[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 136 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO HON. ALFRED A. McCANDLESS ON HIS RETIREMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] is recognized for 60 minutes as 
the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to rise this 
evening and take the time of the House to join with a number of my 
colleagues to express our appreciation to one of our colleagues who has 
decided to do some other things with his life. My friend, the gentleman 
from California, Al McCandless, is going to be, at the end of this 
session, returning to the beautiful California desert. He and his 
lovely bride, Gail, will enjoy many days without the pressures of roll 
call votes and sometimes crazy schedules such as we experience around 
this place.
  Over the years, Mr. Speaker, Al McCandless and I have developed a 
very, very close personal friendship.
  We have worked together on countless numbers of issues. You have all 
experienced desert protection with us, maybe for longer than you might 
have liked; questions of flood control, endangered species, just to 
name a few.
  While most people know of our friendship, Mr. Speaker, a lot of 
people are not aware of the fact that our friendship was not early in 
the making. Al McCandless and Jerry Lewis from time to time have done 
battle themselves. When I was a member of the State legislature, Mr. 
Speaker, and Al McCandless was the supervisor in Riverside County, I 
was involved in an item relating to air quality that would reorganize 
the way air quality standards and regulations were developed in 
southern California.
  I would be less than accurate if I suggested that Al McCandless was 
in total agreement with my position. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, 
his position did not relate to the fact that he was a car dealer, for 
he was concerned about smong as well. The reality was that we had a 
fundamental disagreement about the way that process should go forward 
in southern California. Those discussions led to public debate. It was 
an interesting exchange. I still did not know Al McCandless very well.
  Mr. Speaker, as an aside, I might mention that while he continued to 
serve on the board of supervisors, Al McCandless served on that very 
air quality management district board, and served with great 
distinction; indeed, to such a level of accomplishment that upon his 
retirement, and his coming to Washington, they decided to name their 
new building where the public now holds forth on air quality issues 
after my colleague Al McCandless.
  Years later, Mr. Speaker, following those debates in the early 
1970's, Al and I found overselves serving together here in the Congress 
from adjacent counties. Riverside and San Bernardino County are among 
the most rapidly growing areas in the entire United States. There is 
little question, Mr. Speaker, that few people have had the privilege of 
representing so many in such a short period of time. Once Al decided to 
come to the Congress, his district continued this explosion of growth. 
At the time of our last redistricting, his own district involved almost 
1 million people.

                              {time}  1920

  Al represented the diversity of his district and those vary large 
numbers extremely well.
  It is no small amount of irony that in spite of huge population 
growth, Al has continued to focus upon the very special problems of the 
desert. Literally, Mr. Speaker, there is no one in the House, no one in 
either body, who begins to understand the desert as well as Al 
McCandless does. He was born in Brawley with sand in his shoes, or at 
least between his toes. He is a fellow who is very very sensitive to 
the value of open spaces and the interests of people who love and 
understand the desert. He is sensitive to making sure that they can 
continue to use it while we all work together to preserve it.
  It has been said by more than a few of his friends that you can take 
Al McCandless out of the desert but absolutely no way you can ever take 
the desert and the spirit of those wonderful people out of Al 
McCandless.
  People may not know about our good friend's amazing array of 
impressions that he continues to leave with us. He is a guy with a dry 
sense of humor who jokes all the time.
  One of his more interesting impressions on the House floor, reflects 
that. I will never forget during the debate on the desert bill, Al 
giving us his own impression of a cow foraging for food in the 
California desert. It caused our staff to almost die of laughter on the 
House floor as he munched away. Tears came to their eyes, but they know 
one more time it was vintage Al McCandless.
  In all seriousness, Mr. Speaker, all of us who live and work in the 
desert and love it most owe Al McCandless  an enormous debt of 
gratitude for his work on our behalf. Al, the citizens of my district, 
the people of San Bernardino and Inyo Counties thank you sincerely for 
the hard work you have done. It will not be forgotten by those of us 
who share these interests with you, my friend.
  There is another side of Al--the warm and cuddly side. Her name is 
Gail and she is his bride who is with us up in the gallery this 
evening. Gail is a very, very special friend as well as a fantastic 
lady. She is, beyond being beautiful, a person who has had an enormous 
effect on our friend Al McCandless. In the old days we used to call him 
Old Stone Face, because you could never tell what the guy was thinking. 
He was always serious about issues, but you could never quite penetrate 
that brick wall. Gail showed us that he really does under that surface 
have more than just a sense of humor. Beyond doing that with Al, she 
also taught him a lot. Back in the days when he was kicking tires, Al 
McCandless was not used to work around the house. Since that, has 
taught him that a husband's responsibility may be much broader than 
just the cars or the work on the House floor. There is work to be done 
around the home as well.
  Not so long ago, I think it was on a Saturday, Gail was out shopping. 
She left Al with a list of chores. Among other things, he was to wash 
the huge window that overlooks the area of the cathedral in their home 
in Washington, DC. He took a pail of water, went out on the balcony 
with appropriate rags and slid the door shut. Surprising to him, the 
door locked. This is on the sixth floor where their condo is located. 
It was cold outside.

  So after 15 or 20 minutes, Al started to yell and he could not get 
anybody's attention. More and more time went by. Finally there was a 
retired colonel the next floor up who is hearing this ruckus. He came 
out, looked over the balcony and heard Al, and handed him a blanket to 
stay warm.
  As it turned out, this guy went out to try to find the manager who 
was somewhere across town.
  Eventually, they got Al off the balcony. But, Gail, in spite of that 
incident has been a great contribution to putting cracks in that stone 
face that I talked about.
  Al is a phenomenal guy with an amazing sense of humor. He is one of 
the few people I know in our business who with great regularity finds 
that he can laugh at himself, something all of us need to remember in 
the more serious and contentious moments of this place.
  There are any number of other items that I might mention regarding Al 
McCandless and I may continue at another point in this discussion.
  In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I think I should yield to some of my 
colleagues.


