[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 5 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H195-H201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RONALD V. DELLUMS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I address
the House today and preside over this special order. On the one hand,
we honor a truly outstanding American and Member of this body. On the
other hand, he will be leaving as a Member of the United States House
of Representatives on February 6. It is with that as a prelude that I
precede my remarks.
I might also say, Mr. Speaker, that we had intended to take this
special order up at 5 o'clock this evening, and there are those who are
still traveling back to Washington from their districts that I know
would wish to be a part of this. Hopefully they will submit their
statements for the Record at a later time.
Mr. Speaker, in the early and middle years of the 1800s, there was a
giant of an orator who spoke in this body and also spoke in the other
body, the United States Senate. His name, of course, was Daniel
Webster. I doubt if anyone has been measured to his status or his level
until my friend Ron Dellums, who is one of the finest orators of our
day, and, I think, of any day and time in this body, came along.
A few years ago, after a very interesting debate, a young page
approached me outside the chamber and remarked that Congressman Dellums
was undoubtedly the finest speaker in the House of Representatives, to
which I agreed with the young gentleman's observations.
As our colleague and good friend Ron Dellums prepares to close this
chapter of his life, 27 years as a Member of Congress, I would like to
say a few words about the man and about the legacy.
He is one of those rarities, a native who was born in Oakland,
California. He served in the Marine Corps, used the GI Bill to go to
college, and worked as a psychiatric social worker, a skill he put to
good use here years later in this Congress.
How would I describe him? First, he is a friend. He is a teacher, he
is a role model. He is also a man of passion, of eloquence, and of
intelligence, as anyone who has observed him in countless House debates
knows so very well.
He has a liberal badge that he wears with honor, and has been a
leading figure in that part of the Democratic Party for over a
generation. He demonstrated his courage on several occasions, of his
convictions, and he used his position and status as a Member of
Congress to draw public attention to an issue he considered important.
I believe it was Speaker Newt Gingrich who once described Ron Dellums
as the ``Conscience of Congress.''
Ron Dellums's accomplishments in the Committee on National Security,
formerly known as the House Armed Services Committee, and here in
Congress are numerous. He was the first African-American to serve on
the House Armed Services Committee in 1973. He was the first to serve
as a subcommittee chairman, which was Military Construction, from 1983
to 1989. He was the first to serve as the Chairman of the full
committee, from 1993 to 1995.
He has been a longtime opponent of large defense expenditures. At the
same time he has always supported, always supported, those measures
designed to improve the welfare of the men and women who served our
Nation in uniform, as well as their families.
He worked closely with the former Secretary of Defense, Bill Perry,
to promote procurement and reform legislation, which passed, Mr.
Speaker, with bipartisan support in 1994.
Maybe his most significant accomplishment in Congress occurred with
the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which prohibited new investment in
South Africa. It capped a 15-year effort on his part and passed with
overwhelming support as a result of his persistence. Less than 10 years
later, in 1994, he traveled to South Africa and witnessed the
inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa.
Ron Dellums can take justifiable credit for having been a leader on
that issue in Congress and having contributed to the remarkable and
positive outcome in South Africa.
But as part of his legacy here in Congress and on the committee on
which I serve, Ron Dellums conducted himself in exemplary fashion, with
fairness, I will repeat, with fairness; with integrity, I will repeat,
with integrity; and, of course, with the highest of dignity.
As both Chairman and ranking member of the committee, he was
committed to the democratic process. Yes, he had strong views about
many issues the committee dealt with, arms control, defense spending,
individual weapons systems, and many, many more, but he was
scrupulously fair, to ensure that all points of view were heard and
were considered, so that no one, no Member was shut out of the
democratic process, whether it be in committee or here on the floor of
the House.
While Congressman Dellums took his responsibilities seriously as a
Member of this body, as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
and as ranking member of the House Committee on National Security, he
maintained a down-to-earth attitude about himself. He remained a
friend; approachable and bright. When asked for advice, he gave it;
when asked for friendship, he gave it.
Congressman Dellums can take great satisfaction that he leaves this
body, this Congress of the United States, having made a difference, a
major difference.
{time} 1530
We can also have the knowledge that he leaves many friends here. We
hope he will maintain contact with each of us. We wish him and his
family health. We wish them happiness and success. We wish them the
very, very best in the days and years ahead. I am proud to call him my
friend, I am proud to call him my colleague. We will miss him.
I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Sisisky).
