[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FAREWELL AND GOOD LUCK TO THE HONORABLE SUSAN MOLINARI

  (Mr. QUINN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, after a momentous moment like today, when we 
have had an opportunity to vote in a bipartisan way for very important 
legislation for the people across this country, we are reminded that we 
can only act as a body with the same fairness, conviction, and 
determination that we exhibit as individual Members of the body. Today 
probably, as we know, one of our Members will leave the body. Her last 
day of service here in the House will be today, and it might very well 
be her last vote that we all just cast with each other.
  I would like to ask the Members on both sides of the aisle to join me 
in saying farewell and good luck to one of ours as she leaves the House 
of Representatives today. We wish good luck to the gentlewoman from New 
York, Ms. Susan Molinari.
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. QUINN. I yield to the Speaker, the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, let me just say on behalf of the entire 
House that as a historian, there are few people who can claim that they 
met their husband here, that their dad used to bring them here, and 
that they left here for even greater fame and even greater achievement.
  I just want to say that, Susan, I believe for all of us, we will miss 
you. We will not promise to watch every Saturday, but we will all watch 
carefully, and we cherish your friendship forever. You are a part of 
this family.
  Mr. PAXON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. QUINN. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. PAXON. Mr. Speaker, this is a very momentous day for us all. We 
have once again made legislative history. I could not help, in 
listening to the Speaker's words and the words of my good friend, the 
gentleman from New York, Mr. Jack Quinn, I could not help but think 
what a great, important piece of personal history this floor and this 
body has been in our lives.
  Susan and I met literally in these Chambers, got to know each other 
here, through the encouragement of a lot of you, and I think of Ray 
McGrath, who performed wedding ceremonies before we were even dating. 
He said, you guys have got to get married. Our friends got us together, 
they lived with us through that dating period, and up in that corner 
one day when we got engaged, and then, of course, thanks to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Jim Greenwood, we found a priest in a 
church in Pennsylvania that would marry us on neutral ground.
  Then, of course, the Members have lived with us through our married 
life, and are now helping us raise our daughter. We need help all the 
time. This is the kind of family that we can never replace. Members 
have witnessed our lives together and helped us in so many ways on this 
floor. My colleagues are losing a colleague today, and I am losing my 
legislative partner. Every single day we come to this floor and we 
share our lives. We are going to miss that. We think we are going to 
have a little more interesting dinner conversation, having two 
different jobs to bring to the dinner table.
  But while I am losing my pal on a day-to-day basis on the floor, I 
want to say this to you, Susan; every day that I come to this floor I 
am going to think of you, every moment, you and our beautiful daughter. 
While you are out in that other job, I wish you the best. I really 
thought I would never get to the point in my life where I would say 
this, that I love a Member of the press. I love you, Susan.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. QUINN. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, you hunk.
  Mr. Speaker, Emerson said: What is civilization?
  I answer: The power of a good woman.
  I agree with this American philosopher. That is why the departure of 
our friend, the gentlewoman from New York, Ms. Sue Molinari from 
Congress saddens us all.
  Sue always brightened up any committee room when she walked in 
because she was prepared, because she was witty, and ready for battle 
for her constituents and for our country. She never took these fierce 
battles personally if you disagreed with her, and she built strong 
bonds of friendship with many of us here in Congress.
  All of us, especially the women Members of Congress, felt as if we 
were part of Sue's life as we rejoiced in her union with Bill and the 
arrival of Susan Ruby. Susan will excel at CBS in the same way that she 
has climbed to the leadership ranks in the House, through her 
intelligence, through her hard work, perseverance, and a terrific 
personality. The civilization of this House will be diminished by Sue's 
departure, but we know it is the right decision for Sue, for Bill, and 
most especially for Susan Ruby.
  We wish you the best, Mama Sue.

                          ____________________