[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
REMARKS OF CONGRESSMAN RICHARD E. NEAL FOR SPECIAL ORDER ON FORMER
SPEAKER THOMAS P. O'NEILL OF MASSACHUSETTS
Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to take
part in this tribute for our dear former Speaker, Thomas P. ``Tip''
O'Neill, who died just as the new year began. That news was a sad
ending to the holiday season for many of us. I would like to thank
Chairman Joe Moakley for reserving this time for us to honor Speaker
O'Neill's memory.
I did not have the pleasure of serving here in the House under
Speaker O'Neill, but I can say that I was able to benefit from his
advice and counsel in the years that I knew him. We spent time together
at many Massachusetts functions over the past 5 years and I was truly
touched by the interest he took in me and my progress as a new Member
of Congress.
Speaker O'Neill was well-known for his story-telling ability. I found
that when he recounted an incident from his career or something that
happened here on the Hill, there was always a lesson to be learned. His
stories were warm and full of humanity, much like the man himself. I do
not have many pictures up on the walls of my office, but one I treasure
is Speaker O'Neill greeting me with big smile and a hug.
We hear so much today about what a chore politics has become. Elected
officials are ``disillusioned'' and the public has ``lost faith'' are
just two of the phrases we hear over and over. That was not the case
with Tip O'Neill. He truly enjoyed the business of politics. There are
many politicians who do not enjoy the day-to-day business of meeting
people and dealing with their problems and concerns on a personal
level. There was nothing Tip O'Neill enjoyed more than working his
district and his neighborhood. He would ask people what was on their
minds and delight in the give-and-take of political discussion, whether
on the House Floor or in a corner coffee shop in North Cambridge.
Perhaps only Hubert Humphrey of his generation enjoyed his work as much
as Tip. As sad as the funeral was on January 10, there was also that
feeling that we were celebrating 81 happy years of life. To truly enjoy
one's work, and to also be a master at that career, is a rare
combination. Tip O'Neill was the embodiment of that combination.
There is another lesson to be learned from the life of Tip O'Neill:
He treated all people with the same respect. It did not matter if you
were the head of state of a foreign country or simply a neighbor of
his--he gave the same respect and interest that all men and women
deserve. That is why so many people thought of him as a close friend.
He genuinely cared about people and made it his business to do what he
could to help those in need. Today we are celebrating a great American
life in politics by noting the major accomplishment of Tip O'Neill's
career. The history books will record his 50 years in public office and
10 years as Speaker of the House, but thousands of people will remember
Tip because of the small things he did over the years: A kind word at a
family funeral, help in finding a lost Government check, a phone call
to congratulate a scholarship winner, getting a military case settled,
a personal tour of the Capitol building. The list could go on and on.
Tip O'Neill was a big man on the stage of American history, but it is
through these little acts of kindness that we will best remember him.
People are saying that Tip O'Neill's passing is the end of an era.
Perhaps that is correct, but I hope the new era has a place in it for
the quality we closely associate with Speaker O'Neill: compassion. As
long as we remember to keep compassion in politics, we will be honoring
Tip O'Neill.
Mr. Speaker, again I thank Chairman Moakley. I would also like to
express my condolences to Millie O'Neill and all the members of the
O'Neill family. ``Mr. Speaker'' will be greatly missed.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in fond memory of Tip O'Neill.
With his passing, our Nation lost a great leader and this institution
lost a large piece of its heart and soul. Ask most Americans who they
think of when they think of the U.S. Congress, and their answer still
would likely be Speaker O'Neill. In so many ways, he embodied the best
of Congress, and the best of the American people.
Speaker O'Neill's passionate commitment and dedication to the
democratic process left an indelible mark on the lives of so many. He
understood the importance of, believed in the ability of, and fought
for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Tip's energy was poured into improving the everyday lives of working
Americans. He instinctively understood that the true and best role of
Government is in helping those who need help. He never forgot those
people. He never forgot his roots. And, he never forgot his friends.
I offer my warmest condolences and support to Millie and his family.
Our lives were all improved by knowing Tip. We will long remember the
humor, the warmth, the diplomacy and the fighting spirit of Tip
O'Neill.
Mr. KOPETSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise with great respect and admiration
for Tip O'Neill and to join my colleagues in commemorating his service
to the House of Representatives and our Nation. Speaker O'Neill's
passing is a historic loss to this Nation and I offer my condolences
and warm personal thoughts to the entire O'Neill family. The former
Speaker's death was noted throughout our country. For the Record, I
include a column from the January 16, 1994, issue of the Oregonian.
[From the Oregonian, Jan. 16, 1994]
If We Could Call One Final Witness
(By Steve Duin)
Tip O'Neill, a hefty argument against term limits, died
before they went on trial last week in Seattle. The five-term
speaker of the House reached his limit, at 81, in a Boston
hospital on Jan. 6. Cancer knocked him down; a heart attack
finished the job.
Rep. Mike Kopetski, D-Ore., was on one of the four planes
that carried House members to O'Neill's funeral Mass in
Cambridge. He was one of the lucky ones who slipped inside
St. John the Evangelist, the small brick church where O'Neill
was baptized, but Kopetski never got comfortable.
Bunched outside in the cold, Kopetski knew, were hundreds
of mourners who had a better claim to his pew. They were
constituents, and Tip O'Neill never shut his door to a
constituent.
