[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO JAMIE L. WHITTEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hilliard). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Parker]. is recognized for 
60 minutes.
  Mr. PARKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
[Mrs. Kennelly].
  Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt running for office has 
become more challenging. In some cases down right negative and there 
are those that say this body has gotten more negative.
  We have among us a Member who has served his district and his Nation 
exceedingly well, longer than any other Member in history, and never 
would you associate the word negative with this Member. He has served 
in the style of a true gentleman--our friend from Mississippi, the 
honorable Jamie Whitten.
  I first got to know Chairman Whitten shortly after I came to 
Washington. I was a new Member, still trying to grow accustomed to 
Congress. He was, of course, the chairman of the House Appropriations 
Committee. There was little reason why he should get to know a freshman 
from Connecticut, who was not even on his committee, but he did, and he 
made me feel genuinely welcome.
  Chairman Whitten taught me a great deal about Congress. He showed all 
of us how to serve your Nation, while always tending to your 
constituents at home. And he taught us that no matter how heated the 
debate, how large the disagreements, it was always possible--always 
preferable--to behave as a gentleman or gentlewoman.
  We owe out thanks to the men and women of Mississippi's First 
Congressional District, for sending Chairman Whitten to Washington for 
so many years. And we owe our extreme gratitude to a man who served his 
country, and in doing so, served us all.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. PARKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
[Mrs. Kennelly].
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Mississippi [Mr. Parker], for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from 
Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery], the dean of the Mississippi delegation 
after Mr. Whitten, for taking out these two special orders to honor an 
extraordinary American, who at first blush appears to be a very 
ordinary American. And that perhaps is his genius, and indeed it is the 
genius of the American system that we take men and women from around 
the country and have them come before their neighbors and friends and 
ask to represent them in the People's House, which we call the House of 
Representatives.
  The genius of our system is that the people select so often people of 
rare quality, intellect and honesty.
  I have had the privilege of serving under Mr. Whitten since being 
elected to the Appropriations Committee back in December 1982, serving 
since January 1983, some 11 years. When I first went to the State 
Senate of Maryland, I was 27 years of age, and there was an individual 
there on the Finance Committee, to which I was appointed, whose name 
was William Hodges. We called him ``Biff'' Hodges. He had been a 
professional boxer. I believe he had also worked on the docks in 
Baltimore, and he was much different than Steny Hoyer, who was fresh 
out of Georgetown Law School. It was then that I first came to realize 
the genius of our system, because, like Chairman Whitten, he knew his 
district as well as any of us. Not only did he know his district but he 
represented his district as well as any, and better than most.
  Chairman Whitten, as was alluded to by my friend, the gentleman from 
Mississippi, sometimes speaks in a manner that does not render itself 
immediately to being deciphered easily, but the meanings of his 
statements are always clear and to the point.
  The gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Parker], mentioned a number of 
programs that have impacted on rural America. He indicated correctly 
that Mr. Whitten was instrumental in the adoption and application of 
those programs to the improvement of the lives of those who live in 
rural America.
  Chairman Whitten has been called the real Secretary of Agriculture. 
Let me say this to the gentleman: Mr. Chairman, I wish that I had at my 
fingertips the numbers of Secretaries of Agriculture who have served 
under you. I do not know that number, but it is, I am sure, almost 20-
plus, if not more. And all of them came to know very quickly what all 
of us here know, that no one in this land or in this Congress knows the 
Department of Agriculture and the laws that deal with agriculture 
better than Chairman Whitten. I was always impressed, Mr. Chairman, 
when you would speak in our appropriations markups, particularly in the 
early 1980's, when we were doing so much by reconciliation bills and 
omnibus appropriation bills. We were unable to pass individual 
appropriation bills, and you talked about what was good for America. 
You talked about what was good for the people of America, and you then 
talked about the real value in America, and you pointed out that that 
was in the land and in its people.
  Frankly, Mr. Chairman, I did not understand as well in the early 
years as I came to understand later the depth of your understanding and 
the wisdom that you related to those of us on the Appropriations 
Committee, this Congress, and the American public.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say this to the gentleman: Mr. Chairman, no one 
has surpassed you in the years of service to this House. You are an 
historic individual in that context. All of us who have served with you 
are honored to have done so. All of us who have served with you will 
talk to our grandchildren about the gentleman from Mississippi, 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, a man who reflected the best 
of his community and a deep devotion to his state and to his country.
  Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your leadership and your devotion and 
the wisdom you have imparted to those of us who have served with you. I 
join my friend, the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Parker], and your 
friends in Mississippi in wishing you and Mrs. Whitten many, many years 
of happiness as we will hopefully continue to rely on the wisdom that 
you have given to us over the years we have served together.
  God bless you, Mr. Chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Parker] for 
yielding.
  Mr. PARKER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will defer for just a 
moment, let me tell a little story.
  When I first came to Congress, I went to see Mr. Whitten in his 
office there off the House floor. We were just talking, and I asked Mr. 
Whitten, ``When you were a younger man, did you ever think about 
running for President?''
  In that room there was a picture of a former chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee. He said, ``That is a picture of Garfield.'' 
He said, ``He was the last chairman of the Appropriations Committee who 
ran for President, and he was shot, so I decided I wasn't going to do 
that.''
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I guess that reflects on the chairman's 
wisdom.
  Mr. PARKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. 
Ford].
  Mr. FORD of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding. I did not request any time earlier, but I do thank the 
gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Parker] for allowing me to speak.
  I join with my colleagues, and especially those from Mississippi, in 
offering commendations to this great warrior. Over the years we have 
served in adjacent districts. Although I am from Tennessee and Mr. 
Whitten is from Mississippi, our two districts abut each other, and my 
hometown, I guess, represents the media market for his congressional 
district.
  But in 1975, in January, when I was first elected to come to this 
body to represent the then Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee, 
it was Jamie Whitten who not only offered the leadership and the 
counsel to any new Member, but offered it to one who, coming from 
Mississippi, but thought enough of the Memphis community to see that a 
new Representative coming into the halls of Congress was welcome, and 
so he was interested in working very closely with a freshman who was 
known as a Watergate baby, one who probably did not have a safe 
district, but one who would work closely with him so he could explain 
not only the legislative process, but use his influence as chairman of 
the Appropriations Committee to make sure that my area was well-
represented in these Halls of Congress.

