[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 22 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1249-H1250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PERMISSION TO INSERT PROGRAM AND REMARKS OF MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE 
            HOUSE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY CEREMONIES

  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the program 
and the remarks of the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Upton] and the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Moran], the two Members representing the 
House of Representatives at the wreath-laying ceremony at the 
Washington Monument for the observance of George Washington's birthday 
on Thursday, February 22, 1996, be inserted in today's Congressional 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Mississippi?
  There was no objection.

         President George Washington--264th Birthday Observance


                                program

       Opening: Arnold Goldstein, Superintendent, National Capital 
     Parks--Central.
       Presentation of Colors: Joint Armed Services Color Guard.
       To the Colors: Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
       Pledge of Allegiance: Cub Scout Pack 461, Bethesda, MD.
       Welcome: Superintendent Goldstein.
       Remarks:
       Russell Train, First Vice President, Washington National 
     Monument Society. 
     
[[Page H1250]]

       Terry Carlstrom, Deputy Field Director, National Capital 
     Area, National Park Service.
       The Honorable Jack Evans, Councilmember, Ward 2, Council of 
     the District of Columbia.
       Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
       The Wreath of the House of Representatives: Members of the 
     House of Representatives.
       The Wreath of the National Monument Society: Russell Train, 
     Councilmember Jack Evans.
       The Wreath of the National Park Service: Terry Carlstrom.
       Taps and Retiring of Colors: Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
                                                                    ____


   Remarks of Fred Upton, George Washington Wreath-Laying Ceremony, 
                 Washington Monument; February 22, 1996

       As I dropped off Stephen, my 4 year-old, at pre-school this 
     morning, I noticed that they are studying the former 
     presidents--they had pictures of Bill Clinton, George Bush, 
     Abe Lincoln, and George Washington on the wall. The teacher 
     remarked that a student had said ``yep, George Washington 
     never told a lie, that's why they called him Honest Abe.'' 
     Give them credit, they're learning.
       It is an honor for me to be here today representing my 
     colleagues in the House of Representatives, as we gather to 
     remember George Washington, the father of our country.
       Each year this nation sets aside one day, on the 
     anniversary of his birth, to remember the man for whom this 
     monument is built. It has been over 200 years since 
     Washington laid down the cornerstones for this great land--
     freedom from oppression, personal liberty, a commitment to 
     cooperation and hope, filled with opportunity and limitless 
     growth.
       We have come a long way since the boundaries of our nation 
     barely peeked over the Shenandoah's--mountains that you can 
     see from the top of Washington's Monument. Back when the West 
     was untamed, when forest and prairie were all that stood 
     between the colonies and the Pacific. We have grown and 
     developed to lead the world with our strong economy and 
     strong ideals, using the gifts that George Washington left 
     us. We have won wars against tyrants, survived a Civil 
     conflict of our own, liberated peoples across the globe, and 
     created a system of government envied by most of the world.
       Those of us that are left with the responsibility of 
     administering this great nation that George Washington left 
     in our hands could stand to learn some lessons from 
     Washington's time.
       His was an era of great accomplishment. A sense of 
     community and a spirit of cooperation filled the land. A 
     willingness to govern and to represent in every sense of the 
     word.
       George Washington, in his 1796 farewell address, urged our 
     nation to put aside partisanship, urged its lawmakers to 
     hang-up their divisions and to get to the task at hand of 
     legislating. The lessons of this great man ring true today as 
     our lawmakers, my colleagues beneath the dome only a mile 
     away from Washington's Monument, have become entangled in 
     partisan passions.
       Calvin Coolidge said of Washington, ``we can not yet 
     estimate him. We can only indicate our reverence for him and 
     thank the Divine Providence which sent him to serve and 
     inspire his fellow men.''
       Allow him to inspire us, let this day of remembrance, let 
     this Monument to his greatness serve as a daily reminder to 
     us all, let him inspire us to set our differences aside and 
     to be the true caretakers of this great nation that he 
     crafted for us.
       Thank you for allowing me to be here today.
                                                                    ____


Remarks of James P. Moran, at the Wreath-Laying Ceremony, Commemorating 
       President George Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1996

       I am pleased to be here and thankful for the opportunity to 
     share in this commemoration of our first President's 
     birthday.
       As a Northern Virginian, I am particularly fortunate to 
     live in proximity to the monuments that marked George 
     Washington's life. In Mount Vernon, we have his estate that 
     overlooks the Potomac River. In Alexandria, we have the 
     church where he worshipped and the city in which he conducted 
     his daily affairs. In the nation's capital, we have the 
     monument that stands like a beacon overlooking the city that 
     bears his name.
       George Washington, however, looked beyond the banks of the 
     Potomac and ventured forth into the frontier. Like many of 
     his time, he was driven by a passion for new discoveries and 
     new lands. As a young man, he became a surveyor and was one 
     of the principals of the Ohio Company which sought to conquer 
     the Western frontier. But what distinguished George 
     Washington from other landowners of his time is that he 
     always heard the call of his country and always placed 
     service to that country ahead of his personal desires.
       When his England needed a soldier to lead the Virginia 
     militia in the French and Indian Wars, George Washington 
     became commander in chief of the Virginia militia. In 1774, 
     when his colony needed a representative in the new 
     Continental Congress, George Washington left his plantation 
     to join the Continental Congress as a delegate. When the 
     fledgling rebels needed a general to lead the Revolution and 
     form those ragtag bands of militia men into a continental 
     Army capable of fighting the world's most powerful country, 
     George Washington became a hero. He led the soldiers of this 
     new country through incredible victories and crushing defeats 
     until he forced the surrender of Gen. Cornwallis on Oct. 19, 
     1781.
       After winning at Yorktown and securing the independence 
     proclaimed in 1776, George Washington again returned to Mount 
     Vernon. His return, however, would prove to be short-lived 
     for it became obvious to him that the new government of the 
     United States could not meet the challenges of governing. So 
     George Washington called together, and presided over, the 
     second Constitutional Convention where his prestige and 
     reputation were instrumental in leading to the adoption of 
     the United States Constitution.
       Immediately following the adoption of the Constitution, 
     George Washington's country again needed his services and 
     again he answered her call. At a time when he could have been 
     king, George Washington became the first American President. 
     As such, he established the standard from which all to come 
     would follow.
       George Washington was born in Virginia when it was only a 
     colony of Great Britain. He lived in Virginia at a time when 
     each state considered itself a sovereign nation independent 
     unto itself. But George Washington was not only a colonist 
     and a Virginian. He was an American and the embodiment of the 
     principles, morals, and ideals that led to the creation, and 
     success, of the United States. I am honored to have the 
     opportunity to participate in this ceremony today.

                          ____________________