[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H9785-H9791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN MEMORY OF THE LATE HONORABLE WALTER H. CAPPS OF CALIFORNIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 1997, the gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Hooley] is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I would like to especially thank 
the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Neumann], who allowed us to go first 
so we may honor our friend and fellow colleague Walter Capps.
  I would like to begin this special order with a moment of silence in 
honor of our friend.
  Mr. Speaker, a number of Members, especially some of the Members of 
the freshman class who were very close to Walter wanted to pay a 
special tribute to him tonight. It seems particularly appropriate that 
we should share a moment of quiet reflection for a man whose 
reflective, thoughtful style was at odds with the often noisy, 
clamorous tenor of this body.
  Even amongst the freshman class, there is a great deal of diversity 
in the ways my colleagues make decisions. While high-minded ideals play 
a part in every public servant's decisions, there are few Members who 
sought a moral grounding for their judgments more seriously and 
persistently than Walter Capps.
  He was once quoted as saying, ``The question is, What will I do? Am I 
being true to who I am? If I go this way, will I have violated anything 
that is essentially human?'' Plainly Walter's humanism, his morality, 
his seriousness, his rectitude raised the business of the legislature 
to a higher level. He reminded us all about our reasons for coming to 
Congress in the first place. Walter was a different breed, a 
renaissance man cut from the same cloth from which I would like to 
imagine that the giants of our Republic's history came.
  Yesterday on the floor I recalled one of my favorite stories about 
Walter, how he had told me that when he was laid up from a serious 
accident and unable to campaign, he had written a book. How remarkable 
in this age of hard and fast campaigning. I was almost mystified that 
he could have found time to do such a thing. Later, I learned that it 
was his 14th book.
  By now even those of us who were not lucky enough to have known 
Walter in the short time here have through his tragedy of death come to 
realize how greatly he will be missed. I will miss him both 
professionally and personally. I will miss his bipartisanship and his 
intelligence. I will miss his warmth and his good humor.
  Congressman Capps' spirit will live on among the Members of this 
freshman class. He will live through the work that we do. His early and 
unfortunate death deprived us of something wonderful, but the example 
that he set for all of us during his time here leaves us something 
wonderful to live up to.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. 
Price].

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and 
for organizing this special order tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, Walter Capps brought rare qualities of insight and grace 
to political life and to his service among us. In his short time here, 
he touched us individually and as an institution in ways reflected in 
the remarkable outpouring of grief and tribute we have witnessed since 
Tuesday. Walter was, as the President said, a rare soul, and we are 
much the poorer for his passing.
  I first met Walter Capps some 35 years ago at Yale University, where 
he was a graduate student in religious studies and I was a fellow 
student of his wife, Lois, and brother, Don, in the Divinity School. 
Walter went on to a career distinguished for the quality of his 
teaching and writing and research, and far-reaching in its impact on 
students and colleagues and in the Santa Barbara community.
  His would have been a rich and full life had he never been drawn into 
politics, but the fact that he took on the challenge of this new career 
speaks volumes, not only about his remarkable and diverse talents, but 
also about his openness to the leading of the Spirit and his powerful 
sense of moral obligation.
  It was not as though membership in the Congress fell into Walter's 
lap. Walter fought two hard campaigns and was preparing for another. He 
came back from a difficult loss in 1994 and a horrible automobile 
accident in 1996. His manner was genial and gentle, but those qualities 
were combined with a bedrock of conviction and courage and persistence.
  He was in politics for the right reasons, but he knew that the values 
and purposes he brought to political life would not prevail without a 
struggle. With Lois at his side, he was willing to make that struggle, 
and our country and this institution are the better for it.
  When I returned to the House after the 1996 election, Walter Capps 
was one of the new Members I was most eager to meet. This was partly 
because of our shared background, of course, but also because of the 
unique career path and remarkable talents that brought him to this 
place. I was privileged to become his friend here, as were so many 
colleagues to whom Walter reached out with an insatiable curiosity 
about the people and issues with which he was working, a cooperative 
and generous spirit, and great good humor.
  Walter Capps cared deeply about uplifting minds and spirits. He 
succeeded because his own spirit was centered and at peace. He had much 
to give, and he gave without measure.
  We are deeply saddened that Walter's time among us was so abruptly 
cut short, but we rejoice in a life fully and usefully lived, and we 
are heartened that a man like Walter Capps could be elected and could 
grace this House and our service with his presence.
  In the words of the Apostle Paul, we thank God upon every remembrance 
of him.

