[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 4 (Friday, January 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     THE LATE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, THOMAS P. ``TIP'' O'NEILL, JR.

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, many have recently expressed their 
tributes to Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill, Jr.
  I want to join with so many of my colleagues to express the heartfelt 
loss we all feel with the passing of ``Tip'' O'Neill. His passing 
earlier this month at the age of 81 left a large, gaping hole in the 
fabric of this Nation, for he was an incredible man who was blessed 
with a rare and inimitable sense for politics.
  Tip knew a lot about politics and he practiced what he preached. He 
learned quickly--and he was careful to never make the same mistake 
twice. My good friend, Bob Dole called him the Congressman's 
Congressman. Tip had great friends on both sides of the aisle. You 
might fight him tooth and nail because you disagreed with him but you 
always respected him because you knew he was fighting for what he 
believed in--and for this institution he loved so much.
  In thinking of Tip's life, I was reminded of one of my favorite 
poems--the magical ``If'' by Rudyard Kipling. When Kipling wrote, ``If 
you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings--nor 
lose the common touch'' he surely had in mind someone like Tip O'Neill. 
He could talk to anyone--and he gave everyone the same courtesy, 
respect, and regard--no matter their position in life. He spoke to the 
President with the same honesty and directness that he addressed 
everyone else. He didn't pull his punches for anyone--even when his 
outspokenness was seen by some as troublesome. I have learned that 
lesson myself. He was just never impressed by a title--he was more 
concerned with how to make things better back home. He had come to 
Washington to serve his constituents and he did that as their loyal 
friend in Washington for many, many years.
  My good friend Paul Tsongas, a former Massachusetts Senator, said it 
so well when he remarked that the passing of Tip O'Neill was a sad day, 
``But it's wonderful that you could celebrate a life like this.'' 
Indeed, a wonderful life, beautifully lived is what we have to 
celebrate.
  I think we can all close our eyes and recall the remarkable presence 
that was Tip O'Neill--the floppy white hair, the rosy cheeks, and the 
big ever-present cigar. He loved sports and he never missed a chance to 
take in a boxing match when he could--unless, of course, a good hand of 
poker or a game of golf was to be had. He had a wonderful feel for 
politics as sport and he also had a delightful sports analogy for any 
political problem. He once told President Carter to be like a boxer and 
``keep your left hand high'' to remind him that politics is, indeed, a 
full contact sport.
  Tip O'Neill never saw politics as an opportunity to amass a great 
deal of wealth--he saw politics as public service. When he retired from 
the House he was a man of relatively modest circumstances. The wealth 
he had truly attained was the wellspring of love that had developed for 
him as a public servant.
  His death occurred while I was with a Senate delegation led by 
Senator Bennett Johnston, traveling in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and 
Indonesia. I was unable to attend the services. Had I been anywhere in 
the continental United States, I would have done so.
  I had just talked to ``Tip'' over the Thanksgiving holiday. I called 
him, which I would do from time to time, to share a new story or hear 
one of his. That was always a delightful experience. And he could tell 
a story. I enjoy that too. It was always a very special occasion.

  We all remember his motto, that ``all politics is local.'' That is 
his legacy, and the title of his last book. It seems fitting that the 
man who placed such a premium on local politics--having worked his way 
up from the local wards to a position of national prominence--has left 
us such a fascinating guidebook for the rules of politics and, more 
importantly, for the rules of interpersonal relationships. For what 
more is politics in reality than that?
  He was a master in his relationships with people from all walks of 
life.
  I have a particular fondness for him. An example of his wonderful 
character came up when I was working on the illegal immigration bill. 
We passed an illegal immigration bill in the U.S. Senate for the first 
time in 30 years, by a very fine, strong, bipartisan vote. It went to 
the House, and it just laid there.
  People came up to me and said, ``You know, you are new here, but 
unless you go to work over there, you are never going to see that bill 
again.'' I said, ``Well, I have been in the State legislature and just 
assumed that my good counterparts on the other side would pick it up 
and move it,'' especially since we have had some joint hearings. And, 
of course my finest friend and counterpart was a Democrat named Ron 
Mazzoli. It was called the Simpson-Mazzoli bill. And Ron was ready to 
move it. Peter Rodino, another great friend, Chairman Rodino, was ready 
to move it. But ``Tip'' was not ready to move it because he did not 
know exactly all of the aspects of it.
  So one day I screwed my courage up to the sticking point and I called 
him. I said, ``I would like to visit with you, no staff, just me.'' He 
said, ``Come on over, cowboy.'' I went over a couple of weeks later. He 
rolled up his sleeves, and punched a cigar into his mouth, and he said, 
``Tell me what this turkey is.'' I said, ``Well, let me describe it to 
you. I want to do it without any staff here because I know the issue.'' 
He said, ``Well, teach me.''
  So after about half hour, he got up, brought in the remarkable staff 
person named Ari Weiss, who was truly one of the most unique and 
brilliant staff persons I have known. Of course, that was the type of 
person ``Tip'' surrounded himself with.
  He said, ``I don't have all the answers but I have people around me 
who do.'' He brought in Ari Weiss, and he described to him exactly what 
he felt he wanted to do. He said, ``I want to support this. But it is a 
political year. I am going to take a lot of flak.'' I said, ``Yeah, you 
are.'' He said, ``I tell you what I am going to do, Simpson. I want to 
put this bill on the floor sometime before the date of--'' I think it 
was October 5--``and I don't want you to say a single word about it to 
anyone. And if you do, and I hear about it, you will never see that 
bill again in the whole history of the legislature.''
  I said, ``That is fair enough for me,'' and therefore the only way to 
do that was to not tell anybody, including my staff or my wife. I have 
never hidden anything from her in our 40 years of a wonderful life. But 
I thought, ``I cannot let that one out.'' I never said a word to 
anybody. And then, I think the date was somewhere in late September or 
October, the announcement was made that the immigration bill would be 
considered on the floor of the House, which absolutely caused chaos in 
the Democratic Party, because Fritz Mondale and Gary Hart were both 
running for the Presidency. Gary Hart was opposed to it and using it to 
obtain some Hispanic support.
  Fritz did not want to deal with it. I think it was Fritz who called 
``Tip,'' but that will remain somewhere out in the rest of the vapors 
for others to report; but somewhere along the line ``Tip'' told some 
representative of Fritz Mondale's: ``Look, you run for President; I 
will run the House.''
  And the bill came up and the bill did not survive. But the promise 
was made and the promise was kept, and from that came a truly rich 
relationship with a most unique person.
  Tip's wife, Millie, and Ann worked together on various causes. I 
think people forget that that is what makes this system work. A 
conservative Republican from Wyoming in the Senate and a liberal 
Democrat from Massachusetts in the House had what I cherished as a very 
intimate and personal relationship. I shall miss him greatly.
  I pay tribute and Ann and I give our love and sympathy to dear Millie 
and all of the wonderful O'Neills.

                          ____________________