                             general leave

  Mr. LEWIS of California. As I go about doing that, Mr. Speaker, I 
would ask unanimous consent that all the Members have 5 legislative 
days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous 
material in the Record regarding this special order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Penny). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call on my 
colleague, a member of the Democratic leadership from northern 
California, Mr. Vic Fazio.
  Mr. FAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for yielding. I 
do not want to destroy his confidence, he is doing so well, but he has 
yet to crack the stone face of the gentleman from California [Mr. 
McCandless] in the back. All the efforts so far employed have not. I 
think we finally saw the corner of his mouth went up there for a 
second.
  It is worth every effort to make the gentleman from California [Mr. 
McCandless] smile, but it is that wry, dry sense of humor that we have 
all come to appreciate and to enjoy. I particularly applaud the 
gentleman's effort to make this a Sayonara for both Al and the Gail. 
This is a couple who have enjoyed Washington, and we have enjoyed them.
  Mr. LEWIS. I am not sure we would have done it if it were not for 
Gail.
  Mr. FAZIO. I am not sure if we want to go that far. That might get 
under Al's skin. But there is no question we do want to say good-bye to 
both of them because they truly have been important to the California 
delegation and to our presence in this town. Al is someone who came 
here as a public servant from local government, a small businessman, 
and auto dealer, who enjoyed serving his community. I think he has 
taken the time he has put in Washington in perspective. Some of us 
never quite get the proper perspective, but he has had it. He 
understood that he was not here for a career. He had one of those. He 
understood he was here to make a continuing contribution to the people 
of Riverside County. He has done it consistently, he has done it with a 
great deal of grace, and I think he has done it in the classic way that 
has really made him an important element of our delegation. We are 
renowned for our differences, north and south, conservative and 
liberal, Democratic and Republican, coastal and mountain and desert. I 
think despite all of our divisions, we do occasionally get together, 
and when we do, it is usually people like Al McCandless who are 
integral to that, part of the effort to bring us together around the 
fact that we come from a very large, unique and diverse State.
  I have enjoyed the fact that Al's contribution has been whenever 
possible bipartisan. We have worked together on all kinds of issues for 
the communities he represents. He has been good to those of us from my 
end of the State. We have not fought about water. We have figured out 
how we could make the best use of what we had. I applaud his effort, 
and I think it is the kind of model that our delegation needs to cite 
for the future. He is the kind of person, the way he has performed his 
job, that probably ought to be a guidance to the younger Members 
joining us here who sometimes think all we do is sharpen our partisan 
knives. I think we will miss Al for that perspective. I certainly hope 
that he will stay in touch with us. I really believe that the people of 
Riverside County could not have had better, more effective 
representation in the time that he has served them here. I think he is 
wise to take the opportunity to go back to La Quinta to enjoy not only 
his district but his family and the opportunity to look back on a 
career that really includes a tremendous amount of public service and 
good work done for the people who had the confidence to elect him to so 
many offices for such a long period of time.
  I want to thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] for letting 
our delegation from California get together and other Members of 
Congress who work with Al. I thank the gentleman for letting me be part 
of this effort.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. LEWIS of California. I thank very much Vic Fazio. I agree with 
you that our delegation has learned a lot by the service of Al 
McCandless. Many of our problems are not just purely partisan, and I 
think Al reflects what policymaking is all about in that connection.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to a classmate, the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. 
Dan Burton.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say as Vic has 
shaken hands with Al, that is one of the rare occasions where Vic Fazio 
and I agree 100 percent, and it is kind of nice to know that on Indo-
American relations he is I think the only classmate of Al's that is in 
attendance tonight. Just let me just say we were elected together back 
in 1982 and we took office in 1983 together and there were 26 of us, 
and that number has dwindled dramatically. And that was one of the 
nicest groups of people that I ever had the pleasure to work with, and 
Al McCandless was one of the outstanding Members of that 1983 Congress 
class, and we are certainly going to miss him. and we are going to miss 
his lovely wife, Gail. I know she is going to keep you under wraps out 
there in California and try and get your arm back in shape and to get 
your golf game rehoned and get you back on the links.
  On behalf of all of the Members of the 1983 class, we are going to 
miss you, Al.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Indiana and I very much appreciate his participation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Kennedy], a good friend of Al's who works with him on the Committee on 
Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for 
yielding. And let me thank Jerry Lewis and Bob Wise and so many others 
for putting this together for a good friend and a fine colleague, Al 
McCandless. It has been a great pleasure serving with Al McCandless for 
the last 8 years on the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban 
Affairs, including the past 2 years as both chairman and ranking member 
of the Consumer Credit Subcommittee.
  Al and I do not see eye to eye on a lot of issues. In fact, I was 
trying to think of one in which I actually see eye to eye, and I was 
stumped. But he has a great guidepost because every time Al votes no, I 
know to vote yes and, every time he votes yes, I vote no. So it has 
been a wonderful channel marker to be able to mark our service 
together.
  But despite the fact that we might not agree on a lot of the issues, 
I have always found Al McCandless to be truly one of the most honorable 
and decent individuals that I have ever worked with. He is a man of his 
word. He has a fine staff, and he has a heart of gold. He is always 
looking out after the interests of the people.
  But I would just like to point out that Al brings a tremendous and 
unique quality to much of the debate on the Banking Committee by being 
able to cut through so much of the jargon and all of the complicated 
issues that we deal with and Al has the interest of cutting through the 
paperwork, cutting through the bureaucracy, trying to make certain that 
we find ways to get businesses, small businesses in particular the 
loans they need, and he calls upon the experience that he has had in 
starting his own business and making it grow into great prosperity and 
brings those skills to the Banking Committee.

  I honestly believe that, and I say that it was with great regret that 
I heard that Al was going to retire, because I think that he does in 
fact bring a very healthy perspective to the Congress, and particularly 
to that committee. He does a fine job. I hope that he considers me a 
friend because I certainly consider him to be one, and I think that he 
has made a great contribution to business, but a more important 
contribution to his country. I wish more Americans had the same sense 
of obligation, of giving back something to this country that Al 
McCandless has.
  Although I do not think we have met Mrs. McCandless, I wish you all 
of the best. I hope you take good care of AL and that he takes good 
care of you back in California. Thank you, Al, for the years together.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, while you and I are going to be 
working away here, he and Gail are going to be having a good time 
enjoying his retirement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Congressman 
Bill Clinger, who works with Al on the Committee on Government 
Operations.
  Mr. CLINGER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
California and the gentleman from West Virginia, Mr. Bob Wise, for 
calling this special order to honor a gentleman who has made an 
incredible contribution to the body, and as the ranking member on the 
Committee on Government Operations where I have been privileged to 
serve with Al for all of these many years I want to just get in the 
Record the really major contributions that he has made to the work of 
the Committee on Government Operations over the years.
  He has been a valued and very hardworking member of the committee for 
12 years, and during that time I have come to know him as a good friend 
and an absolutely reliable colleague, somebody when he told you what he 
was going to do, he did it. There was never any question of where Al 
stood on anything because he was absolutely reliable.
  He first served as ranking member on the Government Operations old 
Subcommittee on Government Activities and Transportation. During his 
time there, he took on very effectively GSA's occasionally unwise 
public building conveyances and forced the General Services 
Administration to rethink its Federal real estate disposal process. And 
as the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Government Information, 
Justice and Agriculture, he worked with the subcommittee chairman, Bob 
Wise, who is the cosponsor of this special order, to examine our 
national drug control policies. Together they really challenged the 
Departments of Justice, State and Defense to fulfill their roles in 
protecting America's youth by curbing our children's exposure to 
dangerous drugs.