[[Page H9786]]

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. Davis].
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, tonight is an evening for us to 
give thanks for the remarkable life of Walter Capps. It is also an 
opportunity for us to express appreciation to Walter's constituents in 
Santa Barbara and the communities he represented, to thank them for 
sending Walter to Congress to serve with us. It is further an 
opportunity to reflect on the unique attributes of Walter Capps.
  Walter stood out in a body of very, very strong-willed people as 
being an extremely strong-willed person himself. How else can you 
explain the fact that Walter succeeded in getting elected to Congress 
while spending a few months in a hospital bed with very serious 
injuries?
  Yet what made Walter stand out was the fact that while he was a very 
strong-willed person, he was also a very selfless person. I was struck 
on the several times that I talked with Walter by the fact that there 
was absolutely no sense of ego in this man, simply a determination to 
do his job.
  Walter invested himself in learning the issues. Walter invested 
himself in trying to understand how to make this a better place within 
which to do the people's business. This is because Walter, above all, 
believed in the power of knowledge. He believed in the power of ideas, 
and his weapon here on the floor of the House of Representatives was 
his knowledge of the issues and his ability to use his intellect to 
convince others on the merits of issues.
  One of the other things I will always remember about Walter Capps is 
his remarkable peace of mind. Amid the sound and fury that often 
characterizes this body, Walter had a certain calm about him which most 
of us can only envy.
  That calmness in Walter Capps can clearly be attributed to a very 
rich and deep spiritual life, which he shared with many through his 
writings and his teachings in Santa Barbara, and also a quite 
remarkable sense of self-knowledge.
  Walter Capps knew who he was. Walter Capps knew what he believed. 
Walter Capps understood quite clearly what gifts he had been endowed 
with, and he knew how to use them. He came here to simply get the job 
done. Above all, Walter was a teacher, and we were just beginning to 
learn from Walter in so many ways. So in the short time we had to get 
to know Walter, we have learned a lot.
  To Walter, and to Lois, and to the Capps family and to the 
constituents that sent him here, we thank you for the chance of having 
had the opportunity to serve with him.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
California, [Ms. Lofgren].
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, it does not seem possible that it has just 
been one year that we had the good fortune to know Walter in the 
people's House, the House of Representatives. In some ways, I feel like 
I knew him very well in that one short year, and I thought, well, why 
is that? Because our districts are kind of neighbors? Well, maybe that 
is so.
  Because we are one of, I think, only two Swedish-Americans in the 
House of Representatives and we used to tease each other about that? 
Maybe that is the truth. But as I think about it, I think I feel I know 
Walter very well because we all do, because he took the time to share 
himself with each of us and not just with us, with his constituents.
  I think about what we have lost and what his constituents have lost, 
what his family has lost, and I also think what we have gained.
  When I think of Walter, I think of several things. I think of his 
integrity, and I remember sitting here on this floor when we would be 
casting our votes and for the freshmen Members, trying to make those 
fine decisions, trying to understand all of the forces at play, and 
Walter would say something like, ``I think the right thing to do is 
this.'' Not the political thing, not the popular thing, but ``I think 
the right thing is to do this.'' And then he would do that thing.
  I think of Walter as a sparkley-eyed person, and I think of the jokes 
that he and Reverend Ford used to tell, sometimes in Swedish so the 
rest of us would not understand, and the jokes that he would tell. He 
proved up the truth that you can have values and integrity, but you 
don't have to be grim and not fun to be around.

  I think about Walter as a modest and egalitarian person, who treated 
the most modest person from his district or on the street as the owner 
of the country, who did not put the rich or the powerful or the 
important on any higher pedestal than the least person he ever met. And 
it is those values that we got from Walter. It is that that he gave to 
us.
  Where does a person get their life, their attitude towards life? 
Surely from their values. In Walter's case, from his faith. I also 
think his severe accident really had a very large impact on him. He 
talked to me, and I think to many perhaps, about how it made him 
understand in a very real way how precious life is, when he had 
confronted the fact that he was really not expected to live, but he 
fought his way back.
  After that, he took, without ever telling anyone, no press, never 
made much of it, but he always made a point to go back and visit the 
rehabilitation center where he spent those months and to visit with the 
people who were still there or who had become ill since he had left and 
to give them some hope, just by being there, that he had made it and 
they could, too.
  Finally, I think of Walter as someone who loved his family in a way 
that was very special. I think of him and Lois walking these floors at 
night when the votes were going, because Lois was here as his life 
partner, but also his values partner. I think of the pride that he had 
in his children and how he would share that pride and how wonderful 
that was, and I think of how honored he felt that his neighbors had 
selected him to come here for a short while to represent them, to trust 
his values to be translated in their behalf.
  He knew that all of us are here passing through at the request of our 
neighbors to do the people's will. He did not know it would be just for 
one year. In that one year, he has done more than many do in decades.
  For that, Walter, we all thank you, honor you, and thank your family.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentlewoman 
from New York, [Mrs. McCarthy].
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as you can hear from all of 
our colleagues, Walter Capps, Congressman Walter Capps, was a wonderful 
person. Again, I am a freshman, and I can remember meeting him for the 
first time during orientation.
  I was scared during those days, because it was the first time that I 
had come here to try and work and do the people's work, and I remember 
sitting next to Walter, and he kind of saw me shaking and said, ``Are 
you okay?'' I said I don't know. I hope I can do this job. And he goes, 
Carolyn, you got here. You will do it, and you will do it fine.
  Well, we are here almost 11 months and Walter had become my teacher, 
and for that I thank him. I loved walking from the halls to here while 
we would talk about what was going on in our lives and what was going 
on back in our district. For those things, I thank him for very deeply.
  The one thing about Walter, he was a quiet man, but he was a giant. 
We have had a lot of extremely important people here, and more 
important people will come and do great things. Walter would have been 
one of those people. We will never know.
  Yesterday, I was going over my desk and I saw that I had signed on on 
a bill with Walter, because he was always working to try to make life 
better for people. I think all of our colleagues will work to make sure 
his name is on that bill and that bill will pass. That will be our 
legacy to Walter and to his family. I thank you so much. We will all 
miss Walter.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentleman from 
New Jersey, [Mr. Rothman].
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Hooley for putting 
together this tribute to our friend, the late Walter Capps.
  First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to Lois 
and Walter's children. We can only imagine how you are feeling. You 
have our thoughts and our prayers.
  Walter Capps lived a very rich and vigorous life, serving his 
community in

