Edwin Edward Willis was born 2 October 1904 in Arnaudville, Louisiana. He was the eleventh child of Olanda Willis and Julia Harding. In 1929, he married Estelle Bulliard, and they had one son. In 1926, Willis received his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He practiced law in St. Martinville, and was a strong supporter of the Long Party. In 1948 Willis was elected to Congress from the 3rd Louisiana Congressional District as a Democrat. He remained in the House of Representatives until 1969. He served as a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) from 1955-1963, and was chairman from 1963-1969. He was a strong supporter of HUAC and a rigid anti-communist. He felt that the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s were communist inspired. However, he also opposed the anti-civil rights activities of the Ku Klux Klan and consistently endorsed Democratic candidates for president. While in Congress, Willis sought subsidies for sugar planters, federal funding for the Morganza Spillway, and federal royalty payments to Louisiana from the tidelands oil. Willis suffered a series of strokes in 1966, and his poor health contributed to his defeat by Patrick Caffery in the 1968 Democratic primary. He died 16 October 1972.