[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2334-H2336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO STEWART B. McKINNEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. Shays] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, Stewart McKinney, my predecessor, a member of 
this House and our friend, died 10 years ago today.
  On that day 10 years ago, many of his colleagues came to this Chamber 
to mark the moment and express their grief, their admiration, their 
condolences, their remembrances. It was a deeply moving, impromptu 
tribute to a man whose life for me and the people of Connecticut's 
Fourth Congressional District continues to define the term 
``representative.''
  So I think it is fitting that the House pause once again, 10 years 
later, to reflect upon the life, the work, and the spirit of Stewart B. 
McKinney, a Representative.
  A generosity of spirit marked all he did. He gave.
  A man of virtually boundless affability, he gave his warmth and 
courtesy to clerks, elevator operators, and Capitol police as readily 
as to his House colleagues, Cabinet Secretaries and Presidents.
  A man of considerable means, he gave the use of his cars and his 
houses to staff and friends.

[[Page H2335]]

  A man of keen intellect and insight, he gave his tenure here not to 
the cause of self-advancement but to the causes of public housing, 
homelessness, and outcast Amerasian children.

                              {time}  2200

  A self-avowed urbanist from a strongly suburban district, Stewart 
McKinney gave life to what others only preach about: urban 
revitalization. He stayed on the Committee on Banking and Financial 
Services when others moved on to the Committee on Commerce, the 
Committee on Ways and Means, or the Committee on Appropriations, 
because he wanted to improve public housing and economic development.
  Without regard to party positions, he helped draft and enact the law 
to save New York City from financial default. He stayed on the District 
of Columbia Committee when many advised him to move on to more powerful 
assignments, because he believed in cities. He believed the solution to 
D.C.'s problems contained the answers to Bridgeport's and Norwalk's and 
Stanford's--cities he represented in the 4th Congressional District.
  In doing so, he represented his constituents while giving a voice and 
a vote to those who live in view of this building, but have no voting 
representation in this Chamber.
  In the end, he gave what he no longer had, the physical strength to 
spend the night outside on a subway grate to demonstrate the plight of 
homeless people. His death from AIDS-related pneumonia came soon after.
  Despite a background of wealth and privilege, he represented us 
because he remained one of us. I think he was as proud of dropping out 
of Princeton as he was of his degree from Yale.
  If his wife, Lucy, did not beat him to it, he would be the first to 
tell you his family wealth was hers. In his hobbies of collecting 
convertibles and rebuilding houses, in his devotion to his family and 
staff, in the symbol of the Mickey Mouse telephone he used in his 
Cannon office, he maintained a healthy, well-grounded perspective on 
the triumphs and frustrations of daily life.
  It is too commonly called the common touch, but there was nothing 
common about Stewart McKinney. Yet, throughout his 17 years in 
Congress, through Vietnam, Watergate, the energy crisis, and all of the 
other burning issues of his day, he was as comfortable in a VFW hall in 
Bridgeport as the country club in Greenwich.
  Sometimes one group was more comfortable than the other to see him, 
but he had the ability to diffuse anger, soften opposition, and bring 
common sense to bear in uncommon circumstances.
  He was at once an idealist and a realist, straddling that 
contradiction as cheerfully and as fearlessly as he faced being labeled 
a moderate or liberal Republican when it was not meant as a compliment 
by those in his own party.
  He took his work seriously, but he never took himself too seriously, 
disdaining the pomposity and puffery of official Washington.
  He represented all of us because of all that he was. In a floor 
speech after Stewart's death his 1970 classmate and former colleague, 
Bill Frenzel, said we ought not ``to put wings on the dog,'' by 
glossing over all the things that made him so real to so many. He 
smoked too much. He could get frustrated and angry at the glacier pace 
of deliberative process. He hated missing so much of his children's 
lives. And I know he was frustrated to have been in the political 
minority all of his public life.
  But in his weaknesses, frustrations, failures and foibles, he 
represented the struggles and contradictions each of us faces everyday.
  Stewart McKinney died of AIDS. His wife, Lucy, carries on his work as 
chairman of the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation, dedicated to providing 
housing to persons and families with HIV disease. In this work, she 
daily transforms the cause of his death into the causes of his life: 
housing and care for those society might otherwise overlook.
  Because he was here in this Chamber, our Nation is better, our 
horizon brighter, our represented democracy richer. Ten years after his 
death, he still represents to me and many others the compassion, the 
vision, the good humor, and the common sense to which we aspire as 
individuals, Representatives and a Nation.
  Stewart McKinney was truly a great Representative and it is a 
privilege to serve in the office that he once served.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague and good 
friend, Congressman Shays, in paying tribute to our former colleague, 
Congressman Stewart McKinney, who passed away 10 years ago today.
  Stew McKinney was a very special man, who brought a keen intellect 
and sense of humor to this body. His commitment to the housing needs of 
this Nation, particularly the homeless, was unquestioned. In fact, his 
death was hastened by his insistence on spending a night on a grate 
near the Capitol in bitter cold in order to bring attention to the need 
for more funding for homeless shelters. Following his death, Congress 
approved legislation to authorize the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, 
which has been a lifeline for the homeless.
  Stew was a moderate Republican, and was active in the so-called ``92 
Group,'' the organization of moderate Republicans devoted to reaching a 
House majority in 1992. Stew would have been thrilled to have learned 
that his efforts helped lead to that outcome only 2 years later, and he 
would certainly have been an active force in the Tuesday Group, of 
which I am a member.
  Stew's death from AIDS led to increased public awareness of HIV/AIDS 
and helped to bring the reality of the epidemic to Congress. At the 
time of his death, AIDS was still someone else's disease--his death was 
a wake-up call to Congress.
  I only had a few months to get to know Stew--I had just begun my 
service in Congress in 1987. But during that brief time period, I had 
the privilege of working with him on several issues. He was an 
inspiration to me and to many Members, and he is missed.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today, on the 10th anniversary of the death 
of Stewart McKinney, we marvel again at the indelible mark made by this 
incredible legislator and human being. Stew was a truly remarkable 
person, who cared deeply about other people and their lives. He was far 
above partisanship and division, working passionately on the issues to 
which he dedicated his life and which ultimately contributed to his 
death.
  Stew was committed to solving problems which weren't high profile or 
trendy. He worked to secure safe housing for all Americans at a time 
when our Nation preferred to look the other way, and caught the 
pneumonia which led to his death while sleeping on a grate in the rain 
with homeless men and women to draw attention to their plight. He 
worked to preserve the salt marshes and natural habitats of the Long 
Island Sound, acknowledging their importance long before being 
``green'' was popular. He inspired his family and friends to advocate 
for people with AIDS, the disease he contracted from a blood 
transfusion, at a time when most politicians, celebrities, and high-
profile people of all walks of life chose not to become involved.
  Stewart McKinney's life is memorialized in three refuges which bear 
his name: the Stewart B. McKinney Housing Act, the Stewart B. McKinney 
National Wildlife Refuge, and the McKinney Foundation, which provides 
emergency shelter to, and operates two residences for, people with 
AIDS. This week, as we debate the reauthorization of the housing 
programs about which Stew cared so deeply, may we all be blessed with 
the compassion, the foresight, and the commitment which he brought to 
the House floor.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to the memory 
of a former colleague, Stewart B. McKinney. Ten years ago we lost a 
well-respected and dedicated Member and today we hold this special 
order to pay tribute to his memory.
  During his time in Congress, Mr. McKinney worked tirelessly for his 
constituents and for the causes in which he believed. His distinguished 
career was characterized by numerous triumphs, successes that made an 
impact on the lives of all Americans. While I did not have the 
opportunity to work very closely with Mr. McKinney, his reputation as 
an honest and admirable man always proceeded him. He will live forever 
in our hearts and in our memories for the work that he did and for the 
fine example that he set.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commemorate the life of my dear friend and our former colleague, the 
late Stewart McKinney. Today is the tenth anniversary of his death.
  It is hard to believe that so much time has passed. I still remember 
the night of his death, many of us gathered spontaneously, here on the 
House floor to find comfort in remembering him. But vivid as that 
memory is, my memories of Stew himself have even more life.
  Let me say it plainly: Stew was always a man of principle. In every 
sense, he was a dedicated, thoughtful and earnest legislator, willing 
to take on the battles of those who are