[[Page H9787]]

many different ways. As a young man in Omaha, Nebraska, he learned the 
value of a hard day's work with Union Pacific Railroad by delivering 
newspapers and by painting houses.
  As a professor of religious studies at the University of California 
Santa Barbara, he emerged as a national leader in the study of peace 
and conflict, veterans affairs, and America's democracy.
  While at the University of California Santa Barbara, he also 
developed one of the first college curriculums on the history, 
experience and ramifications of the Vietnam War. He was active with his 
community, service organizations in the Santa Barbara area and in his 
own Lutheran church.
  Walter epitomized the kind of person we all want to be, not only as 
Members of Congress, but as human beings. In a time when petty 
partisanship engulfs this body so often, too often, and prevents the 
Congress, many times, from doing the people's work, it was such a gift 
to be able to look over and see Walter Capps, a man who exuded humility 
and compassion and grace.
  He refused to subscribe to the lowest common denominator of 
discourse. He spoke from the heart, always challenging us to see the 
big picture and to work for a world where harmony, reconciliation and 
thoughtfulness were to be more common than anger, conflict, and 
ignorance.

                              {time}  2115

  While campaigning to represent the people of the 22nd Congressional 
District of California, Walter Capps often spoke of the broken bond of 
trust between the people of the United States and their government. He 
believed that Americans deserved a government as good as the people it 
served, and that idealism has a place in Washington, DC.
  In the memory of Walter Capps, I challenge each and every Member of 
this great House, and every Member of the United States Senate, to 
seize this sense of idealism and to begin to work for a Nation that 
Walter would have been proud of, a place where social divisions melt 
away into a national community, where we come together to solve our 
problems in a constructive, thoughtful, and compassionate manner.
  I remember first meeting Walter in our freshman orientation sessions. 
I am 5 feet 8\1/2\ inches, and Walter was tall, but he was a giant, as 
the gentlewoman from New York, Mrs. Carolyn Maloney, said, in other 
ways. When you met him, you knew that here was just a great person, a 
great man; smart, smarter than all of us, but he was so kind. He was so 
humble. He really was a beautiful human being. You were almost in awe 
of him when you spoke with him, because he was so smart, he was so 
well-read, he was so knowledgeable, but he was tolerant of all of us, 
short people, smaller people, and I do not just mean in height.
  He had great intelligence, humility, gentleness, grace, maturity, and 
eyes that bespoke a great love of life. It was a tremendous honor to 
serve this Nation with Walter Capps, and to have gotten to know him and 
work with him, however briefly. I will miss him. I think I will always 
miss him, and his loss is a wound that will never heal.
  It is my hope and prayer that this House will carry on his legacy, 
and will always remember and live up to his expectations and grand 
vision of the potential of the United States of America and the 
potential of the human race.
  Ms. HOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. 
Boswell].
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, 50-plus some hours ago we were stunned, 2 
days and a little bit, when we heard in this Chamber, the people's 
Chamber, that one of ours had left us, had left this earth. Many of us 
had many mixed feelings. For me, I still struggle with it somewhat.
  We shared a lot, I guess because we are the oldest ones of our class. 
I told him, though, I was the oldest. He said, well, we have got to 
check that. So we did, from time to time, as if he would have 
forgotten. Of course, he did not. But we talked probably about every 
day about something, sometimes just to share a little joke, or 
whatever, but we seemed to touch one another on a regular basis.
  I know, Lois, if you are watching us through this great medium of 
television and satellite and so on, and the people in California, it is 
our opportunity to share with you about how this man touched our lives.
  He came to this, the people's House, after many years, and probably 
never on his want list of things to do. But finally the time came, 
