James Haas Scheuer (February 6, 1920 – August 30, 2005) was a Democratic member of 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

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

. He was also affiliated with the

Liberal Party of New York The Liberal Party of New York is a political party in New York. Its platform supports a standard set of socially liberal policies, including abortion rights, increased spending on education, and universal health care. History The Liberal Party wa ...

Family and education

Scheuer was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he attended the

Ethical Culture Fieldston School Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facult ...

. He received a bachelor's degree from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

in 1942, a master's degree from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

in 1943, and a law degree from

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestig ...

in 1948. His brothers were Richard J. Scheuer, a scholar and philanthropist, Walter Scheuer, an investor and documentary-maker, and Steven H. Scheuer, a television and film critic. His sister is Amy Scheuer Cohen of Larchmont, NY. He was married in 1948 to interior designer Emily Malino (1925–2007) and had four children. Scheuer contracted polio while on his honeymoon, and recuperated for a year at President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's Warm Springs facility in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He walked with a cane for the rest of his life.

Early career

Scheuer served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1943 until 1945. After returning home, he was hired by the

Foreign Economic Administration In the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Foreign Economic Administration (FEA) was formed to relieve friction between US agencies operating abroad on September 25, 1943. As described by the biographer of the FEA's chief, Leo Crowley ...

, and in 1951 he became employed by the Office of Price Stabilization.

Political career

After an unsuccessful run for the House in 1962, Scheuer was elected to Congress in 1964. He originally served from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He also headed the National Housing Conference. Scheuer was an early and outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War and opposed governmental interference in private matters such as contraception and abortion. A strong liberal, he supported legislation for the Head Start early education program, environmental protection and automotive safety. He also was a staunch supporter of Israel and the cause of

Soviet Jews The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...

. He introduced a bill (HR 10638) to "provide for the establishment of the Negro History Museum Commission." He was "the first high-ranking American official to meet with

refuseniks Refusenik (russian: отказник, otkaznik, ; alternatively spelt refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authori ...

" and in 1972 was detained and then expelled from the Soviet Union for meeting with Jews who were trying to emigrate from that country. Scheuer ran for Mayor of New York City in 1969, but finished last in a field of five in the Democratic primary. Population loss in the Bronx and redistricting in 1970 and again in 1972 pitted Scheuer against two other incumbent Congressmen in succession. In 1970 he defeated Representative

Jacob H. Gilbert Jacob H. Gilbert (June 17, 1920 – February 27, 1981) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a United States representative from New York between 1960 and 1971. Life Gilbert was born on June 17, 1920, in the Bronx, New Yor ...

, but two years later he was defeated by Representative

Jonathan Bingham Jonathan Brewster Bingham (April 24, 1914 – July 3, 1986) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the US delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and was elected to Congress from The Bronx, serving in the House of Representatives ...

. Scheuer ran for Congress once again in 1974, moving to

Neponsit, Queens Neponsit is a small affluent neighborhood located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the New York City borough of Queens. The area starts at Beach 142nd Street and ends at Beach 149th Street. It borders the neig ...

in a different New York City district to succeed retiring Democrat

Frank J. Brasco Frank James Brasco (October 15, 1932 – October 19, 1998) was an American politician who served four terms as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1967 to 1975. Biography Brasco was born in Brook ...

, who represented parts of south Queens and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He served his second stint as Representative from January 3, 1975, until January 3, 1993. In the 1980 Census his district was once again eliminated and he again moved to an open seat, this time based in Northeast Queens.

Later life

Following his retirement, he served as the United States Director of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

from 1994 until 1996. Scheuer died of heart and kidney failure at age 85.

References

External links