[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E79-E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE 85TH BIRTHDAY OF WILLARD MUNGER

                                 ______


                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 1996

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, today I want to honor Minnesota State 
Representative, Willard Munger, who is 85 years young and marking his 
40th year as a member of the Minnesota Legislature. Willard is a 
Minnesota original--a Minnesota natural resource--whose work honors his 
family, the State of Minnesota, and our Nation.
  Willard Munger represents the best of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor 
Party's tradition of service to the State of Minnesota. He is currently 
tied with former Representative Day as the longest-serving member of 
the House and he has no intention of retiring now. The Munger vision 
and tenacity have shaped our State and generations of lawmakers. I'm 
proud of the 6 years I served in the Minnesota House of Representatives 
with Willard Munger. Willard Munger, as a sage and chairman, introduced 
me to the task and role of environmental lawmaker. What a teacher and 
what a friend Willard Munger was to me and past, present, and future 
generations of lawmakers.
  Willard Munger reminds us again and again of our stewardship 
responsibilities. He established a pragmatic proactive progressive 
public service tradition and standard of public interest decisions that 
are sustained by sound science--both political and natural science. 
Willard first was the conscience speaking out courageously against 
powerful interests and finally a fiery new chairman. Today his advocacy 
remains constant. He is not complacent, but is rightfully viewed as 
mainstream by the careful work on law and policy that he has written 
and helped enact and will continue to advance.
  Willard was one of the first people to raise questions about the use 
of pesticides, PCBs, and mercury. He began addressing issues like 
recycling, energy conservation, nuclear power, wetlands, soil erosion, 
environmentally safe mining practices, and hazardous waste long before 
these policy matters became politically popular.
  Willard Munger's environmental vision has helped make Minnesota a 
natural leader in the areas of natural resource conservation and 
protection. Among his achievements are the enactment of the Minnesota 
Environmental 

[[Page E80]]
Policy Act, the Resource Recovery Act, the Critical Areas Act, the 
Power Plant Siting Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Waste 
Management Act, Reinvest in Minnesota, the Solid Waste Reduction and 
Recycling Act, and the 1991 Wetlands Conservation Act. I was very 
privileged to work on some of these very measures in Gov. Wendell 
Anderson's ``Minnesota Golden Years,'' 1971-1976. Willard was also 
instrumental in establishing the Western Lake Superior Sanitary 
District in the 1960's, which provided wastewater treatment along the 
St. Louis River and ended a major source of pollution in Lake Superior.
  The tireless efforts of Willard Munger on natural resource policy 
over the past 40 years have rightfully earned him the title ``the 
environmental conscience of the Minnesota Legislature.'' I was pleased 
to participate in a joint Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate 
program organized by former Minnesota Gov. Elmer L. Anderson, January 
18, 1996. It is fitting that Minnesota has declared January 18 
``Willard Munger Day.'' He has made and continues to make a difference. 
On behalf of today's and tomorrow's generations I thank Willard for 
standing up for what is right and wish him the best in the coming 
years.

                          ____________________