  Al has also fought long and hard to improve coordination and reduce 
duplication in the Department of Agriculture's massive bureaucracy, an 
effort which I think is even now bearing fruit, a challenge which has 
since been taken up and followed and hopefully will be followed by this 
administration.
  Finally, as the current ranking member on the Government Operations 
really flagship Subcommittee on Legislation and National Security, Al 
McCandless has been able to focus on the issues which concern him most, 
and those issues are the Federal budget process and our burgeoning 
national debt, and also to focus on our international security and the 
effectiveness of our national defense, and yet again this country's 
ongoing battle with illegal narcotics.
  He has earned the respect and admiration of the committees he has 
served with. He has been persistent in pursuing these issues and 
bringing many things to light that otherwise might not have occurred.
  Even though he has taken on the challenges of major national issues, 
he has never forgotten the oft-cited adage of Tip O'Neill's that all 
politics are local, and some of Al's biggest fights were on matters 
closest to home.
  Certainly there are few of us who can easily forget the bill that 
would not die, the bill from hell, if you will, the California Desert 
Protection Act. After 4 weeks of listening to Al and Jerry Lewis and 
others expounding on tortoise rights-of-way, big sheep watering holes 
and desert mining technologies, I for one was glad to be an Easterner 
and did not have to deal with that.
  So even though Al is retiring he is not going to be settling down to 
a life of leisure. I know he and Gail, and mention has been made of 
Gail, and she has been a real partner in this effort. I might tell that 
she has been an example to my wife. On a recent occasion my wife badly 
sprained her ankle on a trip that we were on recently, and years ago 
when we were on a trip with the McCandlesses and Gail sprained her 
ankle rather badly, yet she carried on like the trooper that she is and 
attended all of the official functions, hobbling around, and when my 
wife sprained her ankle on this trip she said, ``If Gail McCandless can 
do it, I can do it.'' And she carried through. So Gail made a great 
contribution. But they are going to be spending time with their 
grandchildren, and I think are looking forward to building a new desert 
home, to which I am sure they will invite all of us when it is 
completed. I am positive that Al's wood shop is going to be busier than 
ever, and I have even heard that he plans to open the world's first 
Jiffy Lube for golf carts on his own back patio.
  But whatever he chooses to do I know both Al and Gail are going to be 
very much missed here, and the many contributions that they have made 
are greatly appreciated by all of us. Again I thank the gentleman for 
yielding to me.

                              {time}  1940

  Mr. LEWIS of California. I thank the gentleman very much. It is a 
pleasure to call upon California's Representative from our side of the 
aisle on the Committee on Rules, a good friend of Al McCandless and 
Gail's, the gentleman from California [Mr. Dreier].
  Mr. DREIER. I thank the gentleman very much.
  Let me say that I appreciate the fact that my colleague, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis], and the gentleman from West 
Virginia [Mr. Wise], have taken this time out for what is clearly an 
important but a difficult moment.
  More than 2 years ago I had a conversation with Al's wife, Gail, 
about the prospect of his not running for reelection. After several 
rather lengthy conversations, Gail and I were both finally able to get 
from Al the fact that he decided then to run for reelection, and we 
were very gratified by his decision then.
  But it was with a great deal of sadness when I did hear that Al made 
his decision not to seek reelection, because he has been, as Vic said, 
as Bill Clinger has said, as my colleague Steve Horn is saying in 
remarks that he is submitting for the Record, as Jerry has said, and I 
know others will say, a great friend, and he has brought, because of 
his vast experience in local government, a very important, less than 
partisan perspective. His work on the South Coast Air Quality 
Management District did, as Jerry pointed out, raise this issue to a 
very important level and, in fact, got Al's name on the building.
  I have testified there several times and had more than a few meetings 
as we have been in the midst of that battle. He has, with that local 
government experience, been able to, on the Committee on Banking, 
Finance and Urban Affairs and on the Committee on Government 
Operations, as has been said, bring this spirit that is needed to deal 
with some very controversial issues, but as he has worked diligently to 
maintain a degree of nonpartisanship and bipartisanship, he has never, 
in any way, moved from the principles on which he has stood since I 
assume he first got elective office at the local level, and certainly 
since he has come to the Congress.
  When I think of Al McCandless, I am often reminded of the father of 
conservatism, Edmond Burke, who in 1794 had a quote which is often used 
around here which I believe describes the way Al approached the issue 
of representation. Burke said:

       Your representative owes you not his industry only but his 
     judgment as well, and he betrays, rather than serves, if he 
     sacrifices it to your opinion.

  Now, that does not mean that Al has not regularly listened to his 
constituents, because he has, but he has known very well that he will 
have to live with his conscience longer than he will be living with the 
hundreds of thousands of people he has represented in southern 
California. So as he has looked at issues, he has not simply been the 
weather vane that often we see around this place; he has stood for 
principle. He has taken input from a wide range of people, but he has 
not in any way moved from those basic goals that he outlined as a 
candidate.
  The gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] talked about the stone face 
of Al McCandless, and I see a great likeness between Al McCandless and 
my father. My father was a Marine Corps drill instructor. As has been 
noted, Al was a Marine. The similarities to me are very great. Al, I am 
sure, is much, much younger than my father, but I should say that I 
often do think of Al and my father in the same light, and that is why, 
when I look at him, and he has provided me all kinds of sage advice; 
one time he told me rather than running down the hill that I should go 
down the hill and get all of them; I think that is the way the story 
went. I will not elaborate on it from there.
  He has provided me with friendship, advice, and counsel over the past 
several years. And I hope that when he does leave the House at the end 
of the 103d Congress that he will still let those of us who rely on him 
continue to do so in the future.
  I wish both Gail and Al McCandless well and look forward to many more 
years of friendship. We will miss them here in the Congress.
  I thank the gentleman, my friend, for yielding.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I thank the gentleman very much for 
participating.
  Al may remind you of your father, but, unfortunately, Al does not 
remind me of my father.
  Next it is my privilege to call upon my colleague, the gentleman from 
New Mexico [Mr. Schiff]. I thank the gentleman for being with us.
  Mr. SCHIFF. I thank the gentleman very much for inviting me to this 
special order.
  It is my privilege to be here. I want to explain particularly why.
  I was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the First 
District of New Mexico 6 years ago, in 1988. When I arrived here in 
1989, my first committee assignment was on the Committee on Government 
Operations.
  And, you know, we all know something about the Congress of the United 
States simply from high school civics, but high school civics teaches 
you the Congress from the philosophical point of view and from the 
legal point of view; in other words, two Houses of Congress and checks 
and balances and so forth. But every legislative body, from city 
council to State legislature to, especially, the Congress of the United 
States, has its own special history, its own special way of doing 
business, its own method of getting things done, and that is something 
they do not just teach you in any civics course. They do not teach you 
what committees have what jurisdiction, how do they operate with each 
other, and, frankly, from time to time who are the personalities, who 
are the senior members of those committees and how do they prefer to 
get business done. That you have to learn when you get here.
    
