Russell B. Long
American politician (1918–2003)
Russell Billiu Long (November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American Democratic politician and United States senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1966 to 1981, Long was instrumental in 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, he was referred to as the 'Father of the Earned Income Tax Credit'.
The son of Senators Rose McConnell Long and Huey Long, Russell Long served during the administrations of eight US presidents, from Truman to Reagan. Long quietly wielded enormous power in the Senate and shaped some of the most significant tax legislation of the twentieth century.
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.
Early life
Russell Billiu Long was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 3, 1918, the son of Huey Long and Rose McConnell Long.
“Russell B. Long” enters the record as american politician (1918–2003). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Russell, Long and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1385418. VIAF identifies the subject as 45104684. The Library of Congress control number is n79041849. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918, 2003, 1948 and 1987.
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This entry incorporates text from “Russell B. Long” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.