[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 5 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H213-H219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FURTHER TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RONALD DELLUMS AND THE NAMING OF 
               RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the Majority Leader.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I came down to the floor to take a special 
order to talk about another Ronald; but I am going to take this 
opportunity to talk about this Ronald that I have come to respect, a 
gentleman that, when he was Chairman of the then Arms Services 
Committee, was one of the most giving, open, and stalwart, a real 
stalwart man when he was Chairman.
  I was shocked this morning. I knew it was coming, but I was shocked 
this morning as I was sitting in that chair waiting for 1-minutes, and 
the Chair read the gentleman's resignation.
  It came home that the gentleman from California (Mr. Dellums) is 
actually leaving this House. We are losing one of its finest Members, a 
Member that I have great respect for, because he always did his 
homework, was so articulate and eloquent on this floor.
  He always got my attention when he stood up and took the microphone. 
He would stop every Member in their tracks to hear what he had to say, 
and there are very few Members that have served in this body that can 
claim the respect that both sides of the aisle had for the gentleman 
from California.
  And the incredible reputation that the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Dellums) has brought to this House; he has elevated this House. He has 
elevated the distinction of this House by serving here, and this House 
will greatly miss him when he leaves.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Kasich).
  Mr. KASICH. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that there really are not 
enough minutes here for me to speak, and I am going to have to visit my 
friend in his office, my great friend, Mr. Dellums.
  He and I started hanging out together. That early day, I was very 
much alone, as you remember, Ron, because a lot of Republicans could 
not figure out why you and I had become such great friends; and it is 
so amazing to see so many Republicans come to the floor and salute you.
  The fact is that we relate to each other best when we can touch each 
other's hearts; and it really does not matter in the Congress of the 
United States if, at the end of the day, whether we think differently. 
What matters at the end of the day is, are we honest of heart and are 
we willing to put ourselves on the line for what we believe in. That is 
why people come here today and salute you, because you are pure of 
heart, and you do put your shoulder to the wheel to try to bring about 
change.
  No one ever questions your sincerity or your dedication to your 
country. That is why I feel so strongly about you.
  But it is not as a colleague, is it, Ron, for you and me? Ron Dellums 
came to my wedding; and he gave me an elephant, a crystal elephant, 
which was hard for him to begin with, not give me a crystal donkey, 
right? He gave me a crystal elephant.
  He wrote a note to my wife and to me, and it said: Dear John and 
Karen, no matter where I am and no matter where you are, you should 
know that I love you both.
  That may be one of the most prized, maybe is the most prized gift 
that I have ever received from anybody in the House of Representatives. 
Because no matter where you are, my wife and I love you and yours, your 
family. You are going to leave here, but you are not going to be able 
to get away from me, and I am not going to be able to get away from 
you.
  You are a very special man that has been able make all of us feel 
better about our work in the House of Representatives. But what I am 
most proud of is that I have made a lifelong friend who will stand with 
me and I with him no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the 
day. Whether the sun shall rise or whether the rain shall fall, we will 
be together for the rest of our lives.
  God bless you and Godspeed, friend Ron Dellums.

                              {time}  1730

  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Houston, Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), and I thank my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Cunningham). I think in this time of personal acknowledgment, when we 
all have issues to discuss, I think we should let the American people 
realize that we are part of the human family. I have said to someone 
that I was going to come and hug the gentleman on the floor so that I 
might get some time to be able to share my thoughts. And I did not hug 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), but I appreciate him realizing 
how important it is for me to come and share some very personal 
moments.
  Ron, my dilemma and my frustration, my sadness is that I cannot say 
that I had 30 years or 10 years or even 5 years. But I think I have 
reminded you on a regular basis that I got by extension some of the 
kindness and the love and the brotherhood that you shared with our 
mentor and friend from Texas, Mickey Leland. It was through Mickey that 
the 18th Congressional District, the people of the 18th Congressional 
District got to claim Ron Dellums.
  I would say to you that I am sad that you are not my President, not 
my Secretary of Defense or my national security chairman, if you will, 
or advisor to the President. I would have liked that, though I respect 
all that you have done and what you chose to be.
  Interestingly enough, we have words on paper, but I want to just say 
these words as I share briefly with you, this is your story. It is his 
story, the story is yours of what you have done for this Congress and 
for the American people. We could come here and humorously talk about 
the time that he came first to this body and first to the committee 
that you chaired and had to sit in one chair with another colleague of 
yours, Pat Schroeder. We can all laugh about that, but we can take the 
intensity of the time and how unique you were. But we can also take 
from that that you did not lay down the gauntlet, refusing to continue 
and persevere, and you wound up as the chairman of the Committee on 
National Security, now

