[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 15, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 15, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 THE RETIREMENT OF THE HONORABLE HAMILTON FISH, JR., MEMBER OF CONGRESS

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret that I rise to inform 
our colleagues of the unanticipated announcement by our colleague, the 
gentleman from New York, Representative Hamilton Fish, Jr., of his 
intention to retire at the end of this Congress. This is an irreparable 
loss for our region, our State, and for the Congress.
  Ham Fish has been an inspiration to all of us and to the American 
people. His 26 years of dedicated service in this chamber is a 
benchmark of public service that will not soon be duplicated. His 
outstanding leadership, his intellect, his dedication and his sterling 
character will be greatly missed.
  Since his first election to Congress in 1968, Ham Fish impressed this 
Chamber and the entire Nation with his selfless devotion to public 
service. His brilliant legal mind was demonstrated in the spotlight of 
the Watergate crisis when, as a junior member of the House Judiciary 
Committee, we had the benefit of his dedication to upholding 
constitutional law and his insistence on integrity.
  Having since risen to the position of ranking Republican on the 
Judiciary Committee, Ham Fish led the fight to strengthen our civil 
rights laws and the judicial process. His crusade on behalf of a 
realistic and equitable immigration law is one of the many ways he was 
of immeasurable service to our Nation. He always maintained close 
contact with his own constituency and the people of the Hudson Valley 
always knew he could be counted on as a leading spokesperson for the 
interests of our region.
  Ham Fish brought to this chamber a long family tradition of public 
service. His father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather blazed 
a path in this Chamber which would have been difficult for any 
individual to follow. Ham did so in a manner which would have made his 
forbearers and all Americans proud.
  I extend best wishes for good health and happiness to Ham, to his 
wife Mary Ann, and his entire family. I assure them that he will be 
sorely missed in the Congress and by the many Americans who looked up 
to his particular brand of Public Service leadership and devoted 
Americanism.

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