William Huston Natcher (September 11, 1909 – March 29, 1994) was a Democratic congressman, serving 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1953 until his death from heart failure in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

in 1994. He is the second longest-serving member ever of the United States House of Representatives from the Commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Early life

Natcher was born on September 11, 1909, in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

. Natcher received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree at Western Kentucky State College (now

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

) in Bowling Green in 1930 and an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in Columbus in 1933. Natcher married in 1937, and had two daughters. Natcher practiced law in Bowling Green. From 1936 to 1937 he was U.S. Conciliation Commissioner for Kentucky's Western District, and he served as

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

Attorney from 1938 to 1950. Natcher was President of Kentucky's Young Democratic Clubs from 1941 to 1946. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. From 1951 to 1953 Natcher was

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

for Kentucky's Eighth Judicial District.

Congressional career

He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1953 from the 2nd district. He cast 18,401 consecutive roll-call votes between 1953 and 1994, never missing a single roll call vote over his forty-one-year Congressional career until his last days in office, the all-time record for both the House of Representatives and Congress as a whole. Natcher refused to accept campaign contributions. He was also chairman of the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

from 1993 to 1994. His knowledge of House rules in debate led House Speaker

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...

to employ him as presiding officer during crucial debates. Natcher did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960 and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

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 Patriarc ...

. Natcher holds the record for the longest perfect voting record in the history of Congress. He did not miss a single vote for nearly the entirety of his 40 years of service, casting 18,401 consecutive votes from his 1953 swearing to his last appearance on the House floor on March 3, 1994. On the day of his last vote, he arrived at the Capitol from Bethesda Naval Hospital by ambulance and was wheeled onto the House floor on a gurney. He missed the first vote of his career the next day, when doctors advised him not to return to the Capitol. He died a few weeks later, never having returned to the House floor again. On March 4, 1994, Natcher was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. He continued to serve in Congress until his death on March 29, 1994, in

Legacy

Natcher was a champion of road projects within Kentucky, especially the construction of a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

between Kentucky and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

near

Owensboro Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. Natcher helped get the majority of federal funding for the new bridge, which now carries U.S. Highway 231 across the Ohio River. The bridge was named in his honor before he died, although it was not completed until 2002. Also named in Natcher's honor in 1997 is the William H. Natcher Green River Parkway, a Kentucky state parkway (formerly a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

) that runs between Bowling Green and Owensboro. During his congressional career, Natcher was a passionate believer in libraries and literacy. He fought for continued federal funding for library construction and initiatives. These programs continue today; the Kentucky Library Association presents the William H. Natcher Award annually for acts of philanthropy and support of libraries within the Commonwealth.

Washington, DC, Metrorail Funding

Natcher was a pro-highway Congressman, encouraging road projects, including in the District of Columbia. From 1970 to 1973, he repeatedly held up funding for the Washington Metro system, delaying its construction until 1973, when he lost a vote to block Metro funding. Natcher refused to allow federal funding for the Washington DC Metro until Arlington County officials agreed to have I-66 go through North Arlington neighborhoods. In addition, Natcher sought construction of the controversial

Three Sisters Bridge The Three Sisters Bridge was a planned bridge over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., with piers on the Three Sisters islets. Envisioned in the 1950s and formally proposed in the 1960s, it was cancelled amid protests in the 1970s. A bridge o ...

, demanding the project begin construction before funds could be released to WMATA. Eventually, a coalition of Congressmen led by Robert Giaimo circumvented Natcher, preventing construction of the Bridge.Zachary Schrag, 140.

References

External links