Information AboutCarl Albert |
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Carl Bert Albert ()'' GENERAL POLITICAL OUTLOOK He represented the southeastern portion of Oklahoma (Congressional District 3) as a Democrat for thirty years, starting in , as well as such domestic measures as public housing, federal aid to education, and farm price supports. LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIST Albert was a key figure, in general, in advancing the Democrat's legislative agenda in Congress. In particular, he played an important role in the passage of health care legislation. When Medicare , the federal program of hospital insurance for persons 65 and older was first being considered by Congress as an amendment to the Social Security program (this was the initial proposal of the Kennedy Administration ), Albert knew the bill had insufficient Congressional support for passage due to the opposition of ten key Republicans and eight key southern Democrats. Thus, he advised President Kennedy that it would be advantageous to first seek passage of the measure from the Senate. His political calculation was that if Medicare were attached to a Senate welfare bill, they could bring it to the House as a Conference Committee report on their own welfare bill. Although well-planned, Albert's efforts on behalf of the Medicare bill were not successful at that time. Later, in the Johnson Administration , as a Democratic party whip, Albert advised the president that the decision-making process should be changed so that the majority Democrats would have greater influence on the final decisions of Congress. The change included giving the Democrats more leverage over the House Rules Committee and strengthening their majority membership influence in the House Ways And Means Committee . With these maneuvers, Albert determined that they could finally achieve success on the Medicare bill. As a result, the compulsory Payroll Tax of Social Security financed the new Medicare program's projected hospital costs, and a voluntary supplementary coverage provision was added to help to cover the costs associated with doctor office visits. LEGISLATIVE LEADER With the retirement of Representative John W. McCormack , in January, 1971 , Albert was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and he began the task of working with the Nixon Administration . Then, in 1973 , during his second term as House Speaker, Vice President Spiro Agnew became involved in a Political Scandal , and resigned. This event suddenly placed Albert as next in line to assume the presidency, should that office become vacant. Nixon, under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , nominated Republican House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford to replace Agnew as Vice President. Later, as the Watergate crisis began to unfold, many believed that President Richard Nixon would also resign from office, and possibly before both Houses of Congress would have the opportunity to confirm Ford as Nixon's nominee to replace Agnew. Had Nixon, in fact, resigned without a sitting Vice President to succeed him, then Albert would have succeeded Nixon as president under the provisions of the Presidential Succession Act Of 1947 . ALBERT, TWICE, ONLY "A HEARTBEAT AWAY" The resignation of Agnew, in 1973, was the first occasion in which Albert was confronted with the question of whether it was appropriate for a Democrat to assume the nation's highest office when it was held by a member of the opposing party. Albert concluded that he had no right to a Presidency that the American people had entrusted, by election, to a Republican . He thus announced that should the need arise for him to assume the presidency, he would do so only in an Acting capacity, and would resign immediately after both Houses of Congress (in accordance with Section 2 of the 25th Amendment) had approved a Republican Vice President. The resignation of Nixon, in August, 1974 (and the subsequent ascendency of then Vice President Ford to the Presidency) became the second occasion in which Albert was confronted with the issue of succession (since the office of Vice President was now vacant). However, after President Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to succeed him as Vice President, and after Rockefeller was confirmed and sworn into office in December, 1974, the issue of Albert's presidential succession was finally laid to rest. However a different issue arose during Albert's last term in office when he was confronted with the Tongsun Park Scandal , and was accused of having accepted bribes from a lobbyist who was also a member of South Korean intelligence. Albert decided to retire at the end of the 94th Congress in early Janurary of 1977. EARLY HISTORY He was born Carl Bert Albert in a small town just north of McAlester, Oklahoma , the son of a Coal Mine r and farmer and grew up in a Log Cabin on his father's farm. At High School he excelled in Debate and was student body president. He entered the University Of Oklahoma in 1927, where he majored in political science and won the National Oratorical Championship in 1928. While at Oklahoma, he was an accomplished amateur wrestler. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1931 , then studied at the University Of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship . He returned to the U.S. and in 1935 practiced law in Oklahoma City . Albert joined the Army Air Force in 1941 , earning a Bronze Star . TRIVIA
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