[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3555-H3556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE INCREASED NEED FOR CIVILITY IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY SHOULD START IN 
                                CONGRESS

  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 want to shift gears for a second. I can be 
as partisan as anybody can, I think, and probably have been, but it has 
also become increasingly clear to me that there is a need for a 
nonpartisan approach to this institution, this institution called 
Congress.

[[Page H3556]]

  There is a need for Members, all of us, to be thinking carefully 
about the messages that we send to the public, because if we say it 
enough times about ourselves, then after a while people begin to 
believe us. And the messages that go forth about this institution, 
Republican and Democrat alike sending them, I might add, I think have 
caused a lot of people to wonder.
  The fact of the matter is that each of the Members who chose to run 
for this institution chose to run. And I believe deeply that Members 
who are here believe in what they are doing. It is in that capacity, 
then, that we need to make sure that we communicate the best of this 
institution as well as our constantly trying to change it.

  I listened to a debate the other day on a contentious issue. It was 
not necessarily Republican or Democrat, it was just a very, very 
contentious issue. And I heard from both sides the charges back and 
forth of, well, this person is in the pocket of so-and-so, or this 
person who just spoke is speaking up for such-and-such a group. As it 
rang back and forth I thought how does this debate come across to those 
who are watching and listening. And the answer is these folks must know 
what they are talking about and maybe they are all in the pockets of 
so-and-so.
  My feeling is, and I believe the way most people here feel, is that 
Members of Congress are not in the pockets of anybody and that they are 
here wrestling with some honest to goodness difficult questions.
  I look around this Chamber and what I see in these seats is this is 
where the Nation comes together. This is the crossroads of the country 
and this is where the country comes to try to work out its problems. 
Somebody from California or someone who lives on the seacoast may not 
know what it is like to live up a mountain hollow in West Virginia. By 
the same token, I have to learn what it is like to live in many other 
parts of the country and the problems that are faced there, and 
sometimes that is a slow process and sometimes it requires a lot of 
deliberation. So it is a process of trying to come to a consensus and 
understand one another.
  I will say this. This is probably about as divergent a Congress as I 
have ever had the privilege to serve in terms of political views, 
ranging from the extreme conservative to the extreme liberal. But I 
also know that the best hope that this country has is to be able to 
work this out within the confines of this institution. That is why it 
exists. It is called Congress. Congress means coming together. 
Obviously, with the divergent viewpoints we all have, it may take a 
little longer to come together.
  We can have vigorous debate. We have to have that debate. We can have 
tough aggressive partisanship. But I also ask that we be thinking about 
respect for this institution. Because if we are truly leaders, and 
people elect us to be leaders, then that means people are following our 
example. And if we are in here wrestling around and calling each other 
names, then I wonder whether or not that becomes the commonplace form 
or method of operation or mode of communication for those of our 
contstituents. If it is okay for those folks in Congress, it must be 
okay for me.
  There is a need for civility, an increased need for civility in our 
society today, and I think one place it needs to begin is here in 
Congress.

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