[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  IN HONOR OF REPRESENTATIVE TOM LEWIS

                                 ______


                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in honor of a 
colleague and a dear friend, the Honorable Tom Lewis of Florida. It is 
appropriate to praise Tom Lewis' years of service in this House as he 
is retiring at the end of the 103d Congress.
  Tom Lewis has served in the people's House for six terms and he has 
been helpful to me since I first came to this body in 1989. I have 
great respect for Tom, because he truly is a man of the people. He is a 
workhorse, rather than a showhorse. Tom knows the people of the 16th 
Congressional District of Florida. He has served them ably in the 
Florida State Legislature and, for the past 12 years, in the U.S. House 
of Representatives.
  Tom has been a tireless advocate of the U.S. aerospace industry, 
which is a key component of his south Florida district. Tom's work on 
the Science, Space, and Technology Committee has helped to ensure that 
our aerospace industry stays competitive with the rest of the world. 
Tom Lewis has also made sure that Florida's Atlantic Coast benefit from 
the top-of-the-line hurricane detection technology, because the safety 
of the people he represents is of utmost importance to him.
  As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Tom Lewis has also 
been an outstanding leader in ensuring that Florida's agriculture 
industry stays competitive in the world marketplace.
  As an 11-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Tom Lewis knows first-
hand about the experiences of those who have put their lives on the 
line in service of our great country. Tom has made sure that needy 
veterans in his district were provided for, and he was instrumental in 
supporting the construction of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Medical Center in Palm Beach County.
  It is quite understandable, then, why the publication ``Politics in 
America'' stated about Tom Lewis, that, quote, ``his more important 
role in Congress is to come up with creative solutions that few other 
legislators have thought much about.''
  George Bush once said that quote,

       Tom Lewis means business. His work on the Agriculture 
     Committee and the Science and Technology Committee means that 
     if you ride in it, drive it, sail it, fly it, or eat it, Tom 
     Lewis has something to do with it.

  Mr. Speaker, as a colleague and friend of Tom Lewis, I must say that 
I will miss him and I hate to see him go. He is a tough act to follow. 
But I know that all of us here wish him the very best in the years 
ahead.

                          ____________________