whatever the circumstance was, and he probably knew within him that 
life experience had shared with him things that he could come and share 
with us; that he could come and represent the people of his district 
and bring a balance, some levity, at times, but bring some sincere, 
deep feelings about what America is all about.
  He was a theologian, a writer, and I think he practiced what he 
believed. Behind our Speaker is that beautiful flag that Walter loved, 
and just above our Speaker's head are those words, ``In God We trust.'' 
As the Speaker and as I look across, we look into a picture of Moses. I 
think those things were very, very important to Walter Capps.
  He tried to live by example. He did not go around boasting that he 
had written 14 books, as I have learned here. He did not boast that he 
won a race after going through a horrible accident. He was Walter, a 
man of the people, a man who loved his country, his community, his 
State, and the people that occupied the same.
  This morning by chance I happened to talk to a Mrs. Kersh from out in 
his district. She called to be sure that I knew that Walter had passed, 
and his funeral was going to be Monday. So we talked, and she said, we 
have had a great loss. We are just not sure how we are going to handle 
this. He loved us all, in spite of ourselves, at times. And she said 
many other things.
  The thought that comes to me as I think of this, and I shared it a 
little bit Tuesday morning or Wednesday morning, there are some 
promises that I know that Walter Capps would believe in. I often 
reflect at times like this on John: 14, where Jesus was talking to his 
disciples, knowing that sometime he would be leaving. He said, I go to 
prepare a place for you, and I will come and receive you to me, and I 
will not leave you comfortless.
  Lois, you will not be left comfortless. I believe that. And I 
believe, as I understood Walter Capps, that he is at that someplace 
that is hard to identify, watching down upon us with a twinkle in his 
eye, a smile, grieving for those of his loved ones that are grieved for 
him, but he is there, doing his work, assisting in preparing a place 
for us and for you. Our lives were touched by him, our lives were made 
better because Walter Capps came our way. I am very appreciative. I 
thank the gentlewoman for this chance to share.
  Ms. HOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
[Mrs. Kennelly].
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness 
that I join with my colleagues to honor the life of Walter Capps. At 
this moment, may I take the opportunity to thank the 22nd District of 
California, the area of Santa Barbara, for sending this wonderful, 
wonderful man to the House of the people, to the Congress of the United 
States of America.
  In his one year in Congress, Walter Capps added immensely to the 
lives of every one of us that he served with. Walter Capps was 
thoughtful. Walter Capps was reflective of something that was so 
important to all of us. He was willing to engage in dialogue on both 
sides of the aisle. He was committed to the fact that well-meaning 
people can reason together, that we can talk, we can debate, that we 
should come together in the interests of the United States of America 
and the things that the people of the United States of America want us 
to do. For that reason, Walter Capps should be an inspiration and model 
to all of us.
  I met Walter Capps in the orientation of the freshman class, the new 
Members of the 105th Congress. I met him, I saw him, and I knew that 
this was a man that was delighted to be here. Walter Capps was a brave 
man. He was absolutely as brave as you get. Some of us who are in 
politics and understand what it is like to run for public office know, 
you literally put yourself up and you can be shot at. He ran for public 
office, he ran for Congress, and he lost. He had the courage to come 
back and run again and he won, so he came to be among us.
  Walter Capps was probably about as honorable as you can get, as 
honorable

[[Page H9788]]

a man as there can be to serve in this body. He was also gracious. What 
I remember when I met him that week of orientation was that he insisted 
that every single one of us, we that had been in the Congress and were 
there with the new class, met his wife, his beloved wife, Lois. Because 
he understood that in those two races that he had run to come to 
Congress, that she was the partner that helped him get here.

