[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 59 (Thursday, March 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4023-H4024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      BOB JOHNSON: A GIANT IS GONE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bryant] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, one of the giants of Texas 
government is gone. As I speak, Bob Johnson, my friend and a dedicated 
servant of the people of Texas, is being laid to rest in the Texas 
State Cemetery in Austin.
  Although Bob Johnson served four terms in the Texas House of 
Representatives, his greatest service was as director of the Texas 
Legislative Council and parliamentarian of the Texas House from 1963 to 
1980 and parliamentarian of the Texas Senate from 1991 until his death 
on March 27, 1995, at the age of 66.
  The offices he held, however, do not tell the full story of Bob 
Johnson or of his importance to my State and to those who have served 
it.
  Although he sat at the left hand of the Speaker--a critical adviser 
to the presiding officer both on and off the floor--during my tenure in 
the Texas House of Representatives at a time when some of my colleagues 
and I led a vigorous opposition to the leadership, he was always 
honest, straightforward, and as helpful to the forces for reform as to 
those in control.
  [[Page H4024]] Bob Johnson was to Texas State government what great 
teachers are to schools.
  He taught hundreds, perhaps thousands, of legislators, their staff 
members, and other State officials the importance of learning well, of 
studying hard, of playing by the rules, of keeping one's word, of 
surviving defeat, and of winning gracefully.
  Bob Johnson was a teacher, a counselor, and a friend.
  He was as honest and sincere in his advice to those with whom he 
disagreed as he was to those with whom he agreed--to Democrats and 
Republicans, liberals and conservatives. And his advice was 
consistently excellent on matters of policy, procedure, and law. He was 
a pro.
  He was patient beyond measure in counseling the young, whether they 
were staffers fresh from college or novice legislators. He valued 
loyalty and straightforwardness.
  Bob Johnson was big and tough. But he was both a gentleman and a 
gentle man.
  When Bob Johnson retired from government service in 1980, only to be 
lured back in 1991 by his dear friend of 40 years, Lt. Gov. Bob 
Bullock, the Houston Chronicle reported:

       No one could say of Bob Johnson that he sat on the 
     sidelines and watched life go by. He may be one of the waling 
     testimonies to the Madison Avenue phrase that you only go 
     around once in life, so grab for the gusto.
       He's a ditch digger turned truck driver turned football 
     player turned professional rodeo cowboy turned legislator 
     turned parliamentarian and legislative staff member and, 
     soon, turned lawyer-lobbyist.
       Not to mention farmer, rancher, hunter and all around 
     gusto-grabber.

  Governor Bullock and others with whom he served in the Texas 
Legislature from 1957 to 1963 called him Brother. And he was a brother 
to so many in every sense. Many of us who met him later looked upon him 
as a father-figure and mentor. Some called him Big Daddy.
  Even today, as he is laid to rest in the Texas State Cemetery beside 
some of the most renowned figures in Texas history, it is hard not to 
smile when I think of Bob Johnson lumbering over to me in the House 
Chamber, throwing an arm around my shoulder, chiding me gently or 
encouraging me in just the right way with caring charm and good natured 
wit.
  Bob Johnson's name is not a name that is kown to most Americans or 
even most Texans, but he has certainly earned a place in our history 
and in our hearts.
  He was universally loved and respected. I will never forget him or 
that he taught and prodded me to do better in my job.
  For almost 40 years, Bob Johnson was a fixture in the Texas Capitol.
  He fit especially well in that colossal building, symbolic of our 
expansive State, both of which he deeply loved. He was a giant, large 
in stature and huge in his contributions to his State and to those 
entrusted with making it work for the people.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman from Texas yield?
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I share his regret and appreciate the gentleman's 
remarks. I appreciate him giving me the minute left.
  For 1 minute, let me say that the issue of Federal pensions is a 
serious issue, and it ought to be dealt with seriously.
  In point of fact, we are at a time now where the majority party is 
proposing a major revision in the Federal employees' pension program 
with less than 2 days of hearings, a markup that was scheduled on the 
3d or 4th or 5th day after the 2d day of hearings. That markup was 
adjourned without resolution and without any motions with reference to 
the proposal and has now gone directly to the Rules Committee in the 
Republican's tax package for the purposes of paying, as said by the 
chairman of the Committee on the Budget, Mr. Kasich, $11 billion of the 
bill to cut taxes on wealthier Americans.
  Now, the fact of the matter is what it does is it increases the taxes 
on average Americans who are Federal employees by approximately 10 
percent. That is not fair.
  Furthermore, it is my understanding the gentleman from Florida, the 
chairman of the committee, who is my friend and who has talked to me 
about this, wants to consider this matter in a responsible fashion.
  I take him at his word. We ought to not have this in the tax package. 
We ought to take it out of the tax package. It is not necessary to fund 
the tax bill, and we ought to have hearings on it. We ought to come to 
grips with the facts on it. We ought to see who is correct, and then we 
ought to dispose of this issue.
  I am not afraid, as an advocate of Federal employees, to look at the 
facts, to analyze the facts, and to argue what we ought to do to be 
fiscally responsible. But what I am an opponent of is rushing this to 
judgment which I think is very unfair, unwise, bad policy, and 
certainly is going to undermine the morale and the promise that we have 
to our Federal employees.
  I understand the gentleman from Florida said that he did not want to 
undermine those who had given service to their Government. These folks 
have. To act in this precipitous fashion, in my opinion, respectfully 
to the gentleman from Florida, does in fact undermine our relationship 
to our employees. I would hope that we do not take this action.
  I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding the time.
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.

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