Former Texas Congressman Jack Brooks Died

The legendary former Texas Congressman Jack Brooks has died at 89. First elected in 1952, he spent 42 years in Congress. Brooks, a Democrat, was a close ally of the long-serving Speaker Sam Rayburn and of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. Brooks left a huge mark on federal contracting as the sponsor of the Brooks Act, which increased competition in contracts for computers. He was also a principal sponsor of the Inspectors General Act and of the bill which created the Education Department. Brooks was riding in the Dallas motorcade when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.