New York State Senate Lent was a member of the
New York State Senate from 1963 to 1970, sitting in the
174th,
175th,
176th,
177th and
178th New York State Legislatures. As a State Senator, he opposed the integration of the elementary schools in Malverne, which the state's education commissioner ordered in 1963. After the
United States Supreme Court upheld the order, Lent introduced an anti-
busing bill in the State Senate that was ultimately signed into law but found unconstitutional by a federal court. Lent stated that he opposed the order because the integration could undermine neighborhood schools.
Congress Lent was elected as a Republican to the
92nd,
93rd,
94th,
95th,
96th,
97th,
98th,
99th,
100th,
101st and
102nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1971, to January 3, 1993. He was a delegate or alternate delegate to the
1972,
1976,
1980,
1984 and
1992 Republican National Conventions.
Election Lent entered Congress by defeating an incumbent, the controversial Democratic representative
Allard K. Lowenstein, by 9,300 votes in a hotly contested election in a newly drawn, largely Republican district. One of his campaign slogans was the play on words, "Let's vote out Lowenstein for Lent."
Long Island's generally liberal
Five Towns region had recently been removed from the district, and the far more conservative Massapequa added, during Congressional redistricting by the Republican-controlled State legislature. The election was viewed nationwide as a referendum on
President Richard Nixon's conduct of the
Vietnam War. Lent supported Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing American Forces from Vietnam while turning the fighting over to the
South Vietnamese Army.
Tenure As a U.S. Representative, Lent was endorsed several times by Long Island's largest newspaper,
Newsday, whose editors called Lent a "key player in environmental and energy legislation". He was most active as a member of the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce and of the
House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, ultimately becoming the
ranking minority member of both committees. He became ranking member of the Energy and Commerce committee after incumbent ranking member,
Jim Broyhill, was appointed as a United States Senator in 1986. Lent worked on drafting and handled floor debate for the Republican minority on some of the most sweeping environmental, energy, telecommunications and transportation legislation enacted during his tenure. These included the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, National Energy Policy Act of 1992, Cable Television Act, Legislation ending the 1992 National Rail Strike, the
Superfund Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA), the Conrail Privatization Act, and the Insider Trading and Securities Fraud, Enforcement Act.
Awards Lent held Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees from Hofstra University (1988) and
Molloy College (1985) and was the recipient of the Prime Minister's Medal, State of Israel (1977), Distinguished Achievement Medal, Holland Society of New York (1987) and the George Estabrook achievement Award, Hofstra University (1967), along with many other awards. == Death and burial ==