---
alias:
- Larry Ed Combest
born: 1945-03-20
category: Political Figure
created: 2026-09-22
location: Lubbock, Texas
summary: Texas Republican and former aide to John Tower who chaired the House intelligence
  committee in 1995-96, received the CIA's Star Gate transfer report, and produced
  the IC21 review.
tags:
- Person
- LarryCombest
- Congress
- HPSCI
- Texas
updated: 2026-09-22
---

Larry Ed Combest was born in Memphis, Hall County, [Texas](/places/texas/), on March 20, 1945, graduated from West Texas State University in 1969, farmed, directed the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service office in 1971, and was legislative assistant to Senator [John Tower](/people/john-tower/) from 1971 to 1978. Elected as a Republican in 1984, he sat in the House, a member from Lubbock, from January 3, 1985, until his resignation on May 31, 2003, sat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 1988, chaired it in the 104th Congress, and chaired the Agriculture Committee in the 106th and 107th.[^1]

As chairman he was the addressee of the CIA's letter of March 28, 1995, transmitting DIA's and the CIA's responses to Congress's directed actions on the [Star Gate](/programs/stargate-project/) program ([1995 transfer of Star Gate to the CIA](/events/1995-transfer-of-star-gate-to-the-cia/)). On April 9, 1996, he sent the Speaker the committee staff study *IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century,* "carefully edited in consultation with the appropriate agencies to remove any classified information." In 1996 "Mr. Combest was awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and the Seal Medallion of the Central Intelligence Agency," and he served as vice chairman of the Moynihan Commission on secrecy.[^2]

[^1]: "COMBEST, Larry Ed," History, Art and Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/C/COMBEST,-Larry-Ed-(C000653)/
[^2]: Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs to Larry Combest, March 28, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040002-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Combest, Larry, transmittal letter to the Speaker, April 9, 1996, in *IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century,* staff study, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, GPO, 1996. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-IC21/html/GPO-IC21-2.htm *Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy,* 1997, appendix D, biographical information. https://sgp.fas.org/library/moynihan/appd.html The commission's biography dates his chairmanship 1994 to 1996.