    
  When I got here in 1989, we were the smallest new class, called 
freshman class, for many, many years. There were only 33 new Members of 
the House of Representatives elected in 1988, and that includes 
Democrats and Republicans together. That is not just Republicans; that 
is everybody.
  So when there is that small of a brand-new freshman class, to say the 
least, there is not a lot of attention paid to the new Members.
  If ever there was a situation they wanted you to be seen and not 
heard, that was it. They did not altogether always want to see you, to 
tell you the truth.
  Nevertheless, the 33 of us had to begin our learning curve. The 
person I went to oftentimes when I had questions about what was before 
us and how it was being handled was a fellow and senior member of the 
Committee on Government Operations, Al McCandless from California, and 
no matter how often I wanted to bring something up, Al would always 
take the time to sit down and go over it and make sure that I 
understood. My questions were answered.
  The significance of that, of course, is that there are no special 
points in doing that. That is not something that you see done on C-
SPAN. It is not something that aids you with your constituents back 
home. It is just something Al did just to be a generous and down-to-
earth person.
  And, of course, times do change. In the last Congress, 1992, there 
were 110 freshmen, and I have now moved to the back row of the 
Committee on Government Operations where Al and I practically sit next 
to each other. I have never forgotten that experience. I have never 
forgotten that lesson.
  Now people who come in after me have the questions that I had. I 
remember a senior member took the time to help me out, and I try to 
take the time to help out those who have questions that I can answer.
  I just want to say to Al, I am very grateful for the counseling and 
mentorship that you gave me, and I wish you and Gail a happy, I hate to 
use the word retirement, because I do not think you are going to 
retire; I wish you a happy return to the State of California.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I thank the gentleman very much for his 
comments. The gentleman's comments regarding Al's work on the committee 
very much reflect his work in the House. Indeed, Al constantly has a 
handle on details. Most importantly, he uses them to help people for 
whom he cares.
  I would like next to call upon my cosponsor of this resolution, a 
great friend in the House, a Member who is not just helpful in this 
process, but is very helpful in reaching across the aisle in a fashion 
that makes the place work, the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise].
  Mr. WISE. I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis]. He is 
the one, of course, who did the work in putting this together. It was a 
pleasure, when you requested, to be able to cosign and come to the well 
and recognize all Al has done.
  Everything said about him, of course, including the great stone face 
is true. I can say, as one who served with Al 4 years, I was the 
nominally the chair and Al was nominally the ranking Member of our 
subcommittee on Government Operations, Government Information, Justice, 
and Agriculture, but I think we ran it as a team, and I got to know Al 
very, very well.
  What I appreciate about Al is Al was really the only one crazy enough 
to go to the Upper Huallaga Valley in Peru not once but twice with me 
when we decided to go and see how some of our efforts to interdict 
drugs and to stop the growing of coca were going.
  We really had not had too many, I think we took them by surprise; 
they had not had too many Members show up in that particular area, and 
so what I appreciated about Al was the first thing, I think it is the 
former Marine, as we flew over the Andes in an old plane and then flew 
up into the Upper Huallaga Valley, Al noticed the condition of the 
equipment, which was pretty bad, and he got pretty upset about that, 
and when he returned to the United States, Al personally made it his 
personal mission to get the equipment upgraded, including the 
helicopters, the communications equipment, and some of the other stuff 
which was pretty shabby, and not only with the Peruvians' military 
using it and the Peruvian police but our own drug enforcement agents as 
well as other United States employees.

