In 1942 Holifield was elected as a
Democrat representing the 19th congressional district in California. Holifield was subsequently re-elected to the fifteen succeeding Congresses. While in Congress he was chair of the
U.S. House Committee on Government Operations (91st through 93rd Congresses) and the
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (87th, 89th, and 91st Congresses). He was a member of the President's Special Evaluation Commission on
Atomic Bomb Tests at
Bikini Atoll, 1946.
Nuclear policy In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as a member of the House Military Operations Subcommittee, he was a strong advocate of
fallout shelters and said that the United States should "build a nationwide system of underground shelters". Holifield was also a congressional adviser to international conferences on uses of
atomic energy,
nuclear weapons testing, water desalinization, and
disarmament.
Alvin M. Weinberg, who advocated
inherent safety in reactor design, recounted an incident from 1972, where Holifield said: "if you are concerned about the
safety of reactors, then I think it may be time for you to leave nuclear energy." He served from January 3, 1943, until his resignation on December 31, 1974. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1974 to the 94th Congress. == Later career ==