[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         TRIBUTE TO TIP O'NEILL

                                 ______


                               speech of

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 8, 1994

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of 
the greatest men ever to have served in this body. That man was former 
Speaker of the House Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill. Mr. O'Neill will be 
missed by all of us, by his family, his friends, his former colleagues, 
and by the American people who came to know and love him.
  It was not my fortune to serve in this House under the leadership of 
Tip O'Neill; he left the Congress the year I was elected. I was 
fortunate, however, to meet with Speaker O'Neill shortly after I won my 
primary runoff in September 1986 and on subsequent occasions after he 
retired. That meeting, shortly after I embarked on my campaign to 
Congress, made an impression that will stay with me all my life.
  Tip O'Neill was a very proud man. He was proud of his Irish ancestry 
and he was proud of being a man of the people. Tip never forgot who he 
was or where he came from. He never forget why he came to Congress and 
the people he came to represent. As a result, Tip had the affection and 
respect of his constituents and his colleagues.
  Tip O'Neill wasn't ashamed to be an old fashioned liberal. He 
believed that the business of government was the business of looking 
after people, especially those who were down and out, those who 
couldn't look after themselves. He was unabashed in his efforts to 
fight for these people. During the early 1980's when there were those 
in Washington who wanted to forget the poor, the downtrodden, and the 
dispossessed, it was Speaker O'Neill who fought to protect them. It was 
Tip O'Neill, the man of the people, the ``man of the house,'' as his 
first book was aptly titled, who stood up for the rights of working men 
and woman throughout this country.
  I will miss Tip O'Neill. He was a man of courage and compassion, a 
man of extraordinary character. He will remain forever as an 
inspiration of what public service is all about. Tip O'Neill may be 
gone, but his legacy will live on forever in the hearts and minds of 
the American people.

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