                              {time}  1950

  And so Al succeeded.
  When we went back a year later, that equipment was significantly 
updated. I think a lot of the tribute goes to Al McCandless. Al and I 
were an incredible team.
  We went into Bolivia on one of our missions and the DEA and the 
Bolivian army had saved up all the coca paste that they had been able 
to get in their raids for, I think, at least several weeks. It was 
pretty impressive. They packed it together, they called all the world's 
press together. They were going to give Al and me the opportunity to 
set this ablaze, to show what coordination could do.
  Well, we coordinated very well. I forget whether we had one torch or 
two. The torch was soaked in gasoline and other flammable fuel, as was 
the interdicted contraband. The only thing we managed to set ablaze was 
ourselves.
  The entire footage for CNN and the Bolivian national television is Al 
and I trying to run out of this ring of flame that we had set all 
around ourselves. They actually had soldiers come in to get the rest of 
it going. That was the kind of teamwork Al and I put together.
  We made two trips. That was something else that impressed me so much 
about Al. Just for the record, because it is so important that the 
record shows that some people think these were junkets, we flew 12 
hours in the hold of a C-130. The only person I could talk into going 
again was Al McCandless, knowing the conditions and all. But Al went. 
We landed, we went to Peru twice that way and flew back twice that way.
  I like to say--and I hope Gail understands--that Al and I used to 
dine by candlelight because in Lima the Shining Path guerillas had a 
custom, a routine. They always blew the electric pylons up early in the 
morning, usually about 5:30 or 6:00, and again in the evening. Just 
like clockwork you could count on losing electric power.
  I remember several breakfasts and dinners that Al and I had by 
candlelight as a tribute to the Shining Path guerillas' effectiveness.
  There are a couple of things that I do want to call specific 
attention to concerning Al. I think he knows this, but if not, I really 
want him to. What impressed me about Al was he called it straight about 
everybody. We one time had a situation with one of the Government 
agencies, under the previous administration, under the Republican 
administration. We thought we had caught them doing less than they 
should. I forgot the details of it. I do remember that there were some 
glaring errors.
  So rather than--we thought it would be best, Al and I agreed that it 
would be best to invite the administrator of that particular division 
in to talk with them and see what could be worked out. To be honest 
with you, I thought, well, this would be kind of a dicey thing, I 
wonder if some punches would get pulled on the minority side.
  When the guy walked out, he asked who was the Democrat and who was 
the Republican, because it was Al McCandless who had held him to 
account in tougher language that I had been using. What I said was 
there is something wrong here. Al made sure it was addressed.
  That is what gained Al, I know on our side of the aisle, the 
affection, the true affection and loyalty of the staff and Members 
alike. I saw that repeated time after time, whether it was trips to 
Peru, in hearings or in questions asked, whether it was in dealing with 
administration officials.
  Finally, in closing, I would say I do not know anyone who worked 
harder to make things right, no matter where the chips fell.
  I can remember another situation, a tragedy in Al's district, where a 
death was caused by a high-speed chase of some Federal officials. Al 
pulled no punches, he wanted to get to the bottom of it. More 
importantly, he wanted to make sure that kind of thing did not happen 
again.
  I consider the 4 years that I had working with Al some of the 
highlights of my time in the House. I will miss the opportunity very, 
very much to work with him.
  I wish Al and Gail the very best. I just want to say to the gentleman 
from California [Mr. Lewis] that I thank him for this opportunity so 
that I have an opportunity on the record to thank Al for all that he 
did.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I thank the gentleman from West Virginia, 
and we appreciate his participation this evening.
  Ther are other notable items about Al that have not been mentioned. 
Just recently, for example, he was received and honored by the 
commandant of the Marine Corps here in Washington, DC for his service 
in the U.S. Marine Corps.
  When Al first arrived here, he was a part of the largest class that 
had come in for a long, long time. Al expected there would be all kinds 
of red carpet rolled out, as all of us do, of course. Well, suddenly he 
found himself with no space available whatsoever for an incoming 
Member. So Al set up shop in the Longworth cafeteria near the pay phone 
where he could have ready access to the telephone.
  He told he and others shortly thereafter that maybe he had gotten off 
the wrong plane at the wrong airport rather than the Nation's capital.
  Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to call upon a fellow who shows 
that Al does not just reach across generations, he reaches the whole 
panoply of this House. As the president of the freshman class of the 
103d Congress, it is my privilege to call upon Buck McKeon.
  Mr. McKEON. I thank the gentleman from California for taking this 
special order.
  I want to commend him for putting this on and honoring our colleague, 
Al McCandless. I think it shows again the gentleman's leadership and 
ability to think of others.
  I think we spend a lot of time here beating up on each other, and it 
is nice to spend some time honoring our colleagues for some of the 
things that they have done well.
  I come from a similar background. I was not a Marine--and I just 
learned that about Al, just learned about that tonight, that he was a 
Marine. I should have known, just from his demeanor and the way he is. 
I think he would just be picked out as a Marine.
  So it fits.
  But I think we both come from business backgrounds. One of the 
concerns I had when I entered this arena and ran for office was what 
kind of people I would be associating with back here. I had met some 
politicians while serving on city council, and I was not overly 
impressed.
  And I think that back here, the Members of the House that I associate 
with are really high-quality individuals and I would put Al right up at 
the top. The things that stand out in my mind about him are his plain-
spokenness, his no-nonsense attitude, and yet he has a real wry, keen 
sense of humor. I have had a chance to work with him on a number of 
things.
  I know he approached me at one time with a friend who needed some 
help. He came and approached me. The friend lived in my district, so it 
was something that I could try to help on. I was really happy to be 
able to do that.
  I know that Al was not content to let it go until it was done. I 
think it is good to be one of his friends because I know he goes out of 
his way to help people that need help.
  I just think that it was good to do this.
  I want to commend those who have taken their time to come down here 
and talk about Al. We will miss Al.
  Al has been here 12 years, and that is the term limits that I am 
supporting. I think he imposed this term limit on himself. If I am able 
to win a few elections, that is all I would want to be here, about 8 or 
10, maybe.
  It was interesting to me to look through and see some of the things 
that he has done. I remember we went and helped Ken Calvert do a fund-
raiser in his district last year in the Mission Inn in the city of 
Riverside. After that event, the owner of that hotel took us on a tour. 
I could not believe that building.
  The heritage there. I see that without his efforts that building 
would have been lost. I think all of these other--there are pages here 
of things he has accomplished. But that one alone I think would be 
worth a career because that building has a heritage that the people in 
Riverside and others from around the world--President Nixon was married 
there--I think the tremendous historical significance of that building, 
if it had been lost, would be something that would be a real loss, I 
think, to mankind. And that, and all of the other things that have been 
mentioned tonight, I would just like to add my voice to, to those who 
have thanked you for your service to your community and to your 
country, and I consider it a real pleasure to be numbered, I hope, as a 
friend of Al McCandless.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Certainly not the least in this process is 
one of our colleagues who worked so hard on our effort to make sure 
that the House understood the problems of the California desert. I 
speak of my friend, the gentleman from San Diego, CA Mr. Hunter.
  I say to the gentleman, ``Duncan, welcome.''
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California, and 
thank all my colleagues, and I thank Al McCandless for making this 
night possible.
  Incidentally, Mr. Speaker, I understood initially that the reason Al 
worked so hard to save the Mission Inn was because he owned it, but I 
know that is not true. It could not possibly be true.
  As my colleagues know, the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] has 
the honor of representing the area to the west and somewhat, or the 
east and somewhat, north of Al's district, and I have the privilege of 
representing an area to the south of Al's district, that desert area to 
the south and, as my colleagues know, when you talked about Al 
initially as being a man of the desert, I say, ``Jerry, I had to think 
of the great life style that we developed in southern California and 
the enormous prosperity because of a lot of people like Al McCandless. 
They were people who rolled up their sleeves and went to work in that 
southern California area that we have built up, and they did it with 
appreciation for everything that God gave us here, the great weather, 
the great topography, in Al's district. You can go literally from the 
desert floor just above sea level. You can take a tram and go up to 
7,000, 8,000 feet in the San Jacinto Mountains.''
  We have an area that has an enormous diversity, and the people who 
built that area were people that had good common sense, had Al 
McCandless good common sense, and they realized that we had to take 
care of all of our natural life and species. But they also realized, 
like Al does, that you have take care of that other species; that is 
people, and you have to try to accommodate their needs in the way that 
young folks are going to be able to build houses, and have a good life 
style, send their kids to school, and pay mortgages, and all those 
kinds of things and, because of that, I thought it was an interesting 
partnership that we formed, the five so-called desert Congressmen, the 
people that the L.A. Times called the diehards.
  When the desert bill came up, and I can recall that; in fact, this is 
really a nice editorial, calls us the diehards, and it said, Mr. 
Speaker, would we please pack it in, meaning would we stop this fight 
against the so-called desert bill, what I call the desert lockout bill 
because this bill did something that Al McCandless has never liked, and 
that is locking up 7,000,000 acres of California land, public land, 
that heretofore had been used by working people in California, whether 
they were off-road families who went under that same Palos Verdes tree 
every year for the last 30 years, and we had constituents like that, or 
miners who went out, and mined a little claim, and had that as kind of 
their life's occupation----
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Or whether they want swimming in those 
guzzlers----
  Mr. HUNTER. That's right, went to those, or the Desert Unlimited, the 
Wildlife Unlimited, the people that Al loves so much, the sportsmen who 
go out there and dig those water holes for what the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger], an easterner, erroneously referred to as 
big sheep. I say to my colleague, ``No Bill, we don't build those for 
big sheep. It's bighorn sheep. The size has nothing to do with it.''

