Jerry Brown: “Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the Congress and the Nation for a few moments to the memory of former…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the Congress and the Nation for a few moments to the memory of former Congressman Chet Holifield of California, who passed away on February 6 from pneumonia at the age of 91. Mr. Speaker, Chet Holifield devoted 32 years of his working life to this institution and to serving the American people. To review his accomplishments in Congress is to review some of the key developments in American Government and public policy in the years after World War II. Chet Holifield was deeply involved in congressional policymaking about the peaceful and military applications of atomic power after the Second World War. He was a vigorous advocate for the peaceful use of atomic power and pushed hard to have the U.S. atomic energy program placed under civilian, rather than military, control. In 1957, he headed the first full-scale congressional hearings on the implication of radioactive fallout from nuclear testing.”