William John "Jack" Hughes (October 17, 1932 – October 30, 2019) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1995, representing New Jersey's Second Congressional District which includes major portions of the Jersey Shore and Pine Barrens, the cities of Vineland and Atlantic City, and the counties of Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, Cape May and part of Gloucester. After retiring from Congress in 1995, Hughes was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Ambassador to Panama, a post he held until October, 1998 leading up to the historic turnover of the Panama Canal to Panamanian control.
During his tenure in Congress, Hughes was a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Crime (1981–1990) and the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration (1991–1994). Hughes also served on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, which had jurisdiction over numerous issues of importance to his coastal district. Hughes was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1986 to conduct impeachment proceedings against District Court Judge Harry E. Claiborne of Nevada. Before being elected to Congress, Hughes served for 10 years as First Assistant Prosecutor in Cape May County from 1960 to 1970. His Congressional Papers are housed at the Rutgers University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives.
Personal history Hughes was born in Salem, New Jersey, the son of Pauline Mehaffey and William W. Hughes. He graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1950.Cronin, Steven; and Shopes, Richard. "REP. (WILLIAM J.) HUGHES CALLS IT QUITS ELECTED 10 TIMES TO SERVE THE 2ND DISTRICT" , The Press of Atlantic City, January 25, 1994. Accessed June 26, 2011. "Hughes was born in Salem and graduated from Penns Grove Regional High School."Dunn, Phil. "Voices surfacing urging Penns Grove Middle School be renovated, not razed", Today's Sunbeam, January 15, 2011. Accessed June 26, 2011. "Many graduates of the school have gone on to positions of prominence on a national level, notably: Longtime U.S. Congressman and Ambassador to Panama William J. Hughes, actor Bruce Willis, and Olympic athletes Dave Romansky and Don Bragg." He attended Rutgers University, graduating in 1955 and earned his law degree from Rutgers Law School in 1958. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1959 and commenced practice in Ocean City; served as township solicitor for Upper Township, 1959–1961; appointed assistant prosecutor for Cape May County in 1960; reappointed as first assistant prosecutor in 1961 and served until the spring of 1970;William J. Hughes, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed June 26, 2011. appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, 1972. Prior to his election to Congress in 1974, Hughes was President of the law firm of Loveland, Hughes and Garrett in Ocean City. Hughes was married to the former Nancy L. Gibson of Moorestown from 1956 until her death in 2018. The couple had four children.
Following his return from Panama, Hughes taught for several years at Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey. His work at Stockton led to the founding of a Public Policy Center which in 2008 was named the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy. Hughes also received honorary degrees from Rutgers University, Glassboro State (now Rowan University), Stockton College, Mount Vernon College for Women, Cumberland County College and Atlantic Cape Community College. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Hughes was a longtime resident of Ocean City, where he died on October 30, 2019, at age 87.
United States House of Representatives
Hughes served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1995.
Crime Subcommittee
During his tenure in Congress, Hughes served as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Crime (1981–1990). During that time, Hughes sponsored numerous anti-crime bills that became law including, four that became the government's principal weapons in the war against drugs and other illegal activity. They are:
The Comprehensive Drug Penalties Act (H.R. 4901) gave the courts significant new authority to order the seizure of boats, airplanes, cars, real estate, cash and other assets acquired by drug dealers through their criminal activities, thus enabling the government to seize billions of dollars in ill-gotten gain. According to Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division: "[Asset forfeiture] has become a vital weapon in the United States' anti-crime arsenal to strip criminals of their illicit wealth…. The Asset Forfeiture Program has forfeited more than $2 billion during the past two years—and is in the process of returning nearly $700 million to victims of crime in FY 2007 alone." National Asset Forfeiture Strategic Plan 2008-2012, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., p. 3 (accessed August 13, 2010). Money Laundering Penalties Act (H.R. 6031) prohibits the transport of drug-related funds out of the country and makes it more difficult for drug dealers to keep and use the proceeds of their crimes, and The Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 enabled the Federal Government to regulate listed chemicals used in the clandestine synthesis of dangerous drugs. Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 placed anabolic steroids under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, regulated human growth hormone, and established criminal penalties for their non-medical use and distribution of the substances.
