[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 150 (Friday, October 31, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE CLEMENT HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF HON. WALTER H. 
           CAPPS, REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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                               speech of

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 29, 1997

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, Walter Capps was a rare gift to those who 
work on Capitol Hill. Others have eulogized him and found that in such 
instances, words are inadequate. But it remains important to struggle 
for such words. And it is the only fitting tribute for a man who left 
everyone with nothing but smiles.
  No one will say they knew him well enough or long enough--his passing 
came too soon--but all will say they were happy to have known him. His 
personality was such that you felt close to him and wished to claim 
that you were. It was an honor to be able to consider yourself a friend 
of Walter Capps. He was a watermark for good and a genuine, kind man 
worthy of emulation.
  I worked with Mr. Capps on the International Relations Committee and 
was always touched by his gregarious and personable presence. He was 
wise and thoughtful in ways uncommon and was passionate in his desire 
to help others. He loved his job and shared with others his good humor 
and a warm sense of responsibility and purpose. In no way was he 
political in the pejorative sense; he was an intellectual who 
understood his talent to bridge disciplines and cut through rhetoric in 
hopes of reconciling differences and pushing colleagues toward 
progress. His seat on the committee is empty and that emptiness will be 
felt long beyond this Congress.
  But Mr. Capps was a man who touched others. He saw value and equality 
in his colleagues, legislative and building staff members, and his 
constituents. He admired them as much as they admired him, though I am 
sure he never fully understood how much they admired him. What we 
understood as his heart and his vision for humanity and religion, with 
honor, respect and admiration, will be carried forth in the ideas of 
those whom he so deeply touched.
  Go well, Mr. Capps. We shall miss you, though we shall not forget 
you.




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