[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11360-H11361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      UPCOMING BIPARTISAN RETREAT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Sawyer] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in company with our colleague 
from New York, Mr. Houghton, to report to the House on the work that a 
number of us have been doing and many Members are aware of to put 
together a bipartisan retreat on the weekend of February 28 through 
March 2 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
  This work has come about as a result of the efforts of many Members, 
but I particularly want to mention the work, in addition to Amo and 
myself, of Dave Skaggs and Ray LaHood, who, together, have worked to 
develop this effort to bring together not only Members, but our 
families and our children, in a period of time when we can overcome 
some of the barriers that we have encountered in recent years to 
getting to know one another on a human level, on a personal basis, to 
understand the kinds of things that motivate us, to recognize the 
honesty of even differing opinions, in a way that can help to build the 
civility of this Chamber and elevate the quality of public discourse.
  The planning group for this effort includes other Members. It 
includes Mr. Stenholm, Ms. Clayton, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Houghton, Mr. 
Skaggs, Mr. Dreier, and Mrs. Fowler, in an effort to use these last 
several weeks of this session to put together the logistics, including 
the site and the travel plans for this weekend at the end of February.
  I believe that there is an enormous appetite for this kind of effort. 
People across not only this Chamber, but throughout the country, have 
commented on the wide variation in the level of discourse that we have 
encountered in recent years, and many of us believe that some of that 
can be overcome, not solved, but overcome, by simply getting to know 
one another

[[Page H11361]]

better in ways that we really have not at the beginning of recent 
sessions.
  Mr. Speaker, let me yield to my colleague from New York, Mr. 
Houghton.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, with your concurrence, I would like to 
follow up and really say how much I admire the gentleman from Ohio. He 
and I worked closely together. These are not just words, he really 
believes this, and I think we all do, too. Mrs. Clayton is sitting here 
as part of our group and has been an enormous contributor.
  Mr. Speaker, we really are in trouble here. This is not just a 
debating society. We are reflecting the feelings of the people in this 
country, and when you are in trouble, you talk. People say we can talk 
on the House floor. Why go away? Why have a bipartisan retreat?
  Well, you really cannot do that. What we are trying to do is bring 
not only individuals together, but their families and children 
together. So this is the totality of what we are striving for.
  To follow up on what you have said, Mr. Sawyer, this is nothing new. 
I have gone to the Congressional Research Service and tried to get a 
little research in terms of some of the things George Washington said 
and his emphasis on comity or what Thomas Jefferson said.
  I have something that is interesting here. This is written by a 
Member of Congress and appeared in the Congressional Record, and, if I 
can just quote it, it says, ``It is my firm belief that the majority of 
members on both sides of the aisle would like to reduce the level of 
tension in partisan clashes and get on with the business of the 
country, and, therefore, we ought to cool off.''
  This was written in 1984. It always crops up this way. Periodically, 
we have got to lance the boil and get at it. I applaud what you are 
doing and your leadership here.

  Mr. SAWYER. Yours as well.
  Let me add, while we have time, that the planning for this and its 
execution will involve no taxpayer money. We have had initial 
conversations with a few memorial trusts who have expressed a serious 
interest. While we cannot commit this for them ahead of time, we have 
every confidence that they are eager to be helpful with this.
  In the end, it is not a solution. It is just a recognition that when, 
after divisive campaigns, when we come together, there ought to be a 
way to get to know one another in terms other than those in which we 
have been engaged in recent conflict.
  In past Congresses, there have been opportunities for this. In more 
recent Congresses, those opportunities have been more limited. We feel 
that this effort to do this will help to address not only this incoming 
class, but those in more recent classes who have really not had the 
opportunity to get to know one another in the way that we did when we 
first came to this Chamber.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Periodically, we sort of get off base here. Seriously, 
this is an opportunity to do something for the country, not just for 
this Chamber.

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