[[Page H214]]

named, and as well you now pose in that committee with the most 
striking portrait that I think we will ever see and your humorous 
comments to the artist who said, do you want me to take this wrinkle 
out, this blemish out, this wrinkle out. And you said, absolutely not. 
It took me a long time to get all these warts and wrinkles and I want 
everybody to realize it. I am proud that you did that.
  You have always been willing in debate to listen to the other fellow 
or the other lady. You have always been willing, though you have had an 
independent voice in time of crisis, and I came here during Bosnia, and 
you were eloquent in explaining to those who would be for or against 
what your position was, so I think that in this Congress we have been 
blessed, one by your power and your eloquence, your love. I have been 
blessed by brotherhood through Mickey. His family has been blessed. His 
boys have been blessed because they know Ron Dellums. And certainly I 
would say that you have taken the responsibility of chairmanship, and I 
respect the leadership role of our majority leader and our majority 
whip, in this instance the gentleman from Texas (Tom DeLay). They have 
to gather people together. You had the chairmanship. Therefore, you had 
to gather people together. But as the chairman, you wielded a lot of 
power.
  I think the American people need to realize that you never impeded 
someone else from gaining, from expressing, from fighting and from 
being successful. That is key. Robert Frost said that the road less 
traveled by, and that has made all of the difference. I believe that 
you went the road less traveled by for the other road was so very 
crowded but an easy road to travel. You took it upon yourself to say, 
as the others go this way, I am going the road that may be the most 
difficult or the bridge or the mountain most difficult to climb.
  As I close, so many of us always quote Dr. Martin Luther King. I have 
always said that he left us a legacy, whether we realize it or not, 
more than his actions during his life but it was his words. And we 
always quote the famous words that he offered about the content of 
one's character not being judged by the color of one's skin. I always 
believe that those words are easy to say. But it is really doing and 
acting upon those words, to really have character that others can watch 
and see and feel and touch and say, I like that guy. I like that lady. 
I like what they exude or what they stand for.
  So I simply want to say that my frustration comes to a close. The 
words are not enough. They are not eloquent enough. They are not 
spiritual enough. They are not strong enough. I am leaving sort of not 
complete because I do not feel that I have captured your spirit of who 
you are. But I hope you know by my presence here this evening by a 
small measure you not only have my love and admiration and respect, but 
the people of the 18th Congressional District and the spirit of Mickey 
Leland watches you every day and wishes you the very best with your 
family, continuing to be strong.
  I always tell my children, fly high where the eagles fly, fly high 
where you belong. God bless you, Ron Dellums. God bless you and your 
family. The United States is blessed by your legacy and your story. God 
bless you.
  With the announcement of his sudden retirement from the Congress last 
month, Representative Ronald V. Dellums, the esteemed Former Chairman 
of the House National Security Committee (previously called the House 
Armed Services Committee), began to write the final chapter of a 
brilliant legacy of public service spanning well over three decades, 
that simply can not go without recognition.
  After a distinguished tour service in the United States Marine Corps, 
Congressman Dellums began to prepare himself to pursue a career of 
helping others. Congressman Dellums was the first member of his family 
to attend college, and completed his studies with a Masters degree in 
Social Work from the University of California. The Congressman's chosen 
field was that of psychiatric social work before he realized his true 
calling was in the area of public interest.
  While serving as a well-respected community activist in the Bay Area, 
Congressman Dellums was persuaded by friends that he could be an even 
greater good to the local community by serving on the Berkeley City 
Council. The Congressman consented to these requests, and was elected 
to the Berkeley City Council in 1966. After four years on the City 
Council, in 1970, Congressman Dellums challenged the incumbent of the 
