[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        FORMER REPRESENTATIVE SEIBERLING'S TRIBUTE TO PAT KRAUSE

                                 ______


                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 1994

  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Natural 
Resources lost a dedicated and respected former staff member recently 
with the passing of Ms. Patricia Krause. Pat's detailed knowledge of 
territorial issue and her major contributions to the work of the 
committee over many years of service are appreciated by all those with 
whom she worked.
  Our former colleague, John F. Seiberling, worked closely with Pat 
when he chaired the Subcommittee on Public Lands. He has written a 
tribute to her, which I would like to include in the Record at this 
point.

       Patricia A. Krause, a former member of the staff of the 
     Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, died on February 
     23, 1994, after a long battle with cancer. Having worked 
     closely with her in my years on the Committee, I thought it 
     would be fitting to write this letter for insertion in the 
     Congressional Record.
       In the 1970's, the late Congressman Phillip Burton of 
     California became chairman of the Subcommittee on Territorial 
     and Insular Affairs. The Subcommittee's jurisdiction included 
     the islands of Micronesia, which were administered by the 
     United States under a United Nations trusteeship. Pat Krause 
     was a Committee staffer working on the complex social, 
     political, and human problems involved in overseeing the 
     administration of these islands and working out our nation's 
     future relationships with the people of that vast area of the 
     South Pacific.
       In 1981, Phil Burton decided to accept chairmanship of a 
     subcommittee of another House committee, which meant giving 
     up the chairmanship of his Interior subcommittee. Phil 
     insisted, with his usual persuasiveness, that the Pacific 
     Trust Territories jurisdiction be transferred to the Public 
     Lands Subcommittee, which I chaired. This sizable expansion 
     of my subcommittee's jurisdiction came just as the Executive 
     Branch was getting ready to submit to Congress the proposed 
     Compact of Free Association, by which the Pacific island 
     nations were to become independent while retaining military 
     and economic relations with the United States.
       Fortunately for Congress and for the people of Micronesia, 
     Pat Krause agreed to continue as the staff person dealing 
     with Trust Territory affairs. Pat was a big person in every 
     sense of the word. Her knowledge of the personalities and her 
     intellectual grasp of the issues in each of the political 
     entities was really amazing. She was simply indispensable to 
     me and other members of the Subcommittee.
       But Pat Krause had something even more important--she had a 
     big heart. This came to the fore as the Committee battled the 
     bureaucrats of the Reagan administration and their allies in 
     Congress over the terms of the Compact and implementing 
     legislation. The Committee was determined that the United 
     States meet its moral obligations to the people of 
     Micronesia, and Pat helped us develop the specific measures 
     to implement that abstract goal. Her knowledge was matched by 
     her compassion.
       Pat's qualities of mind and spirit were all the more 
     compelling because along with them went a great sense of 
     humor. Many a tense session was suddenly relaxed by her 
     piercing wit and rollicking laugh. Above all, Pat never lost 
     an opportunity to be a warm and helpful friend. Those who 
     knew her can never forget her.
                                               John F. Seiberling.