Harley Orrin Staggers Sr. (August 3, 1907 – August 20, 1991) was an American politician who served 16 terms in 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1949 to 1981, representing

West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District West Virginia's 2nd congressional district currently stretches from the Ohio River border with Ohio to the Potomac River border with Maryland and the border with Virginia. It includes the capital city of Charleston and the rapidly growing resi ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. From 1966 until his retirement in 1981, Congressman Staggers chaired the powerful House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (today the

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

). A longtime supporter of the American railroad industry and its workers, Congressman Staggers' landmark legislative achievement was the

Staggers Rail Act The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that deregulated the American railroad industry to a significant extent, and it replaced the regulatory structure that had existed since the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. Backgroun ...

, passed in 1980.

Career

Staggers was born on August 3, 1907, in Keyser,

Mineral County, West Virginia Mineral County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,938. Its county seat is Keyser. The county was founded in 1866. Hi ...

; he graduated from

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is ...

in 1931 and did graduate work at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. Staggers served as sheriff of Mineral County from 1937 to 1941. He served as a navigator in the U.S. Naval Air Corps 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1948, Staggers was elected to the

U.S. 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 they ...

, representing

. He was reelected to another 15 terms in the congress, serving until his retirement in 1981. For 16 years, from 1966 until his retirement, Staggers chaired the powerful House Committee on Foreign and Interstate Commerce ( Energy and Commerce), the longest uninterrupted tenure of any chairman of that committee in its over 200-year history (Staggers' successor,

John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...

, served for 14 years from 1981 until 1995 and again from 2007 until 2009). He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

from West Virginia in 1960. Staggers did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

. He died in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...

on August 20, 1991.

First Amendment

On June 10, 1971, the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled that the

Nixon Administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 37th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Richard Nixon, his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974 ...

could not block ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' from publishing the

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and military ...

. The next month, on July 12, 1971, Staggers ordered

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

to hand over film not used in the documentary, ''Selling of the Pentagon''. According to Staggers this was the only way to know if the documentary had been accurately edited. The president of CBS News, Frank Stanton, said he would go to jail before complying with Staggers'

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

s. The House supported Stanton and Staggers was forced to abandon his ultimatum. In 1973, Staggers heard on the radio the

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

song "

Working Class Hero "Working Class Hero" is a song by John Lennon from his 1970 album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', his first album after the break-up of the Beatles. Theme Stridently political, the song is a commentary on the difference between social clas ...

" — which includes the lines "'Til you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules" and "But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see" — on

WGTB WGTB is a student-run internet radio station at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. History The station was founded as an AM station in 1946 by the Reverend Francis J. Heyden, S.J., and moved to FM in 1960. In the late 1960s and through ...

and lodged a complaint with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC). The manager of the station, Ken Sleeman, faced a year in prison and a $10,000 fine, but defended his decision to play the song saying, "The People of Washington, DC are sophisticated enough to accept the occasional four-letter word in context, and not become sexually aroused, offended, or upset." The charges were dropped.

Illegal drugs in sports

On May 11, 1973, the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce which was chaired by Staggers issued a press release summarizing the results of an investigation that determined illegal drug use existed in all level of sports. The investigation also described the degree of use, including steroids and amphetamines, as alarming.

Legacy

In 1980, Congress passed legislation crafted by Congressman Staggers and other members of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee to carry out the

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

of America's

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

industry. The

was signed into law by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

on October 14, 1980, and named in honor of Congressman Staggers in recognition of his many years of work on the part of railroad companies and their workers. By eliminating archaic regulations over the railroad industry, the bill allowed rail companies to enter into contracts with shippers and set their own prices without

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

approval. The Staggers Rail Act is viewed as having a significant role in strengthening the American railroad industry as well as improving safety. A Federal Court and Post Office building in Morgantown, West Virginia as well as a portion of Water Street in his hometown of Keyser, West Virginia, are named in honor of Congressman Staggers.

Children

Staggers's daughter Mary Kaye Staggers was a professor at

Potomac State College Potomac State College is a public college in Keyser, West Virginia. It is part of the West Virginia University system. Potomac State College is located approximately 90 miles (140 km) east of West Virginia University's campus in Morgantown, West ...

and is a member of the West Virginia Democratic Executive Committee. His sons,

Harley O. Staggers Jr. Harley Orrin "Buckey" Staggers Jr. (born February 22, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer from West Virginia. He served five terms as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. Life and career Staggers was born in Washingt ...

and Daniel C. Staggers, practice law in Keyser,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Harley Jr. was also a member of the

, representing

West Virginia's 2nd congressional district West Virginia's 2nd congressional district currently stretches from the Ohio River border with Ohio to the Potomac River border with Maryland and the border with Virginia. It includes the capital city of Charleston and the rapidly growing resi ...

from 1983 to 1993. His daughter Margaret Anne "Peggy" Staggers, a resident of Fayetteville, West Virginia, has been a member of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

since 2006. Daughter Susan owned and managed two successful local businesses in Keyser until her and her husband's retirement. His daughter Ellen resides in Morgantown.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-05-20
Harley O. Staggers Sr. Congressional Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Staggers, Harley Orrin Sr. 1907 births 1991 deaths Methodists from West Virginia United States Navy officers Duke University alumni Educators from West Virginia Emory and Henry College alumni Military personnel from West Virginia People from Keyser, West Virginia Staggers family of West Virginia United States Navy personnel of World War II West Virginia sheriffs Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 20th-century American politicians