  But because a lot of other people had the same idea of conservation 
that Al does; that is, that when you use the desert, you take care of 
it, private people went out there and built those water holes to bring 
back the wildlife species, and did so successfully, and yet they were 
in danger in this so-called desert plan for being locked out so that we 
could not maintain those water holes.
  So, the same fuzzy-headed environmentalists thought they were helping 
wildlife. In fact they were not helping wildlife. But commonsense 
people like Al McCandless knew we had to keep some vehicular access to 
that desert. Because of that he cosponsored the amendment with you, and 
I, and the gentleman from California [Mr. McKeon], and others that 
allowed the wildlife groups and our fish and game department to come 
into the desert, maintain the watering holes.
  He sponsored the amendment that allowed our law enforcement agents, 
like Border Patrol, to be able to come into the desert with vehicles 
because Lord knows those new desert areas abut the Mexican-American 
international line, and of course the smugglers are not going to read 
the fine print in the desert bill. They are going to be going through 
with four-wheel drives, and those wilderness areas will become havens 
for drug smugglers and smugglers of illegal aliens. Well, Al McCandless 
realized that, so he cosponsored the amendment that successfully passed 
the House, I might add, that at least allowed our law enforcement 
officers to use vehicles in that area. Al McCandless fought a great 
battle.
  Mr. Speaker, I mean this was like I just got finished reading Jeb 
Stuart in the defense of Richmond. As the Confederate Army was forced 
further and further south, we fought a great battle along with you, and 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas], another guy with a great 
sense of humor, and the gentleman from California [Mr. McKeon].
  I really like these pictures of us in this L.A. Times editorial. I 
think this is the only picture I have ever seen of Al McCandless 
smiling, so it is quite a picture. Actually we are all smiling because 
we are all diehards.
  So, I want to say, ``You know, we're accused of a lot of things in 
this body. We're accused sometimes of gridlock. Congressmen aren't 
supposed to be for gridlock. You're supposed to pass tons of bills, and 
incidentally I saw the new regulations on small business that was 
passed this year, and, if you stacked them one on top of one another, 
they would reach over the head of any small businessman in America. 
Those are new regulations on small business that were created by 
language that came out of this Congress.''
  So, Mr. Speaker, some people that measure what Congress has done for 
the country by volume, I say, ``You don't want diehards. You want 
people who will just pass stuff voluminously so the American people 
will never be able to read all the laws they're supposed to comply 
with.''
  But, as my colleagues know, sometimes it is important to have 
diehards, and because of a guy, because of Al McCandless and his hard 
work, maybe those Americans, millions of Americans that use the 
California desert, will not be locked out. At least maybe they will not 
be locked out this year. Maybe they will be able to utilize those 
7,000,000 acres, and the small miners and the off-road folks who go to 
the same place to camp every year, and the hunters, and all the people 
who know that those people who built California did it with the sense 
of balance, and we lost that sense of balance with that particular 
bill.
  So I just want to say sometimes it is good to be a diehard, and a 
number of us, realizing that being a diehard is important sometimes 
when you are a diehard for good strong values and conservatism have 
gotten just a little token of our esteem for Al's battle to save the 
desert for people, and we have that in this box here. A lot of people 
say, ``What's in the box, Hunter?'' Well----
  Mr. LEWIS of California. It's a bighorn sheep.
  Mr. HUNTER. Well, Al this is your Die Hard battery, and incidentally 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas] has put on the top--you see 
the orange part that says ``plus''? That is the positive side, Al.
  It says, ``Al, always be,'' and there is a little arrow toward the 
positive.
  It is signed ``Bill Thomas,'' but it is signed by all the desert 
diehards, and we want to thank the gentleman, our fellow diehard, Al 
McCandless, for his steadfast, tenacious resistance and opposition to 
the California desert lockout bill, and can my compadres, the gentleman 
from California [Mr. McKeon], the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] 
come up here and help we present this?
  This is real heavy, and Al, can you come up here, and, Al, catch.
  Let us all hand this to Al.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Here you go, Al.
  Mr. McCANDLESS. I say to my colleagues, ``Thank you.''
  Mr. LEWIS of California. It is filled with gold.
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Is this charged?
  Mr. LEWIS of California. It is charged; be careful.
  As my colleagues know, ofttimes in our desert country we hear people 
say, ``Why don't we get more people with common sense in government?
  Our problem is that it is awfully hard to attract people of diverse 
backgrounds who reflect the common sense of this country.

                              {time}  2010

  Some people suggest maybe we have too many lawyers or we have too 
many people that come directly out of college and all they want to do 
is run for public office and run government. It is much more difficult 
to find people who have everyday, practical experience, and success, 
working in America's private economy. Al McCandless is a reflection of 
that. I said he used to pound tires and was a car dealer. He was a very 
successful small businessman in the desert country in California. It is 
very important for all of us to recognize that it was that common sense 
that made him so successful here as a Member of the House.
  I know when he had that responsibility in his dealership, he 
developed some traits that he has used with his own staff that involved 
how he would screen people. I hear that in the old days, when he was 
looking to determine the special qualifications of people who were 
applying for work, he did a variety of things. Among them, he asked a 
potential employee, ``if you were a car, what kind of a car would you 
be?''
  The answers obviously were always very thoughtful and revealing, and 
sometimes even made the difference between two closely qualified 
candidates. Did his technique work, you may ask? Apparently it did. 
Because Al traditionally had an office with very, very little staff 
turnover, even in those days. Occasionally some cranking and starting 
problems, but very little turnover.
  In connection with that, sharing this evening with us is a reflection 
of the best of Al's success, for in the gallery this evening, starting 
to my left looking up there, is Monty Tripp. If you would stand, Monty. 
Behind Monty is Don Wolfsenberger.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Penny). I would caution the gentleman 
about references to the gallery.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I will put these names in the Record. I will 
not mention Don's wife next. On the other hand, we did mention Gail. 
The rest of you folks, you know we love you, and you will be in the 
Record anyway.
  In all my years in public affairs and public life, one of the 
constant challenges was to find people like Al who reflect the best of 
our country.
  Al McCandless is among the most outstanding of all the individuals I 
have even dealt with in public affairs. I am reminded of a great 
building in Sacramento, where it was my privilege to serve for some 
years. And on the face of the building it says, ``Bring us men to match 
our mountains.'' If there was meaning to that statement, it is 
reflected in the fact that we have been able to attract the likes of Al 
McCandless to public affairs. Al McCandless is a guy who I consider to 
be more than a friend, a person who has made a great difference for all 
of us in the best of nonpartisan sense in the House. He is a wonderful 
individual who has made a difference because he chose to make a 
difference.

