William J. Hughes

Hughes was born in Salem, New Jersey, the son of Pauline Mehaffey and William W. Hughes.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqmY4Fhf8-AC&q=%22son+of+William+W.+Hughes+(deceased)+and+Pauline+Hughes+Mehaffey+(deceased);%22&pg=PA184|title=1993-1994 Official Congressional Directory: 103D Congress|isbn=978-0-16-041175-5|last1=Nystrom|first1=Duane|last2=Mason|first2=Leslie|date=June 1993|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office }} He graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1950.Cronin, Steven; and Shopes, Richard. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAEAAA6CE5F044C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "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. [http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2011/01/voices_surfacing_urging_penns.html "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;[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000930 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/obituaries/william-hughes-congressman-and-ambassador-dies-at-87.html|title = William Hughes, Congressman and Ambassador, Dies at 87|last = Genzlinger|first = Neil|author-link = Neil Genzlinger|work = The New York Times|date = November 10, 2019|access-date = November 10, 2019}} The couple had four children.{{citation needed|date = November 2019}}

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.{{citation needed|date = November 2019}}

Hughes was a longtime resident of Ocean City,{{cite book |last1=Barone |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Barone (pundit) |last2=Ujifusa |first2=Grant |title=The Almanac of American Politics 1988|publisher=National Journal |year=1987 |page=741}} where he died on October 30, 2019, at age 87.{{cite news|url=https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/family-announces-death-of-former-rep-william-j-hughes/article_a925cb24-1115-57a2-aae5-9f961f3f1fc9.html|title = Family announces death of former Rep. William J. Hughes, 87|work = The Press of Atlantic City|last1 = Bilinski|first1 = Molly|last2 = Brunetti|first2 = Michelle|date = October 31, 2019|access-date = October 31, 2019}}

Hughes served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1995.

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:

1. [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr4901 The Comprehensive Drug Penalties Act (H.R. 4901)]{{efn|After passing the House on September 11, 1984, the legislation was placed on Senate Legislative Calendar on September 17, 1984 and subsequently the provisions of H.R. 4901 were rolled into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J. Res. 648] making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985, signed into law Oct. 12, 1984 (Public Law No. 98-473).}} 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."[https://www.justice.gov/criminal/afmls/pubs/pdf/strategicplan.pdf National Asset Forfeiture Strategic Plan 2008-2012], U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., p. 3 (accessed August 13, 2010).
2. [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr6031 Money Laundering Penalties Act (H.R. 6031)]{{efn|Passed by the House on Sept. 10, 1984; received in the Senate Sept. 12, 1984; the provisions of H.R. 6031 were rolled into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J.Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985; signed October 12, 1984 (Public Law No: 98-473). In the next Congress, Hughes introduced additional money laundering legislation in 1986 as [https://archive.today/20120722044317/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5217: H.R.5217] which subsequently became Subtitle H (The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986) of H.R. 5484, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986,{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5484|title=H.R. 5484: Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217113347/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5484: |archive-date=2012-12-17 }} an omnibus anti-drug measure that was signed into law on October 27, 1986 and became Public Law 99-570.}} 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
3. The Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988{{efn|First introduced by Hughes in the 100th Congress as H.R. 2585, Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1987,{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.2585|title=H.R. 2585: Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704161541/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.2585: |archive-date=2016-07-04}} the legislation was subsequently incorporated into H.R. 4916, the Anti-Drug Abuse Amendments of 1988,{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.4916|title=H.R. 4916, the Anti-Drug Abuse Amendments of 1988|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012002019/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.4916: |archive-date=2014-10-12 }} which ultimately became Subtitle A of Title VI of [https://archive.today/20120714200535/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.5210: H.R. 5210, the Anti-Drug Abuse Amendments Act of 1988, Public Law 100-690].}} enabled the Federal Government to regulate listed chemicals used in the clandestine synthesis of dangerous drugs.
4. Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990{{efn|First introduced by Hughes in the 101th Congress as H.R. 5269, Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990, the legislation was subsequently incorporated as Title XIX of Crime Control Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–647).{{cite web |title=To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide criminal penalties for illicit use of anabolic steroids and for coaches and others who endeavor to persuade or induce athletes to take anabolic steroids, and for other purposes. |website=Congress.gov |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/4658 |access-date=April 10, 2025}}}} 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

