Joseph M. McDade
Encyclopedia
Joseph Michael "Joe" McDade (born September 29, 1931) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives
, having represented Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
.
and attended a private Catholic
school. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame
in 1953, and earned his LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania
. McDade served a clerkship in the office of John W. Murphy
, chief federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
. He opened his own law practice in 1957. McDade was elected Scranton City Solicitor in 1962.
However, just after taking office as city solicitor, he was elected to Congress as a Republican
. He barely held onto his seat in 1964 amid Lyndon Johnson's gigantic landslide that year, winning by just over 2,800 votes over James Haggerty. However, he would never face another contest nearly that close, and even ran unopposed in 1990.
McDade was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee. After the Republicans gained control of the House in 1994, he served as vice-chairman of the full committee, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and vice chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security.
Unlike most Republicans, McDade had strong ties to organized labor. This served him well, since 60% of the 10th's vote was cast in the heavily Democratic and thoroughly unionized city of Scranton.
McDade was conservative on social issues. He was a member of the National Rifle Association
and cosponsored several bills attempting to ban abortion and flag burning. He was also a strong supporter of tax and welfare reform, but also was an opponent of free trade agreements.
Regionally, McDade was the principal advocate for the Tobyhanna Army Depot and was instrumental in establishing the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area, the Steamtown National Historic Site
, and the National Fishery Laboratory in Wellsboro.
McDade retired from the House in 1999. He suffers from Parkinson's disease
.
after a jury trial in 1996. Nevertheless, the indictment resulted in him being passed over for the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee in 1995, even though he was the committee's most senior member.
Following his acquittal, Congressman McDade sought to restrict the DOJ’s attempts to set its own standards for ex parte contacts of represented persons and parties. He also objected to DoJ's view that its attorneys should be exempt from the ex parte contact rules of the states in which they are licensed and in which they practice. See generally Charles A. Weiss, Lawyers Bypassing Lawyers, 28 Litigation, Winter 2002, at 42.
McDade was successful in his efforts to ensure DOJ attorneys adhere to state bar ethics standards. The text of the statutory change he authored, commonly referred to as the "McDade Amendment," is as follows:
An attorney for the Government shall be subject to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in that attorney’s duties, to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. The Attorney General shall make and amend rules of the Department of Justice to assure compliance with this section. As used in this section, the term “attorney for the Government” includes any attorney described in section 77.2(a) of part 77 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations and also includes any independent counsel, or employee of such a counsel, appointed under chapter 40.
For the codified text of this law see 28 U.S.C. § 530B (2000). To see the implementing regulations, see 28 C.F.R. § 77.2 (2006).
The McDade Amendment principally applies to DOJ lawyers but is also applicable to attorneys from other federal government departments and agencies working with the DOJ. See Memorandum for Command Counsels, Officce of Command Counsel Newsletter (U.S. Army Material Command, Office of the Command Counsel, Ft. Belvoir, Va.), Dec. 1999, at 52–53.
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...
, having represented Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district is located primarily in the northeast corner of the state. The district was one of the 12 original districts created prior to the 4th Congress. It is currently represented by Republican Tom Marino, who defeated Democratic incumbent Chris Carney during the...
.
Early life and career
McDade was born in Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
and attended a private Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
school. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1953, and earned his LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. McDade served a clerkship in the office of John W. Murphy
John W. Murphy
John William Murphy was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.John W. Murphy was born in Avoca, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1926 and from the law department of the same university in...
, chief federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania...
. He opened his own law practice in 1957. McDade was elected Scranton City Solicitor in 1962.
However, just after taking office as city solicitor, he was elected to Congress as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He barely held onto his seat in 1964 amid Lyndon Johnson's gigantic landslide that year, winning by just over 2,800 votes over James Haggerty. However, he would never face another contest nearly that close, and even ran unopposed in 1990.
McDade was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee. After the Republicans gained control of the House in 1994, he served as vice-chairman of the full committee, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and vice chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security.
Unlike most Republicans, McDade had strong ties to organized labor. This served him well, since 60% of the 10th's vote was cast in the heavily Democratic and thoroughly unionized city of Scranton.
McDade was conservative on social issues. He was a member of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and cosponsored several bills attempting to ban abortion and flag burning. He was also a strong supporter of tax and welfare reform, but also was an opponent of free trade agreements.
Regionally, McDade was the principal advocate for the Tobyhanna Army Depot and was instrumental in establishing the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area, the Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
, and the National Fishery Laboratory in Wellsboro.
McDade retired from the House in 1999. He suffers from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
Indictment, acquittal and the "McDade Amendment"
In 1992, McDade was indicted on bribery charges. He was charged with racketeering and conspiracy after allegedly accepting gifts and trips in exchange for alledegly diverting government contracts to specific groups. He was acquittedAcquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
after a jury trial in 1996. Nevertheless, the indictment resulted in him being passed over for the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee in 1995, even though he was the committee's most senior member.
Following his acquittal, Congressman McDade sought to restrict the DOJ’s attempts to set its own standards for ex parte contacts of represented persons and parties. He also objected to DoJ's view that its attorneys should be exempt from the ex parte contact rules of the states in which they are licensed and in which they practice. See generally Charles A. Weiss, Lawyers Bypassing Lawyers, 28 Litigation, Winter 2002, at 42.
McDade was successful in his efforts to ensure DOJ attorneys adhere to state bar ethics standards. The text of the statutory change he authored, commonly referred to as the "McDade Amendment," is as follows:
An attorney for the Government shall be subject to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in that attorney’s duties, to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. The Attorney General shall make and amend rules of the Department of Justice to assure compliance with this section. As used in this section, the term “attorney for the Government” includes any attorney described in section 77.2(a) of part 77 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations and also includes any independent counsel, or employee of such a counsel, appointed under chapter 40.
For the codified text of this law see 28 U.S.C. § 530B (2000). To see the implementing regulations, see 28 C.F.R. § 77.2 (2006).
The McDade Amendment principally applies to DOJ lawyers but is also applicable to attorneys from other federal government departments and agencies working with the DOJ. See Memorandum for Command Counsels, Officce of Command Counsel Newsletter (U.S. Army Material Command, Office of the Command Counsel, Ft. Belvoir, Va.), Dec. 1999, at 52–53.
Places named for McDade
- McDade Park – The Lackawanna Valley was scarred by coal mine surface “strippings”, and one such surface mine was the Old Continental in the Keyser Valley. Congressman McDade secured funding and support to reclaim the Old Continental strip mine and convert it to a recreational park. The park has served as an environmental laboratory to learn more about how such reclamation work could be done. In 1978, McDade Park was dedicated and became the flagship of the Lackawana County’s park system.
- McDade Airport Terminal – In 2006 the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Terminal building was named in honor of Congressman McDade. What few know is that Congressman McDade's father played a key role in helping the Airport open. Specificially, in 1941, John B. McDade, the congressman's father and president of the Heidelberg Coal Co., donated 122 acres (0.49 km2) on which part of the Airport now sits. John B. McDade donated this land to "help the national defense in time of war." Thanks to land donated by John McDade, and purchased from others, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport opened June 1, 1947. In the 1990s the Airport infrastructure needed updating. Congressman McDade secured federal budgets and grants to accomplish this task.
- University of Scranton McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts – The University of Scranton honored Congressman McDade by naming its Center for Literary and Performing Arts after him and by creating the McDade Center for Technology Transfer.