Mr. SISISKY. Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to say everything in my
heart about Ron Dellums. However, I must follow up on my colleague from
Missouri concerning a speech that Mr. Dellums gave concerning apartheid
in South Africa. It has been my custom when I do not know how I am
going to vote on a subject, I come to the floor, not in front of the
television set, but come to the floor to see how Members really conduct
themselves. I am one of the oldest Members in the House of
Representatives, I believe, so I can say
[[Page H196]]
from experience, I have heard a lot of speeches in my lifetime, both
before World War II, after World War II. I have never heard a speech
like that in my life. I was in doubt, and it was not just the words
that he spoke. It was how he conducted himself and the feeling that
just permeated, permeated this House of Representatives.
I know how proud he must be to return to South Africa and see the
peaceful transformation of government, and I can tell my colleagues
that there were a lot of people involved, but I can tell my colleagues
this, that he is the one that is most responsible.
I have known Ron now for 16 years, and without question, he is the
fairest chairman I have ever served under. I remember a chairman I had
in the State legislature where a member of another party was shouting
something, said, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, this is not fair, and he
picked up the rule book and he said, young man, show me in this book
where the chairman has to be fair. He was fair, and I do not know a
single Member of this body, both Democrat and Republican, that served
on his committee who would disagree.
His faith in democracy has always been the hallmark of his belief
that everyone deserved their say, and that is what led him to fight for
his views on the committee. But it also is what led him as chairman
just as forcefully for the committee bill and the will of the majority,
even when their views were not his own. The ability to do that is truly
the mark of a truly great man.
It is also the mark of a great man that Ron is respected by all men
and women, as I said before, on both sides of the aisle. I can assure
my colleagues that he won their respect the old fashioned way: He
earned it.
Throughout the year when I went through my chemotherapy, Mr. Dellums
would call me or my staff to see how I was doing and let me know that I
was on his mind and his heart. Believe me, it meant a lot to know that
every time Ron saw my staff, his first concern was about me.
Now, having been here 16 years, there are a lot of stories that I
could tell about Ron Dellums. But Ron, you will be thankful to know
that I will not tell them. But there is one story that does a pretty
good job of explaining how I feel about you.
Several years ago, when Ron was still chairman of the Subcommittee on
Procurement of the House Committee on National Security, we were in
markup, and we were debating something, and I do not even remember what
it was. It obviously was not aircraft carriers, because
uncharacteristically for me, I had not said anything. So when you
looked in my direction, I started putting in my 2 cents, because I
thought you wanted me to. When you cut me off, I said I only started
talking because you looked like you had expected me to say something.
And you replied, Mr. Sisisky, I was not looking at you, I was looking
at the brother behind you. And you were talking about my staff guy.
I later learned that when he saw you the next day, he told you that
the next time you saw him, do not say the brother, say my brother. And
that goes for me too. From the bottom of my heart, I wanted you to know
what an honor it is for me to have known you and to call you my
brother.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Clement).
Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I have not had the opportunity to know Ron
Dellums as long as many others have. I have only been in Congress 10
years where many of the others have served with him as many as the 27
years that Ron Dellums has been in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman Dellums was born in 1935 in Oakland, California. As a lot
of my colleagues know also, he served in the Marine Corps from 1954 to
1956. He sure got a lot of formal education, and he was also a
psychiatric social worker in California as well, and I am sure that
helped him a lot serving in the United States House of Representatives.
He was elected to the Berkeley City Council, but then, in 1970 he had
the opportunity to run for the United States Congress and defeated an
incumbent who had been here for a number of years.
Ron Dellums is a special kind of person because he really meets
people extremely well, and as I have heard so many people say, he sure
has changed a lot since he has been here as well. He is not the same
person as he was when he was first elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives and was sworn in in 1971. But we all mellow over the
years, but what Ron Dellums has done, from talking to others and
watching and observing myself, he really listens to what one has to
say. He really cares about what one has to say.
I will never forget when he had the opportunity to move up as
chairman of the Committee on National Security, which is now chairman
of the Committee on National Security, and a lot of people wondered,
what kind of chairman would he be? Should I support him, or not? But he
had made so many friends over the years, even though some of them may
have differed with him on various issues. But one can have a difference
of opinion without having a difference of principle, and that is why it
was really unanimous, or almost unanimous, for him to be chairman of
the Committee on National Security.
We remember his battles and his fights concerning South Africa and
his fight for freedom and independence. We know of his friendship with
Nelson Mandela and always standing by Nelson Mandela's side. I have
also heard that his grooming sure has changed over the years too from
bell bottoms to one of the most best dressed Members of the United
States House of Representatives. He is a passionate leader of the old
school, eloquent in his causes, and dignified in so many ways. He is
intelligent, he is forceful, he is firm, he stands up for what he
believes is right in the best interests of the Ninth Congressional
District in California, the State of California, and the people of
America.
