[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     TRIBUTE TO HON. HAMILTON FISH

                                 ______


                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 24, 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, all of us are aware and are saddened by the 
pending and premature retirement of our colleague, the gentleman from 
New York [Mr. Fish].
  Some of our periodicals in the Hudson Valley of New York share our 
sense of loss and have expressed this regret editorially.
  I would like to share with our colleagues in the Congress two 
articulate and poignant editorials. The first appeared in the Sentinel, 
a weekly newspaper published in New Windsor, NY. The second was 
published by the Times Herald Record, a daily tabloid from my home town 
of Middletown, NY, which points to Congressman Fish's career as ``a 
two-word argument against setting term limits for Members of 
Congress.''
  Mr. Speaker, I request consent to print both editorials in the 
Congressional Record at this point:

                   [From the Sentinel, Mar. 17, 1994]

                           The End Of An Era?

       With his announcement Monday, Congressman Hamilton Fish, 
     Jr. became the second local political veteran to announce 
     that he wouldn't be running for reelection in November. 
     Unlike Assemblyman Lawrence Bennett, who made his 
     announcement last week, Fish cited health reasons for his 
     decision.
       For the people of the Mid-Hudson Valley, Fish's 
     announcement could mean the end of perhaps the longest 
     continuous political dynasty in American History. The Fish 
     family involvement in government and politics predates the 
     Declaration of Independence.
       Col. Nicholas Fish served in the Revolutionary War and was 
     the first Adjutant General in the State of New York.
       His son, Hamilton Fish was a Governor of New York, U.S. 
     Congressman, U.S. Senator, Secretary of State under President 
     Grant and turned down an appointment as Chief Justice of the 
     Supreme Court by Grant because he felt he was underqualified.
       His son, Hamilton Fish, Jr., was an eleven-term state 
     Assemblyman and a U.S. Congressman.
       His son, Hamilton Fish, Sr., was an All-American football 
     star at Harvard, commander of an all-black regiment in World 
     War I, co-founded the American Legion, served in the New York 
     State Assembly, and was, for 25 years, this area's 
     representative in Congress.
       And his son, Hamilton Fish, Jr., announced Monday, that 
     after 25 years, he was leaving the House of Representatives.
       Senator Edward Kennedy said of the Fish family, ``When 
     people talk to day of the `Kennedy Dynasty' in politics, I 
     reply that we're Johnny-come-latelys compared to the Fishes! 
     What an extraordinary family, and what an extraordinary 
     service they have given our country.''
       Ham Fish, Jr. had some legacy to live up to. And he did. A 
     thoughtful, intelligent man, he represents an individual that 
     is all too rare today--a statesman. In this era of media 
     politics and sound-byte ideology, Congressman Fish knew very 
     well that his job was not as a politician, but as a 
     representative of his constituents. He did that job to the 
     best of his abilities.
       There is, of course, another Hamilton Fish, the 
     congressman's son. He has sought office before and may do so 
     again. If he does, he will have a long shadow cast over him. 
     A shadow of public service that's more than 200 years long.
                                  ____


             [From the Times Herald Record, Mar. 19, 1994]

                              An Era Ends

       Want to hear a two-word argument against setting term 
     limits for members of Congress?
       Ham Fish.
       Thirteen terms representing the people of the 19th 
     Congressional District of New York. A quarter of a century of 
     public service marked by consistency, common sense and 
     civility. (And how's that for an arcane word to use in 
     connection with a politician today?)
       Having carried on in the tradition of his father, the late 
     Hamilton Fish Sr., who also served in Congress for a quarter 
     of a century, Hamilton Fish Jr. is not seeking re-election 
     because he has more pressing business: a battle with a 
     recurrence of cancer.
       Otherwise, the Dutchess County resident would be running 
     for his 14th term this fall and opponents would be arguing 
     that he had been in Washington, too long that it was time for 
     a change. It's the only argument they had--weak as it was--
     because Fish has put those 13 terms to good use.
       He is one of the few remaining voices of moderate 
     Republicanism in the House, a congressman who doesn't 
     automatically spout the increasingly conservative party line 
     or go for the jugular merely to score political points. He 
     votes his own mind, notably on social issues. He co-sponsored 
     the Equal Rights Amendment. As a member of the House 
     Judiciary Committee, he was one of the first Republicans to 
     call for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon.
       Locally, Fish has been a strong advocate for cleaning up 
     the Hudson River and a conscientious monitor of West Point. 
     He has fought a perennial fight to gain more federal funding 
     for the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery School District, which 
     is heavily affected by the presence of West Point.
       Through his seniority, the 67-year-old Fish has gained a 
     position of prominence on the Judiciary Committee and--agree 
     or disagree with his views--has become a voice to be listened 
     to in debates about criminal justice. If he has been too 
     cautious for some at times, he has never been crass in his 
     comments. Another anomaly that--a politician who thinks 
     before he speaks.
       Ham Fish is retiring after 26 years in Congress. In that, 
     he became as much a dynasty as his father, who lived to 101. 
     May the family tradition of longevity continue with the son 
     as well.

                          ____________________