[https://archive.today/20121213085728/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.3911:@@@R the Major Fraud Act of 1988], [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5560: the Child Sexual Abuse and Pornography Act]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.4786: the Antiterrorism Act]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.4718: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act],{{cite web|title=H.R.4718: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.4718|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214193036/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.4718: |archive-date=2012-12-14|publisher=Bill Summary & Status: 99th Congress (1985 - 1986): H.R.4718|website=Library of Congress }} [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d098:H.R.2174: the Federal Anti-Tampering Act]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} which authorized the federal government to investigate incidents involving tampering with drugs or consumer products and imposed criminal penalties for such acts, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr2175 the Justice Assistance Act (H.R. 2175)],{{efn|After passing the House on May 10, 1983, and the Senate on August 10, 1984, the provisions of H.R. 2175 were rolled into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J.Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985; signed Oct. 12, 1984 (Public Law No. 98-473).}} which provided federal matching grants to state and local governments to carry out innovative and effective anti-crime programs, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr2173 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, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.97hr6454 the Anti-Arson Act of 1982 (H.R. 6454)] which expanded federal jurisdiction to include all major interstate arson cases, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.97hr5228 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, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.97hr3481 the Pretrial Services Act (H.R. 3481)],{{efn|H.R. 3481 passed the House on May 11, 1982; Senate version [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.97s923 S.923] enacted in lieu of 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, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr5656 the Dangerous Drug Diversion Control Act of 1984 (H.R. 5656)]{{efn|Passed the House of Representatives Sept. 18, 1984; received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary; provisions of H.R. 5656 were rolled into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J. Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985.}} which strengthened federal authority to prevent the diversion of legal prescription drugs into the illicit market, [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr5616 the Computer Trespass Act of 1984 (H.R. 5616)]{{efn|H.R. 5616 was passed by the House of Representatives on July 24, 1984, and by the Senate on October 11, 1984. Subsequently, the provisions of this bill were incorporated into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J. Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985.}} which provided criminal penalties for counterfeiting access devices and for the illegal entry into federal interest computers, and [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr6071 the Trademark Counterfeiting Act (H.R. 6071)]{{efn|Passed the House Sept. 12, 1988 (Record Vote No: 387), placed on Senate Legislative Calendar Sept. 17, 1984; the provisions of H.R. 6071 were subsequently incorporated into [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J.Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985.}} which strengthened federal laws against the counterfeiting of trademarked products.

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 [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.100hr4445 (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)
• [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.99hr3132 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)
• [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.99hr4885 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.{{efn|H.R. 4885 became Subtitle I: Armed Career Criminals - Career Criminals Amendment Act of 1986, incorporated into [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5484: H.R. 5484, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217113347/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:H.R.5484: |date=2012-12-17 }}, an omnibus anti-drug measure that was signed into law on October 27, 1986 and became Public Law 99-570.}}
• [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hr6248 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.{{efn|The provisions of H.R. 6248 became Chapter XVIII of [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.98hjres648 H.J. Res. 648], making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1985, signed into law Oct. 12, 1984 (Public Law No. 98-473).}}
• Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (H.R. 4332){{efn|Passed House (Amended) by Yea-Nay Vote: 292 -130 (Record Vote No: 75), April 10, 1986; the House incorporated the text of H.R. 4331 into S. 49 which was approved by the Senate by voice vote on May 6, 1986.}} – 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.{{citation|url=http://www.iwilldefendtheconstitution.com/Congressional_Transcript.pdf|title=Federal Firearms Law Reform Act of 1986: Roll Vote No. 74|work=Congressional Record|volume=132|year=1986|page=H1741-06|publisher=WestLaw Research|access-date=June 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713070947/http://www.iwilldefendtheconstitution.com/Congressional_Transcript.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-13|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Osha Gray|title=Under fire: the NRA and the battle for gun control