The world has changed, Ron Dellums has changed from Cold War to the
end of the Cold War, from Vietnam to Bosnia, South Africa, and
everything else he has done and what he has accomplished for the best
interests of America and the best interests of the world, and for world
peace, and to keep a strong national defense. Congratulations,
Congressman Ron Dellums.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from St. Louis
(Mr. Clay), my fellow Missourian.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, Congressman Ron Dellums has been one of the
most effective and dynamic Members to serve in this Congress during the
27 years that he has been a Member. I was here when the young fellow
came 27 years ago, so I know what he has meant to this body. He has
been an inspiration both to his constituents and to his colleagues in
his tremendous dedication to this body and to the people of the Ninth
District of California. He has elevated both to new heights.
Ron Dellums came to Congress as a young firebrand to champion causes
deemed unpopular by those who opposed social justice and racial
equality. He was an early leader in the battle for civil and human
rights at home and abroad, a committed advocate for the homeless, the
downtrodden and the dispossessed. Dellums was an outspoken supporter of
protecting the environment before much of our Nation even recognized
the need for better environmental protection laws. He has been an
eloquent and distinguished voice on behalf of millions of neglected men
and women in developing nations around the world.
In 1970, Dellums came to Congress as an anti-Vietnam War peacenik
with a vision of a better future for our Nation. In those days, no one
imagined that he would one day emerge as chairman of the powerful House
Committee on National Security. But his keen mind and sharp intellect
allowed him to perceive things and events that were not yet to come.
Dellums is a visionary who recognized early in his career that in
order to be effective in dismantling the military industrial complex
and in redirecting the vast resources of government, he had to develop
an intrinsic understanding of how the whole system truly functioned.
When he was asked why he joined the Committee on National Security,
Ron Dellums said, and I quote, ``I did not join the Committee on
National Security to learn about missiles, planes and ships. I joined
because I knew I would need to become an expert in this field in order
to argue successfully for military spending reductions that would
[[Page H197]]
free up resources for the desperate human needs that I see every day in
my community.''
So Ron Dellums became an expert. Then he led the battles to free up
resources for human needs, and soon the wind was at his back and his
community and the Nation reaped the fruits of his labors.
Mr. Speaker, on the surface, Dellums is suave and debonair and
charming, dynamic, intelligence, dapper, eloquent, urbane, hip and
cool, but beneath the surface, Dellums is much more. He is heartfelt
sincerity, utterly committed to serving the cause of justice and
determined to eradicate racism and sexism. Congressman Dellums will
forever rank among the finest and most effective Members that have ever
served in this body. He is a man of grace and integrity. I am proud to
have served in this body with Ron Dellums and proud to call him my
friend.
Mr. SKELTON. I thank the gentleman from Missouri. I yield to the
delegate from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christian-Green).
Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN. Mr. Speaker, it has truly been a privilege and
an honor to serve for even this brief time with a gentleman of the
caliber of Congressman Ron Dellums. This weekend the Congressional
Black Caucus joined in a dinner tribute to Congressman Dellums and the
legacy he will be leaving not only to our caucus, but to the entire
Congress of the United States.
As I join my colleagues in toasting this great leader and public
servant, I, as a new Member, reminisced about the few times that we
were able to spend time together and thanked him for the lessons that
are inherent in the story of his life and time in politics, lessons of
courage, of character, of principle, of integrity, and of unswerving
commitment and service.
Ron, I would be sad at your leaving the House at this time, except
that you have given us so very much and enriched our lives and the work
of this House so greatly that your presence and your impact will remain
with us for many years in Congresses to come. We also take comfort in
knowing with a certainty that in leaving you would never abandon the
causes to which you have devoted all of your life, but that wherever
you go and whatever you do, you will always be our strong, active and
dedicated partner in the yet unfinished work of bringing justice and
peace to our country and to the world.
So it is with great pleasure that I join all of my colleagues in
saying a heartfelt thank you. We also thank your constituents who sent
you here to represent them and us these 28 years, and the family who so
graciously shared you with us and this country. And we ask for God's
continued blessings on you and on them, and may God go with you, my
brother.
{time} 1545
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Taylor), who is also a member of the Committee on
National Security.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for yielding.
I am going to divert a little bit from the course. Everyone has
spoken at great length of Ron's social commitment to our Nation, but I
think very few realize how much he has done for the defense of our
Nation, and I do not think he ever got the credit that he deserves for
that. For the 2 years that the gentleman was Chairman of the Committee
on Armed Services, I want the people to what know he has done.
I happen to come from shipbuilding country. It is the major employer
where I live. Our country was once a great maritime power and, up until
1980, we were building about 100 commercial ships a year.
