[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 1, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    THE MANY GIFTS OF MILTON TOBIAN

                                 ______


                            HON. JOHN BRYANT

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 1, 1995
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for most of his life, Milton Tobian 
has devoted himself to others--to his country, to his family, to his 
faith, to combatting discrimination, to overcoming poverty and 
injustice, to fostering good government and progressive education, to 
the elderly, to those suffering the ravages of AIDS or the cruelty of 
Parkinson's disease, to less fortunate human beings.
  On Saturday, March 4, 1995, at a benefit celebration for the Trinity 
Ministry to the Poor in Dallas, TX, ``The Many Gifts of Milton Tobian'' 
will the recognized and honored.
  Rarely has an event been so well named.
  No one who knows Milton Tobian--and I am privileged to have counted 
him among my friends for a quarter of a century--can think of him 
without first thinking of his selflessness.
  We can think of his gifts to his community and his fellow beings, 
because those loving gifts have been his avocation.
  The dictionary should have a picture of Milton Tobian beside its 
definition of humanitarian.
  Perhaps Milton Tobian's devotion to worthy causes is a product of his 
background. His grandparents fled oppression in Russia and found 
freedom in Texas.
  As a graduate of Rice University at 19, Milton immediately entered 
Navy Midshipmen's School and became the youngest World War II naval 
officer in the South Pacific when he was assigned to the U.S.S. Lewis 
Hancock.
  In spite of his gallant service to his country in wartime, Milton 
Tobian has preferred the wars he waged right here at home.
  In his war for the kind of education he knew should be available to 
every child, he helped found the League for Educational Advancement in 
Dallas. The victories he won included desegregation of the Dallas 
School Board, the establishment of kindergartens, and the School Lunch 
Program for impoverished children.
  In his war against prejudice and discrimination as the longest 
tenured member of the Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission 
on Civil Rights and a driving force behind the Texas Conference of 
Churches' commission on Christian-Jewish relations, he helped win 
critical battles for civil rights and cooperation among long-divided 
racial and religious groups.
  In his war for good government, Milton Tobian agreed to leave his 
successful business to establish the first statewide organization of 
Common Cause, the public interest watchdog group. From cramped 
headquarters with few resources, Milton Tobian was instrumental in 
remarkable victories--Texas' first open meetings and open records laws, 
campaign finance and lobbying reform, utilities regulation, and the 
toughest consumer protection law in the Nation. His efforts helped make 
Texas the model for Common Cause organizations and their legislative 
agendas nationwide.
  For a decade, until his retirement in 1987, Milton Tobian's crusade 
was as southwest regional director of the American Jewish Committee.
  But Milton Tobian's wars for causes good and noble continue unabated. 
In retirement, he has battled for senior citizens, children with AIDS, 
sufferers of Parkinson's disease, the homeless, the poor.
  Milton Tobian has more energy, more talent, and more compassion than 
public spirited citizens half his 72 years of age.
  Generations of Americans, Texans, and Dallasites have benefited from 
the high standards, the tireless efforts, and the downright goodness of 
Milton Tobian. Never seeking personal recognition or applause for his 
good works, he has earned and deserves nothing less than our sincere 
thanks for ``the many gifts of Milton Tobian.''


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