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1LEQd2r1sYC|publisher=University of Iowa Press|year=1998|page=77|isbn=978-1-58729-042-8}}{{efn|The Hughes Amendment was adopted by voice vote and some critics have complained that Congressman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), who was chairing the House at the time, ruled that the amendment had been agreed to, although some attendees in the House chamber felt the "nays" outnumbered the "yeas" at the time.{{cite web|title=Fully-Automatic Firearms|publisher=National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action|url=http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=130&issue=019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212092058/http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=130 |archive-date=2010-02-12 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.iwilldefendtheconstitution.com/Congressional_Transcript.pdf |title=Congressional Transcript of the Amendment |publisher=WestLaw Research by John A. Castro and Alfonso I. Garza |access-date=2010-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713070947/http://www.iwilldefendtheconstitution.com/Congressional_Transcript.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-13 |url-status=dead }} }}

Hughes' South Jersey congressional district encompassed much of New Jersey's {{convert|130|mi|km}} of coastline and {{convert|1792|mi|km}} of tidal coastline,{{Cite web |url=http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/docs/CSE_library_Coastline_of_the_US_1975.pdf |title=The Coastline of the United States |date=1975 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=2011-03-04 |archive-date=2011-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721055655/http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/docs/CSE_library_Coastline_of_the_US_1975.pdf |url-status=dead }} 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,{{efn|The House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries was created in 1887 but was eliminated in 1995 as part of a House reform and reorganization{{cite web|url=http://ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov/bills/104/hr6eh.txt.pdf |title=H. Res. 6. TITLE I. CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: A BILL OF ACCOUNTABILITY |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310144811/http://ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov/bills/104/hr6eh.txt.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-10 }} adopted at the beginning of the 104th Congress. For a history of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, see the National Archives' [https://www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/house/chapter-15.html "Guide to House Records: Chapter 15: Records of the 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),{{efn|The OCS Committee was created by House Resolution 412 - "to establish an Ad Hoc select committee on Outer Continental Shelf" — in 1975 to rewrite the Nation's laws concerning offshore oil and gas development.{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-resolution/412 |title=HR 412: To establish an Ad Hoc select committee on Outer Continental Shelf|publisher=94th Congress (1975-1976)|website=Congress.gov|access-date=Feb 1, 2024}}}} 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.{{efn|The report concluded that a critical need existed for a national policy on ocean dumping. The recommendation was endorsed by President Nixon and transmitted to the Congress on October 7, 1970.{{cite news|title=Congressional Record|date=Oct 7, 1970|page=H9750}} A legislative proposal to implement the Council's recommendations, the "Marine Protection Act of 1971" was also submitted to Congress at that time, which eventually became the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, P.L. 92-532.}} One area known as the New York Bight, some {{convert|12|mi|km}} 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.{{cite web|title=Statement of Henry Eschwege, Director, Community and Economic Development Division U.S. General Accounting Office: Status of Efforts to Phase Out Ocean Dumping of Municipal Sewage Sludge|publisher=Subcommittee on Oceanography of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 27, 1979|url=http://archive.gao.gov/f0302/109826.pdf}}

In 1975, Hughes successfully offered the amendment for which he is perhaps best known, which banned the dumping of harmful sewage sludge and chemicals in the ocean after December 31, 1981.{{efn|A bill to amend the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize appropriations to carry out the provisions of such Act for fiscal year 1978.{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/house-bill/4297|title=H.R.4297 - A bill to amend the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize appropriations to carry out the provisions of such Act for fiscal year 1978|publisher=95th Congress (1977-1978)|location=Washington, D.C.|website=Congress.gov|access-date=Feb 1, 2024}} }} The bill was signed into law by President Carter in November, 1977. Although the sludge dumping ban was opposed by Congressman John M. Murphy of New York, who was Chairman of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, Hughes was successful in getting enough votes in the Committee to defeat legislative efforts to delay the effective date.{{cite news|first=Edward C. |last=Burks|title=Eased Ocean Dumping Ban Opposed|work=The New York Times|date=April 6, 1980|department= New Jersey Weekly|page=NJ1}} Under this law, more than 300 industries and municipalities, including New York City and Philadelphia, which had permits or were seeking permits to dump their wastes in the ocean, were required to switch to land-based disposal alternatives.{{cite web|title=Problems and Progress In Regulating Ocean Dumping of Sewage Sludge and Industrial Wastes|publisher=Report of the U.S. General Accounting Office|location=Washington, D.C.|date=January 21, 1977|url=http://archive.gao.gov/f0402/100235.pdf}}