One of the ironies of the Reagan years that most people do not
realize is, while the defense structure of our Nation went up
incredibly during those years and we were building many warships, we
went from building 100 commercial ships a year to none by the time
President Reagan left office.
The year that Ron Dellums assumed the chairmanship of the House
Committee on Armed Services, this great Nation built fewer merchant
ships than the Nation of Vietnam. They built one.
One of the legacies that Ron will always carry with him is that,
working with his committee, he spearheaded the effort and made it
possible for the National Shipbuilding Initiative to become law, for
our Nation to take the first steps toward becoming a maritime power
again.
The loan guarantee program that the gentleman from California allowed
to become law and that he spoke so eloquently for started the first
Federal loan guarantees of U.S.-built commercial ocean-going ships
since 1980.
Since that date, because of his actions, because of his forceful
commitment, the loan portfolio now stands at $2 billion and 260 vessels
have either been built or being built. This is a Nation that on the day
Ron Dellums took over the committee was not building one. That is $1.1
billion for U.S. flag vessels; $670 million of vessels that are being
built by Americans to be exported; and $130 million for something that
the gentleman personally worked to include and that is the
modernization of our shipyards so that we could remain competitive with
our counterparts around the world.
Specifically, there are 17 commercial ocean-going vessels that have
been built as a result of Ron Dellums' good work. Fifteen of them are
double-hulled tankers, so that in the future, if a ship hits a rock or
hits another vessel and is carrying oil or chemicals, the chances are
nine out of ten that it will not leak into the oceans or the rivers of
the worlds.
Ships are being built in the district of the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Sisisky) at Newport News. They are being built in the district of
the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan). They are being built in, of
all places, the home State of F. Edward Hebert, the State of Louisiana.
I think Mr. Hebert would certainly want to apologize for some of the
shabby treatment that Ron got early on in his career, but he was
magnanimous to take care of those folks when he had the chance.
Two passenger ferries, five shipyards are being modernized, and one
shipyard is being reopened as a result of that. There are approximately
200 liquid, dry cargo, and power barges that have been built as a
result of this.
At this present time, there are 20 applications totaling $1.2 billion
on file, again, for a Nation that was building no commercial ships on
the day Ron Dellums took over.
But it is not just that. I think in his life and in what he preaches,
he believes in peace through strength. I think the best way we would
agree to prevent a war is to be so strong that no one wants to go to
war with us.
In the 2 years that Ron Dellums was Chairman, 13 Navy combatants were
authorized, including six DDGs Aegis class destroyers, the finest in
the world; one LHD; one aircraft carrier; two Navy oceanographic
vessels to search the seas for places to hide our submarines and places
for the enemy to hide theirs; two support ships; and one mine warfare
ship. Because it became so apparently clear during the Gulf War how
vulnerable this Nation was and how the world's traffic lanes for ships
were vulnerable to the use of mine warfare.
So in addition to all the good things that the gentleman has done
from the heart, I think this is something that he did to strengthen our
Nation and prevent the next generations from having to go to war and,
above all, to put Americans like my family and his family, the people
from Oakland and the people from South Mississippi, to give them the
chance to make things here in this Nation, things that are important
for what the gentleman once described as an ``island Nation.''
Mr. Speaker, I say to Ron Dellums, ``God bless you and thank you for
what you have done.''
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Mrs. Meek).
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for giving me this time and also thank the
Speaker for giving me time to give some privilege to one of the finest
men I have ever met and one of the finest Congresspersons we will ever
know.
This man brings dignity to the word Congressman. He brings grace. He
brings poise. He brings intellect, which is so direly needed here in
Congress. He brings that.
As I have said many times, Ron Dellums reminds me of a Shakespearian
actor. His gait reminds me of it, his
[[Page H198]]
elegance, his articulation, his knowledge of the issues. Ron Dellums is
``A Man for All Seasons,'' and he has shown us that here in the
Congress.
He is a man of peace who boldly, as Chairman of the powerful
Committee on Armed Services, kept peace at the top of his agenda. He
was able to make peace and armed services compatible to each other. And
with that he set a pace, he set a model for this Congress.
Throughout his leadership, the fiery anti-war activist surprised his
critics with his stewardship of the committee. He did what he was
constitutionally prepared to do when he came into this Congress and
that was to carry out the Constitution yet be very, very noble and
dedicated to his constituents.
He was not just civil. He was courtly.
Many times, Mr. Speaker, I would come to the floor just to hear Ron
Dellums' speech. I did not really care what he said, but to hear him
speak and the way he articulated, the way he stuck with the issues, the
way he was able to debate the question and was able to get along with
people who did not agree with him and to give them facts and carry
those facts through.