Joseph Dinneen once wrote that the burning ambition of an
Irish kid was to get to work: ``Then he could join the gang
on the corner and live.'' In his 34 years in Congress,
O'Neill never forgot the gang on Barry's Corner in North
Cambridge, or their kids or their kin.
As John Gimigliano--John the Cobbler--told The New York
Times, ``He was my favorite friend. He invited me to
Washington. He says, `I got the red carpet here for you. When
you come, you get to walk on it.'''
That a red carpet exists anywhere on Capitol Hill galls
many term-limit fans; they'd like to jerk it out from under
the tenured residents of Congress. Take Don McIntire, who
didn't see the contradiction Thursday night in ripping
O'Neill while sipping single-malt Scotch.
``Tip O'Neill is an excellent argument for term limits,''
said McIntire, a property-tax-limit gladiator in Oregon. ``No
one more than Tip O'Neill typified the imperial Congress. The
best argument for term limits is the Congress and its sorry
history.''
Those fighting words would earn McIntire a bloody nose on
Barry's Corner, but they are popular sentiments at McCormick
& Schmick's. O'Neill didn't seem all that imperial to the
bricklayers and cab drivers on the bar stools in Cambridge.
They knew him too well; he came home too often.
McIntire has a general aversion to political candidates.
``What's gone wrong,'' he said, ``is that we have governments
where candidates make a difference. We should have a system
where it doesn't matter which ding-dong gets into power
because they can't hurt you.''
Then there's Sherry Bockwinkel, who headed the campaign for
term limits in Washington, the passage of which House Speaker
Tom Foley, D-Wash., is challenging in a Seattle federal
court.
Bockwinkel's rage was originally directed at her
congressman, Norm Dicks, a Democrat who's been locked on the
Hill for 17 years. She thought he was a lousy
environmentalist, a warmonger and a victim of his own
arrogance.
On more than one occasion, the voters disagreed. So
Bockwinkel campaigned for term limits. ``We want regular
people in Congress, not elitists,'' she said. ``We left
England because we didn't want a dynastic ruling class. We're
being ruled by the very people we had a revolution over.''
The revolution is still on, and members of Oregon's
delegation are on different sides. Rep. Elizabeth Furse, one
of the 110 new members to Congress in 1993, believes terms
limits are the only way to dismantle a seniority system that
holds back women and minorities.
Rep. Peter DeFazio has his own term-limit bill, although he
noted, ``We don't have a problem in Oregon. We automatically
limit people. We've thrown out Wayne Morse, Al Ullman and
Denny Smith. Oregon is very adept at rejecting people.''
That penchant for rejection gained Kopetski a seat in
Congress, but--even as he exits--he rejects term limits.
``I don't think people understand what they're doing,'' he
said. ``They're giving more power to lobbyists, congressional
staff and federal agencies. You can't control the staff, or
the lobbyists, or the bureaucrats. You only have a direct say
on your legislator.''
Tip O'Neill believed that if long-term commitments were a
vital part of a marriage, they were a positive aspect to his
relationship with the friends he left behind on Barry's
Corner.
``I used to be for term limits,'' said Jim Peterson, a
longtime family friend and one of the pallbearers at
O'Neill's funeral, ``but I jumped over the fence. He asked,
`Do you want to get rid of the farmer, the doctor, the
teacher as soon as they've gotten up to speed? It doesn't
make any sense.'''
Mr. HUGHES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the
true giants in American history, the late Speaker of the House, Tip
O'Neill.
There is no one who I admired more throughout my political career
than Tip O'Neill. He embodied everything that was good about politics
and public service. Tip had a sense of right and wrong, and an
understanding of politics, like no one I have ever known.
I was very fortunate to have gotten to know Tip O'Neill during my
first term in office, when he was serving as majority leader. I learned
so much from him.
His years in Government gave him the perspective, and the political
instincts, which enabled him to see way beyond what most others saw
occurring in the political arena. That is what made him so effective as
a leader.
As a person, he was a one-of-a-kind. On the outside, he was big,
gruff, and intimidating, but on the inside, he was a sweetheart of a
guy. He took a personal interest in everyone's problems, from his
constituents at home to his colleagues in the House. Tip made you feel
special for he talked just to you. It was this enormous generosity
which really defined Tip as a person, and endeared him to everyone he
knew.
I will never forget the years he came into southern New Jersey to
campaign with me. Tip knew that I represented a largely Republican
district, and that most of my supporters were business people and
others who were generally more conservative than him. As a result, he
was always unsure what to say. I always told him, just be yourself.
Invariably, it would take Tip all of 5 minutes before he had the
audience wrapped around his finger. He would start by pleading guilty
to being a liberal and a big spender. Then once the audience got over
the shock, he would explain to them what he meant: That he believed in
spending more money on education, Social Security, cancer research,
wastewater treatment, and so many other programs that are important to
people, and which improve the quality of life in our country.
By the time he was finished, people would be lined up to shake his
hand and tell him how much they appreciated him.
That is the Tip O'Neill that I knew: A man who was generous, funny,
true to his beliefs and blessed with the natural instincts and
attributes of a great leader.
There will never be another Tip O'Neill. His loss was a great one for
our country, but his legacy will always live on. I am grateful that I
had the opportunity to get to know and work with this truly wonderful
man.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Klink). The question is on the
resolution offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank].
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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