[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM NATCHER

                                 ______


                            HON. J.J. PICKLE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 1994

  Mr. PICKLE. Mr. Speaker, it is now history--Bill Natcher's voting 
record has been ended. The record looms unparalled and we will never 
see the likes of it again.
  What I admire most about Bill Natcher is not his voting record alone, 
but his magnificent presence as Acting Speaker. He is the most 
knowledgeable, firm and effective Acting Speaker that we have ever had. 
He knows the rules and the principles of democracy, he follows the 
debate and keeps the House in control. Yet all the while, he is 
courteous and kind--the epitome of the southern gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, we sometimes get bogged down in the various issues and 
heated debates of the moment, and we lose sight of what this wonderful 
body is about. Fortunately, we have been blessed for some four decades 
now with a calm, soothing voice of reason--a voice that in its own 
inimitable, drawling way never fails to call us back to the true aims, 
purposes and spirit of the U.S. House of Representatives, the greatest 
legislative body on Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm sure all my other colleagues join me in saluting the 
Honorable William Natcher and wishing him Godspeed in his recovery. Get 
well and come on back, Bill. Your country needs you.

                          ____________________