Neal E. Smith
| Neal Edward Smith | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 4th district |
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In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | John H. Kyl |
| Succeeded by | Greg Ganske |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th district |
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In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1973 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Cunningham |
| Succeeded by | William J. Scherle |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 23, 1920 Hedrick, Iowa |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrix Havens |
Neal Edward Smith (born March 23, 1920) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa from 1959 until 1995—the longest-serving Iowan in the United States House of Representatives. He was born in his grandparents' home near Hedrick, Keokuk County, Iowa. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War as a bomber pilot. His plane was shot down and he received a Purple Heart, nine Battle stars, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. He received his undergraduate training at the University of Missouri and Syracuse University and received a law degree from Drake University in 1950. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the Democratic landslide of 1958, and was reelected 17 more times from a district based in Des Moines--numbered as the 5th District from 1959 to 1973 and as the 4th District from 1973 to 1995.
A federal anti-nepotism law, sponsored by Smith, was enacted in 1967 prevents public officials, including the president, from appointing any relative to head an executive agency. When the law was passed in 1967, it was presumed to be a congressional response to U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointing his younger brother, Robert Kennedy, as U.S. attorney general. As the author of the bill, however, Smith repeatedly denied this was his motive. Smith instead aimed the legislation, the Federal Postal Act of 1967, at nepotism in the postal service, and it applied broadly to both the executive and legislative branches. He said it applied to Congress because “there were 50 members who had their wives on the payrolls.”
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