[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11577-H11578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JIM ROSS LIGHTFOOT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of Georgia). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Latham] is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to rise this evening to pay 
tribute to my colleague from Iowa, Jim Ross Lightfoot. I came here less 
than 2 years ago now. As a freshman Member, I looked to certain 
individuals for leadership, for advice, for counsel. Jim has been there 
every time I have asked for anything.
  Mr. Speaker, I knew he had a great start. He was born in Sioux City, 
IA, which is in my district, and was adopted by two very loving 
parents. I think he reflects very much what Iowa is all about, the 
honesty, the kind of values that I think this Nation needs today and 
has lived by those.
  Jim, your wife Nancy and your family should be congratulated for 
putting up with you, but, also, your entire family has been a great 
inspiration to all of us here. I just want to thank you on behalf of 
the State of Iowa and especially the people in your district. You had 
several counties previously that I now represent. They love you very 
much in those counties. I wish you the very, very best in your run for 
the Senate and offer my total support. I want to tell you how much it 
has been an honor for me to serve with you in this body.
  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LATHAM. I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.
  Mr. NUSSLE. I thank the gentleman first of all for taking the time 
and for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues from Iowa in 
commending my friend and colleague from Iowa, Jim Ross Lightfoot. We 
have served during a very interesting time together. Not all of it 
together; you were here, of course, before I was. Interestingly enough, 
when I think of your service, I think probably of one of the most 
interesting commitments that you made, that you would serve for a 
period of time and then you were going to take off. That, if I am not 
mistaken, was 12 years. You are right at the threshold of crossing that 
12-year mark, and you are ready to go on to hopefully bigger and better 
things.
  The interesting thing that that brings to mind for me is that, as 
most Iowans appreciate, when you make a promise and you make a 
commitment and you make a pledge, you keep it. That has certainly been 
your mantra. That has been how you have served here in this body.

  There have been disagreements, I am sure, with colleagues, whether it 
is across the aisle or even on the same aisle, but I have to tell you 
that when somebody sees they are going to do something and they do it, 
you have to have that kind of respect because around here your word is 
your bond.
  When you leave here, there is going to be a Congressional Record of 
all these fancy speeches and everything, but when it comes right down 
to it, it is that kind of friendship in remembering, when somebody said 
something, they meant it, and it meant something because it was backed 
up by the people that they represent. We know those people because we 
all have the pleasure of representing those folks in Iowa.
  I just want to say good luck to you. I thank you for your service, in 
being a mentor to so many of us who came after you. We are going to 
look for inspiration from you, hopefully, maybe from a different 
vantage point. We would like to see that vantage point not too far 
away, maybe just down the hall here in the other body, as we have to 
refer to it; we cannot say ``the Senate.'' We have to say ``the other 
body.'' So hopefully we will be able to go visit you over at the other 
building. Godspeed to you and to your wife Nancy. You will always be a 
constituent of ours because we represent all of Iowa.
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.
  Mr. ISTOOK. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I like Jim Lightfoot. 
I am very glad that in his working career he got to spend some time in 
Oklahoma. We are grateful for that, so we can consider him at least to 
some extent an adopted son of the Sooner State.
  Essentially, when I was a freshman on the Committee on Appropriations 
and especially serving on the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, 
and General Government, Jim Lightfoot more than anyone else took me 
under his wing, helped me to understand what was going on, comparing it 
with what should be going on instead. I have always been grateful for 
that and enjoyed the chance to serve with him on the full committee and 
on that subcommittee.
  Jim has very patient with me, which is not always easy, as he well 
knows and a lot of other people do. He has been very attractive as well 
and interested in wanting to help listen to and act on other people's 
ideas.
  It is nice to have something in common. Jim loves flying. I started 
flying lessons about the time I got into politics and never got to 
finish, so I am jealous of that. He served in law enforcement. I had a 
brief law enforcement stint. It is over.
  I am glad, though, that he for many years as a farm broadcaster was 
up early in the morning because in my years in broadcasting, I only 
lasted a few months when I had to start a shift at 3 a.m., and he went 
on for years. So I am grateful for Jim Lightfoot.

