Difference between revisions of "Cox Committee"
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Extensive and incriminating testimonies were heard by the committee from ex-communists such as Manning Johnson, [[Louis Budenz]], and Maurice Malkin, who shared information of foundations who funded efforts plotted in [[Moscow]], Russia to subvert American society.<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 September 21, 2021.</ref> | Extensive and incriminating testimonies were heard by the committee from ex-communists such as Manning Johnson, [[Louis Budenz]], and Maurice Malkin, who shared information of foundations who funded efforts plotted in [[Moscow]], Russia to subvert American society.<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 September 21, 2021.</ref> | ||
| − | Cox died in December 1952 prior to the conclusion of the committee's work and report's release.<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> The 15 page-long<ref name=thenewamerican/> final report contained little substance and did not declare major foundations to have been subversive. Reece, expressing disapproval of the shallowness, commented that the committee:<ref name=libertyuniversity/> | + | Cox died in December 1952 prior to the conclusion of the committee's work and report's release.<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> The 15 page-long<ref name=thenewamerican/><ref group=note>The report length is technically fifteen pages long, although the main text only spans fourteen pages due to the last one being "Appendix A."</ref> final report contained little substance and did not declare major foundations to have been subversive. Reece, expressing disapproval of the shallowness, commented that the committee:<ref name=libertyuniversity/> |
{{cquote|...had insufficient time for the magnitude of its task.}} | {{cquote|...had insufficient time for the magnitude of its task.}} | ||
Revision as of 01:47, October 5, 2021
During the 82nd United States Congress, the House of Representatives voted to enact the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations. Named after its chair Eugene E. Cox, the committee during the congressional session is known as the Cox Committee.
The U.S. House in April 1952 approved the resolution which enacted the select committee by a 194–158 vote.[1] The vote was not among party lines, although Republicans showed slightly stronger support for the measure than Democrats.
U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, 82nd Congress | ||||||
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Composition
Cox, the chair of the committee, was a Democrat segregationist from Georgia. The other members of the Democratic Party among the committee were L. Brooks Hays of Arkansas, Aimé J. Forand of Rhode Island, and Donald L. O'Toole of New York. The three Republican members were Richard M. Simpson of Pennsylvania, B. Carroll Reece of Tennessee, and Angier L. Goodwin of Massachusetts.
Although there was a 4–3 Democrat majority, Cox was a part of the Conservative Coalition, thus allowing for a simultaneous 4–3 conservative majority on the committee;[2] the other three Democrats, Hays, Forand, and O'Toole, were mostly liberal-leaning New Dealers.
Confusion between Wayne Hays and Brooks Hays
A number of sources covering the Cox Committee make it unclear as to whether "Hays" referred to Brooks Hays or Wayne Hays. Although some sources cite the latter as a member who was acting chairman and filled the place of Cox,[3] the final report states that Brooks Hays was the acting chairman.[4] The two are unrelated.
Investigation and report
The committee in 1952 sent all major foundations questionnaires which requested information about their operations and activities.[2] Although it conducted hearings which amount to hundreds of pages in transcripts, the Cox Committee's investigation was not in-depth. Congressman Reece missed most of the sessions due to family illnesses.[3]
Extensive and incriminating testimonies were heard by the committee from ex-communists such as Manning Johnson, Louis Budenz, and Maurice Malkin, who shared information of foundations who funded efforts plotted in Moscow, Russia to subvert American society.[5]
Cox died in December 1952 prior to the conclusion of the committee's work and report's release.[2] The 15 page-long[5][note 1] final report contained little substance and did not declare major foundations to have been subversive. Reece, expressing disapproval of the shallowness, commented that the committee:[3]
| “ | ...had insufficient time for the magnitude of its task. | ” |
Aftermath
Among the six remaining members of the select committee following Cox's death and the release of the final report, Rep. Reece was unsatisfied with the scope of the investigation and was the only one to seek a do-over.[2] The new Republican-majority House in 1953 voted to re-enact the committee,[6] and Reece was put in charge. Simpson, both Hayses, Goodwin, and Forand voted against the resolution.[note 2]
The subsequent Reece Committee proved to conduct a more extensive investigation that that of the Cox Committee. In the final Dodd report, the following criticisms of the Cox Committee were mentioned:[2]
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A suggestion the Cox Committee report brought up was a potential investigation of foundations who used their privileges for the purpose of tax evasion.[3] This would be investigated later in 1962 by the Select Committee on Small Business under liberal Texas representative Wright Patman (known as the Patman Committee). Reece did not focus on this aspect, instead prioritizing a scrutiny of subversion. He stated during an extensive House speech:[3]
| “ | Some of these activities and some of these institutions support efforts to overthrow our Government and to undermine our American way of life.
These activities urgently require investigation. Here lies the story of how communism and socialism are financed in the United States, where they get their money. It is the story of who pays the bill. There is evidence to show that there is a diabolical conspiracy back of all this. Its aim is the furtherance of socialism in the United States. The method by which this is done seems fantastic to reasonable men, for these Communists and Socialists seize control of fortunes left behind by Capitalists when they die, and turn these fortunes around to finance the destruction of Capitalism. |
” |
References
- ↑ H RES 561. RESOLUTION CREATING A SELECT COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT AN INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 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 September 21, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Samson, Steven Alan. Charity For All: B. Carroll Reece and the Tax-Exempt Foundations. Liberty University. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ↑ January 1, 1953. Final Report Of The Select Committee To Investigate Foundations And Other Organizations (Pursuant to H. Res. 561, 82d Cong.), p. II. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow. The New American. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ↑ 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 September 21, 2021.
Notes
External links
- Cox Committee hearings (the compilation is very long!)