[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H10596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RESIGNATION FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following 
resignation from the House of Representatives:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, November 11, 1997.
     Hon. Newt Gingrich,
     Speaker of the House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: This letter is to officially notify you 
     of my resignation as United States Representative to the 
     First District of Pennsylvania. President Clinton has given 
     me the opportunity to continue my lifetime of public service 
     by nominating me to be Ambassador to Italy, the nation of my 
     heritage.
       I love this body and leave it with bittersweet emotions--I 
     move onto exciting new challenges but I leave so many good 
     friends and colleagues. I feel so strongly about so many of 
     the people I have served with over the past seventeen years. 
     There is that saying attributable to Harry Truman that if you 
     want a friend in Washington, buy a dog. For me, nothing can 
     be further from the truth. I have made friends here, on both 
     sides of the aisle, who I will keep and cherish for the rest 
     of my life.
       I thank the people of the First District for the 
     opportunity to serve them, this country and this institution. 
     It has been a great honor.
       Thank you.
           Sincerely,
     Thomas M. Foglietta.

                          ____________________