  Al, you know that Arlene and I love not only you and your wife, but 
all that you represent. We will miss you. We do not intend to let you 
get very far away.
  One promise we will make is that one of these days we are going to 
visit that special spot on that island that you talk about a lot. But, 
most importantly, as you enjoy scenes like that together, I hope that 
you will remember all of us, your friends here, and those of us who 
love public affairs as you do.
  Let me yield to Al McCandless.
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Has the hour expired yet, Mr. Speaker? Two minutes?
  Boy, it has been a long hour.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Maybe 30 seconds.
  Mr. McCANDLESS. You want 30 seconds?
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I would be happy to yield to my colleague.
  Mr. McCANDLESS. This is quite a surprise, or at least it was until I 
walked in just prior to the last vote this evening, and I began to get, 
``Oh, Al, I can't make it, but I am going to enter this into the 
Record,'' and I made a few inquiries and found out that my colleague, 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis], had kind of loaded the dice, 
so-to-speak, for a special order this evening.
  The gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Penny], the Speaker pro tempore, is 
retiring also. We have taken a plane back and forth together from 
Minneapolis on a number of occasions, and I hope they do not do this to 
you.
  On a serious note though, I would say to the gentleman from West 
Virginia [Mr. Wise] thank you very much. The Huaga Valley, the Chapare, 
the snakes and so forth. It was an experience, but it had a purpose. We 
were not joyriding, obviously.
  To my other colleagues, I appreciate the time that you have taken to 
share with me your thoughts, all of which have been positive this 
evening. I could assure you, some of you, back in 1990, when I was 
running against Paul Walden. But we made that by 5 points.
  I guess one of the highlights of my political career was the election 
process that got me here, to the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] 
and the gentleman from California [Mr. Hunter] and the rest who are 
still here. I was looking for a campaign finance chairman, and this 
kind of thing is somewhat difficult to come by. The sum total of which 
was I had a breakfast and we had a lot of my friends and business 
people there, and one person by the name of Gail Glass. And so these 
fellows all looked at me when I said ``I need a finance chairman,'' and 
they looked at Gail, and she mistakenly, or unmistakenly, or however 
she wished to interpret it, agreed to be the finance chairman of the 
McCandless campaign. We had 10 Republicans and 9 Democrats in the 
primary, and, obviously, I was successful. But she had a great deal to 
play in that, and collected quite a bit of money, and did an awful lot 
of work.
  Now that we are through with the November election, and we are about 
to be gaveled down here, I would conclude by saying I liked this 
campaign finance chairman so much, that I asked her to marry me, and 
she, after a great deal of thought, agreed. And then we came to 
Washington and we got married in the Chapel here, I might add, by Rev. 
Chaplain Ford.
  That began a wonderful career, a wonderful relationship with some 
outstanding people here in Washington, my colleagues in the House, even 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] who used to be a life 
insurance salesman, and he calls me a reformed used car dealer who 
became a politician.

  And these people are genuine in that they came here to serve, they 
came here to try to do a job, as I have attempted to do, and serve 
their country. We cannot take away from the importance of the House of 
Representatives, this body in which we serve, and what if does for not 
only the Nation, but the world.
  I cannot overemphasize that. The words gridlock, you name it, have 
been on many occasions, attributed to us. These are honest differences 
of opinion in the way to proceed down a given path.
  When we talk about going down a given path, you really cannot do an 
awful lot, as I learned in the Marine Corps as a platoon sergeant and 
then a platoon leader, without a lot of help from a lot of people. I 
must say in all candidness, I have had probably, if not the finest, one 
of the finest staffs here in our good District of Columbia, as well as 
the State of California.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. If the gentleman would yield, by chance was 
Darlene Jones one of those people who helped you?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. The name is very familiar. Yes, she is.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. By chance, is Signy Ellerton Cale one of 
those people?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. I vaguely remember this young lady 12 years ago when 
I hired her, yes.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. You have heard of Jayne Gillenwaters?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Jayne Gillenwaters? Everybody has heard of Jayne 
Gillenwaters, yes.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. How about Pat Rinaldi?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Pat Rinaldi, no one ever forgets.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Ready. How about Mike Riith?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Mike Riith? Mike is pretty good people, yes.