In 1981, New York City and several other municipalities sued the EPA and were successful in obtaining a court ruling that ocean dumping of sewage sludge could not be banned without full consideration of the costs and environmental consequences of alternative disposal methods.City of New York v. EPA, 543 F. Supp. 1084 (S.D.N.Y. 1981). EPA did not appeal the court's ruling and, as a result, ocean dumping was allowed to continue.{{cite journal|first=Martin G. |last=Anderson|title=Ocean Dumping: An Old Problem Continues|journal=Pace Environmental Law Review |publisher=1 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 37 |year=1983|volume=1 |page=37 |doi=10.58948/0738-6206.1108 |url=http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr/vol1/iss1/6}} Congress subsequently passed [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d096:S.1148:@@@D&summ2=m& legislation]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} to extend the deadline, to allow more time for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the impact of ocean dumping and identify acceptable disposal alternatives. In 1984, the EPA closed the long-time New York Bight ocean dumping site and designated a {{convert|106|mi|km|adj=on}} site as its replacement. Nine municipal sewerage authorities, including New York City, began dumping their sludge at the {{convert|106|mi|km|adj=on}} site in 1986.{{cite web|title=Report to Congress, January 1, 1984-December 31, 1986 on Administration of The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (P .L. 92-532)|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Administration|location=Washington, D.C.|date=April 19, 1988|url=http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/mprsa/AnnualReporttoCongress1986.pdf |access-date=2011-03-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205085503/http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/mprsa/AnnualReporttoCongress1986.pdf |archive-date=2011-02-05 }}

Hughes responded by writing new [https://archive.today/20121212133535/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.5430:@@@R legislation to ban the ocean dumping of harmful sewage sludge and chemicals] which was enacted into law in 1988, and which banned ocean dumping after December 31, 1991. New York City missed the deadline by a few months, but ultimately became the last municipality to comply with the law, getting out of the ocean on June 30, 1992.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/29/nyregion/ocean-dumping-ending-but-not-problems-new-york-can-t-ship-bury-burn-its-sludge.html?scp=6&sq=ocean%20dumping%20sewage%20sludge%20court%201992&st=cse |first=Michael|last= Specter|title=Ocean Dumping Is Ending, but Not Problems; New York Can't Ship, Bury or Burn Its Sludge, but No One Wants a Processing Plant|work=The New York Times|date=June 29, 1992}} It took 17 years, but Hughes finally prevailed in his effort to ban the dumping of harmful sewage sludge and chemicals in the ocean.

In addition to his work on ocean dumping of sewage sludge, Hughes also advocated a number of measures to reduce marine pollution from other sources including measures to ban the disposal of plastic debris and medical wastes at sea. Hughes authored [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.5225:@@@D&summ2=m& H.R. 5225, the Health Waste Anti-Dumping Act of 1988] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705102445/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.5225:@@@D&summ2=m& |date=2016-07-05 }}, which passed the House of Representatives in September 1988, and also sponsored or cosponsored several other bills on medical waste,{{efn|These included: {{bulleted list|[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.100hr5231 H.R. 5231], the Medical Waste Sanctions Act of 1988| [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.100hr3478 H.R. 3478], to amend the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1977 to ban the dumping of medical waste in ocean and navigable waters and to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate medical waste to protect public health and the environment| [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.100hr3515 H.R. 3515], Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988|[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.100hr5119 H.R. 5119], the New Jersey-New York Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988}} }} which either became law or had provisions that were ultimately included in S. 2030, the [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:S.2030:@@@D&summ2=m& Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988.]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He also championed several measures to prevent the disposal of plastic debris in the ocean,[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.474:@@@D&summ2=m& H.R. 474, the Plastic Waste Study Act of 1987] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703202537/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.474:@@@D&summ2=m& |date=2016-07-03 }} and [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.940:@@@D&summ2=m& H.R. 940, the Marine Plastic Pollution Prevention Act of 1987]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. culminating in the enactment of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 as part of the [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.3674:@@@D&summ2=m& United States-Japan Fishery Agreement Approval Act of 1987] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705100642/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:H.R.3674:@@@D&summ2=m& |date=2016-07-05 }}.