Ninth Congressional District of California, and won. From this point 
on, I guess one could say that the ``rest was history''.
  Dellums, upon his arrival in Washington in 1971, emerged as one of 
the most controversial figures on Capitol Hill. Always willing to be a 
balanced and independent voice in times of crisis, Congressman Dellums 
soon rose to national prominence as one of the most intelligent and 
articulate members of this Congress. Congressman Dellums was widely 
recognized as the kind of man that did not just give lipservice to his 
announced legislative priorities, but actually worked tirelessly to 
meet these objectives in order to better serve his constituency and the 
nation at large. There is only one word that can accurately describe a 
man like this, integrity.
  Mr. Dellums, first as Chairman of the Acquisitions Subcommittee and 
then as the Full Committee Chairman, showed the kind of exemplary 
dignity befitting of the Chairman's gavel. Even though, Congressman 
Dellums was always an advocate of lower military spending, he never 
used the power of the Chair as a means of impeding any opposing views 
held by his colleagues. Dellums used only his intellect and his vote as 
a way of expressing his views on pending legislation, and I am sure 
that this is how the framers of the Constitution envisioned a 
Congressional Representative would conducted his or herself.
  I honestly can not think of a higher compliment to give to a lawmaker 
than to say that he consistently stood upon their convictions in the 
face of opposition with honor and dignity. Ronald V. Dellums, without 
exception, remained this kind of man of convictions, during his nearly 
thirty years of service in the United States Congress, and this must be 
applauded, Like Robert Frost said, Congressman Dellums took ``the road 
less traveled by, and that has made all of the difference''. In 
conclusion, I believe that few will disagree with me when I say, 
Congressman Dellums, it is unlikely that we will see your kind again 
any time soon, rest assured that your labors in this place will not be 
forgotten.
  Mr. DeLAY. I thank the gentlewoman from Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Cunningham), my dear friend.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for 
yielding to me. This is really special for me because quite often it is 
hard to say you are wrong. When I came to Congress, I did not respect 
Ron Dellums. Coming out of the military, I had preconceived ideas, 
notions. As a matter of fact, I thought he was unfair at times, and we 
even came once, when there was an issue on the conference where they 
had 14 Members one year on conference, and I had winnowed my way to 
number 13, and then they cut it to 12. I came to the chairman and said, 
Mr. Chairman, you are unfair. It got pretty heated right back here in 
this back room. And both of us in the heat of the battle looked at each 
other both with tears in our eyes, and we ended up embracing each 
other, I would like to state for the record in a manly way, Mr. 
Speaker.
  But since then I think over these past few years, I say quite a few 
years since I have been here, Ron and I have become good friends. And 
it does not mean that we do not differ on issues. I disagree vehemently 
with national security issues with my friend from California and come 
from a different perspective. But I want to tell you one thing, one of 
the hardest things that there is on this floor, and I think my 
colleagues would agree with, is when you are really dedicated in your 
heart trying to help something and someone accuses you, whether it is 
cutting education or cutting Medicare, and you are trying your best to 
do what you believe is right for this country, Ron Dellums never did 
that. He always spoke to the issue. He never spoke through partisanship 
or anything. I think that is part of the reason, Ron, that you were 
fair. I was wrong.
  I think there is a Jewish proverb that I think that best exudes what 
the gentleman from California represents. It was taken from a movie 
called the Jazz Singer. He and I are old enough to remember Al Jolson. 
And then Neil Diamond later played in that movie. But it was about a 
father who had lost a son, not to death but to an argument. And the 
father wanted his son to be a cantor, and the son wanted to be a jazz 
singer. And there was so much conflict between them that the father 
ripped his coat in a Jewish fashion and disavowed that he had a son. I 
have two daughters. You can use this same proverb. But the proverb goes 
like this, the