Every Congressperson could learn something if they were to sit and
listen to Ron Dellums. He is always in command of the legislative
details. He does not come here to fool anybody with buffoonery. He
comes here with facts, fair and polite to witnesses and restrained in
expressing his own views on defense policy. He managed floor debate on
defense issues so efficiently, Mr. Speaker, that he won praise from
many of his ardent critics.
During times of peace, Ron Dellums has consistently advocated for a
defense builddown, economic conversion planning, and efforts to retrain
workers and to provide community impact aid during this period.
Ron Dellums is a futurist. He has looked to the future while many of
us were able to stay right with the past or to stay right in the
future, he has gone forward into the future.
Not one with a hidden agenda, Ron Dellums pretty much places things
right on the line. If he did not agree with you, he would go into the
crowd of 39 Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was the only
one who had a different opinion, but he brought his opinion, and he
openly discussed it, and he won many of us over.
Much of his thinking on the military is outlined in his book, Defense
Sense: The Search for a Rational Military Policy. That brings out the
scholarly acumen of Ron Dellums, how he is able to convert his ideas
and to put them on paper.
The other scholarly aspect of Ron Dellums is his intellect in
articulating what he feels. He is an intellectual. He is an idea man.
He loves ideas, and he loves to debate them. That is Ron Dellums.
Mr. Speaker, I will not talk any longer, but my colleagues should
know what I know about what he did for South Africa when he helped
America to understand about South Africa and how he was able throughout
his career to be a man of peace.
Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman from California, ``Ron, you go
and you leave us with a legacy. That is a legacy of peace, that is a
legacy of understanding, and that is a legacy of intellectual acumen.''
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Skelton).
The gentleman from Missouri and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Dellums) and I, we shared three offices in a corner of the Rayburn
Building for 10 years. And I know that the gentleman from Missouri felt
ideologically isolated for most of those 10 years in between the two
offices of Markey and Dellums. But, without question, the atmosphere of
collegiality and conversation was one where both Ike Skelton and Ed
Markey could agree that for 28 years Ron Dellums has been the
conscience of Congress on peace and arms control issues for this
country and for this globe.
He fought the neutron bomb during the Carter administration. He
fought the B-1 bomber during the Carter and the Reagan administrations.
He fought the MX missle throughout the Reagan administration. He fought
the Trident II-D-5 missiles throughout the Reagan administration. He
fought the B-2 bomber through the Reagan, the Bush, and the Clinton
administrations. And he has also been one of the leaders in pushing for
a negotiated arms control agreement.
He was one of the prime leaders of the nuclear freeze movement,
fought for a comprehensive test ban, fought for a ban on antisatellite
weapons. He opposed the efforts to abrogate the ABM treaty to exceed
the SALT II limits.
And then in what I believe is his most famous speech here on the
floor, his famous ``Litany of Lunacy'' speech, discussing in eye-
watering detail each one of the increasingly more stupid basing modes
that were designed for the MX Missile, dense pack, rail mobile, small
underwater missiles, and point defense ABM deployment, each one of them
devastated by the Dellums' knife to the heart.
Now, some people say, well, he was a gadfly in the early years, but
he matured over time. Well, I do not think in his third year in
Congress Richard Nixon put Ron Dellums on his enemy's list because he
was a gadfly. One has to be a lot more effective than that than to come
to the President of the United States' attention on a little list he is
keeping inside of his top drawer.
When he came out and said that we should put economic sanctions on
South Africa, he was a gadfly. But of course the one thing that turned
Nelson Mandela from a political prisoner into the President of a
country was Ron Dellums' efforts over 10 years as the gadfly, but then
as a visionary as the world begins to accept his understanding of what
had to happen in order to change the climate in this world.
When he became Chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Construction,
all the members said, he is pretty reasonable on those issues. And when
he became Chairman of the Subcommittee on Research and Development,
they said he is pretty reasonable on those issues. And when he became
chairman of the National Security Committee, everyone started to say he
is pretty reasonable on those issues. But he never compromised his
principles at any time.
Now, as far as I am concerned, one of the great things that is going
to come out of this is that we will all remember Ron Dellums as someone
who, not only sounded good on every single issue that he ever spoke to
on this floor, but never, ever looked as good as Ron Dellums when he
was out here on the floor.
This is a combination that is unique to Ron Dellums of all of the
Members that I have ever known in my 22 years in the United States
Congress. For me, the most poetic, ultimate result of his career will
be that, for eternity, his portrait will sit above the Chair in the
National Security Committee, looking down at every chairman of every
Joint Chiefs of Staff that will ever testify before the National
Security Committee. And Ron Dellums will be peering down at him asking
him the question: Yes, sir, I understand your interest in every weapon
system that has been put as a blueprint on the design board of the
Pentagon, but have you considered all of the other needs of society?
