[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17503-S17505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING THANKS AND GOOD WISHES TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE M. WHITE

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Concurrent Resolution 
33, a concurrent resolution to express thanks and good wishes to the 
Honorable George M. White on the occasion of his retirement as 
Architect of the Capitol, submitted earlier today by Senators Moynihan, 
Warner, and Pell.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 33) expressing the 
     thanks and good wishes of the American people to the 
     Honorable George M. White on the occasion of his retirement 
     as Architect of the Capitol.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I submit a concurrent resolution 
expressing the thanks and good wishes of the American people to the 
Honorable George M. White, FAIA, on the occasion of his retirement as 
the Architect of the Capitol on November 21, 1995, 

[[Page S 17504]]
after nearly a quarter-century of service to the Nation.
  It is not widely known, and as is the case with active men, soon 
overshadowed by yet larger accomplishments, but within a few short 
months of his appointment as Architect of the Capitol in January 1971, 
George Malcolm White did something which had long eluded Nixon and was 
even beyond the grasp of the second Roosevelt. He reshaped the High 
Court. With a few strokes of the pen, he changed the shape of the 
Supreme Court bench from straight to slightly angled toward the ends 
and back at the middle. Chief Justice Warren Berger assembled the 
Associate Justices and explained, ``When it comes to architecture, by 
law, the Supreme Court will obey this man.'' And the Court has been the 
better for it.
  That George White should instantly command such respect as Architect 
came as no surprise to me; after all, I had recommended him to the 
office. Since Washington's time and until 1989, the Architect was 
simply picked by the President and presented to the Congress. No advice 
and consent involved. I was domestic counselor to President Nixon when 
on May 24, 1970, word came that the previous Architect, former 
Congressman and former contractor J. George Stewart, had died in 
office. President Nixon asked me to find him a successor. I suggested 
that this time we pick an architect. The result was George Malcolm 
White, the ninth architect of the Capitol. And 25 years later, the 
Capitol has never looked better.
  I am aware that the Capitol as we know it is a felicitous accretion 
of separate elements. Some would reason from that, apparently, that 
each succeeding generation may add to the building at its pleasure. But 
the various pieces that now comprise this magnificent composition were 
all designed in the course of one-half century's work by a string of 
extraodinary minds, both Architects and Presidents. If the tone of 
architectural debate has been lowered since the day Jefferson and 
Latrobe locked horns over whether the column capitals in the House 
Chamber should be modeled after those in the Theater of Marcellus in 
Rome or the Choragic Monument to Lysicrates in Athens--Latrobe won; 
choragic it was--it is a failing purely on the part of the modern-day 
Executive. George White has upheld the tradition of the early 
Architects of the Capitol.
  Like them, he is a polymath. He holds degrees in engineering, in 
business administration, and in law as well as in architecture. He is 
registered in and has practiced these as well. Unlike Thornton, he is 
not a medical doctor, but that can be excused. Beginning in 1988, I had 
the pleasure of chairing the Judiciary Office Building Commission, a 
body which was careful to stay out of George White's way as he used his 
master-planning skills to propose, his legal skills to enact, his 
business skills to finance, and his architectural and engineering 
skills to design and construct what is generally considered the best 
new Government building in a generation, the Thurgood Marshall Federal 
Judiciary Building at One Columbus Circle.
  While the Capitol grounds and several of the buildings in the Capitol 
complex bear his stamp, George White has made the Capitol itself the 
focus of his life's work. He added balance and proportion where he 
found it lacking and improved what was existing when it needed his 
care. Who else could recognize stone shock in the west front and repair 
it to a state better than before the British arrived? From the 
foundations of the east steps of the House, to the Minton tiles on the 
floor, to the murals and frescoes on the walls--indeed, to the crown of 
the Statue of Freedom atop the dome which he climbed and made new with 
great panache and little regard for his own safety--nothing has escaped 
his hand, and all is better than he found it.
  The Capitol was built as an expression of our beliefs. It was not an 
efflorescence of elite aestheticism; it was and remains the bone and 
muscle of our democracy. More than we care to realize, what we build, 
destroy, or preserve tells future generations the sort of people we 
are. Next to the social edifice of our Constitution and our Bill of 
Rights, the Capitol may be the most important legacy we leave behind. 
For nearly a quarter-century as Architect of the Capitol, George White 
has given his very fiber to preserving and improving that legacy, and 
we are thankful for it.
  Mr. President, this is a resolution to recognize and commend the 
Architect of the Capitol, the Honorable George M. White, FAIA, for his 
outstanding service to the Nation, and to tender to him the thanks and 
good wishes of the American people on the occasion of his retirement.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am honored to join my good friend and 
colleague from New York, Mr. Moynihan, in submitting this resolution 
recognizing the Honorable George M. White on the occasion of his 
retirement as Architect of the Capitol.
  Since being appointed by President Nixon in 1971, Mr. White has 
served the Congress and the Nation with the utmost dedication and 
professionalism. During the nearly 25 years he served as Architect of 
the Capitol, Mr. White presided over the construction and preservation 
of numerous buildings on the Capitol Grounds. But most importantly, his 
commitment and expertise has assured that future generations will be 
able to visit the grounds and enjoy the rich history that is 
encompassed in the Capitol buildings.
  Mr. President, I thank Mr. White for his distinguished service to our 
Nation and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.
  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution and preamble be agreed to, en bloc; that the 
motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc; and that any 
statements appear in the Record in the appropriate place as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  So the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 33) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 33

