[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 HOUSE RESOLUTION 329, DESIGNATING 1994 AS A YEAR TO HONOR THE MEMORY 
 AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF THE HONORABLE THOMAS P. ``TIP'' O'NEILL, 
         JR., THE LATE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Brown of Florida). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Rose] is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I wish to respond to the challenge presented 
to Members of the Congress last night by President Clinton in his State 
of the Union Address.
  The President began by invoking the memory of the late Speaker of the 
House, Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill. He challenged the Congress to recall, 
in Tip's honor, ``who we are, where we came from, and who sent us 
here.''
  Before the President spoke yesterday I submitted House Resolution 329 
designating 1994 as a year to honor ``Tip.''
  I would like to comment further on this matter and submit the 
resolution for insertion in the Record at this point of my remarks:

                              H. Res. 329

       Whereas the death of the late Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill, Jr., on January 
     5, 1994, has created not only a personal loss to his many 
     friends and colleagues, but also a great loss to the Nation;
       Whereas Speaker O'Neill, is remembered by all for his 
     dedication to good government and his love for the people of 
     the United States;
       Whereas Speaker O'Neill's compassion and goodness of heart 
     and his spirit of cooperation and conciliation were evident 
     to all who knew him;
       Whereas in the House of Representatives and in his life, 
     Speaker O'Neill's personal charm and political skill 
     transcended differences of personality and party;
       Whereas Speaker O'Neill presided over the House of 
     Representatives from the Ninety-fifth Congress through the 
     Ninety-ninth Congress and emerged as one of the greatest 
     American political leaders of this century; and
       Whereas it is appropriate that the House of Representatives 
     rededicate itself to the principles of leadership personified 
     by Speaker O'Neill: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That 1994 is designated as a year to honor the 
     memory and leadership qualities of the Honorable Thomas P. 
     ``Tip'' O'Neill, Jr., the late Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives.
       Sec. 2. There shall be available from the contingent fund 
     of the House of Representatives such sums as may be necessary 
     to carry out this resolution.
       Sec. 3. The Committee on House Administration of the House 
     of Representatives shall have authority to prescribe 
     regulations to carry out this resolution.

  Madam Speaker, ``Tip'' was an extraordinary leader of this House and 
I am certain that the many Members still serving, Democrats and 
Republicans alike, cherish his memory. He could disagree without being 
disagreeable. He could persuade colleagues because he genuinely liked 
them, and they liked him. He presided over a House that valued mutual 
respect, conciliation, and cooperation. ``Tip'' took time to listen to 
every freshman Member and, in keeping with his belief that ``all 
politics are local,'' he constantly sought to serve as well as lead.
  ``Tip'' could broker a consensus from divergent sectors, mainly 
because he cared about his colleagues. He resigned as Speaker 7 years 
ago but his spirit still dwells in this Chamber. That is why I have 
asked that 1994, the year of his passing, be devoted to honoring the 
leadership qualities that he personified.
  Former Speaker Sam Rayburn used to say that ``any jackass can kick a 
barn door down, but it takes a carpenter to build one.'' ``Tip'' was 
such a carpenter, a builder of trust and an architect of better 
government.
  Above all, ``Tip'' was champion of the Congress as an institution.
  He resented efforts to disparage this branch of Government. Our 
present distinguished Speaker, Mr. Foley, has stated ``You've got a 
tremendous disinformation program going about Congress.'' The 
Washington Post reported only yesterday that ``at least two independent 
studies showed that the 103d Congress gave President Clinton more 
first-year legislative victories than any Congress has done since 
President Eisenhower's first year in 1953.''
  The Washington Post went on to state that voters see Congress as ``a 
gridlocked blob, where lawmakers are cutting deals for their districts 
and not working in the best interests of the Nation.''
  The newspaper said that the prestige of this Congress had fallen so 
low that only 32 percent of constituents polled said they are inclined 
to reelect their Representative.
  I was elected to the House in 1972 and have seen Members come and go. 
It is my conviction that today's Members are generally better informed 
and more responsive to constituents, with greater integrity, than the 
rank and file 22 years ago. We live in a new era of more media exposure 
but less depth understanding of the constitutional responsibilities of 
the Congress and how we function.
  We have been told that only 3 percent of our population think they 
can trust Government to do what is right. I fear that the American body 
politic has been infected with cynicism and pessimism.
  If infection goes unchecked it can kill the human body. That is why 
we must find the antibiotic of healing and renewal. We must seek better 
ways of working together to legislate more effectively. We must examine 
the state of the congressional union. And we must enlist those who 
elect us in a campaign for a country and a Congress that feels 
confident and competent to achieve a future better than the past.
  This Congress dare not respond to the President's call to action with 
an uncertain trumpet. The time has come for new Democrats and new 
Republicans to find new ways of working together.
  I would like to honor ``Tip'' this year by restoring the primacy of 
the first branch of Government as our Founders perceived this House. We 
must reclaim the vision of George Mason who saw the House as ``the 
grand repository of the democratic principles of the Government.'' As 
we rebuild nationally a sense of family and community, the House has to 
reassert and reclaim its role as the first branch.
  Directly representative of the people, the House has a unique 
function. We are no better, and no worse, than the people we serve. 
Perhaps we are a sort of mirror image of our country. But it is our 
responsibility to strive to improve ourselves, to serve to the very 
best of our abilities, to fulfill aims of great Americans like ``Tip'' 
O'Neill and to implement this administration's ``journey of renewal.''
  Above all, we must not get defensive and angry at our critics, or at 
our fellow citizens who are in trouble. That's what ``Tip'' would want.
  We do not need antidemocratic mechanisms such as so-called term 
limits. David Broder, the astute journalist, has written of his concern 
that ``term limits will hurt the effectiveness of Congress and the 
legislatures, impair the careful constitutional balance among the 
branches and increase the power of unelected bureaucrats.'' I could not 
have said it better.
  ``Tip'' would agree that the pillars of American society are the 
family, the school, the community, the Congress, and our spiritual and 
moral values.
  Let us devote this year, 1994, to shoring up the pillar of our Nation 
that is the Congress. That is what ``Tip'' would want.

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