[[Page H215]]

father calls to his son and says, son, come home. We have argued too 
long. And his son replies, father, I cannot. There is too much between 
us. And the father replies, son, come as far as you can, and I will 
come the rest of the way.
  Ron Dellums has always come the rest of the way. I think that is why 
most of us, even though we disagree a lot of times with politics, do I 
want you as President? No. Do I want you as Secretary of Defense? No. 
But I want you as my friend for life, and I want you to always know you 
are welcome at my table in my home with my family. God bless you, Ron.
  Mr. DeLAY. I thank the gentleman from California.
  For other Members on the floor, I came down to the floor to give 
another kind of special order, so I have agreed to two more speakers, 
and then I will go to Mr. Dellums. Then I have to, because I am running 
out of time, go to my special order.
  I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend from Texas allowing 
me to speak.
  The tribute that we have witnessed this evening on the floor of the 
House of Representatives has never been equal. I took out an hour 
special order that was used. The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Spratt) took out an hour which was used. We are very grateful to our 
friend from Texas for allowing us to have a few more words of tribute 
honoring Ron Dellums.
  This gentleman will be sorely missed. But I tell you, Ron Dellums, 
that this tribute that we have participated in and witnessed this 
evening hopefully in days and years ahead will warm your heart to know 
of the friendship, the respect and the affection with which we hold 
you. We wish you the very, very best in the days to come.
  Just the other day you received a distinguished service medal from 
the Secretary of Defense. He told a story about how Bishop Tutu was 
honored. And he spoke about how the words ``thank you'' sound so little 
but yet mean so much. So let me say to my friend, thank you.
  Mr. DeLAY. I thank the gentleman from Missouri.
  I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), the 
distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent 
Agencies.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from 
Texas yielding to me. It indeed is a great honor for me in just a few 
moments sharing the thoughts that I shared personally on more than one 
occasion with and about my dear friend Ron Dellums. It is one thing to 
talk about how you feel about public affairs. It is one thing to talk 
about how you feel about friends and family. But if you have spent much 
of your life in a thing called public affairs and serving people, it is 
impossible to begin to tell your colleagues and your friends just how 
much you would wish that your life could in a small part emulate that 
which has been my experience with Ron Dellums.
  I first heard about this fellow at a time when he certainly had no 
idea that I might be around. I was then a graduate intern in the San 
Francisco area, assigned as a part of that work to the East Bay Labor 
Council where I had the privilege to spend a good deal of time with a 
fellow by the name of Jeffrey Cohelan. When I really heard about Ron 
Dellums was a few years after that when Ron Dellums had the audacity to 
run against Congressman Cohelan in a primary and defeat that incumbent 
Member of the Democratic Party in the House.
  Ron Dellums, from the perspective that was a Republican perspective, 
was from the radical left. I mean, indeed, he was the heyday of the 
Berkeley days. And my perception of him was so different than one could 
get from afar by way of just that background and experience of mine. I 
mean, he beat a guy who had been good to me, and he was obviously one 
of these guys from the nutty left.
  And then years after that, as I began to look at public affairs in a 
different kind of way, recognizing that very few of our problems are 
solved by partisan politics alone, recognizing that the importance of 
work in public affairs comes down to the quality of the people that we 
attract. It says on one of those buildings in California, bring me men 
to match my mountains. And in many a way, our people have a way of 
doing that regardless of the label.
  Ron Dellums is one of the great Americans to ever serve in the House 
of Representatives. I want to say that from the bottom of my heart, but 
I want to say much more than time will allow. So I will take this 
moment to tell Ron that the time that we have spent together here on 
the floor, the time we have spent together, special time in other parts 
of this building, I have grown to have an affection for you that I can 
express about few others outside of my family, there are few that I 
care for more. Ron Dellums is exactly the kind of person that gives me 
hope for the future of our society as well as the future of our 
government. If we can continue to attract people of this talent, of 
this ability to communicate verbally and otherwise, people who really 
care as he cares, then the country, the Republic and indeed much of the 
world, not only will be better for it but has a great future in 
reflecting upon his work.

