[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO ROBERT WALKER AND WILLIAM CLINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JAMES C. GREENWOOD

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 1996

  Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to pay tribute to 
two Members of this body who have distinguished themselves as honorable 
leaders through their lives of service in this House. For nearly 20 
years, Chairmen Robert Walker and Bill Clinger have served this body as 
faithful representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They 
entered this House at a time of upheaval as our Nation struggled to 
regain the confidence in its institutions and elected officials that 
had been shaken by the schism over Vietnam and the disgrace of 
Watergate. Through their devotion and selfless service, Chairmen Robert 
Walker and Bill Clinger played leading roles in restoring faith to the 
American people, particularly to the people of the 5th and 16th 
Districts of Pennsylvania.
  In my time as a member of this body, I have had the pleasure to serve 
in the same delegation as these two gentlemen, and it is unfortunate 
for this House that upon conclusion of the 104th Congress, we will lose 
them to retirement.
  For his early years in Millersville, PA, Chairman Walker dedicated 
himself to a life of service to our Nation. Whether he was shaping the 
minds of our Nation's young as a social studies teacher at Penn Manor 
High School, protecting his State as member of its National Guard, or 
chairing the House Committee on Science, Chairman Walker has 
contributed to our Nation in ways both large and small. As an 
enthusiastic supporter of science, he has preached the necessity for 
Federal involvement in research and development projects. As a 
visionary, he recognized the vast potential of outer space and led the 
fight for further funding of both the manned space program and the 
space station project. As a Government steward of our planet, he 
strongly advocated research and development into hydrogen as an 
alternative fuel source with the hopes of saving our environment form 
further pollution.
  As a protector of our civil liberties, he secured a student's right 
to voluntary prayer by being the original sponsor of the only existing 
law protecting that sacred right. And as a reformer, he struggled to 
make our Nation's workplaces drug free through his efforts on the Drug-
Free Workplace Act.
  Chairman Bill Clinger has also lived a life of dedication and 
service. From his beginnings at the Blair Co. in his hometown of 
Warren, PA, to his career overseas as a lieutenant in Navy 
intelligence, as a lawyer in his own law firm, and eventually a member 
and leader of this House, Chairman Clinger has likewise given of 
himself to his community, his State and his country while asking for 
nothing in return. He entered this House at about the same time as 
Chairman Walker and set upon the same task, but on the battlegrounds of 
different committees. As a member, and eventual chairman, of the House 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Chairman Clinger set upon 
the difficult task of restoring the promise of a government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people.
  During the dark days of the post-Vietnam and Watergate era, Chairman 
Clinger came to Washington with one goal in mind, to restore the faith 
of the American people through tireless and often thankless service to 
the reformation of their government and their institutions. He has done 
this by fighting to make this government more accountable to the people 
by reforming the managerial practices of Government organizations from 
the General Accounting Office to the White House. Through his support 
of measures such as the line item veto and the curbing of unfunded 
Federal mandates, Chairman Clinger has fought to cut wasteful 
Government spending and pork-barrel projects that have plagued the 
American public for so long and have continued to demand more of the 
people's hard earned money. Through his support of these measures and 
adhering to the higher standards of civility and intellectural 
integrity, Chairman Clinger has shown himself to be a true 
representative of the needs and wants of the people of the United 
States, who are indeed the true governing force of this great nation.
  Mr. Speaker, through almost 20 years of service, Chairmen Walker and 
Clinger have done much to restore the faith of the people and to bring 
honor to this great House in which we are members. Mr. Speaker, I ask 
you, as well as the rest of my colleagues in this House, to join with 
me and the people of Pennsylvania in thanking Chairmen Robert Walker 
and Bill Clinger for their years of service as distinguished Members 
and leaders of this House.

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