[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H12191-H12192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     FAREWELL FROM THE HONORABLE JOHN T. MYERS, MEMBER OF CONGRESS

  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed emotions today 
that I take this floor. After 30 years of service in the House, if 
seems like only yesterday, January 5, 1967, that I sat in that chair 
right there, with two little girls by my side, Carol Ann, 11, and Lori, 
6. We took the oath together.
  It is not a easy task to say good-bye. So many times we have heard 
the expression, parting is such sweet sorrow. I never knew exactly what 
that meant. I guess I have said it myself many times.
  Mr. DORNAN. May I destroy the gentleman's rhythm on that sweet sorrow 
for 1 second?
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Certainly, my friend from California. It is 
difficult to follow the order of Bob Dornan.
  Mr. DORNAN. You will like this. You are something else, Mr. Myers. 
How old were you when you were the commander as a lieutenant of a 
prison camp for German prisoners?
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. I spent my 18th birthday there, as a lot of 
people did.
  Mr. Dornan. Second lieutenant at 18. Pretty darn good, commanding a 
German POW camp.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. In the Air Force I would have been a captain.
  Mr. DORNAN. That is right, but that is because so many guys were shot 
down in the chain of command. And you came in George Bush's class of 
'66.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. We were together, yes.
  Mr. DORNAN. With J.P. Hammerschmidt, who beat Clinton at his only 
other attempt at Federal office in 1974, beat him by 6,600 votes. 
Thirty years, 1966 to 1996. A whole decade more than Bob Walker. I have 
just loved serving with you. And you put the icing on the cake, you 
honorable man, you, by bringing those grandkids, that look like they 
were drawn by Norman Rockwell onto this floor, Justin and Austin, John 
Austin and Justin. What an honor serving with you, John. Let us stay in 
touch.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Thank you for knowing he was a little boy with 
that long curly hair. Grandpa wishes he has some of that.
  Mr. DORNAN. Well, I gave orders that that is not to be cut until 
another year.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. His mother will take care of that.
  Mr. DORNAN. John, keep coming back a lot. Loved serving with you.
  Mr. SOLOMON. If the gentleman will yield, John, I am going to say to 
you what I said to the honorable Speaker sitting up there, Bob Walker, 
the pro tem Speaker who is going to be leaving along with you. But we 
certainly are gong to miss you, my friend, you and Jim Quillen, who is 
retiring. I know you are the best of friends, and the two of you sat in 
these two seats right here in front of me.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. For a good many years.
  Mr. SOLOMON. During every vote taken for how many years, John?
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Thirty. Jimmy served 34.
  Mr. SOLOMON. I have been here 18 of those years. I just wanted to 
tell you, when you would come to the Committee on Rules and testify on 
the many bills, especially the appropriation bill on energy-water that 
you would bring before us, you used to do it almost being humble, and I 
just always admired you for it, because some of us have a tendency to 
be a little emotional and a little excitable. You always had that 
reserved presence which we all just admired so much.
  So I just want to wish you and your wonderful wife all the best, and 
hope you do come back and lend us your advice from time to time.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Thank you very much.
  Mr. BACHUS. If the gentleman will yield, Mr. Myers, I wanted to say 
to you, you and Mr. Bevill, and we said this on the floor of the House 
earlier this year, that when it came to protecting communities against 
floods, building levies, I do not think there is a district in the 
country that have a river that is not thankful to you for your many 
years of services on the House Appropriations Committee. A lot of 
people who do not know you, do not know your name, who may be viewing 
today, do not realize what a difference you have made in their 
communities. But I want to compliment again you and Mr. Bevill for your 
many years of service to the communities of our nation.
  Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Thank you very much for the nice remarks.
  Sweet sorrow, the sweet side is the fact that the people of the 7th 
Congressional District, the midwest-central part of Indiana, sent me 
here for 30 years. I have had the privilege of representing the good 
folks of Indiana, and it has been a great experience.
  But the sorrow is, first, I feel somewhat like I have left the staff, 
the personal staff we have had through the years, very loyal, I hope I 
have not forsaken them. But leaving them, when often they worked extra 
hours to carry out and help a constituent. There always has to be a 
time when we decide

[[Page H12192]]

to leave, but it has been difficult to leave the staff. Then also the 
friends here, those that expressed their views this afternoon, it is 
most appreciated.
  That is the sorrow side of it, of leaving friends behind. But there 
comes a time when we must do that.
  So I say today that it has been a privilege to serve in this body. 
Time goes so fast, it seems like only yesterday we came here, but it 
does go fast. But it has been a great honor to have served with so many 
people.
  As we leave, I have to say that back when I worked for a living, I 
was a farmer and a country banker, and I was president of my Chamber of 
Commerce. I passed the gavel to my successor. I had not been elected 
yet, but I felt I was going to, even the Republican National Committee 
did not think I was, but I will tell you all about that some day.
  I passed the gavel to him, and he ran a local dry cleaning 
establishment, and he stood there, straightened his tie, gulped, and 
finally I realized that he had stage fright. So I stood up and said, 
``I know Ross is overwhelmed by the responsibility we are giving him 
today,'' giving him the gavel of being president of our local chamber. 
But I said, ``Ross, say a few words. Say thank you.''
  He said well, ``I may not appreciate this, but I sure deserve it.''
  Well, I do appreciate it, and I hope I deserve something here. But as 
we leave, we say it has been a pleasure serving with each of you, and 
we will never forget it. Our prayers will always be with the hard-
working people here, the staff, and the Members that will serve in this 
Chamber in the future.
  God be with you. Thank you.

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