[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO CIVIL SERVANTS ON THE 2-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE OKLAHOMA 
                              CITY TRAGEDY

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 17, 1997

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, April 19, 1997 we mark the 2-
year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, one of the most 
reprehensible tragedies in our Nation's history. I rise today to pay 
tribute to the fallen Federal workers and the other victims who 
perished in an event that continues to tug at the heart strings of the 
entire Nation.
  The cowardly and meaningless act of terrorism against the civil 
servants and children in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building has 
touched off a 2-year period of national soul-searching and 
introspection. Many of the victims families are attempting to move 
forward in their lives. In fact, the mother of Baylee Almon, whose limp 
body in the arms of a firefighter became the symbol of the heroism and 
heartbreak of the bombing, was recently married and is taking steps to 
move beyond her daughter's death.
  We lost many of these fine men and women 2 years ago and I want to 
once again extend my heartfelt sympathies to all of their families, 
their friends, their coworkers, their neighbors, and those they serve. 
As the old saying goes, ``time heals all wounds''; but, the Oklahoma 
City tragedy will require significantly more than 2 years to diminish 
the effect it has had on the entire country.
  Mr. Speaker, it has long been my view that Federal workers are one of 
our Nation's greatest assets. As President Lyndon Johnson once noted:

       So very much of what we are as a Nation--and what we are to 
     achieve as a people--depends on the calibre and character of 
     the Federal career people. In no other endeavor can you more 
     directly serve our country's cause--or the values on which we 
     stand--than in the public service.

  Mr. Speaker, the people we lost in the bombing were not nameless 
faceless bureaucrats, and, Mr. Speaker let me be perfectly clear and to 
the point--I get angry over those who would denigrate our civil 
servants. All too often it is the prevailing habit of this body to 
attack the character and devotion of our Federal employees. Mr. 
Speaker, we must stop the senseless scapegoating and needless bashing 
of our civil servants.
  Yes, there are nonperformers, just like there are at corporations and 
factories across our country. But, Mr. Speaker, the great majority of 
these men and women are Americans with a deep love for their Nation 
who, in many cases, have bypassed more lucrative careers to serve their 
fellow citizens.
  Federal employees play an integral, albeit often invisible role in 
our daily lives. Federal employees make sure that our senior citizens 
get their monthly Social Security checks and that our veterans get the 
care and treatment they need. Federal employees are responsible for 
printing our money and insuring it when we make deposits at the bank. 
Federal employees protect our borders and make sure the food we eat is 
safe. The bottom line is that Federal employees devote their days, and 
often their nights, to ensuring that our Government and our country is 
a better place to live.
  So, as we pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the Oklahoma 
City tragedy, I urge my colleagues and my fellow Americans to give 
great care and thought to those who would criticize our Federal 
Government. Yes, you get angry at the IRS; yes, you may get angry at 
law enforcement officials, but do not allow that anger to be directed 
at individuals. Let it be directed at policy. Let us all be a civil 
society and strive to make America the great Nation we all know it can 
be.

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