[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11576-H11577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JIM ROSS LIGHTFOOT ON HIS RETIREMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Livingston].
  (Mr. LIVINGSTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief but sincere in my 
remarks. I thank my friend for taking out this time.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here to say bon voyage, good luck, and best 
wishes to our good friend, the gentleman from Iowa, Jim Ross Lightfoot, 
the distinguished Congressman from Iowa, who has been with us since he 
was elected to Congress in 1984.
  Jim Ross is running for the Senate, and we certainly wish him lots of 
success in that endeavor. We do not know why he wants to aspire to the 
other body when he has got a great life here, and he has a lot of 
friends, and we enjoy having him here. But the fact is, he has made 
that decision, and he has lots of talents that he will take with him.
  He grew up on a farm in Iowa. He has a wonderful family. His wife 
Nancy and his four children I know are wishing him well and working 
hard for him in his current effort.
  Jim Ross and I, I went in the Navy after high school and he went in 
the Army. I guess that gives us some reason for our great friendship 
that we have had over the years. After he got out of the Army, he 
worked for IBM. He was transferred to Oklahoma, worked as a police 
officer, then a small businessman in Texas, and ultimately as a 
broadcaster in Iowa.
  I really believe it was in that role that he kind of learned a trait 
that made him much like that fellow that wrote the book under the 
pseudonym ``Anonymous,'' because I have suspected for many, many years 
that Jim Ross Lightfoot is really that voice, the anonymous voice, on 
Motel 6 ads.

                              {time}  2000

  You listen to him, he is the same guy. But whether he is or not, I 
just have to thank him for his dedicated devoted service to the 
Committee on Appropriations and to the U.S. Congress. He served as 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General 
Government over the last 2 years. He served on the Appropriations 
Subcommittees on Foreign Operations and Transportation, as I know my 
friend from Virginia will talk about, and he served as co-chair of the 
law enforcement caucus because of his law enforcement background.
  He represented his constituents with great distinction and honor and 
dignity, and he will take that dignity with him wherever he goes. I 
personally wish him well. I want to express my sincere thanks to him 
for his wonderful work over these last 2 years in assisting, as part of 
a team to literally transform America, to show America that we do not 
have to have ever larger, bigger, more expensive government,

[[Page H11577]]

that we can do more for less and give efficiency to the taxpayer and 
also represent the taxpayer with great aplomb and honor.
  Mr. WOLF. Reclaiming my time, the chairman might want to go to the 
Senate because he filibustered this entire 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I will include my full statement in the Record. I am 
here to pay tribute to Jim Lightfoot. I will say a couple of things and 
submit the rest for the Record. Jim is an honest, decent, ethical 
person. We got to know each other very, very well in our Bible study. 
He is great storyteller. He is a good family man.
  I just say God bless you, we wish you well, we know you are going to 
be elected to the Senate, but, Jim, it is an honor and privilege to 
serve with you.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take the floor this evening to honor 
Congressman Jim Lightfoot as he retires from the House of 
Representatives and embarks on a campaign to represent the entire State 
of Iowa in the Senate. He will be sorely missed in this body and I wish 
him well.
  Mr. Speaker, when Republicans assumed control of the 104th Congress, 
Jim Lightfoot was called upon to steer the Treasury, Postal Service, 
and General Government appropriations subcommittee through its 
difficult work. He guided the subcommittee with humor, heart, and 
conviction. The Nation is safer because Representative Lightfoot stood 
by Federal law enforcement when they were under fire. He stood up for 
what was right and persevered in his convictions.
  I don't mean to imply that Jim was cocky or overestimated his 
opponents. In fact, wary of the outcome of a potentially contentious 
subcommittee markup, Representative Jim Lightfoot rolled up his 
sleeves, sharpened his pencils, and strapped on a flak jacket just to 
be sure. All turned out well, the bill was passed, Federal law 
enforcement emerged a bit stronger, and Jim was not shot at once. I was 
relieved because as vice chairman of the subcommittee, I had the 
pleasure of sitting next to him.
  Jim, this body will miss your humor and good will. I appreciate your 
working with all Members in a bipartisan manner, working with me on a 
variety of issues of interest to Federal employees and other issues 
addressed by the subcommittee. Jim and I also worked on a number of 
transportation issues together, and I have always been thankful that he 
never once asked to have a field hearing aboard his plane.
  The citizens of Iowa should be proud and honored by your work here. 
You have done your constituents proud. Good luck to you in the busy 
months ahead and godspeed.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. REGULA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I just want to echo 
the comments of my colleagues.
  I have served with Jim on the Committee on Appropriations. What I 
appreciate about his approach is that it is very businesslike. He takes 
the challenge of stretching a dollar to give the people of this Nation 
responsible government. Jim is the epitome of what a good legislator 
should be. Certainly his record in the Committee on Appropriations 
stands as a challenge to all of us to manage the Nation's affairs well 
on behalf of the people we represent. I along with my colleagues wish 
him well in his new ventures.

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