[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  TRIBUTE TO SPEAKER THOMAS P. O'NEILL

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 8, 1994

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today I join my colleagues in fond 
remembrance of the late, great Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill.
  During the course of an extraordinary career, spanning a period of 
dramatic change in the Congress and the Nation, Speaker O'Neill stood 
out as a tireless and unyielding champion of the average American.
  He led efforts to extend the promise of opportunity and equality to 
millions of citizens. He displayed courage and conviction in calling 
for an end to the Vietnam war. Through the legal tests of Watergate, 
Speaker O'Neill was a model of judgment and integrity. And through the 
moral tests of the 1980's, Speaker O'Neill preserved a faith in our 
basic goodness, our shared ability to shape a better world based on the 
most noble human instincts.
  Speaker O'Neill did all this, towered over our politics and 
Government, and yet remained to the end a humble man, friendly and 
approachable, always prepared with a bit of quite wisdom, wrapped in a 
story.
  I remember sitting next to him at the new member's orientation at 
Harvard shortly after being elected to the Congress. What an 
inspiration. There were so many rules and procedures to master, and 
here was this man who, from it all, had made the hopes of our democracy 
real. He truly understood--and never forgot--what was important to 
those he was elected to serve.
  Later, when he visited my district, he shined at every stop with the 
enthusiasm and love of people that endeared him to so many in this body 
and around the country. At the time, he was in serious pain, but it did 
not slow him down. He won the hearts of everyone with whom he came in 
contact, just as those of us who knew him would expect.
  Speaker O`Neill leaves us not only a body of law and policy for which 
generations will be grateful, but also a personal example of grace and 
compassion that must forever be our guide as public servants and 
Americans.
  May each of us in this Chamber measure up to his standard. And may 
his spirit lead us to a still brighter future.

                          ____________________