Tony Coelho

As the Washington Post observed, "They made the sophomore congressman from central California, their chief House fund-raiser, a position not bestowed on such a junior member since it was given to a young Texas congressman named Lyndon B. Johnson in 1940."

Coelho raised money from businesses, which later Ralph Nader would blame for changing the party.

As a member of the House leadership, Coelho helped lead the effort to pin the political blame for enactment of the Reagan economic program on the Republicans in the House.

Anthony Lee Coelho (born June 15, 1942) is an American politician from California who served in the United States House of Representatives.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is a former chairman and current member of the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation.

Coelho was born in rural Los Banos, California to parents of Portuguese descent.

Coelho attended public schools in nearby Dos Palos, and grew up working on his family's dairy farm.

At age 15, Coelho was injured in a pickup truck accident, which doctors later suggested was the precipitating event for the onset of his epilepsy.

For years after the accident, Coelho did not know he had the illness.

Coelho graduated with a B.A. from Loyola University of Los Angeles (now Loyola Marymount University) in 1964.

At Loyola, he was initiated as a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and a member of the Crimson Circle, and later was elected Student Body President during his senior year.

After the Kennedy assassination, Coelho decided to become a priest.

He went to a doctor for a medical exam, a prerequisite for entering the seminary.

The doctor informed him that he had epilepsy.

Because of canon law, he was unable to become a priest.

Once his diagnosis was reported to the state, Coelho lost both his driver's license and his health insurance.

Coelho worked as a staff member for Congressman Bernie Sisk from 1965 until 1978.

By 1970, Coelho was serving as Sisk's administrative assistant.

He enhanced his expertise in agriculture policy as staff director for the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Cotton.

As staff coordinator for the House Rules Subcommittee on Broadcasting, on which Sisk served, Coelho helped develop the procedures that made possible the television coverage of the House proceedings via C-SPAN.

When Sisk retired, Coelho ran for his seat and won.

During his first campaign for Congress, Coelho's opponent asked how people would feel if Coelho went to a meeting at the White House and had a seizure.

"The press called me and the good Lord was with me," Coelho later related.

"Off the top of my head I said, 'Well, in the 13 years I have served in Washington I knew a lot of people who went to the White House and had fits. At least I'd have an excuse."

In November 1978, Coelho was elected to the 96th Congress.

In 1980, Coelho was named chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a Hill committee that supports Democratic Party candidates.

One Democratic campaign advertisement, airing early in the 1982 election season, featured scissors cutting a Social Security card and a voice accusing Republicans of trying to cut benefits.

In 1986, Coelho was elected House Majority Whip.

As the chief vote counter for his party, Coelho oversaw a series of Democratic victories in the House on measures ranging from the budget to cutting off funds for the war in Central America.

He was later elected to the five succeeding Congresses where he served until his resignation on June 15, 1989.

He served on the Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Administration Committees during his tenure.

However he specialized in rights of disabled people.

Coehlo was involved and facilitated the savings and loan crisis.

In 1989, Coelho resigned from the House after six terms in the wake of press reports that he had received a loan from a savings and loan executive to purchase junk bonds.

He was not charged with any crime.

While in the House, he was a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Coelho was credited by congressional colleagues as the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.

See "Goliath," Matt Stoller, at 402 (2019).

Specifically, he accepted donations from Drexler executives in order to defeat efforts to prevent the use of junk bonds in the purchase of companies by private equity firms.

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