Boston attorney Joe Moakley is currently in his eleventh term as the District Nine Representative from Massachusetts. He is the chairman of the House Rules Committee. Born in Boston in 1927, Congressman Moakley attended Suffolk University and served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946.
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The Rules Committee has broad jurisdiction over House rules of procedure. Playing a major role in the committee system itself, Rules determines what bills and amendments will move from committee to the floor for full House consideration. A strictly partisan committee and an extension of the power of the Speaker, House Rules is stacked with a disproportionate number of members from the majority party. Major legislation that is debated on the House floor can be killed without its influence.
