Don Pease
Encyclopedia
Donald J. Pease (September 26, 1932–July 28, 2002) served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat
.
. He attended Ohio University
in Athens, Ohio, supporting himself through college by working summers as a laborer at a Toledo oil refinery. Pease was president of the student body, edited the student newspaper (The Post) and was a student reporter for the Athens Messenger. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism in 1953. He earned a Master's Degree in government from Ohio University in 1955 and completed graduate work as a Fulbright Scholar at King's College, Durham University
.
After serving two years in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, Pease moved to Oberlin, Ohio
. Pease became editor and co-publisher of the weekly local newspaper, Oberlin News-Tribune. He was a member of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE), winning ISWNE's Golden Quill Award for editorial writing in 1962 and serving as president of the Society in 1965.
from 1965 to 1967. Redistricting
contributed to his defeat in the 1966 election , but in 1968 he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives
, where he served from 1969 to 1975. In 1974, he was again elected to the Ohio Senate
, where he served from 1975 to 1977.
Early in his career, Pease established a reputation for honesty and integrity, which he maintained throughout his political career. Pease was a member of the Democratic Party and was regarded as a liberal (supporting progressive tax reform, advocating for universal human rights, linking respect for internationally-recognized worker rights to international trade, aid, and investment agreements, upholding civil liberties, emphasizing education reform , and other liberal causes), and he was well respected as a reasonable and ethical public servant, even by his conservative colleagues, who saw him as a "straight arrow."
In 1976, Pease was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (95th Congress). He served eight terms in Congress, easily winning all eight elections in the Democratic-leaning 13th Congressional District of Ohio. His long-time Chief of Staff and Legislative Director was Bill Goold, who Pease hired upon his graduation from Oberlin College.
Trade-Linked Worker Rights
Pease was the legislative champion of the rapidly-growing movement inside and outside of Congress in the early 1980s to link respect for internationally recognized worker rights (e.g. prohibition of exploitative child labor in the production of products for export) to international trade, investment and aid agreements to which the U.S. is a party. He successfully authored six different laws in this regard before he left Congress.
Tax legislation
Pease was responsible for creating legislation within the United States
Internal Revenue Code
(tax code) whereby taxpayers who made excess amounts of adjusted gross income
would lose(proportionally) their itemized deductions. http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:j-FaePR1OIgJ:www.taxanalysts.com/www/econpers.nsf/e172eb973c4c929485257173000cd0ff/450e878669cd77bb852566db0063daba%3FOpenDocument+Congress+Donald+Pease+itax+legislation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us Known as the "Pease Limitations", this legislation was controversial.
Later life
Pease decided not run for re-election in 1992. After leaving Congress, he taught as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Politics at Oberlin College
and was also appointed by President Clinton to the Amtrak Board of Directors, where he served five years.
Pease married Jeanne Camille Wendt August 29, 1953, who still resides in Oberlin, Ohio. One daughter, Jennifer, was born August 30, 1964.
Pease died in Oberlin, Ohio, July 28, 2002.
External links
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
Education and early life
Pease was born in Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. He attended Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
in Athens, Ohio, supporting himself through college by working summers as a laborer at a Toledo oil refinery. Pease was president of the student body, edited the student newspaper (The Post) and was a student reporter for the Athens Messenger. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism in 1953. He earned a Master's Degree in government from Ohio University in 1955 and completed graduate work as a Fulbright Scholar at King's College, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
.
After serving two years in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, Pease moved to Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
. Pease became editor and co-publisher of the weekly local newspaper, Oberlin News-Tribune. He was a member of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE), winning ISWNE's Golden Quill Award for editorial writing in 1962 and serving as president of the Society in 1965.
Political career
Pease's political career began with his election to the Oberlin City Council in 1961. He served in the Ohio SenateOhio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...
from 1965 to 1967. Redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
contributed to his defeat in the 1966 election , but in 1968 he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
, where he served from 1969 to 1975. In 1974, he was again elected to the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...
, where he served from 1975 to 1977.
Early in his career, Pease established a reputation for honesty and integrity, which he maintained throughout his political career. Pease was a member of the Democratic Party and was regarded as a liberal (supporting progressive tax reform, advocating for universal human rights, linking respect for internationally-recognized worker rights to international trade, aid, and investment agreements, upholding civil liberties, emphasizing education reform , and other liberal causes), and he was well respected as a reasonable and ethical public servant, even by his conservative colleagues, who saw him as a "straight arrow."
In 1976, Pease was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (95th Congress). He served eight terms in Congress, easily winning all eight elections in the Democratic-leaning 13th Congressional District of Ohio. His long-time Chief of Staff and Legislative Director was Bill Goold, who Pease hired upon his graduation from Oberlin College.
Ugandan Trade Ban, Instrumental to Toppling the Genocidal Regime of Idi Amin
Pease quickly distinguished himself as a skillful legislator and staunch human rights advocate, when in his first term of Congress, he sponsored legislation to cut off U.S. trade with Uganda, which was enduring a brutal reign of terror at the hands of the infamous dictator Idi Amin in which at least 500,000 Ugandans perished. He succeeded in getting the trade ban enacted in 1979, over the opposition of the Carter Administration. Within months of the establishment of the enactment of the trade ban, Amin was deposed. The trade ban resulted in the sudden loss of hundreds of million of dollars in hard currency to Amin, mostly from U.S. coffee exports to the U.S., which Amin had used to buy arms, luxury goods, and the loyalty of his mercenary army. It is widely considered one of the best examples of the most effective uses of economic sanctions in modern U.S. foreign policy.Trade-Linked Worker Rights
Pease was the legislative champion of the rapidly-growing movement inside and outside of Congress in the early 1980s to link respect for internationally recognized worker rights (e.g. prohibition of exploitative child labor in the production of products for export) to international trade, investment and aid agreements to which the U.S. is a party. He successfully authored six different laws in this regard before he left Congress.
Tax legislation
Pease was responsible for creating legislation within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...
(tax code) whereby taxpayers who made excess amounts of adjusted gross income
Adjusted Gross Income
For United States individual income tax, taxable income is adjusted gross income less allowances for personal exemptions and itemized deductions. Adjusted gross income is total gross income minus specific items laid out in the tax code...
would lose(proportionally) their itemized deductions. http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:j-FaePR1OIgJ:www.taxanalysts.com/www/econpers.nsf/e172eb973c4c929485257173000cd0ff/450e878669cd77bb852566db0063daba%3FOpenDocument+Congress+Donald+Pease+itax+legislation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us Known as the "Pease Limitations", this legislation was controversial.
Later life
Pease decided not run for re-election in 1992. After leaving Congress, he taught as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Politics at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and was also appointed by President Clinton to the Amtrak Board of Directors, where he served five years.
Pease married Jeanne Camille Wendt August 29, 1953, who still resides in Oberlin, Ohio. One daughter, Jennifer, was born August 30, 1964.
Pease died in Oberlin, Ohio, July 28, 2002.
External links