[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]

 
         INTRODUCTORY SPEECH OF THE HONORABLE VERNON J. EHLERS

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. I wanted to thank the senior members of the Michigan 
delegation and the entire Michigan delegation for being present. I 
appreciate your support and the kind words that you have offered on my 
behalf. I hope I live up to those.
  I am very honored to be here, as I am sure you understand. I am also 
very humbled to be here, because I think this is a great responsibility 
that has been placed upon me by the voters of my district.

                              {time}  1240

  I will do my best to discharge that according to the precepts found 
in the page of the Bible I laid my hand on during the swearing in, 
Micah 6, verse 8. I have used that passage for every swearing in, and I 
pray that I will be able to walk humbly before the Lord and do justice 
and have mercy.
  I also want to comment that this is a very sad time for me 
surprisingly, but it is a very sad time because of my close friendship 
for Paul Henry, a wonderful person, a great man. And I hope that I can 
add somewhat to his legacy. I certainly thank him for being an example 
for me and for all of us. I will try to live up to his standards and 
precepts.
  This is also a time for thanks and thanksgiving, thanks to my wife, 
Jo, and my daughter, Marla, who are present here today, and a number of 
friends in the Gallery who have helped in a number of ways on the 
campaign, and also to the many others who worked and were not able to 
be here today. I certainly appreciate their presence, and I want to 
acknowledge that they are the ones who are responsible for me being 
here.
  My pattern was not an unusual one. I was outspent by tremendous 
amounts by my opponents, but I had the support of the people and the 
volunteers. And that is why I am here, and that is why many of my 
colleagues are here.
  I feel very fortunate to join the Michigan delegation, an outstanding 
group of individuals, most of whom I have known before. I look forward 
to working with them for the betterment of the great State of Michigan 
as well as for the benefit of the entire Nation.
  Finally, just as a personal note, I also like challenges. People 
could not understand why I would leave the Senate, where I was 
President pro tempore, and join the House of Representatives. To me, 
now that I am here, it is an easy choice. It is a great body, a strong 
sense of history, and I like the challenge that is presented coming 
here.
  I understand, I have been told that I am the first physicist to ever 
occupy a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. I hope there will 
be many more in the future, of course, but I will find that a 
challenge, to try to work on the science policy of this Nation and to 
improve it, to better it and use it for the furtherance of this Nation 
and the creation of a better technological society and more jobs for 
its citizens.
  I regard this as a positive opportunity, and I am very optimistic 
about the future of this Nation in many ways.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues once again for 
allowing me the time to make these few comments and to conclude by 
saying, I welcome the challenge and I look forward to the opportunity.

                          ____________________