Hughes won approval of numerous measures over the years to help maintain and protect South Jersey's many miles of beaches and inland waterways, which provide significant support for the local economy. Hughes sponsored and helped fund a long-awaited project in Cape May to rebuild the beach and protect the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center from erosion.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/12/nyregion/cape-may-erosion-aid-sought.html |agency=States News Service|title=CAPE MAY EROSION AID SOUGHT|work=The New York Times|date=April 12, 1987}} Also, over his 20 years in Congress, Hughes worked to secure millions of additional dollars to dredge the Intracoastal Waterway and develop low-cost erosion control projects along the coastline.

Although the New Jersey Pinelands is located in the most urbanized state in the nation, it is the largest tract of open space on the mid-Atlantic Coast with one of the cleanest aquifers in the world. To help protect the Pinelands' unique natural and cultural resources from encroaching development, in 1977 Hughes introduced [http://beta.congress.gov/bill/95/H.R./9539 H.R. 9539, the Pinelands Preservation Act]. Hughes subsequently joined with Senators Harrison A. Williams and Clifford P. Case, and Reps. Edwin B. Forsythe and James Florio in coauthoring a historic law enacted in 1978 that established the Pinelands National Reserve in New Jersey.{{efn|The National Parks and Recreation Act, signed into law Nov. 10, 1978. Became [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-92/pdf/STATUTE-92-Pg3467.pdf Public Law 95-625].}} The federal law was followed by subsequent enactment of N.J. State legislation{{efn|Pinelands Protection Act, P.L. 1979 c. 111.}} creating the [http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/ New Jersey Pinelands Commission] to manage and protect the resources of nearly a million acres (4,000 km²) of the Pinelands.

Hughes also served on the House Select Committee on Aging, which he chaired in 1993, the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, and the House Select Committee on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

In 1986, Hughes was one of the House impeachment managers who prosecuted the case in the impeachment trial of Judge Harry E. Claiborne. Claiborne was found guilty by the United States Senate and removed from his federal judgeship.{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ |title=List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=January 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218232339/https://history.house.gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ |archive-date=December 18, 2019 |url-status=live}}

{{more citations needed|section|date = November 2019}}

Bill Hughes was nominated in early 1995 by President Bill Clinton to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Panama.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/world/panama-envoy-nominated.html | work=The New York Times | title=Panama Envoy Nominated | date=June 2, 1995}} He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 1995,{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:S29SE5-1827|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715001609/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:S29SE5-1827|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-15|title=CONGRESSIONAL RECORD|date= September 29, 1995|page=S14778}} and presented his credentials to President Ernesto Pérez Balladares in early November 1995. When he began his tour in 1995, Panama had become a major transit country for drugs{{cite book|author=Clinton, W. J. |section= Weekly compilation of presidential documents: Letter to Congressional Leaders on Drug Producing and Drug Transit Countries|date=February 26, 1996|volume =32|number= 8|page= 356 |title=1996 Presidential Documents Online (via GPO)|url=http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=hsffTA/12/1/0&WAISaction=retrieve}}{{dead link|date=February 2024}} mostly cocaine coming from South America, and money laundering was also a major problem.{{cite web|url=https://1997-2001.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1996_narc_report/camex96.html |title=The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (1996)|publisher=Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State|location=Washington, D.C.|date= March 1997|department=Money laundering and drug transit status of Panama}} Panama has been viewed as "ideally positioned for illicit financial transactions and drug smuggling."{{cite web|title=Statement of William E. Ledwith, Chief, Office of International Operations, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, before the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources|date=June 13, 2000|url=http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct061300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829192249/http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct061300.htm |archive-date=2010-08-29 }}

As the Ambassador to Panama, Hughes was responsible for an Embassy of about 425 employees and 21 agencies, including a sizable law enforcement and intelligence component. The United States Southern Command was then based in Panama, so one of Hughes' major functions was to coordinate with the U.S. military. Most of the counter-narcotics missions were directed out of Howard Air Force Base in Panama. From the Multi-national Counter Narcotics Center (MCNC) at Howard, AWAC and other equipment was deployed into South America. The 177th Fighter Wing, based in Pomona, N.J. rotated out of Panama during his tour and provided air cover for the AWAC operations.

