[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 111 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   BOB WEHR: AN OUTSTANDING AMERICAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Hancock] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HANCOCK. Mr. Speaker, to listen to some of my liberal colleagues 
here in Congress, and to the biased liberal news media, you would think 
that businessmen are the root of all evil. We are always hearing about 
heartless businessmen who are oppressing the working man, polluting the 
environment, and so on.
  Our popular culture--through movies, television shows, and political 
rhetoric--has developed a negative image of businessmen. Well, I am 
proud to be a small businessman in the real world. I am proud of the 
jobs our company has created. And I am proud of the hard work I did, 
prior to being elected to Congress, building up a going enterprise, 
providing a valuable service to our customers and society.
  It is time we started to look at what is right with American 
business, instead of unfairly vilifying the people who take all the 
risks to provide the jobs and prosperity for out Nation. Oh, there are 
some bad apples, to be sure. But you get that with every sector of 
society. Even the United States Congress is known to have a bad apple 
or two. I think it is time we started paying honor and tribute to the 
good apples--the men and women who have lived the American dream, 
founded companies, and prospered by it.
  Today I would like to pay special tribute to a constituent of mine: 
Mr. Bob Wehr. Bob Wehr, now 69 years old, founded his company, Aarons 
Automotive Products, in 1959. He had the vision and the initiative to 
take a risk and fill a unique niche in the marketplace, rebuilding 
automatic transmissions. He took the risks, started a business, and 
over the course of 35 years grew it to its present size--employing 
around 800 people. And, of course, he made some money. He was so 
successful that recently he retired and sold the business for a large 
sum of money to investors who want to expand his business and create 
even more jobs. And the company is in very good hands. His son, Jim 
Wehr, who has worked in the family business since he was a teenager, 
will succeed Bob as president.
  But Bob Wehr also did another very generous thing. When he announced 
to his employees, all assembled on the shop floor of his plant, his 
plans to retire and sell the company, he also told them he was taking 
$2.5 million of the profits from the sale of his company and paying 
them all bonuses--in gratitude for their loyal service.
  That is what America is all about. Working hard, taking risks, and 
reaping the rewards--while living by a code of rock-solid integrity and 
kind-hearted generosity. Bob Wehr is definitely one of the good guys. 
And Bob Wehr is a lot more like the other business people and 
entrepreneurs I know than the evil characters dreamt up by left-wing 
politicians and our liberal friends in Hollywood.
  Bob Wehr did not need union demands to treat his workers fairly or 
honestly--indeed, his workers, like most working men and women in 
America, never had a need or desire to unionize. In fact, when the 
option to unionize was proposed, the employees voted it down 2-to-1.
  Bob Wehr did not need some government bureaucrat or know-it-all 
Member of Congress to tell him how to run his company cleanly, safely, 
and honestly--and, yes, he has provided his employees health care 
benefits. Like most American businessmen, he just did it.
  When you see someone like Bob Wehr and you think about the Democrat 
rhetoric bashing the wealthy, calling for punishing taxes on the rich, 
you just want to shake sense into them.
  There is nothing wrong with being successful. In fact, it is 
something this country used to encourage. Successful people should be 
praised and emulated. They deserve our respect for what they have 
accomplished. They are examples for us and our children. After all, 
don't we all at least aspire to be successful? Wouldn't we all like to 
be rich? Isn't that what we want for our kids and grandkids--financial 
security and success?
  If we expect to prosper as a Nation, we need to encourage people to 
do what Bob Wehr did, not tax and regulate them out of existence.
  We need to encourage, foster, and nurture entrepreneurship. We need 
to look to the business sector again as the positive, productive sector 
of our society. We need to give credit where credit is due to Bob Wehr 
and outstanding Great Americans just like him.

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