[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REMEMBERING SECRETARY RON BROWN AND THOSE WHO PERISHED WITH HIM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember still, as we are all 
still feeling, those who were on the plane with Secretary Ron Brown. It 
was a loss that this country feels now and is going to feel for quite a 
long time.
  In West Virginia we feel this deeply, the lose of the Government 
personnel, the military personnel, the private sector personnel. In 
addition to Secretary Brown we lost William Morton of Huntington who 
was buried Saturday in Huntington, who was long time involved in so 
many things that made this country great: political campaigns and 
working with Secretary Brown in a number of capacities.
  He grew up and graduated, went to Huntington High School and went on 
to make his mark in so many different areas. I give thanks for his life 
and that of Ron Brown's. With Secretary Brown he was a man of 
composure, a man of pragmatism, a man of obvious intelligence, and a 
compassionate man.
  So many stories that each of us has about Secretary Ron Brown. I 
remember one. He visited Martinsburg, WV, at my request somewhere 
around 2 years ago. We had a celebration, he was kicking off a 
compressed natural gas vehicle caravan. We had bands out there, and 
there were two little children that were making presentations.
  I still remember that Secretary Brown was there surrounded, by 
Members of Congress and the State leadership and the city leadership 
and the county leadership, and everybody's in a suit looking very 
official, and these two little girls. One of the little girls was 
making a presentation in the microphone, and of course she was dressed 
in her Sunday best, and she was a little awed by all of this and she 
had trouble with a couple of her words. Secretary Brown nodded very 
patiently, went over and leaned over and said take your time. Just take 
your time. She smiled and finished like a champ.
  Secretary Brown was, we liked to kid him, he was a property owner in 
West Virginia owning property in the Canaan Valley. But I think what he 
will be remembered for, so much he will be remembered because more 
people are working today in this country because of Ron Brown. There 
are more opportunities for people today in this country because of Ron 
Brown. There are more jobs that have been created in this country today 
because of Ron Brown. There are more trade opportunities here and 
abroad because of Ron Brown.
  The Commerce Department, which has been a traditional backwater for 
many years, is a thriving vibrant department today because of Ron 
Brown. In so many areas we see his hand and we are going to miss that 
guiding hand.
  The testimony of Ron Brown, well, there are so many testimonies, but 
I know one. As well as being a member of the Democratic Party, he is 
the one who put us back on track. He took a demoralized party and 
turned it, in just a few short years, to one that won the Presidency 
for the first time in 12 years. A tribute to Ron Brown is how many of 
us, how many people who came in contact with him called him friend.
  I was at a meeting in Missouri this week, Republicans and Democrats 
alike, as well as foreign parliamentarians, and Ron Brown's name came 
up. And all of us stopped and every one of us had a story to tell about 
Ron Brown. Every one of us wanted to tell that story. Every one of us 
knew him as friends. Ron Brown was our friend. He was a friend of 
America's and we miss him. We miss him, very, very much.

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