  One of the reasons that I appreciated Walter to the extent that I 
did, because I have been here a while, I understood that Walter 
understood governance. He understood our democratic system. He 
understood that he was elected, one of 435, to come here to represent 
his constituents, and to respect the government of the United States of 
America. He understood that he had to be positive to make this 
government work, and as a result of this understanding, he enhanced the 
system.
  For me, the real loss of Walter is that he understood something so 
deeply, but something that is so much a part of our democratic system 
of government. He truly understood, because of his background, because 
of his education, because of all that he was, he understood such a 
definite piece of our government: he understood the separation of 
church and State. He understood how strong that wall had to be. He 
understood that we cannot have a democratic system if we mix religion 
and politics.
  Why I feel so badly about Walter leaving us is that I thought that 
with his understanding, with his education, a Ph.D. From Yale and 
divinity studies, that he could teach this body, each and every one, 
that this democratic system could not survive if we in this body did 
not understand that we had to have separation of church and State.
  So I come here tonight to mourn his loss. I come here tonight to say 
that he was only with us for one year. I come here tonight to say to 
his family, I hope that they have comfort to think this is one man who 
could come here in one year and have such an impact on his colleagues.
  But I also come here tonight, and stay here tonight with the members 
of his freshman class, who will not be freshmen much longer, wonderful 
Members of the 105th Congress, to say to them, you come here to honor 
Walter's memory. You come here to say good-bye to him. You come here to 
say that you love him. But let me give you a challenge.
  I am a woman that has been in this body for 15 years. I am a woman 
who has seen classes come and classes become part of this body. The 
last two classes I have seen, the last two classes, the 104th Congress 
and the 105th Congress, are quite special, particularly on the 
Democratic side. That is one of the reasons that I feel after 15 years 
that I can leave this body, because I think you can carry on the 
dialogue, you can carry on the constitutional mandates, you can carry 
out what this country has to do to be great.
  So I give you a challenge tonight. I say to you Members, particularly 
Democratic Members of the 105th Congress, new Members, you are going to 
do a good job. I think you are wonderful. I think you are probably the 
best class I have seen in a long, long time.
  But no matter how hard you work, no matter how good you think your 
work is, I challenge you to go an extra mile, to do more because you 
knew Walter Capps, and you knew if he could have lived longer, how much 
he would have done.
  So I challenge you Members who loved Walter Capps to say you will 
work as hard as you can, but you will work even harder to make sure 
that his being is among you, and that you do better than you think you 
can do in memory of that beloved man.

                              {time}  2130

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Turner].
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, each us who began service in this Congress 
with Walter are left with fond memories of our friendship with him. It 
is a tribute tonight to hear the statements of our colleagues who each 
in their own unique way saw the true value of Walter's life.
  We all knew him as a true gentleman. We all saw him as a deeply 
spiritual, religious man. We saw him as a kind and thoughtful and 
principled man. We saw him as a man of quiet determination.
  We all remember as he walked in this Chamber and had a quick smile 
and a kind word for each of us. And many of us watched him as he walked 
across the Capitol to our office building, hand-in-hand many times, 
with Lois. He reflected the best of a good father, a loving husband, a 
man who understands and understood what was really important in this 
life.
  I know as we speak tonight, Lois and the children are perhaps 
listening with many friends and I must say that Walter and Lois were an 
example to all of us as husbands and fathers. Lois really in many ways 
was like a 436th Member of this body. She oftentimes attended committee 
meetings with Walter and often she ventured off to go to committees 
that he was not even on. She shared his intellect, his keen interest 
and in his campaign she was a true partner in being sure that they were 
victorious in their election.
  Walter Capps was a man who really stood apart. He came here as a 
college professor serving over three decades as a professor at the 
University of California in Santa Barbara, best known for his course on 
the Vietnam War. They say that there were over 800 students signing up 
for that class, filling the hall. In fact, they had to have the largest 
lecture hall at the university just for those who wanted to be under 
his tutelage.
  Yes, we learned that when Walter spoke, as those students learned, 
Walter had something to say. And we knew that it was worth listening 
to. Walter was a man who understood adversity. He lost his first 
election and had to run again to come here. He nearly lost his life in 
a head-on collision during his second campaign. He met head-on on a 
mountain road with a drunken driver. But Walter, as he reflected upon 
his injuries during rehabilitation, said something worth quoting. He 
said, ``I never want to forget what it's like to go through the world 
in a wheelchair. I would never wish for a car accident like this, but 
I've learned from it. Love and care for one another is what is at the 
core of what links us.''
  Walter understood the important things of life. We all were enriched 
by having known him. He taught us by his example to remember why we are 
here. He gave politics a good name and in the rough and tumble world of 
politics, as we so often see it in this House Chamber, Walter in many 
ways would at first glance appear to not fit in, as if he did not 
really belong here. But on closer reflection, we all realized that, 
yes, he truly did belong here and he set the standard for us all.
  Mr. Speaker, Walter was a man who knew who he was. He knew what he 
believed in and he knew where he was going in this life and in the life 
hereafter.
  Around here we often note that we are addressed as ``The Honorable.'' 
Walter Capps truly deserved the title of ``Honorable.'' He was a great 
American, a great family man, and a friend to each of us. He will be 
truly missed. May God rest his soul and may God be with Lois and the 
family in this difficult time.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Mr. 
Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Lampson].
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker and other House Member colleagues, I rise to 
honor the memory of my friend and colleague, Walter Capps.
  We freshmen Members on the Democratic side learned to look to Walter 
Capps as a leader among us. He led with humility, with fundamental 
goodness, and boundless wisdom. It is an overwhelming thing to arrive 
here in Washington, DC, and realize that we now have to stand in the 
shoes of generations of leaders who have steered this country through 
the course of its history. It was reassuring to have among us a man who 
seemed to understand our role as part of a scheme that went beyond the 
day-to-day operations of the government. As a scholar of religious 
studies, Walter Capps' presence in this House reminded all of us that 
our work must reflect our beliefs and our faith.
  Mr. Speaker, Walter Capps ran for Congress because he believed he had 
something to offer to this country. He had already had a successful 
career and certainly had a beautiful family. He

