John LaFalce obit

'Great public servant': Former Congressman John LaFalce has died

 He was not on the list.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Former New York Congressman John LaFalce has died at the age of 85, Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner confirmed to 7 News on Saturday.

He was born and raised in Buffalo and graduated from then Canisius College. He served in the United States Army during the war in Vietnam.

LaFalce spent over two decades as a U.S. Congressman, representing Western New York from 1975 to 200. Prior to that, he briefly served in the New York State Assembly and Senate.

"John was a great public servant, but an even greater human being," Former Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan said. "This is a big loss. John was a wonderful person and a great friend. We're going to miss being able to call him, asking him his view on things, getting his advice, not just about politics, but about life. He always felt it was a privilege and an honor to serve the public, and you've got a special responsibility to do that with integrity and do that well."

7 News met with LaFalce in 2024 when President Jimmy Carter died. The two worked on getting federal funding for Love Canal in the 1970s.

LaFalce was first elected to the 94th United States Congress in 1974 and re-elected to each succeeding Congress through the 107th United States Congress, serving his Western New York congressional district for 28 years, from 1975 to 2003. He served as Chairman of the United States House Small Business Committee from 1987 to 1995, and as Ranking Democrat of the House Committee on Financial Services from 1999 to 2003. He declined to seek re-election to the 108th Congress.

LaFalce was born in Buffalo, New York, on October 6, 1939. He graduated Canisius High School before earning a bachelor's degree from Canisius College and J.D. degree from Villanova University School of Law.

LaFalce was a member of the New York State Senate (53rd D.) in 1971 and 1972; and a member of the New York State Assembly (140th D.) in 1973 and 1974.

In 1974, at the age of 35, LaFalce became the second Democrat, and the first since 1912, to win election to what was then the 36th congressional district of New York, which was based in Niagara Falls and also included much of northern Buffalo and the western suburbs of Rochester. LaFalce was elected as part of the "Watergate babies", the large Democratic freshman class elected in the wake of the Watergate scandal. He was reelected 13 times, rarely facing substantive opposition.

LaFalce played a key role in airing the grievances of the displaced residents of Love Canal, which was part of his district, and spearheading the federal government's subsequent response to the environmental disaster.

During his career in the House of Representatives, he served on both the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (now the Committee on Financial Services). In January 1987, he was elected by the Democratic Caucus as Chairman of the Committee on Small Business, thus becoming the first member of his class to chair a full, standing committee of the House. Following the change in control of Congress in 1994, he served as the committee's ranking Democrat. In February 1998, he was elected the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and served in that capacity through 2003.

LaFalce had numerous accomplishments as a legislator. For example, he is credited with initiating the Competitiveness Policy Council.

He crafted legislation that became the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 for which he and three other colleagues earned the American Financial Leadership Award from the Financial Services Roundtable. LaFalce also played a key leadership role in introducing and championing what ultimately became the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, signed by President Bush in July 2002.

LaFalce was generally a liberal Democrat, but strongly opposed abortion. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of Democrats for Life of America. He also was among a handful of Democratic members who voted against the five Iran sanction bills that passed 1997–2001.

After the 2000 census, New York lost two congressional districts. One plan called for the merger of LaFalce's territory with the neighboring 27th district of Republican Jack Quinn, a longtime friend who represented the other portion of Buffalo. The final map merged his district with the Rochester-based 28th District of fellow Democrat Louise Slaughter. The new district retained Slaughter's district number, but geographically was more LaFalce's district; indeed, only a narrow band of territory from Buffalo to Rochester connected the two areas. Nonetheless, LaFalce did not seek reelection in 2002