[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 40 (Thursday, March 21, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN SAM GIBBONS OF FLORIDA

                                 ______


                          HON. OWEN B. PICKETT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 1996

  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives, today, to pay tribute to one of the House's most 
distinguished Members, Congressman Sam Gibbons of Tampa, FL, who will 
retire at the end of this Congress.
  He served in the United States Army for 5 years during World War II 
with the 501st Parachute Infantry, 101st Airbone Division. He was in 
the initial assault force landing at Normandy and was awarded the 
Bronze Star.
  Sam was among those honored during celebrations of the 50th 
anniversary of World War II last year and is a great example of heroism 
for us all.
  During his service in the Congress, he has been a collegial friend 
and a hard worker. While he made a reputation for himself on the Ways 
and Means Committee as an expert on trade, he also showed his 
leadership abilities when he took the helm of the Committee in the 
spring of 1993, in the midst of intense debate over reforming our 
Nation's health care system.
  This year, too, Sam Gibbons, provided himself to be a tireless 
advocate to protect the interests of Medicare beneficiaries. He has 
been a persistent defender of the rights of senior citizens, a true 
representative of his constituents, and a credit to the United States 
Congress.
  We will miss him very much.

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