[[Page H9789]]

did not need this. But he felt obligated to offer his gift, himself, 
because he loved his country.
  In the short time that he served, Walter Capps made a difference. He 
touched the lives of each of the Members of the House of 
Representatives, and he touched the lives of the citizens across 
America. And tonight our deepest sympathies go with Lois and his 
beautiful children. Indeed, ``God bless you.''
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield time to the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Strickland].
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the time. 
St. Francis de Sales I think has conveyed a profound truth when he 
said, ``There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and there is nothing 
so gentle as real strength.''
  Our friend and our colleague, Walter Capps, was gentle and he was 
strong.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been amazed in the last couple of days as we have 
heard each other talk about Walter Capps. It has caused me at 56 years 
of age to reflect upon my own life and my own mortality; to ask myself 
if I were to leave this Earth, would people say about me what they say 
about Walter? Could they say about me what they say about Walter?
  Those of us who serve in this place do so for a variety of reasons, 
some noble and some perhaps not so noble. Politicians are described in 
different ways, as smart, skillful, crafty, successful, weak, corrupt. 
Many words are used to describe politicians.
  I think I would like to be described as a loving person, as a loving 
politician. And if I can just share with you what Walter's death has 
done for me, it has caused me to reflect upon the people that I know, 
my constituents, my family, my colleagues. We are talking of Walter's 
goodness, his gracefulness, his gentleness, his greatness.
  It has caused me to wonder if every day in this place people like 
Walter walk past us in these aisleways and sit beside us in these 
chairs, people on both sides of the aisle, people who are truly good 
and decent and caring, and we get so caught up in our day-to-day 
activities and our efforts that we fail to recognize the goodness and 
the strength and the gentleness that is all about us.
  Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for Walter Capps, for his wife Lois. We 
lived together in the Methodist Building. I was able to see him 
occasionally as he would come and go. But I hope that Walter's 
death teaches us a lesson that is somewhat lasting.

  The scripture asks the question, ``O grave, where is thy victory? O 
death, where is thy sting?'' And I guess I would like to think that for 
me and perhaps many of us, we can learn from Walter's death as we 
learned from Walter's life, that we should pause and reflect and be 
grateful for Walter, but also be grateful for each other.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Johnson].
  Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I join in offering tonight my 
condolences and my thoughts tonight about Walter Capps. Here was a man 
who, like me, had never held elective office before and yet he seemed 
at ease coming here to the Halls of Congress.
  He told me once that he was as thrilled as I was at being here. 
Walter Capps had, as I had, already a successful career in another job. 
He was a teacher and professor and, we found out, an author. So this 
place was new and exciting and yet thrilling to him.
  Many of us freshmen Congressmen got to know Walter and Lois Capps 
because even though he counted among his friends some Members of 
Congress, it was now him, he was coming to Washington as a freshman 
Congressman, a 63-year-old freshman, older and wiser than many of us, I 
thought, yet just as exuberant as a kid or teacher who just got his 
first job.
  Walter and Lois came together to many of the orientation sessions 
here. It was the teacher, the professor, Walter Capps, in the classroom 
learning about his new job, representing the people. Most of us 
listened when he spoke. His questions seemed to me to be, maybe because 
he was a professor, more thoughtful. His tone was questioning and 
inquiring. He was for many of us a teacher and a student. The freshmen 
came here students of government and now practicing government at its 
peak, representing the people.
  We knew Walter was a good one. As I said, he and Lois sat through 
days of meetings. When it was nice outside, we sat inside learning 
about government. And I remember a day we were outside not too many 
months after we arrived here and we were walking over to this House for 
a vote, and he turned and asked how I liked this job, and I said I 
loved it and he said, ``I do, too. It is a great honor. We are pretty 
lucky.''
  But it was all of us who got to know Walter Capps for a short time, 
not quite a year, it was we, who were lucky, lucky to know a freshman 
who, like us, was so real, so energetic and compassionate and caring 
and, as we will hear tonight, just a real nice guy. It is true, like 
all of us, Walter Capps was a politician and he worked hard to get here 
and appreciated his opportunity and his chance to play a role in this 
Nation's future. Walter Capps, whose service to his district, state and 
country was brief, but his effect on those he met personally will last 
far beyond any legislative record, and we are all better for having 
worked with Walter Capps.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say his district was pretty lucky to have him, 
we were lucky to know him, God is lucky now to have him a lot closer. 
He was not showy and he was not flashy. He was tall and he was just 
good, what any American would want in their Representative.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say, ``Thank you, Walter, for running for 
Congress, for choosing to play your part on the stage of American 
politics.'' It was reluctantly brief but remarkable in its impression. 
And I would say ``Thank you, California, for recognizing a wonderful 
choice to represent you. Thank you, Lois, for sharing your time and 
your husband, Walter Capps, with us and the Nation. And Walter, we miss 
you.''

