Theodore S. Weiss (September 17, 1927 – September 14, 1992) was an American Democratic Party 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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

from 1977 until his death in 1992.

Background

Weiss was born in 1927 in the Hungarian village of Gáva (now

Gávavencsellő Gávavencsellő is a large village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. The village was established in 1971 by merging the former separate villages of Gáva and Vencsellő. Geography It cov ...

) and immigrated to the United States in 1938. He grew up in

South Amboy, New Jersey South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,411, an increase of 780 (+9.0%) from the 2010 census count of 8,631, which in ...

. After graduating from H.G. Hoffman High School in South Amboy in 1946, Weiss served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1951 before earning his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the institution's

College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

in 1952. In 1953, Weiss became a

naturalized citizen of the United States Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...

. Between 1955 and 1959, he was an assistant

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal l ...

, before leaving the position to return to private practice. He and his wife, Sonya, had two children.

Political career

From 1962 until 1976, Weiss was a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

. He was a delegate to the

1972 Democratic National Convention The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Rep ...

. Weiss was elected to Congress in 1976, representing most of Manhattan's

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham ...

, and served from January 3, 1977, until his death. He served on the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, the House Committee on Government Operations, and the

House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affair ...

. In 1985, Weiss headed a committee that found 90 percent of the twenty to thirty thousand new drugs used on farm animals had not been approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

in violation of the

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (abbreviated as FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C) is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the food safety ...

. They also found that the FDA failed to remove several drugs already known to be

carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...

s. He was a leader in the fight for more federal funding for the HIV/AIDS epidemic and held the first congressional hearing on the government's response to the AIDS epidemic in 1983. In 1983, he and seven other representatives sponsored a resolution to impeach Ronald Reagan over his sudden and unexpected

invasion of Grenada The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in m ...

. Weiss was known for his avid support of liberal causes, including

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, open government, union and workers rights, access to health care, removal of the embargo on Cuba, and the arts. Weiss was also instrumental in fighting against the U.S. Navy plan to station nuclear submarines in New York harbor and in blocking the proposed Westway highway plan, after decades of opposition.

Death and aftermath

On September 14, 1992, Weiss died from heart failure at

Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...

. His death came three days before the primary election for the renumbered 8th district, which would have also been the date of his sixty-fifth birthday. Due to the Congressman's ailing health, five Democrats appeared on the ballot to challenge him. Nonetheless, Weiss posthumously won the primary by a huge margin. State Assemblyman

Jerry Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Manhattan resident and a member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Nadler was first ...

was named to replace Weiss on the ballot. Nadler won a special election for the balance of Weiss' eighth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term, and still holds the seat . The

Ted Weiss Federal Building The Ted Weiss Federal Building, also known as the Foley Square Federal Building, is a 34-story United States federal building at 290 Broadway in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1994, the building ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

, adjacent to the

African Burial Ground National Monument African Burial Ground National Monument is a monument at Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way (Elk Street) in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Its main building is the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway ...

, was named in Weiss's honor in 2003.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Ted 1927 births 1992 deaths Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian Jews Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Naturalized citizens of the United States Syracuse University College of Law alumni New York City Council members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent People from South Amboy, New Jersey Lawyers from Middlesex County, New Jersey Military personnel from Middlesex County, New Jersey United States Army soldiers New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Manhattan 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century New York (state) politicians Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Background

Political career

Death and aftermath

See also

References

Sources