[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
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 SERVICE OF WILLIAM H. NATCHER

  (Mr. ROGERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker and Members of this august body, today, of 
course, is a different day for everyone in this body except two because 
this is, of course, the first time in 40 years and 18,401 votes that 
the voting light beside Bill Natcher's name stayed dark. And this is 
the first day he has missed work in his 40 years of service to this 
body and to this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we all watched that light up there knowing that 
it would come on before the voting time expired because it always has. 
We have always known that, all but two Members of this body who came 
here senior to Mr. Natcher. That unbroken voting record, of course, is 
unmatched, not just in this body, but in every other national 
legislative body in the world.
  More important, Mr. Speaker, than the quantity of his votes, however, 
has been the quality of his service to the House and to the Nation. His 
devotion to duty is evidenced in these last few weeks by his painful 
journey to this body to cast votes, and with this incredible voting 
record that he has amassed, never to be superseded, there is even more 
proof to the body of his legislative achievement, his quietly working 
behind the scenes putting together those appropriations bills which 
made massive changes in America and its people.
  None of us know, Mr. Speaker, a more courteous, or dignified, or 
considerate human being than the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Natcher]. 
He is a neighbor to my district in Kentucky, and, of course, the dean 
of the Kentucky delegation and the chairman of the Committee on 
Appropriations where I have the honor of serving with him. None of us 
is more respected. No one is more admired. No one has the rectitude of 
Bill Natcher. But we also learned over these years that one could not 
mistake that courtliness, from another age really, with timidity or 
reticence. Bill Natcher was forceful, is forceful. He is resolute. He 
is crisp. He is commanding in his leadership and in his beliefs.
  Mr. Speaker, in an age of cynicism toward politicians the gentleman 
from Kentucky [Mr. Natcher] remains a pillar of rectitude and of 
admired devotion to duty, and he makes us all proud to serve in this 
House and be his colleague here.
  The gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Natcher] appreciates all of our 
prayers, and he knows of our love and devotion. We have shown that to 
him. He also knows of the care and concern of every Kentuckian from 
every county and community in our State who are praying for his quick 
recovery and return to his beloved House here and his beloved home in 
Kentucky.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROGERS. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pulaski for 
yielding to me, and I would just like to add my devotion to Bill 
Natcher as a colleague in this House of Representatives, the pride that 
I have in serving with the gentleman having the respect of everyone in 
Kentucky. There is not one person in Kentucky that I know that has 
anything but the deepest respect for Bill Natcher as a servant of the 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, if we could make a prototype of a person to serve in 
this House of Representatives, the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. 
Natcher] would be that prototype. As my colleagues know, 18,000-plus 
votes and 40 years of service uninterrupted for the people of this 
House of Representatives, the people of his district, the people of the 
Commonwealth.
  However, Mr. Speaker, more than that the people of the United States 
of America know what a job Bill Natcher has performed, and I am proud 
to have served in this House with the gentleman from Kentucky, and I am 
more proud to call him my friend and fellow Kentuckian.
  Mr. MICHEL. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROGERS. I yield to our distinguished minority leader, the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Michel].

                              {time}  1150

  Mr. MICHEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very historic moment in this House of 
Representatives, and I just cannot refrain from making mention of the 
very telling conversation I had with Bill yesterday after Bill had cast 
his next-to-last vote. We were in our old Appropriations Committee 
room, and I was making my point with Bill about how he had already made 
his mark in history through this tremendous unblemished record, and 
that I would hope he would give serious thought to the tremendous 
opportunities we have here through advances in medical science to make 
him whole again, and that, from my point of view and, I am sure, from 
the point of view of his constituents in the country, much more 
important than extending a voting record, I feel it would be so much 
better for him to give those people the opportunity to make him whole, 
and that that would mean so much to his grandchildren to whom he has 
written regularly about the history of this body and his experience in 
it, and how much more memorable it would be if he could live a 
sufficient number of years in the future, regardless of the voting 
record, to be able to tell those grandchildren about it personally and 
to amplify on what he had written.
  I hope that maybe it might have had a little impact on Bill, as he 
then went back to the hospital last night and thought it all over 
again. So for me, I have to be happy that Bill has made that agonizing 
decision when I thought maybe he just would not come to grips with it 
in that way.
  I certainly want to endorse and subscribe to everything that has been 
said about him here today. You folks from Kentucky know him so well. I 
spent so many of my years, 20 years in this House on the Appropriations 
Committee with him. I became the ranking member of our subcommittee, 
and he eventually became our chairman. We were so close in our 
deliberations with one another, and I have to say there was no finer 
subcommittee chairman or full committee chairman from the standpoint of 
fairness and, yes, working industriously as he was tending to his 
duties every day.
  So rather than detain the House any longer from this Member of 
Congress, may I simply say that I embrace all those wonderful things 
that have been said. And, Bill, if by chance you are listening on the 
monitor, I want to just say again that we, I am sure, speaking for all 
the Members of this House, will keep praying for you, and we are happy 
about your decision, because it suggests to me that you can again be 
made whole and live to tell those grandchildren any number of stories 
for a number of years to come, and we will be happy to welcome you back 
to the House when that time comes.
  Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, may I say this: Mr. Leader, I think I can 
safely say for Bill Natcher that you are going to come out OK in his 
journal. Of course, Bill Natcher is going to come out OK in all our 
journals as well.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROGERS. I yield briefly to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and 
I will be succinct.
  I think even more important than the votes is that we should know the 
character of Bill Natcher. I have three Members from the other side of 
the aisle who really touched me and helped me, especially when I was a 
freshman. One was John Lewis, and another was Craig Washington. And I 
say, yes, Craig, I will support you.
  The other one was Bill Natcher. But I was madder than a hornet at 
Bill Natcher one day when he was on the other side of the aisle and we 
were arguing and debating an issue. Being a hot-headed freshman, I was 
steaming. Bill Natcher walked over to this inexperienced freshman and 
put his arm around me, and he said, ``Duke, you know, in Kentucky, we 
have these young horses that run and they get so much adrenaline that 
they break their legs and we have to shoot them.''
  I thought, man, he is threatening me. Then he looked at me and put 
his arm around me and he said, ``Duke, if you will just slow down a 
bit, I'll show you how to win the race.''
  And more than just win the race, he did help me. It is that kind of 
leadership that I think all of us enjoyed.
  Mr. ROGERS. Bill Natcher, our hearts and our prayers are with you for 
a quick and speedy return to your place.

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