In addition to the foregoing, under Hughes' chairmanship, the Crime Subcommittee also produced a number of other significant initiatives including , the Child Sexual Abuse and Pornography Act, the Antiterrorism Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act , the Federal Anti-Tampering Act which authorized the federal government to investigate incidents involving tampering with drugs or consumer products and imposed criminal penalties for such acts, the Justice Assistance Act (H.R. 2175), which provided federal matching grants to state and local governments to carry out innovative and effective anti-crime programs, the Contract Services for Drug Dependent Federal Offenders Authorization Act of 1983 (H.R. 2173) which authorized funds to monitor and test federal drug offenders to keep them from going back to drugs, the Anti-Arson Act of 1982 (H.R. 6454) which expanded federal jurisdiction to include all major interstate arson cases, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Implementation Act of 1982 (H.R. 5228) which imposed fines and prison terms for the illegal diversion or use of nuclear materials and authorized improved nuclear safeguards, the Pretrial Services Act (H.R. 3481), which implemented a nationwide system to provide judges with better information about defendants before setting bail, and for monitoring defendants awaiting trial, the Dangerous Drug Diversion Control Act of 1984 (H.R. 5656) which strengthened federal authority to prevent the diversion of legal prescription drugs into the illicit market, the Computer Trespass Act of 1984 (H.R. 5616) which provided criminal penalties for counterfeiting access devices and for the illegal entry into federal interest computers, and the Trademark Counterfeiting Act (H.R. 6071) which strengthened federal laws against the counterfeiting of trademarked products.
Firearms related issues Because the Subcommittee on Crime had jurisdiction over Federal firearms laws as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Hughes was involved in a number of gun-related issues during his chairmanship. These include:
Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 (H.R. 4445) – Amended the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm which is not as detectable by walk-through metal detectors or which has major components that do not generate an accurate image when subjected to inspection by airport x-ray machines. No such firearms actually exist. Signed into law by President Reagan November 10, 1988 (Public Law No: 100-649) Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1985 (H.R. 3132) – Hughes was an original cosponsor of this legislation which prohibited the manufacture, importation and sale of ammunition designed to penetrate the bullet-resistant armor worn by police officers. Signed into law by President Reagan August 28, 1986 (Became Public Law No: 99-408) Career Criminals Amendments Act (H.R. 4885) – Required mandatory 15-year prison sentences for the possession of a firearm by persons with three convictions for drug trafficking or violent crime offenses. Signed into law by President Reagan October 27, 1986. Armed Career Criminals Act (H.R. 6248) – Hughes was a cosponsor of this legislation reported from the Crime Subcommittee, which amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a mandatory sentence of 15 years and a fine of not more than $25,000 for persons possessing a firearm with three or more felony convictions during the commission of a burglary or robbery. Signed into law by President Reagan October 12, 1984. Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (H.R. 4332) – Reformed the 1968 Gun Control Act to eliminate red tape for gun owners and gun dealers, strengthened law enforcement, and increased penalties for the use of a firearm or silencer in a violent crime or drug trafficking offense (signed into law by President Reagan on July 8, 1986). This legislation also included the Hughes Amendment that prohibited civilian private possession of fully automatic firearms manufactured after May 19, 1986. The passage of the ban on fully automatic firearms has been controversial with many gun rights advocates.
Environment
Ocean dumping, shore protection and marine pollution
Hughes' South Jersey congressional district encompassed much of New Jersey's of coastline and of tidal coastline, as well significant portions of the environmentally sensitive New Jersey Pinelands, the Maurice River and its tributaries, Cape May and Atlantic City beaches, and local agriculture, fishing and tourism areas. As a member of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Hughes became deeply involved in ocean protection and environmental legislation. Hughes also served on the House Select Committee on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), an important assignment because the ocean waters off the coast of New Jersey and other mid-Atlantic states have often been looked to as future potential oil drilling sites.
In 1970, the President's Council on Environmental Quality issued a landmark reportCouncil on Environmental Quality, Ocean Dumping, A National Policy, H.R. Doc. No. 91-399 (1970). concluding that ocean dumping and other forms of marine pollution had resulted in serious environmental damage and posed a threat to human health. The report found that marine pollution had forced the closure of at least one-fifth of the Nation's commercial shellfish beds, beaches and bays had been closed to swimming and heavy fish kills had occurred. One area known as the New York Bight, some off the coast of New Jersey and Long Island, had been used by 25 municipalities and sewerage authorities in the New York City/Northern New Jersey area for sewage sludge disposal since 1924. New York dumpers accounted for more than half of the 5.5 million tons dumped annually in the Bight and Northern N.J. dumpers accounted for 34 percent.