alternative energy sources. He was an early champion of fuel cell technology and he has directed federal funding back to his home state, Ohio, which is recognized as a national leader in fuel cell research and development. Beginning in 1975, Regula blocked the renaming of Mount McKinley in

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 ...

, named for President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

, to

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thi ...

. This was, in part, because

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

, McKinley's long-time hometown and resting place, fell within the boundaries of Regula's congressional district. The name was eventually changed in 2015. Regula described the change as a political stunt by President Obama and called it ridiculous while also calling the President a dictator. With his seat on the appropriations committee, he was able to use federal funds to establish and protect parks and trails in his district. He earmarked $200 million for the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, now the

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is administered by the National Park Service, but within ...

. In 2003, the Stark County Park District voted to rename the 25 miles of the

Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail is a multi-use trail that follows part of the former route of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Northeast Ohio. The trail runs from north to south through Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, and Tuscarawas counties. The tr ...

within Stark County the "Congressman Ralph Regula Towpath Trail". It was announced at the dedication of a 150-foot-long tunnel section of the trail paid by a federal grant Regula arranged. "You really did catch me by surprise," Regula said. The park district honored Regula for his continued support in Congress for the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. His wife Mary helped create the

First Ladies National Historic Site First Ladies National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Canton, Ohio. During her residency in Washington, D.C. Mary Regula, wife of Ohio congressman Ralph Regula, spoke regularly about the nation's first ladi ...

. After she initially raised funds to seed the museum's collection, Ralph appropriated $1.2 million to pushed development further. Regula retired from the House of Representatives when his term ended in January 2009. He was succeeded by

John Boccieri John Stephen Anthony Boccieri (born October 5, 1969) is an American politician who was appointed to fill the 59th district seat in the Ohio House of Representatives on September 29, 2015. He left office after an unsuccessful run for Ohio State S ...

, a Democrat from the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columb ...

. After retiring from Congress, Regul
joined Dawson & Associates
in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as an advisor on federal budget and permitting matters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Regula, Ralph 1924 births 2017 deaths 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Military personnel from Ohio Republican Party Ohio state senators Ohio lawyers People from Beach City, Ohio School board members in Ohio United States Navy sailors University of Mount Union alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Episcopalians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links