                              {time}  2145

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
North Carolina [Mr. Etheridge].
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from 
Oregon [Ms. Hooley] for putting together this evening of tribute to our 
dear friend, Walter Capps.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to a friend and a 
colleague, Representative Walter Holden Capps, who was our friend. It 
is with deep sympathy and grief that I speak this evening. Words cannot 
truly express the loss that Members on both sides of the aisle feel 
with Walter's passing.
  As a professor of religious studies, he was known for his strong 
spiritual background and his deep, deep commitment to education. As you 
have heard, he was the holder of a doctorate degree from Yale 
University and the author of 14 books. He came to this people's House 
after winning one of last year's most hotly contested House races. 
Representative Capps entered the House after many years of committed 
service to education, 33 years. For 33 years he had been a professor of 
religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where 
he pioneered the study of conflict resolution, a great beginning to 
come to the people's House.
  Students recognized him for his questioning, spiritual nature and a 
willingness to engage public issues on a philosophical level. In 1984, 
Walter invited the then Governor of the State of Nebraska, Senator Bob 
Kerrey, to teach with him his course on the Vietnam War. This 
nationally recognized course was the first of its kind to be taught in 
the United States.
  A Medal of Honor winner for his service in Vietnam, Senator Kerrey 
urged then Professor Capps to consider political life. Ten years later, 
Walter made his first run for the United States Congress but, as we 
have heard this evening, he came up just short.
  On May 21, 1996, during a second attempt at gaining public office, as 
we have heard this evening, Walter was injured in a massive automobile 
accident as he returned to his Santa Barbara home after having just 
completed a news conference. After emerging from three months of 
rehabilitation, Walter returned to the campaign trail where he was 
victorious in the grandest fashion.
  As a fellow member of the House Committee on Science, I would often 
sit next to Walter. He had a keen interest for the growing role of 
science in our society and asked many probing

[[Page H9790]]

questions and wondered why we were not putting more money in science. 
Although he will be remembered as a Member of the House of 
Representatives, as we have heard this evening, and his contributions 
here, I will most remember him for the impact he has made on the young 
people through his many years of contribution, 33 years in education.
  He and I shared a commitment to providing quality education to all 
the children, no matter what their background may have been. I think if 
Walter is remembered by his family and his community, it will be for 
his commitment to the children.
  I will end by extending my heartfelt sympathy to Walter's wife, Lois, 
and to their three children, Lisa, Todd, and Laura. I know that this 
will be a tough few days ahead, but remember that your friends love you 
and they will be there for you because you have many, many friends. I 
join my colleagues in saluting Walter for his wonderful spirit and 
lifelong commitment to his fellow man. He was a true friend and he will 
be missed.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Virginia [Mr. Goode].
  Mr. GOODE. I thank the gentlewoman for arranging the program this 
evening.
  Mr. Speaker, together with my colleagues, I rise tonight to pay 
tribute to the memory of one of our best, Walter Capps. Walter's death 
on Tuesday not only shocked and surprised all of us, but also has 
united us in sadness that we have lost such a gentle and caring friend. 
My wife, Lucy, and I met Walter and Lois at freshman orientation last 
November and have had the opportunity to come to know them in the 
months since then.
  From my observations, today's issue of Roll Call was completely 
correct with its headline that characterized Walter as the nicest 
Member of Congress. There was something special in his nature, a 
cheerfulness, an openness, a warmth that made him both liked and 
respected.
  I remember very well Walter's remarks to our Thursday morning prayer 
breakfast not long ago. He spoke about his personal faith and his 
experiences as a professor of religion at the University of California, 
Santa Barbara. From his remarks, one could sense Walter's deep 
commitment to America's young people, the strength of his faith and a 
certain inner peace. To Lois and the Capps family, I say that we feel 
your loss with you for we have lost a friend and someone whom we are 
richer for having known.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
California [Ms. Sanchez].
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about a friend, 
Walter Capps. My husband, Stephan, and I had a very difficult campaign. 
I came in January at the same time that Walter came with his wife, 
Lois. During this entire campaign, while we were south of Los Angeles, 
just north of Los Angeles, Walter Capps and Lois, his wife, were 
running for Congress. And I kept hearing some amazing things about this 
super man who would go out and talk to people and was bright and 
intelligent and had the toughest race going on in Congress.
  I kept thinking, would it not be wonderful if in California we would 
have somebody like Walter Capps representing us? And when I arrived, 
the first thing my husband said to me was, I would really like to meet 
Walter Capps. Of all the famous people we have here in Congress, my 
husband, Stephan, wanted to meet Walter.
  Now, my husband, Stephan, had gone to the University of California at 
Santa Barbara. He had spent five years there, finally graduating with 
his degree, and in that time he was one of those students who had 
petitioned to try to squeeze into one of Professor Capps's classes. And 
in five years there was such a demand for those classes that he was 
unable to be in his class.
  So he said, the one person I really want to meet is Walter Capps. As 
you know, my husband has stayed back in California, and I go out to 
California to be with him on the weekends. I kept saying to my husband, 
do not worry, you will get a chance. There is always the Christmas 
party in December. And as I heard about the death of Walter this week, 
the first thing that came to mind was that there never really is enough 
time. In fact, tomorrow sometimes never comes for some of us.
  If there is one thing I have learned from Walter's death, is that we 
all have to appreciate each other while we are here together. A couple 
of weeks ago, Walter came and sought me out and took me outside of 
these halls, and we sat down and we spoke a while.
  Walter and I had a lot of things in common. We were both 
Representatives from California. We both had tough races. He went back 
every single weekend, most of the time on the same plane that I did. 
Many times we would talk. And while many people have said, oh, my God, 
how can Loretta take the pressure of everything that is going on this 
year, what most people did not realize was that Walter Capps was doing 
the same thing I was doing, going back every weekend, talking to the 
people, getting ready for a very difficult reelection, being with the 
people back home, trying to be with his family, his three children and 
his wife, and trying also to do the job of a new Congressperson.

