[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1640-E1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JAMES H. QUILLEN ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM 
                                CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 1996

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
pay tribute to a dear friend of mine and my longtime colleague on the 
Rules Committee Jimmy Quillen.
  Jimmy Quillen joined the Rules Committee with another dear friend of 
mine, Claude Pepper, in 1965.
  But this year he will be retiring and the entire country will be the 
worse for the loss of his service.
  Jimmy Quillen is the longest serving Republican on the House Rules 
Committee and the longest serving Tennessee Representative in history.
  But Jimmy's service merits distinction for its quality as well as its 
longevity.
  He began serving his country as I did, in the Navy in World War II.
  He was elected to the Tennessee State House and eventually chosen as 
speaker of that body.
  And in their wisdom, the people of the First District of Tennessee 
first elected him to Congress in 1963 and every other year thereafter.

[[Page E1641]]

  He has been married for 44 years to his beloved Cecile. It is partly 
to spend more time with her that he is leaving us and I can think of no 
more compelling reason.
  Although most Democrats may not realize it, Jimmy Quillen is one of 
the few Members with an assigned seat on the House Floor. He sits in 
the second seat in the second row from which he discussed his trademark 
wisdom and anecdotes. Anyone who tries to sit in that seat supposedly 
learns very quickly that it is not theirs to use.
  But it has not only been in the Congress where Jimmy Quillen made his 
mark. I'm told that nearly every single road, medical school, and 
institution in eastern Tennessee is named after Jimmy Quillen. And, 
after 34 years of unparalleled service to the people of the First 
District of Tennessee, Jimmy deserves every accolade he gets.
  Like many of my colleagues, I always admired Jimmy Quillen. I heard 
the story of his taking his office door off the hinges to represent his 
open-door policy when we was first elected and it has served as a great 
inspiration to me and to many of my colleagues as we work to emulate 
his great record of constituent service.
  He has been a distinguished hard-working, kind member of the Rules 
Committee and although I often wished he were arguing on our side, he 
has been a very worthy adversary and he will be sorely missed.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been a great honor serving with Jimmy Quillen on 
the Rules Committee and I join the entire Congress in wishing him well 
in his retirement.

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