Have you balanced your request so that all of the other problems in our
society can be dealt with as well?
Ron Dellums, you are my friend. You are my hero here in Congress for
my 22 years. I mourn your leaving, but I am glad for you because you
have served our country as well and nobly as any man in your
generation, and I thank you for it.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Edwards).
Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, when Members retire from this institution,
many of us stand up out of politeness to pay our respects. Today is
different. Today, all of the Members of the House speaking truly speak
from their heart.
The world has changed much since a young Ron Dellums came to this
body. He came here when we were mired in the depths of the Vietnam war.
Today the world is at peace. He came when school children were fearful
of being bombed by nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union because of the
Cold War. Today they no longer have that fear, and the world is at
nuclear peace.
{time} 1600
He came when Nelson Mandela was a prisoner and now he is a President.
And
[[Page H199]]
in all of those steps of progress of history is the footprint of Ron
Dellums. He has made a difference for our country, and he has made a
difference for our world. And as we sit here and listen to the great
accomplishments of Ron Dellums, I must say as his friend that we
respect him because of what he has accomplished. We respect him for
what he has done. But truly, we love him because of his deep personal
character. Winston Churchill once said that we make a living by what we
get; we make a life by what we give. Based on what he has given both in
making a difference and in his personal character, Ron Dellums has led
a great and productive life.
Mr. Speaker, when I think of Ron Dellums, I think of four words.
Dignity is the first, perhaps his lasting legacy to this institution.
Always speaking from the heart when he came to this floor, always
dealing with the indignities he once had to face as a new Member having
to share a seat on the Committee on Armed Services, facing that with
great dignity to the point that he rose to become the chairman of that
very same committee.
I think of fairness when I think of Ron Dellums, someone who
respected the will of this House, was willing to listen to all Members
from different points of view and from both parties, and in letting
every Member of this House have his or her say.
I think of the word ``caring.'' As one who represents over 43,000
Army soldiers, I want to express my thanks to Ron Dellums for helping
protect the impact aid program which sees that if our military families
are off fighting in a war thousands of miles away from their homes, at
least they can do so knowing that their children will get a first class
education back home.
Despite the fact of his fairness, for which we all respect, let no
one mistake the fact that Ron Dellums has been effective. Listen to the
stories that have already been told. Talk to two of the greatest
leaders, great defenders of the B-2 program. I think it says a lot that
the most effective fighters in favor of the B-2, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Dicks) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton),
are here on this floor to pay their respects to the man who literally
led the fight against that major defense program.
Fortunately our Founding Fathers were wise enough to design an
institution that is bigger than any one of us. This institution will go
on when Ron Dellums retires. But, Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for all
of us when I say that this institution will be less because of his
retirement but more because of his service and his lasting legacy of
dignity to this great body and to this country.
We salute you and wish you well, our friend, Ron Dellums.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield, Mr.
Dicks is out here to argue with Dellums about the B-2. He has not
buried that axe yet.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Gephardt), the minority leader of this House.
Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, this is a very, very important time to
tell one of our departing Members how much we think of him, respect
him, care about him and recognize the tremendous contribution that he
has made to the House of Representatives, to his district, to his
constituents, to the country of the United States, and finally I would
say to the world, which can be said about very few of us who come
through this place.
There is a whole list of things I could say, many of them have been
said. I would like to repeat all of them, but I do not want to do that
because it is not necessary. Ron Dellums has excelled in so many ways
in the years that he has been here. There are two things I want to
bring out about him that I think are maybe the most important.
All of us come here to make a difference. It is the only reason to be
here, it is the only reason to take on public service. Public service
is hard work. It takes from your family, takes from your private time,
and the reason to do this is to make a difference.
Ron Dellums, you have made a difference in many, many ways, but I
want to pick out two that I think are the most important.
First you made a difference in the way you have conducted yourself in
the House in terms of getting all of us to remember and understand that
even though we come here with deeply held beliefs and views, the most
important thing we have to do here is to be able to reconcile those
views with one another, to resolve conflict. That is the great
achievement of the Congress is that with all the views that come here
from all over the country, from all kinds of backgrounds, from all
kinds of States and places, here in this hallowed room we resolve the
conflict. You have been chairman and now ranking member of one of the
most important committees in the House, the Committee on Armed
Services, the defense function, which is our first commitment to our
constituents. And you, in probably the best way it has ever been done,
resolved the conflict in that committee.
Let me read what the Almanac of American Politics says about Ron
Dellums: His performance is a fine example of how a chairman can
preside fairly and with dignity while conscientiously disagreeing with
the views of his colleagues even when different from his own.
