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Rush Moody, Jr. Federal Power Commission records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0823
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Content Description

The collection consists of materials related to the service of Rush Moody, Jr. on the Federal Power Commission, to which he was appointed for a five-year term in 1971. Included is biographical and financial information prepared to support the nomination. Correspondence during the term is included, as are newsclippings about it. There are also a report and speeches related to the work of the Commission from years following Moody’s term.

Dates

  • 1971 - 1985

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Rush Moody, Jr. Federal Power Commission records must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas.

Biographical / Historical

Rush Moody, Jr. was born July 21, 1930 in Alpine, Texas. He grew up in Houston, graduating from John Reagan High School in 1948. He attended Rice Institute for two years before transferring to the University of Texas to pursue a joint BBA/JD degree. After taking a leave of absence to serve in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer stationed at Warren Robins Airbase, he returned to complete his law studies, graduating in 1956 and being admitted to the Texas Bar that same year. He then returned to Houston to take a position with the Baker, Botts, Andrews, Shepherd law firm. In 1960 he resigned from this firm and moved to Midland, Texas to join Stubbman, McRae, Sealy, Laughlin and Browder, becoming a partner in 1963.

With support from Senator John Tower, Moody was appointed in 1971 by President Richard Nixon to a five-year term on the Federal Power Commission. He served ably for three years but found himself increasingly often voting in dissent regarding the Commission’s continued regulation of interstate natural gas prices under the Federal Power Act. In 1975 Moody ultimately resigned, in his resignation letter urging President Gerald Ford to pursue a legislative solution to end the natural gas shortages then troubling the Atlantic Seaboard states. He was then appointed by Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe to serve as special counsel, advising him and Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby on energy policy. At this time Moody also helped Senator Lloyd Bentsen draft what became the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978.

Moody returned to Washington in 1977, working at a number of Texas-based firms to help them develop their energy practice groups. During this time he helped John G. McMillian organize and finance a consortium to build the first natural gas export pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the lower 48 states. After joining Andrews Kurth he went on to serve as managing partner from 1992 until his retirement in 1996. He and his family moved that year from Chevy Chase to Trappe, Maryland, where he died on November 5, 2015.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The collection consists of materials from and related to the term of Rush Moody, Jr. on the Federal Power Commission from 1971 to 1976.

Arrangement

The materials are arranged in a single general series.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials were donated by a son of Rush Moody, Jr., M. Bradford Moody, on December 12, 2018.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Rush Moody, Jr. Federal Power Commission records, 1971-1985
Status
Completed
Author
Mary Tobin
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892