[[Page H2336]]

scarcely visible in this society. We remember his work for the 
homeless: I still carry with me an indelible image of Stew, spending a 
cold winter night outdoors to focus the public eye on what many had not 
wanted to see before. That was not a public relations ploy--it was a 
call to America's conscience. And I am very proud that Congress 
responded with passage of the Stewart McKinney Homelessness Assistance 
Act. Today, the fight he started continues.
  Stewart McKinney also authored and passed legislation to create the 
Connecticut Coastal Wildlife Refuge, which has been renamed in his 
honor. This important legislation protected some of our most threatened 
wetlands along the Connecticut coast on Long Island Sound. And today, 
those of us in Connecticut and the Northeast can still continue to 
enjoy the beauty of these fragile but important areas--thanks to Stew.
  Stew's compassion and dedication created a lasting legacy. But his 
most unique quality, in my opinion, was his love of all people. He was 
gifted in human understanding and compassionate in his words and in his 
actions. Stew demonstrated this remarkable ability here in Congress and 
back home in Connecticut, and I feel very lucky and privileged to have 
had the opportunity to serve with Stewart McKinney during my tenure in 
Congress. He was a great man and a great American.
  Finally, let me thank Mr. Shays, for setting up this special order to 
honor the life and memory of his predecessor Stewart McKinney.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join in thanking our colleague the 
gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. Shays] for his consideration in 
reserving time for this tribute to our late colleague.
  I remember Stew McKinney well, and find it hard to believe that 10 
years have transpired since we lost him. Stew was an outstanding 
leader, a far-sighted legislator, and a gentleman in the truest sense 
of the word.
  Stew McKinney is so well remembered today because so many of the 
causes he championed are causes which are still important to us today. 
He recognized the problem of homelessness long before we realized that 
this problem was touching virtually every community in the United 
States and much of the housing legislation which was subsequently 
enacted into law bears his indelible stamp. Stew McKinney was warning 
us all in this Chamber of the epidemic of AIDs long before it became 
fashionable to do so and long before the bulk of us realized that this 
health threat would touch all facets of our society.
  As a Member representing a district in southeastern New York, I had 
the opportunity to work closely with Stew regarding the future of 
several raillines which cross the State border into Stew's Connecticut 
district. I was always impressed with Stew's attitude of ``what is best 
for all the people'' as opposed to the all too common attitude of 
``what is best for my own district'' only.
  The world has been a lesser place for 10 years due to the loss of 
Congressman Stewart McKinney. Let us all resolve to emulate his 
gentlemanly demeanor in all of our endeavors, and let us resolve to 
rededicate this Chamber to the standards of excellence which he 
established during his long, distinguished career in this Chamber.


                             general leave

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the subject of my special order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gilchrest). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.

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