That is high praise, and it is well deserved. Every member of that
committee would say, you are the best that has ever been in the
leadership of that committee because you fairly resolved the conflict
on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day, year-by-year basis.
The second example of achievement in making a difference is South
Africa. I remember, I was here in the early 1980s when Ron Dellums came
onto this floor and argued to us and to the world that America should
stand for certain values of freedom and human rights, and all of the
opponents of that position came out and said, well, he may be right on
the values, but no one will follow. Other countries will not follow our
lead. Then others said, we will lose business because we will lose
contracts in South Africa. And finally people argued, well, it will
hurt the good people of South Africa, you will be hurting the very
people you are trying to help.
And Ron Dellums kept coming back on this floor repeatedly after he
had lost over and over and over again. He kept saying what in his heart
he felt was right for the people of South Africa, the people of America
and the people of the world. And finally, we overrode a veto. The first
time Ronald Reagan as President was overridden with a veto was on that
bill authored by Ron Dellums, and we changed the policy of the United
States.
And a few months after that I am looking at the TV on a Sunday
morning, and here they are looking at a field in South Africa, and out
of prison came Nelson Mandela. Tears streamed down your face as you saw
the fulfillment of the commitment of Ron Dellums to the values and
morals that this country was founded on. He understood that in the
Declaration of Independence, when it said, these inalienable rights,
that they were universal rights and human rights across the world, not
just for the United States. And because Ron Dellums, you stood for
those inalienable universal human rights, Nelson Mandela today is the
President of South Africa. And those rights have been held up once
again by America as inalienable, universal human rights.
Mr. Dellums, you made a difference, you made a big difference, not
only in this Chamber and in this body and in this country, but in the
world. Few of us, if any of us, can say that. We are going to miss you.
You are leaving at a time in your life when you can go on and do great
things in other places. We wish you well, and we are here to support
you and help you in any way we can. God bless you.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington
(Mr. Dicks).
Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the minority leader,
Dick Gephardt, who has been our majority leader and caucus chairman,
for an outstanding speech. I came over here today because I have had
the privilege of working with Ron Dellums for 22 years. We have had
days when we have been allies, when we have fought against the
antisatellite weapon and against Star Wars, and we had a different
airlifter than maybe the one that the Pentagon wanted, and there was
never a better man to be an ally with. And we have had days over here,
[[Page H200]]
as someone has mentioned, where we disagreed on a few issues.
But the thing that I appreciated about Ron Dellums, and I think that
it is something that we have gotten away from in the House, is that he
is always willing to stand up here on the floor and engage in true
debate on the issues and to have a discussion and to challenge your
ideas, but he is always willing to let you challenge his, and out of
that I think comes an understanding of these technical issues that we
are forced to deal with in the area of national defense.
I can tell my colleagues, when people talk about fairness, even
though Mr. Dellums and I would disagree on certain issues but we would
be allies on others, when you needed a friend, and in this Congress you
have to go home and get reelected, and one time I had a terrible
problem and that was on the Nisqually River. We wanted to build a fish
hatchery for salmon, which now has become an endangered species in the
Northwest. I went to Chairman Dellums and I said to him, the best place
to have this fish hatchery is on a piece of Army land. And he said to
me, what do you want to do about this? I said, the Army will not let us
have the piece of land, but they have suggested that if you can get Mr.
Dellums to put it in the military construction authorization bill, that
we will transfer the land to the Nisqually Indians. And so Dellums, as
he could synthesize this, said to me, are you telling me that you want
me to take this land away from the Army and give it to the Indians? And
I said, yes. And he said, right on, brother. And I will tell you, that
was the fastest transfer we ever got.
And there are other issues where we worked together on a school
district and a whole bunch of other things. But as the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) mentioned, I think all of us will remember the
fight over South Africa and also the great debates that we had during
the Cold War era of whether we are going to maintain arms control,
whether we are going to make certain that we did not breach the ABM
agreement. We did not override the SALT II limits, all those things we
were allies.
And I will just tell you this: There are a lot of people over at the
Pentagon, a lot of people in the industry who were very fearful when
Mr. Dellums became chairman of the Committee on Armed Services. But we
never had a fairer, better chairman. Even though sometimes he did not
even vote for his own bill, he brought it to the floor, let everybody
debate it, passed it and got it done, got the work done. And most
importantly, in another era where he is sometimes forgotten, is that
when he had to go sit down with the United States Senate, he did well
on behalf of the House of Representatives.
So even though we have had our disputes, I am going to miss Ron
Dellums because I am not going to know who to debate anymore. Where is
the challenge going to be? Who is going to be the leader on the more
liberal side of our caucus?
