[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 31 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HERSHEY RETREAT PAVES THE WAY TO MORE CIVIL DISCOURSE

  (Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the spirit of bipartisanship 
on this side of the aisle to express my thanks and gratitude to the 200 
Members who attended the bipartisan retreat that was held in Hershey, 
PA. It was an enormous success. We had about 150 spouses and over 100 
children, and the headline in the Harrisburg paper on Sunday I think 
really depicts the outcome, which says: ``Retreat declared success.'' 
And it was a success, in part because so many Members came, so many 
families came, and people really had an opportunity to build 
friendships and relationships that I believe will last well beyond our 
careers in Congress and, I think, will lead us to opportunities to 
really have meaningful dialog and debate in I hope what will be a much 
more civil atmosphere.
  I want to express my deep gratitude to the gentleman from Colorado 
[Mr. Skaggs], who cochaired this with me, the steering committee, the 
Speaker of the House [Newt Gingrich] and the Democratic leader [Dick 
Gephardt] for the extraordinary leadership that they showed in 
assisting us in getting the Members to come.
  It was a great weekend, it was a great start. It is not the panacea, 
it is not the solution, but we have begun what I believe is an 
important event that will lead us to more civil discourse and continue, 
I think, to build the idea that the House of Representatives is the 
highest legislative body and the work that we do here is very important 
and should be held in high regard.

                          ____________________