[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H12196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLINGER. Mr. Speaker, as the 104th Congress winds to a close, and 
along with it my tenure in this body, I am delighted to have this 
opportunity, this unexpected opportunity, to take a moment to say thank 
you, thank you to all of the dedicated men and women who have served me 
and the constituents of my district in Pennsylvania so well, and 
members of my personal staff, both current and former staff members, 
but most especially to those who have been with me from the beginning; 
that is, from January 3, 1979.
  They include Nancy Scott. They say there is no such thing as an 
indispensable person. Nancy Scott was indispensable to me throughout my 
entire tenure. She was the absolute office manager par excellence in my 
Washington office, along with Becky Mills in my district office in 
State College, as well as Rosemarie Massa in my Warren office. My 
gratitude also to Susan Gurekovich in the State College office, who has 
run my military academy selection board for 18 years.
  They are the 18-year veterans, but there are others. My AA, Ed 
Feddeman; LA's Allison Beltz and Jill Hershey; press secretary Chris 
Krese; and so many others who have made my life so much easier and the 
lives of so many of my constituents so much better.
  It has also been a great honor and extraordinary experience, I must 
say mostly pleasurable experience, to serve as chairman of the 
Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and I also want to salute 
the superb cadre of professionals I have had the honor of being 
associated with on that committee.
  First and foremost, my long time friend, Jim Clarke, who came to 
Washington with me in 1979 and has served in almost every capacity on 
the personal staff, from go-fer, to administrative assistant, and now 
as the highly respected Chief of Staff of the Government Reform and 
Oversight Committee. He has performed in every one of those capacities 
with consummate skill and ability.
  But so many others deserve commendation. Eddie Amorosi, who is an 
alumni of my personal office as well, who became a first class media 
expert on the committee; Monty Tripp, our line item veto guru; Kristine 
Simmons, our unfunded mandates expert; Ellen Brown, without whom 
procurement reform, dramatic procurement reform, would never have 
happened; Jane Cobb and Diann Howland, who helped produce significant 
reports on such things as the looming decennial census and a critique 
of this administration's management reform.
  My thanks also to Kevin Sabo for his wise and helpful advice as Chief 
Counsel, and to Barbara Olson and Barbara Comstock and the entire 
investigative team for their very careful, tenacious, very tenacious 
work, in conducting the numerous investigations that we have undertaken 
as a committee. And to all of the unnamed others who helped make our 
committee among the most productive, if not the most productive of the 
entire Congress, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
  Finally, my greatest thanks to my wife Judy, who has put up with the 
unpredictability and the general chaos of life in Congress with few 
complaints and enormous good humor for the past 18 years. I have had a 
great ride, and I have enjoyed almost all of it.
  As I have said, as someone said, I am humble enough to know I have 
made mistakes, but vain enough to have forgotten what they are. I also 
know whatever success I have had, I owe to all of the people, named and 
unnamed, past and present, who I have thanked today.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. CLINGER. I am delighted to yield to my classmate and good friend, 
the chairman of the Committee on Rules, Jerry Solomon.
  Mr. SOLOMON. I just want to the say to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania that we certainly are going to miss you, Bill. You and I 
came here together 18 years ago, 2 years after the speaker pro tem in 
the Chair there, Bob Walker, and the two of you coming from 
Pennsylvania have been great Members of this body.
  But I just wanted to say a few words about you, because you and I, I 
think we started out, I was a member of the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure back 18 years ago, went on that committee with you, 
and did not last long. They pulled me off and put me on some other 
committees. But you did such a magnificent job on the Transportation 
Committee.
  But more than that, in the last 2 years, you certainly have 
established just an impeccable record as chairman of the Government 
Oversight Committee. That is not an easy committee. You had many 
difficult subjects to deal with.
  There are those of us that have admired you for a long time, but in 
the last 2 years, that admiration has just escalated. Your demeanor and 
the way you handle yourself is so appreciated by all of us.
  I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you the best, you and 
your wife and your family when you leave us. I hope you do not go too 
far away, because we want to lean on you for your old sage advice, even 
though you might not be here in the Chamber with us.
  Mr. CLINGER. I thank you very, very much, Jerry.

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