Russell B. Long

Russell Billiu Long (November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987. Because of his seniority, he advanced to chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, serving for fifteen years, from 1966 to 1981, during the implementation of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty programs. Long also served as Assistant Majority Leader (Senate Majority Whip) from 1965 to 1969.

The son of Senators Rose McConnell Long and Huey Long, Russell Long served during the administrations of eight U.S. presidents, from Truman to Reagan. According to biographer Bob Mann, Long "became a leading voice for the plight of the elderly, the disabled, the working poor and the middle class." Long quietly wielded enormous power in the Senate and shaped some of the most significant tax legislation of the twentieth century.

While a student at LSU, Long met and married Kathryn Haddock. They had two children, Kay (Mosley) and Pam (Wofford). Later in the '60s they separated and divorced and he married Carolyn, a secretary working for Senator Sam Ervin and daughter of Samuel Bason.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Long held jurisdiction over 100 percent of all federal revenue and 40 percent of all government spending, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, welfare and food assistance programs, foreign trade, and tariffs. In 1980 he was voted the most effective chairman and most effective debater by his colleagues in a U.S. News & World Report survey. In a 1982 survey, Long was voted the most influential Democrat by his Senate colleagues. The Wall Street Journal once called him "the fourth branch of government." Upon his retirement in 1987, Long had a 75 percent approval rating among Louisiana voters.