                              {time}  1510

  We often know that being a freshman Member of this body, there is not 
too much you can get accomplished around this place in the first term. 
But it was because of his leadership, it was because of him, a man who 
loves this body, one who loves the people that he represents, but not 
only that one who has shown the type of respect for his other 
colleagues and has worked with him over the years.
  I just want to join with all of you today and join with the people of 
his congressional district to say we thank the dean of the whole House 
of Representatives here in this body. We thank Jamie Whitten for being 
such a great warrior over the years and meaning so much to this nation 
and all of the people throughout American people and throughout this 
world. His voice, his commitment, and his dedication, has been one that 
we all can say we have admired over the years, and we thank you very 
much, Chairman Whitten.
  Mr. PARKER. I would like to yield to the gentleman from Texas, the 
chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Mr. de la Garza.
  Mr. De la Garza. I thank my colleague. I would like to join with all 
of the Members that have had the praise and kind words for Chairman 
Whitten. I assure you that I wholeheartedly agree with all of them. He 
is not only a great American, but he has been a great Member of this 
House as dean of the House.
  When I first came to Congress, the gentleman from Texas, George 
Mahon, had just become chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, but 
already James Whitten was chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee. We 
both progressed until Mr. Mahon left and Chairman Whitten assumed the 
responsibilities as chairman.
  Eventually I assumed the responsibilities as chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture, and all of us know the responsibilities. 
Sometimes there is a little thin line where I felt probably the 
authorizing committee had not been properly deferred to from the 
appropriations part. But in the end, everything always worked right, 
because the chairman would listen to, work with, and cooperate with us 
in our mutual endeavors.
  So, very briefly, let me just say if you mention agriculture, you 
cannot separate the name of Jamie Whitten. We wish him well in his 
retirement. Hopefully somehow, somewhere, some day, the full 
recognition that he deserves will come to the forefront.
  Mr. Chairman, we congratulate and commend the gentleman. But most of 
all, on behalf of the American people and all of agriculture, we thank 
you for your contribution.
  Mr. PARKER. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time it would be my pleasure to yield to the 
distinguished dean of the House of Representative [Mr. Whitten].
  Mr. WHITTEN. I just want to say thank you to my colleagues, to Sonny 
Montgomery, to my other colleagues from Mississippi, and to the 
membership altogether. I also wanted to say thank you to my immediate 
family, who have put up with me spending so much of my time in public 
affairs--my wife, Rebecca, and my children, Jamie, Jr., and Beverly.
  I just hope that we can do as well in the future as we have in the 
past, because I am proud of the past. And I believe we have a good 
foundation on which to build.
  May I say again, from a grateful heart, I appreciate everything that 
has been said and everything that has been done through the years on my 
behalf. I hope I have lived up to my trust. I certainly intended to and 
have tried to.
  Again Mike, I want to say thank you to you and to Sonny for arranging 
this special order. I appreciate so very much everything that has 
happened to me in my experience in Congress, before that as district 
attorney, and before that in the State legislature.
  I have tried to live up to my obligation through the years.
  I want to end up by saying thank you all. God bless you.
  Mr. PARKER. Thank you, Mr. Whitten. In a very personal way, Mr. 
Whitten, as dean of the House, I just want you to know our Nation owes 
you a tremendous amount of gratitude for all you have given us, and we 
will always be in your debt.

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