Representative Carter Manasco

Carter Manasco (January 3, 1902 – February 5, 1992) was an American politician and attorney who represented Alabama in the United States House of Representatives from 1941 to 1949. A member of the Democratic Party, he served four consecutive terms in Congress during a pivotal era that encompassed the Second World War and the immediate postwar period, contributing to the legislative process and representing the interests of his Alabama constituents.

Manasco was born in Townley, Walker County, Alabama, on January 3, 1902. He attended the public schools of his native state and later enrolled at Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama (now Samford University). Pursuing a legal education, he entered the University of Alabama School of Law, where he earned an LL.B. degree in 1927 and a J.D. degree in 1929. He was admitted to the bar in 1927 and began the practice of law in Jasper, Alabama, establishing himself professionally before entering elective office.

Manasco’s political career began at the state level. He served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1930 to 1934, participating in state legislative affairs during the early years of the Great Depression. He subsequently became closely associated with the influential Bankhead political family, serving as secretary to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives William B. Bankhead from 1933 to 1940. In this role, he gained extensive experience in federal legislative operations and national politics, which helped prepare him for his own service in Congress.

Manasco entered the United States House of Representatives during the Seventy-seventh Congress. He was elected as a Democrat in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Walter W. Bankhead and took his seat on June 24, 1941. He was subsequently reelected to the Seventy-eighth, Seventy-ninth, and Eightieth Congresses, serving continuously from June 24, 1941, to January 3, 1949. During his tenure, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments in both the Seventy-eighth and Seventy-ninth Congresses, a position that placed him at the center of efforts to oversee and scrutinize federal administrative operations during and immediately after World War II.

Serving in Congress during a significant period in American history, Manasco participated in debates over wartime mobilization and domestic economic controls. During the early part of the Second World War, he was an outspoken critic of certain measures adopted by federal agencies such as the Office of Price Administration. Illustrating his opposition to what he viewed as excessive regulation, he publicly objected to OPA rules that placed price ceilings on recreational activities, remarking that “Recently the Office of Price Administration issued a regulation placing a ceiling on the ancient game of pool and on the new national pastime, bowling. Of course, it is very important to call to the attention of the American people that their sons and brothers are dying in the Solomons, by placing a ceiling on these all-American pastimes.” Despite his established role in Congress, he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1948, bringing his House service to a close at the start of 1949.

Following his departure from Congress, Manasco resumed the practice of law and became active in public relations work. Even as his House service was ending, he was appointed to the first Hoover Commission on Reorganization of the Executive Departments, serving from 1947 to 1949. In that capacity, he participated in a major bipartisan effort, initiated under President Harry S. Truman and chaired by former President Herbert Hoover, to study and recommend reforms to improve the efficiency and organization of the federal executive branch. His experience on the House Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments informed his contributions to this high-profile commission.

Manasco went on to build a long career in the energy and natural resources sector as a legislative specialist. He became legislative counsel for the National Coal Association in 1949 and held that position until 1985, representing the interests of the coal industry before Congress and federal agencies for more than three decades. In this role, he drew on his legal training and extensive legislative background to influence policy affecting coal production, regulation, and energy policy during a period of significant change in the American economy and energy markets.

In his later years, Manasco resided in McLean, Virginia, remaining in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area where he had spent much of his professional life. He died in Arlington, Virginia, on February 5, 1992. Throughout his career, from his early service in the Alabama House of Representatives to his four terms in the U.S. House and his long tenure as a legislative counsel, Carter Manasco was continuously engaged in the legislative process at both the state and national levels.