       Whereas at its inception, the Capitol of the United States 
     of America was blessed to rise under the hand of some of this 
     Nation's greatest architects, including Dr. William Thornton, 
     Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and Charles Bullfinch;
       Whereas prior to the Honorable George Malcolm White, FAIA 
     being appointed by President Nixon on January 27, 1971, it 
     had been 106 years since a professional architect had been 
     named to the post of Architect of the Capitol;
       Whereas Mr. White has served the Congress through an 
     unprecedented period of growth and modernization, using to 
     advantage his professional accreditation in architecture, 
     engineering, law, and business;
       Whereas Mr. White has prepared the Capitol Complex for the 
     next century by developing the ``Master Plan for the Future 
     Development of the Capitol Grounds and Related Areas'';
       Whereas Mr. White has added new buildings to the Capitol 
     grounds as authorized by Congress, including the Thurgood 
     Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, the Philip A. Hart 
     Senate Office Building, and the Library of Congress James 
     Madison Memorial Building, and through acquistion and 
     renovation, the Thomas P. O'Neill and Gerald R. Ford House 
     Office Buildings, the Webster Hall Senate Page Dormitory, and 
     the Capitol Police Headquarters Building;
       Whereas Mr. White has preserved for future generations the 
     existing historic fabric of the Capitol Complex by faithfully 
     restoring the Old Senate Chamber, the Old Supreme Court 
     Chamber, National Statuary Hall, the Brumidi corridors, the 
     Rotunda canopy and frieze, the West Central Front and 
     Terraces of the Capitol, the House Monumental Stairs, the 
     Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson and John Adams 
     Buildings, and the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome;
       Whereas Mr. White has greatly contributed to the 
     preservation and enhancement of the design of the District of 
     Columbia through his place on the District of Columbia Zoning 
     Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Pennsylvania 
     Avenue Development Corporation, and other civic organizations 
     and commissions; and
       Whereas upon Mr. White's retirement on November 21, 1995, 
     he leaves a legacy of tremendous accomplishment, having made 
     the Capitol his life's work and brought to this century the 
     erudition and polymath's capacity of our first Architects: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the thanks and good wishes of the American 
     people are hereby tendered to the Honorable George M. White, 
     FAIA, on the occasion of his retirement from the Office of 
     the Architect of the Capitol after nearly a quarter-century 
     of outstanding service to this nation.

  Mr. COVERDELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

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  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I might inquire, what is the order of the 
day or hour?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business, with 
Senators authorized to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I would like to speak in morning business, 
then.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.

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