  He took me outside of this room and sat me down and he said, are you 
okay, Loretta? Is everything okay? Is there something we can do for 
you?
  Here Walter had been going through the same things, in essence, that 
I had and yet he had found the time to ask me if everything was okay in 
my life.
  I guess the most special thing about Walter was the fact that he had 
such a great family. As we all know, family takes time and it takes 
love and it takes commitment. About the greatest thing I can remember, 
as you all do, I am sure, is Lois and Walter together holding hands. 
That always struck me, because Stephan and I have been married for a 
little over seven years, and many of you have not had a chance to see 
us together. But when we are together, we hold hands.
  When I used to watch Walter and Lois, I used to think to myself, they 
do it and they have been married almost 37 years. I thought, would it 
not be great if when Stephan and I reach 37 years we are still holding 
hands?
  Walter, you taught me quite a bit. I am proud to call you my friend 
and, Lois, our thoughts are with you. He was a great man. He is a great 
man. He will be with us for many, many years.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Arkansas [Mr. Berry].
  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the memory and 
service of my friend and colleague, the gentleman from California, the 
Honorable Walter Capps. His warm smile, kind words, great intellect and 
integrity made this a better place. His wisdom and courage made this 
country a better place. Even though he served only a short time, we 
were all honored by his having served as a man of the House. Our 
prayers go with Lois and Walter's family because they have lost the 
most.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Maine [Mr. Allen].
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here tonight to share with 
my friends and Walter's friends our memories of him in his service to 
this House.
  The people of California's 22nd District chose well when they chose 
Walter Capps, and we want to express our sympathy today to, Lois, his 
partner in life and in politics, and to their children, Lisa, Todd, and 
Laura.
  We now know, as freshmen, how we have come to know each other over 
the past year, and we knew Walter well by now, but if I can take you 
back to the time when we first came together, we were getting to know 
each other, telling each other stories about how difficult our own 
races were. And each of us felt that we had had a particularly 
difficult race.
  Then we talked to Walter and we learned that he had been hospitalized 
for three months and that he had essentially campaigned from his 
hospital bed and that while in his hospital bed he had written his 14th 
book. We realized that this was a very extraordinary, gifted and 
talented man.
  His kindness, his intelligence, his integrity will always be with us, 
but I think we will remember especially his joy in this job. And we 
will remember, as several have said, Lois and Walter walking outside, 
looking up at the Capitol rotunda all lit up at night, absolutely 
enthralled with both the responsibility and the joy of being here.

[[Page H9791]]

  Lois, in particular, his partner in life, was thoroughly engaged in 
the issues that we dealt with and shared his goals and values. I want 
to just say one other thing. We knew him as a representative here in 
Congress. But there was a tribute today in the Washington Post written 
by Lou Cannon which gave some sense of what he was like as a professor.
  It mentions his class on the Vietnam war and the 800 people who would 
sign up. And it has a paragraph that I believe you should hear. Lou 
Cannon talked to people who were in Walter's class. And he said:
  A Vietnam veteran told me he had left the Capps lecture arm in arm 
with someone who had dodged the draft. A Vietnamese student wept as she 
told me that Capps had made her family's sufferings meaningful to her. 
Nobody quite knew how he did it. I think he was effective because he 
understood but did not judge. I think he was effective because he 
understood, but did not judge.

                              {time}  2200

  That sums up Walter Capps to me in a great many ways. He made his 
family, his university, his State, and this House better for his 
presence. He was our friend, and we will miss him. But he has taught us 
to listen to the better angels of our nature and try to live up to his 
example.

                          ____________________