But I have admired him. I admire his commitment to his constituency,
to his family and just not a better man to work with and serve with. I
am proud of the fact that we have been friends and we will be friends
in the future, and we will work together on important issues, I am
sure, when you come back to the Congress from time to time to see your
old friends. God bless and good luck and we appreciate your great
service to this institution.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Horn).
Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, we all know that Ron Dellums was the first
African American member of the House Committee on National Security.
{time} 1615
I came in the 103rd Congress, when he was chairman, and I can testify
that in those two years not one single Democrat, not one single
Republican ever criticized him.
It has been said repeatedly today that he was without question one of
the fairest chairs this House has ever had. And all I can say for some
chairs--we do not have too many of those old autocrats any more--but
all of us could take a lesson from Ron as to how to conduct a meeting.
He was fair. Everybody had their say.
He was much like Phil Hart, who chaired Senate Judiciary: The
Southerners had their say, the Northerners had their say. And his
colleagues in the Senate named a building after him. Ron, all the
buildings seem to be gone, but you never know around here, you might
get one named after you yet.
In modern times we all know that he was one of the few who chaired
two full committees in this House, the other being the District of
Columbia. He also continued his cause for civil and human rights that
he has been committed to all his life, and he still did that as a
Member of Congress and as a chair, as has been noted with the South
African situation.
It is his personal dealings with individual Members that I think all
of us remember; that he treated our requests with respect, and he did
the best he could do about those requests. He was a very accommodating
chair.
But I think what has not been mentioned since I walked onto the floor
is he has a tremendous sense of humor. And I think my favorite Ron
Dellums story is when he participated in his first conference with, we
shall say euphemistically, the other body. And he sat there with great
interest, and across from him was one Member of the other body. On his
side of the table, there were about 30 Members of the House. And there
was a staff member that was next to the Member from the other body.
After the Senator across the table had said a few paragraphs, the staff
member took over the meeting. Everybody on the House side was used to
it, Ron was not. He and each of his colleagues were prepared to discuss
each section of the bill with representatives of the other body. The
Senate staff member kept on. Finally Ron just let out a big yawn. Since
he is rather tall, and has a commanding presence, when Ron says
something you turn around and listen. Someone said, ``What's the
matter, Ron?'' There was a pause and Ron replied, ``Well, I am just
wondering, if I die and I am going to be reincarnated, what would I
like to be? And there was a longer pause. And he mused: ``I think I
would like to be a Senate staff member.''
That comment broke up the tension of the meeting. We all regret Ron
Dellums' decision to retire. Of course, he has a great sense of humor.
But more important, he is a compassionate man. He has been an effective
legislator. He is truly a beloved colleague of Members on both sides of
the aisle. Ron, I thank you for all you have done for America and human
rights in the world, and not simply for the free state of Berkeley,
California.
But you are a great colleague, Ron. We are all glad to have you as a
friend.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Reyes).
Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I
rise to pay tribute to my good friend and colleague, Congressman Ron
Dellums. Like many of my colleagues, I was saddened to learn that Ron
was leaving us, especially when I realized that he was leaving us so
soon.
I want everyone to know that I respect Ron and that I consider him a
pioneer, I consider him a mentor and I consider him a friend. I
consider Ron Dellums a pioneer because he came to this House as a
Representative at a time when there were very few minorities in
Congress.
He led the way for African-Americans, he pioneered the way for women,
for Hispanics and other minorities. He did not shy away from issues of
importance to these groups and others. He boldly stood on this floor
and in the committee and passionately debated matters of grave concern
to this Nation and to the world. In so doing, he raised issues that
others would rather ignore, but he knew that they must be brought and
discussed here in this body.
I consider Ron Dellums a mentor because from the day I joined the
House Committee on National Security he always was available to answer
any questions and provide guidance to those of us that were new to the
committee. He was quick to share his expertise and to mentor new
Members. For that I really appreciate your friendship.
Ron Dellums took time to bring the freshmen members of the committee
together on many different occasions about many different issues, and
he shared his knowledge of the process, of the experience, and he took
time to guide us through a very nasty mine
[[Page H201]]
field of the authorization process, and we really appreciate that, Ron.
I consider Ron Dellums a friend, first and foremost, because I could
always come to him to ask advice. I could always count on him for
lending some sort of rationalization and levity to sometimes a
cantankerous atmosphere.
I think that, Ron, you, more than other Members of this institution,
realize that you have always been an integral and an important part of
a process that is as real and vital as America itself. I want to wish
you all the best and know that in the next chapter of your life you
will continue to make a significant impact on the lives of many others.
I want to end by telling you, my good friend, vaya con Dios, mi
amigo, mi hermano, go with God, my friend and my brother. God bless.
____________________