[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SAM GIBBONS: TRULY AN AMERICAN HERO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is recognized 
during morning business for 2 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
honoring the gentleman from Florida, my dear friend, Sam Gibbons. I 
would like to say thank you to the gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Brown] 
for organizing this tribute to a man who has served his country with 
distinction for over half a century.
  Sam Gibbons is truly an American hero. Most people know Sam for his 
work here in the House in steadfast defense of Medicare for our 
Nation's seniors. He understands what Medicare has meant in the lives 
of seniors. He understands what health insurance has meant to the 
seniors of this Nation. He has been inspiring in leading the charge in 
that important fight and I am proud to have served with Sam Gibbons.
  Yet, outstanding service to our Nation is nothing new to Sam. Mr. 
Speaker, 52 years ago this June Sam Gibbons led the charge as American 
and Allied troops stormed the beaches in Normandy in Operation 
Overlord, the invasion that liberated Nazi-occupied France and marked 
the beginning of the end of World War II.
  Sam won the Bronze Star for parachuting into France the night before 
the invasion. As President Clinton remarked during the 50th anniversary 
ceremony commemorating brave men like Sam, and I quote, ``What we must 
remember is that when they were young, these men saved the world.''
  Throughout his 34 years of service to the American people in this 
House, Sam Gibbons has worked long and hard to provide opportunity and 
progress for the American people. Sam was instrumental in the enactment 
of President Lyndon Johnson's Job Corps, Head Start, and other 
antipoverty initiatives.
  As the former chairman and current ranking Democrat of the Committee 
on Ways and Means, Sam has long been a leader on pension reform, 
international trade, health care, welfare, and tax policies.
  Again, to the gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Brown], I thank you for 
allowing me to participate in this tribute to this true American hero. 
The people's House, which is what this body is, will not be the same 
without Sam Gibbons. We will miss his intelligence, his dignity, his 
indomitable will, his commitment to the people of this country, his 
love for a good fight, and his desire to make this place a better 
world, a better country for American men and women.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish the gentleman from Florida the best fortune in 
his future endeavors.

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