Rep. Gillis W. Long of Louisiana Dies at 61; Led Democrat Caucus

WASHINGTON —  Rep. Gillis W. Long, a veteran Louisiana Democrat who helped lead his party’s opposition in the House to Reagan Administration programs, is dead of an apparent heart attack. He was 61.

Long, who died at his Washington home Sunday night, chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 1981 through the end of 1984 and had been scheduled to be elected chairman of the congressional Joint Economic Committee today.

An aide said Long had suffered a heart attack in 1979 and had cut back on his workload after triple-bypass surgery in 1981.

Cousin of Huey Long

At the start of his Inaugural Address on Monday in the Capitol Rotunda, President Reagan asked for a moment’s silent prayer for Long, who was a distant cousin of the legendary Louisiana politician, Huey Long.

Reelected to his eighth term last year, Long held the No. 4 Democratic leadership post in the House as caucus chairman and ranked second on the Rules Committee behind the chairman, Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.).

House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) called Long “a close friend and a strong colleague” who re-energized the party caucus.

“He led the caucus in stimulating and developing new ideas and approaches, particularly in the economic field,” O’Neill said. “He combined a commitment to democratic values with a determination to find new ways to honor them.”

Praised by Wright

Long was described as a “legislator’s legislator” by House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.).

“He was constructive and creative in his approach to the problems of the country,” Wright said. “He never sought confrontation for the sake of confrontation, and he tried to work out acceptable solutions to the nation’s problems.”

Long is survived by his wife, Cathy; two children, George of New Orleans, and Janis, a law student at Tulane University, and a brother, Floyd H. of New Orleans.

Funeral services are tentatively scheduled for Thursday at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Alexandria, La., with burial at the National Cemetery in Pineville, La.