                              {time}  2020

  Travels a long way to work but nice person.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. How about Dave Schroeder?
  Mr. McCANDLESS. Good hometown boy from Palm Springs.
  Let me conclude by saying this: This has been a frustrating 12 years; 
it has been a rewarding 12 years.
  The frustration and the reward are far outweighed by the fact that I 
have been honored, and I mean that sincerely, have been honored by my 
colleagues here this evening. I have been honored by the constituency 
of 44th district and the previous district to that and in serving this 
House as their Representative.
  I want to thank all of my colleagues for the effort that they have 
devoted this evening, particularly those on the other side of the 
aisle, not that they are any different than we are. They put their 
trousers on one leg at a time. But particularly Mr. Wise and Mr. Fazio 
and Mr. Kennedy. And I thank you, Mr. Lewis, and thank all of my 
colleagues.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Penny). If the Chair may use the 
Speaker's prerogative to add as well my best wishes to the gentleman 
from California.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I have had the pleasure of serving with Al 
McCandless on the Committee on Government Operations as well as being a 
colleague in the California delegation.
  There is an old saying about legislators: ``There are workhorses and 
there are showhorses.'' Al is a workhorse that has his showy moments. I 
have sat with him in committee and watched him patiently tolerate some 
of the nonsense by both questioners and witnesses. When his turn comes, 
he quietly asks a series of questions that brings the hearing back to 
its focus and clarifies the record so a legislative judgment can 
properly be made. He always shows that he has done his homework with 
great care. He gets to the core of the problem.
  His colleagues and I hold Al in great affection because he is a 
gentleman and he is civil. He has conducted himself in the highest 
traditions of the House of Representatives.
  Few Members have come to this Chamber with such a record of public 
service. A Marine who fought in the Second World War and the Korean 
War, a successful businessman, Al served his community in many ways 
including appointed and elected public service. A member of the 
Riverside County Board of Supervisors, he was elected its chairman; a 
founding member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in 
1975, he was elected its chairman at the beginning and served in that 
role for 7 years. In brief, if you wanted to accomplish something, you 
elected Al McCandless chairman and the job would get done.
  That experience and his way of doing the business of the people will 
be sorely missed. Good wishes always. You are a true role model for 
those of us less senior.
  Mr. ZELIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay special tribute 
to my friend and colleague. Al McCandless. Al will be leaving the House 
of Representatives after 12 years of dedicated public service in this 
institution.
  In fact, public service pretty well sums up Al's life. Prior to 
coming to Congress, Al served for 12 years as the elected supervisor in 
Riverside County's 4th District. During that time, he served as 
chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He was also a founding member and 
chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, chairman 
of the Riverside County Housing Authority, a founding member of the 
Sunline Transit Agency, and a member of numerous civic associations.
  Al is a former Marine who served his country in the Pacific and in 
Korea. Following his military service, Al went to work building a 
business, McCandless Motors, a GM auto, truck, and bus dealership.
  I had the pleasure of traveling with Al to Mexico last year as part 
of a fact-finding delegation to explore the issues related to the 
debate over NAFTA. At that fine, we were two lonely voices in a 
delegation that was blind to the virtues of free trade. But Al and I 
knew better, and we saw first hand great opportunity for this country 
through an expanded trade relationship with Mexico.
  Congress is often judged by the misdeeds of a few, but seldom by the 
virtues of outstanding public servants who truly make a difference. Al 
McCandless is such a man. This institution has been a better place 
because of Al service, and he will be missed.
  I want to close by offering my heartfelt thanks to Al for the 
guidance and help he gave to me as a new Member of Congress. I wish him 
and his wife Gail, and their family, my very best wishes for the 
future.
  Mr. THOMAS of California. Mr. Speaker, a native of California, which 
is about as rare as a native Washingtonian, Al McCandless has served 
the people of Riverside County for over a quarter of a century--first 
as a Riverside county supervisor, then as a Member of the House. Before 
that Al served his country in not one but two wars, in the Pacific 
during World War II and then again in Korea. In all these years of 
public service, Al McCandless has left an impeccable and distinguished 
record.
  Al's career in the House is marked by a steady and understated 
dedication to service. While never flashy, he was most importantly 
always ready to fight the good fight. And fight Al did. Before Al came 
to Congress, he had already been battling for 12 years to bring balance 
to protection of the California desert. So when he arrived in 1982, 
desert dwellers gained a knowledgeable and dedicated proponent of fair 
desert legislation.
  Throughout his career Al showed wise judgment in how taxpayers money 
should be spent. He was also one of the first Republicans Members of 
Congress to raise a red flag regarding the savings and loan crisis. In 
fact, he joined the Banking Committee just because he was so alarmed at 
the state of affairs in that industry. Recent achievements include 
working for reform of the National Flood Insurance Program and 
prohibiting high cost, home equity funding.
  And, Al McCandless is a nice man. While he goes about his job in a no 
nonsense way, he also takes the time to know and talk with all those 
around him--the policemen doorkeepers, cloakroom staff, subway and 
elevator operators as well as staff. He knew them by name and took the 
time to chat and share a joke.
  Besides the obvious of being Republicans from California, Al and I 
have another commonality--cars. While I truly enjoy my cars, my level 
of fascination doesn't go quite as far as Al's. I don't name my cars 
the way Al does--but then I don't know anyone who names their cars the 
way Al does, or refers to them in such loving terms. For which, I pass 
on a special salute to his wife Gail--a truly understanding woman.
  I will miss Al. His dedication to the institution will be hard to 
replace. He came here with honor and leaves here with honor. On his 
retirement I wish he and Gail well.
  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay a farewell tribute to my 
colleague and good friend, Mr. Al McCandless. I have had the distinct 
pleasure of being both a classmate and personal friend of Mr. 
McCandless.
  We both came together as freshmen 12 years ago as members of the 
class of 1982 and have served together since. Mr. McCandless and I have 
worked together hand-in-hand over the years to serve the people of 
California. Our comraderie is reflected in our adjacent districts as 
well as in our political views. Mr. McCandless and I have supported and 
encouraged one another over the years on various issues. Politically 
and personally, Mr. McCandless and I hail from essentially the same 
mold.
  Over the years my wife Jean and I have become close friends with Mr. 
McCandless and his wife Gail. We wish them the best in their future 
endeavors. While I look forward to working closely with his successor, 
as a collegue and friend Mr. McCandless will be sorely missed in the 
Capitol region.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in the tribute to 
our colleague, Al McCandless, who is retiring after a long and 
distinguished career in public service, the last 12 years of which have 
been as a Member of this House.
  Since he was elected in 1982 to represent the Riverside County area 
of California, Congressman McCandless has made his mark as a fervent 
defender of free enterprise and as a champion of the Social Security 
system.
  Most recently, he has played key roles on the Banking, Finance and 
Urban Affairs, and Government Operations Committees. He has been vice 
chairman of the Consumer Credit and Insurance Subcommittee on the 
Banking Committee, and vice chairman of Government Operations' 
Subcommittee on Government Information, Justice and Agriculture.
  Al McCandless has had the distinction of representing the fastest 
growing congressional district in the country. In the 1980s, he 
represented the burgeoning 37th District, but, in 1990, he had 500,000 
constituents shifted to another district. He now represents the 44th, 
which reaches from Moreno Valley eastward to Blythe, on the Colorado 
River.
  Before becoming a Member of Congress, Al served as supervisor in 
Riverside County's Fourth District for 12 years, 4 of them as chairman 
of the Board of Supervisors. He has held a variety of other positions 
in public life as well.
  A former Marine, he served in the Pacific Theater in 1945-46 and in 
Korea from 1950 to 1952.
  For nearly a quarter-century, he operated an auto dealership in 
Indio, selling the business in 1975.
  As Al concludes his notable career in Washington, I want to join with 
my colleagues in thanking him for his great service, and in wishing him 
and his family well for the future. May he enjoy his new post-Congress 
adventure.
  Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise at this time to bid a fond farewell 
to my good friend and colleague, Al McCandless, who is retiring from 
the Congress to return to California at the end of this session. I have 
known Al ever since he left La Quinta to come to Congress in 1982. Even 
though I am from the mountains and he is from the desert, we hit it off 
quite well. He has always been the kind of business-oriented, real-
world conservative that we need more of in the House. Whenever we feel 
pressured to respond to a problem with a quick legislative fix, Al is 
one to stand up and make his colleagues see what unforeseen problems 
the legislation could cause.
  Al loves to talk about the beauty of the southern California desert 
that comprises most of his district. Al has fought ceaselessly to stop 
a bill that would turn this land into a national park and deny much of 
its use to those who now enjoy it. When Al believes that something is 
not right, he pulls out all the stops to oppose it, as everyone who 
made it through the California desert debate can attest.
  Courage, tenacity, and common sense have been hallmarks of Al 
McCandless' service to his country over the last 40 years. In the 
Marines Corps, in local government in Riverside County, and here in the 
House of Representatives, Al has given much to the people of his State 
and his country. It is fitting that we take time tonight to salute him 
and to wish both he and Gail a happy and fulfilling retirement. I hope 
that they keep in touch, and while I will sorely miss Al, I will try to 
keep my continued service in the House up to the standard that he has 
set.

                          ____________________