Hughes was also an ex officio member of the Panama Canal Commission and was charged with the responsibility of coordinating the work of the Commission with the Republic of Panama. The central mission of the Commission as well as the Embassy was to lead a successful turnover of the Panama Canal in December 1999 and, as the principal U.S. representative in Panama, Hughes actively participated in the planning and execution process. The military was also responsible for turning over about six remaining military facilities to the Republic of Panama, and Hughes was the lead civilian representing the U.S. government. Between 1995 and 1998, most of the military facilities were turned over to Panama, including some of the more controversial properties such as the bombing ranges and target practice areas, where there was a presence of unexploded ordnance. This required many trips to Washington and meetings with the Panama Foreign Ministry, with Hughes serving as the lead representative for the U.S. In addition to his work overseeing the transfer of military bases and the coordination of the Canal and negotiation of transfer agreements, Hughes led the following efforts:

• Establishment of the first Financial Analysis Unit in the Southern Hemisphere
• Creation of a new initiative to combat alien smuggling, including an increase in the size of the U.S. Embassy to 21 agencies
• Passage of new laws patterned after those in the U.S. to set up an intellectual property regime in Panama, including the creation of a new enforcement unit to fight IP piracy. Formal training was provided to the new unit as well as a public program to create an awareness of the damage caused by IP piracy
• Substantial increase in the size of the Coast Guard, acquisition of surplus boats from the U.S., and the creation of refueling and provisioning stations along the coast, including on the Colombian border
• Creation of a forfeiture law to seize drug assets, including money, airplanes, boats and vehicles. By the time Hughes left Panama, the Coast Guard had seized about 10 vessels and was using them in the battle against the traffickers
• Development of a multi-force border control unit and a comprehensive strategy to combat smuggling at the border with Costa Rica. Most of the contraband seized was destined for the U.S.
• Hughes also participated with the Southern Command, the State Department and others in an effort to negotiate new Treaty rights to advance the U.S.'s counter-narcotics strategy in the Southern Hemisphere.

The FAA Technical Center in southern New Jersey was renamed to the William J. Hughes Technical Center in his honor. The Bill & Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center in the Ocean City High School is named in honor of the community service and local contributions of Congressman Hughes and his wife, Nancy. In Cape May, the beach known as Trenton Beach was renamed in perpetuity as The Congressman William J. Hughes Beach.City of Cape May Resolution No 37-2 95 approved February 7, 1995. Additionally, in 1995, the Borough of Penns Grove in Salem County renamed Church Street—the street where Hughes grew up—in his honor. Hughes was named Congressman of the Year by the National Association of Police Organizations (1986). He is a past recipient of the Book of Golden Deeds Award from the Exchange Club of Ocean City (1975), the Leo Fraser Super Achiever Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (1987), and the Arthur E. Armitage, Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award from Rutgers University (1988).{{Citation needed|date = November 2019}}

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, Hughes served 10 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's Second Congressional District longer than anyone in history. He first ran for Congress in 1970 when he challenged incumbent Congressman Charles W. Sandman and lost by fewer than 5,000 votes.[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1970election.pdf Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970], Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1971), p. 20. Hughes did not run for office in 1972 but again sought election to Congress in 1974 and won with 57% of the vote as one of the so-called "Watergate Babies" who were swept into office in the wake of the Watergate Scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. In 1976, Hughes faced Assemblyman James R. Hurley of Millville in his first reelection bid and won with 62% of the vote. In subsequent elections, Hughes' winning percentage averaged 60%. During the 1984 election, Hughes outpolled President Reagan in his district by a margin of 63% to 62%. He outpolled President Bush in 1988 by 66% to 58%, and outpolled President Clinton by 57% to 40%.

* Minor candidate notes: In 1980, Adele Frisch ran from the Socialist Labor party and garnered 939 votes (<1%). In 1992, Joseph Ponczek ran under the Anti-Tax party and had 2,067 votes (1%) cast for him; Andrea Lippi ran under the "Freedom, Equality, Prosperity" party and got 1,605 votes (1%).

• U.S. Congressional Delegations from New Jersey#United States House of Representatives

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• [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/hughes.html#R9M0J1D4T William John Hughes] at The Political Graveyard
• {{C-SPAN|1857}}

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Category:1932 births

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Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Panama

Category:American gun control activists

Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey

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