Ron Mazzoli | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 3rd district |
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In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1995 |
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Preceded by | William O. Cowger |
Succeeded by | Mike Ward |
Member of the Kentucky Senate | |
In office 1968–1970 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Romano Louis Mazzoli November 2, 1932 Louisville, Kentucky |
Political party | Democratic |
Romano Louis "Ron" Mazzoli (born November 2, 1932) represented Kentucky's Third Congressional District (Louisville, Kentucky and other parts of Jefferson County, Kentucky) in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 through 1995 as a Democrat. He was the primary architect, with Senator Alan Simpson, of major immigration reform legislation.
Mazzoli was born in Louisville. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1954 and from the University of Louisville law school, first in his class, in 1960. Mazzoli served in the Kentucky Senate from 1968 through 1970.
Mazzoli was Chairman of the House of Representatives' Immigration, International Law and Refugees Subcommittee for twelve years. He also served on the Small Business, Intelligence and District of Columbia Committees.
In 1981, Mazzoli, a pro-life Democrat, introduced, along with Illinois Republican Henry Hyde, the Human Life Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment which would ban all abortions by granting legal protection to all unborn children in the United States. Ultimately, the amendment failed to amass the 218 votes necessary to pass.
Mazzoli authored the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act, later known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and cosponsored it with Republican Senator Alan Simpson. The bill enacted the first U.S. laws to sanction employers who hired undocumented aliens; it also granted an amnesty for aliens already living and working in the United States. After five years of debate and compromise, the Simpson-Mazzoli Bill was ultimately signed into law on November 7, 1986.