[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5650-H5651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




WELCOMING THE HONORABLE EARL BLUMENAUER TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I would first yield to the Honorable 
Richard Gephardt, the minority leader.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
   Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to join all of my 
colleagues--Democrats and Republicans alike--as we welcome the newest 
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Earl Blumenauer of 
Portland, OR.

[[Page H5651]]

  As we all know, Earl comes to Congress with big shoes to fill. He's 
following in the footsteps of our former colleague, Ron Wyden, now the 
junior Senator from Oregon. For 15 years, Ron devoted himself to the 
people of Portland. His service and effectiveness will certainly be 
missed in the people's House.
  But I think the people of the Third District of Oregon have chosen a 
remarkable replacement in Earl Blumenauer--for they have chosen a man 
who has spent his entire life building his community, and bringing 
Portland's common sense to Portland's problems.
  Earl had a passion for public policy at a very young age, testifying 
before Congress while he was still a college student. And after 
finishing school and working briefly in education, Earl became the 
youngest person ever elected to the Oregon Legislature, at 23 years 
old.
  After three terms in his State's legislature, two as county 
commissioner, and three more on Portland's City Council, Earl has shown 
that his dedication to local solutions could have a national impact.
  He's already recognized as a leader on urban environment and 
transportation policies. He's been a champion of reasonable, thoughtful 
land use; aggressive recycling; and the kind of light rail that has 
worked so well throughout the Portland region.
  No wonder Earl won the support of prominent Republicans as well as 
Democrats in his election bid.
  So I'm delighted to welcome him to Congress--to serve the people of 
Portland, and all Americans. I expect that his vision and values will 
contribute a great deal to our debates, and to the Nation's problems.

                              {time}  1030

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the minority 
leader, and I am very pleased myself to have the honor of welcoming the 
gentleman from Oregon, Earl Blumenauer, as the newest Member of the 
U.S. House of Representatives and the Oregon delegation.
  I have to say, in all honesty, I cannot think of a more highly 
qualified person to represent Oregon as a new Member in this body. He 
has a lengthy history of public service: He served in the Oregon 
Legislature, the Oregon Community College Board; he was a Multnomah 
County Commissioner at the same time I was a Lane County Commissioner, 
a tremendous experience and training to become a Member of Congress, to 
bring that local orientation with him; and he was on the Portland City 
Council.
  Throughout his 24 years of elected office, perhaps the thing he is 
best known for is he is a worker, a hard worker. In each position that 
he has held of public trust he has not only done the job that has been 
asked of him, he as taken on a leadership role, rolled up his sleeves 
and helped develop creative and workable solutions to problems at every 
level of government. He has not risen through the ranks of government 
by resting on his laurels on his past record; he is constantly working, 
learning, serving, and doing better.
  I know he will continue that commitment here in Congress, and I look 
forward to having his skill, knowledge, and energy to call upon and 
utilize as we work to do the people's business for the citizens of 
Oregon and our Nation.
  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DeFAZIO. I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon.
  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, I, too, am extraordinarily excited and happy 
that we are being joined by a great new Member from Oregon.
  I think I would just like to say that to me the gentleman from 
Oregon, Earl Blumenauer, has the perfect background for being a Member 
of Congress, because he has been an activist. He has been an activist 
in our community and he has been a public servant. And it seems to me 
there is not a part of Oregon that does not in some way have that 
gentleman's fingerprints upon it. Whether it is the livability of our 
cities, whether it is recycling or transportation, he has been there 
and he has done the hard work.
  He has shaped, I think, the present of the most livable city in this 
country, Portland, OR, and has shaped the future of that city, and I 
know that he will work to shape the future for not just Oregon but for 
the United States as he works with us in this prestigious body, and I 
welcome him to this delegation and to this House, the people's House.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DeFAZIO. I yield to the gentleman from Oregon.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their kind 
words. I am honored to be able to join my colleagues and looking 
forward to working with them in advancing the tradition of the House.
  I am greatly appreciative of the help of Representative DeFazio, 
Representative Furse, Senator Hatfield, and Senator Wyden, and others 
from the Oregon delegation in terms of making the transaction work for 
me, and I am looking forward to working with all my colleagues to 
protect the environment and leave this country a little better for our 
children.

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