Difference between revisions of "Reece Committee"
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| − | The U.S. House voted in late July 1953 to approve of creating the special committee.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/83-1953/h61 H RES 217. RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT A FULL AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF EDUCA- TIONAL AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM FED. INCOME TAXATION.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> The majority of Republicans supported it, while less than half of Democrats did. The forty-nine GOP congressmen who voted against it, largely [[Moderate Republican]]s, included future U.S. president [[Gerald Ford]] (R–MI), future moderate/liberal U.S. senators [[Hugh D. Scott]] (R–PA) and [[Jacob Javits]] (R–NY), as well as [[Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.]] (R–NJ), a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref>[https://politicalgraveyard.com/families/10001-0047.html Saltonstall-Davis-Frelinghuysen-Appleton family of Massachusetts]. ''The Political Graveyard''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> | + | The U.S. House voted in late July 1953 to approve of creating the special committee.<ref name=rollcallvote>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/83-1953/h61 H RES 217. RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT A FULL AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF EDUCA- TIONAL AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM FED. INCOME TAXATION.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> The majority of Republicans supported it, while less than half of Democrats did. The forty-nine GOP congressmen who voted against it, largely [[Moderate Republican]]s, included future U.S. president [[Gerald Ford]] (R–MI), future moderate/liberal U.S. senators [[Hugh D. Scott]] (R–PA) and [[Jacob Javits]] (R–NY), as well as [[Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.]] (R–NJ), a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref>[https://politicalgraveyard.com/families/10001-0047.html Saltonstall-Davis-Frelinghuysen-Appleton family of Massachusetts]. ''The Political Graveyard''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> |
Crucial in the committee's research was Norman Dodd, the chief investigator.<ref name=northwestconnection>Crino, Art (August 29, 2017). [https://nw-connection.com/foundations-and-the-reece-committee/ Foundations and the Reece Committee]. ''The Northwest Connection''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> | Crucial in the committee's research was Norman Dodd, the chief investigator.<ref name=northwestconnection>Crino, Art (August 29, 2017). [https://nw-connection.com/foundations-and-the-reece-committee/ Foundations and the Reece Committee]. ''The Northwest Connection''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> | ||
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===Obstruction by Wayne Hays=== | ===Obstruction by Wayne Hays=== | ||
| − | President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who turned against [[Joseph McCarthy]] in the latter's investigations of communist infiltration, similarly worked to undermine the work of the Reece Committee.<ref name=thenewamerican>Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). [https://thenewamerican.com/cutting-off-the-toxic-funding-flow/ Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow]. ''The New American''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> He urged member [[Wayne Hays]] of Ohio to sabotage hearings via rude behavior to damage and undermine the committee's reputation, which the congressman did. Hays had been appointed to the committee by Minority Leader [[Sam Rayburn]] | + | President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who turned against [[Joseph McCarthy]] in the latter's investigations of communist infiltration, similarly worked to undermine the work of the Reece Committee.<ref name=thenewamerican>Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). [https://thenewamerican.com/cutting-off-the-toxic-funding-flow/ Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow]. ''The New American''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> He urged member [[Wayne Hays]] of Ohio to sabotage hearings via rude behavior to damage and undermine the committee's reputation, which the congressman did. Hays had been appointed to the committee for such purposes by Minority Leader [[Sam Rayburn]],<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> who had joined the majority of Democrats in voting against the resolution to establish the committee.<ref name=rollcallvote/> |
When Aaron Sargent of [[San Francisco]] testified as a witness before the committee in alleging [[Illinois]] senator [[Paul Douglas]] to have had ties with socialist groups, Hays walked out with another Democrat on the committee, [[Gracie Pfost]].<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> | When Aaron Sargent of [[San Francisco]] testified as a witness before the committee in alleging [[Illinois]] senator [[Paul Douglas]] to have had ties with socialist groups, Hays walked out with another Democrat on the committee, [[Gracie Pfost]].<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> | ||
Revision as of 00:24, August 9, 2021
| As the egalitarianism of Marxism is attractive to many, socialism could have attracted many followers in America, anyway. But there is no doubt that it could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed. — Committee chairman Carroll Reece[1] |
The congressional Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, known during the 83rd Congress as the Reece Committee, was an investigative group in the United States House of Representatives enacted to probe the activities of tax-exempt organizations for potential subversion. It was created at the advocacy of conservative Tennessee Republican B. Carroll Reece in response to the insufficient investigations, findings, and conclusions of the previous Cox Committee.[2]
Reece presented the following criticisms of the Cox Committee in urging for the re-enactment of the select committee during the 83rd Congress:[2]
| “ |
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” |
The U.S. House voted in late July 1953 to approve of creating the special committee.[3] The majority of Republicans supported it, while less than half of Democrats did. The forty-nine GOP congressmen who voted against it, largely Moderate Republicans, included future U.S. president Gerald Ford (R–MI), future moderate/liberal U.S. senators Hugh D. Scott (R–PA) and Jacob Javits (R–NY), as well as Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. (R–NJ), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[4]
Crucial in the committee's research was Norman Dodd, the chief investigator.[5]
Investigation
Among the subjects of the committee's investigation included the funding by the Rockefeller Foundation for Nazi collaborator and sexual revolutionary Alfred Kinsey.[2]
Obstruction by Wayne Hays
President Dwight Eisenhower, who turned against Joseph McCarthy in the latter's investigations of communist infiltration, similarly worked to undermine the work of the Reece Committee.[6] He urged member Wayne Hays of Ohio to sabotage hearings via rude behavior to damage and undermine the committee's reputation, which the congressman did. Hays had been appointed to the committee for such purposes by Minority Leader Sam Rayburn,[2] who had joined the majority of Democrats in voting against the resolution to establish the committee.[3]
When Aaron Sargent of San Francisco testified as a witness before the committee in alleging Illinois senator Paul Douglas to have had ties with socialist groups, Hays walked out with another Democrat on the committee, Gracie Pfost.[2]
Findings
Among the committee's conclusions stated that significant foundations:[6]
| “ | ...have actively supported attacks upon our social and government system and financed the promotion of socialism and collectivist ideas. | ” |
Release
The committee's report was agreed to based on party lines, with Democrats Hays and Pfost refusing to sign,[2] and released in December 1954.[7] However, due to the timing coinciding with the highly covered Senate censure of McCarthy, it received comparably less attention.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ B. Carroll Reece quote: As the egalitarianism of Marxism is attractive to many, socialism.... AZ Quotes. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 FascinatingPolitics (December 22, 2019). The Reece Committee on Foundations: Conspiratorial Nonsense or an Expose of a Threat to the Nation?. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 H RES 217. RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT A FULL AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF EDUCA- TIONAL AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM FED. INCOME TAXATION.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ↑ Saltonstall-Davis-Frelinghuysen-Appleton family of Massachusetts. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ↑ Crino, Art (August 29, 2017). Foundations and the Reece Committee. The Northwest Connection. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow. The New American. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ↑ December 21, 1954. REECE COMMITTEE REPORT. The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
External links
- Dodd Report text via Internet Archive
