Gracie Pfost
Gracie Bowers Pfost (March 12, 1906 – August 11, 1965) was a Democrat from Idaho who was the state's first female United States representative, serving for a decade from the first congressional district. She was known as "Hell's Belle"[1] due to her adamant advocacy for a large federal dam in Hells Canyon.
U.S. House of Representatives
During the 82nd Congress, the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations was re-enacted by the U.S. House of Representatives and chaired by Tennessee Republican B. Carroll Reece. Thus known as the Reece Committee, it was tasked to properly investigate subversion among tax-exempt foundations, which the committee conducted a poor job at during the previous congressional session.[2] Pfost, along with fellow Ohio Democrat Wayne Hays, were members of the committee who sought to undermine its anti-Communist aims.
Although Pfost may not have obstructed the committee at the degree Hays did, she at one point walked out during a hearing when a witness accused Sen. Paul Douglas of ties with socialist groups.[2] Both refused to sign the final report and smeared Reece.
References
- ↑ Gracie Bowers Pfost. Idaho's Women of Influence. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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 August 7, 2021.