[[Page H11578]]

  The final thing that I think anyone ought to say about him, because I 
understand this is your birthday today, Jim, your 58th birthday. After 
all the years with him, when some people were trying to claim that he 
did not care about senior citizens, Jim's mother made a commercial 
saying she knows you can trust her son, Jimmy. By golly, after 58 years 
if his mother says that Jim Lightfoot can still be trusted and is still 
an obedient, dutiful son, if it is good enough for mom, it is good 
enough for me. I am proud of Jim Lightfoot.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, it's not often that a distinguished cardinal 
of the Appropriations Committee flies away to the other body. But Jim 
Lightfoot has decided that he will take his common-sense, his great 
humor, and his great ability to the Senate.
  The House's loss will be the Senate's gain.
  Serving with Jim Lightfoot on the Appropriations Committee has been 
both an honor and a privilege.
  He has fought hard to cut out wasteful Washington spending, while 
making certain that his constituents in Iowa are represented fairly. He 
has been a passionate defender of small business owners and farmers of 
his district.
  Most importantly, Jim Lightfoot is a man of his word. When Jim 
Lightfoot makes an agreement, he sticks to it. That is a trait that 
needs to become more common here in the United States Congress.
  Jim Lightfoot is a great American and he will make an outstanding 
Senator when he wins in November.
  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our distinguished colleague, 
Chairman Jim Livingston, for reserving this Special Order. I am pleased 
to join in this salute to our colleague, Jim Ross Lightfoot, as he 
prepares to depart at the end of this legislative session.
  Jim Lightfoot was elected to the United States Congress in 1984. 
During his tenure, he has done an excellent job of representing the 
Third Congressional District of Iowa. His constituents and the Nation 
have benefited as a result of his strong commitment to public service. 
He has played a key role in deliberations that have helped to shape our 
society and the Nation.
  Jim Lightfoot earned the respect of his colleagues for his efforts as 
a member of the House Appropriations Committee. On that panel, he 
chairs the Subcommittee on the Treasury, Postal Service and General 
Government. Jim is also a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Foreign Operations. In additional to these assignments, Jim Lightfoot 
distinguished himself in his role as Chairman of the Republican Task 
Force on Health Care and Cochairman of the House Law Enforcement 
Caucus. His legislative record reflects his hard work on issues which 
include health care reform, crime and agricultural matters.

  Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Appropriations panel, I have 
tremendous respect for Jim Lightfoot. Our congressional delegation 
worked closely with him to secure funding for new Federal Court House 
Building. Jim is a conscientious lawmaker and a gentleman for whom I 
have great respect.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues in saluting Jim Ross 
Lightfoot. We wish him and the members of his family our very best in 
the years to come.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
distinguished representative from Iowa, the Hon. Jim Ross Lightfoot. 
For the past 12 years, Jim has honorably served the people of Iowa's 
Third District. Now I wish him the best in his attempt to represent 
Iowa in the United States Senate.
  Jim has served this country in many different capacities, including 
in the Army, as a police officer, on the Corsicana, Texas City 
Commission, and most recently, as the Representative from Iowa's Third 
District.
  While in Congress, Jim has made his marks on the Appropriations 
Committee, where he has served as the Subcommittee Chairman on 
Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government for the past 2 years. 
Because of his work as Chairman, Jim deserves some of the credit for 
the savings achieved in Government spending during the 104th Congress.
  Jim's humor and demeanor will be missed in this body. He is a fighter 
whose courage and tenacity have allowed him to outlive his political 
obituary written by many pundits.
  On behalf of the citizens of Wisconsin's Ninth District, I thank the 
Hon. Jim Ross Lightfoot for his service to the House of Representatives 
and the United States.
  Mr. McDADE. Mr. Speaker, it is my very great pleasure to rise today 
to pay tribute to my colleague and dear friend, Jim Ross Lightfoot from 
Iowa who will be retiring from the House at the end of this Congress to 
pursue a seat in the other body.
  We thank Jim for his years of distinguished public service in the 
House of Representatives and wish him well as he returns to Iowa--just 
as he has done every week Congress was in session--to stay in touch 
with the people of Iowa.
  When he was first elected to the Congress in 1984, Jim brought with 
him to the House of Representatives a wide array of experience nearly 
as vast as his 27-county Congressional District.
  A small businessman himself, Jim has long been a good friend to small 
business owners. After serving in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve in 
1956-64, Jim was and is an outstanding spokesman for our Nation's 
veterans. As a former Tulsa, OK police officer, Jim was a valued leader 
in the Law Enforcement Caucus as its cochairman to pursue a seat in the 
other body.
  His stewardship of the Treasury, Postal Service and General 
Government Appropriations Subcommittee was marked by a commitment to 
safeguard taxpayers hard-earned dollars and assuring that the Federal 
departments and agencies under his jurisdiction stuck to the good 
Government policies which were and are Jim's hallmark.
  I wish Jim, his wife Nancy and their children Terri, Jamie, Alison 
and Jim Jr. the very best.

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