                              {time}  1745

  Ron, God bless you and your family, and to say the least, we will 
miss you. So farewell, my friend.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, as usual, when we get on the floor, we have 
to yield to more Members, and I will yield to the other Californians 
that are here. But I warn anybody that may be on their way over to the 
floor, that in 5 minutes I am going to take my special order.
  So I will yield to the gentleman from California, (Mr. Farr).
  Mr. FARR of California. Well, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
much for yielding to me. I appreciate the fact that he is on the floor 
tonight to take special order time to talk about another great 
Californian, Ronald Reagan, and we are taking that time to talk about 
another great Ronald, Ronald Dellums, both from California, and I 
appreciated the gentleman's yielding.
  I am here as a relatively new Member, only having served 5\1/2\ years 
in the House. But I think that the history of the 70s, the history of 
the 80s, the history of the 90s saw incredible change in our country. 
And this House, during all that period, probably spent more time 
discussing our national security, our national defense, the Vietnam 
War, Panama, and the Middle East. We had lots of problems.
  Probably history will point out that the most talked about person of 
these eras, two-and-a-half decades, is going to be Ron Dellums, because 
in the people's House, he was an unusual person. He represented people 
that had not been represented before in Congress. He spoke about 
unusual ideas, many of which were unpopular. And they became the 
position of our Nation. He just said them before anyone else.
  He provided new leadership. Nobody of African-American descent had 
ever been chair of the Committee on Armed Services. And the fact he was 
taking that chair and had the opportunity to be there, he had life 
threats against him in this building as a Member of Congress.
  So as a newer Member to the people's House and one who is interested 
in the history of this House, I think that Ron Dellums' legacy will be 
something that will be talked about for decades to come. Our country 
will be proud of him, and is, but most importantly our grandchildren 
will know about Ron Dellums.
  You served us well. You will be remembered forever. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with both honor and sadness that I rise to pay 
tribute to one of our colleagues, and a fellow Californian, Ron 
Dellums, who is retiring from Congress after nearly three decades of 
service in the House of Representatives.
  Ron has had a long and honorable career in public service, and his 
district knew him well long before he ran for Congress. He was involved 
in social work, economic development, and community politics for many 
years before being elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1967, a 
momentous time in Bay Area politics. Three years later, he ran for 
Congress for a seat which had been held for decades by the Republican 
Party. Ron not only won the seat, he has kept it ever since, frequently 
winning by sizeable margins.
  Needless to say, Ron came to the House of Representatives in 1970 as 
one of the most

[[Page H216]]

progressive progressives. When he joined the Armed Services Committee, 
he was considered so extreme that he had to fight--literally--for a 
seat on the dias. Knowing his views were in the minority, Ron 
nonetheless spoke out eloquently and repeatedly against bloated and 
wasteful defense spending. His speeches on the subject stand among the 
very best ever delivered on the floor of the House: well-reasoned, 
intelligent, compelling, and eloquent.
  As many will attest, one of Ron's greatest talents is his ability to 
balance his strong, outspoken beliefs with a deep sense of fairness. I 
was honored to serve under his leadership when I served on the 
Committee on Armed Services; in fact, Ron was my first Chairman when I 
came to Congress in 1993. As the most junior Member of the Committee, 
Ron accorded me the upmost respect and assistance, for which I am 
deeply grateful. As Chairman, Ron was always open, fair, and willing to 
listen to all arguments, whether he agreed or disagreed with them. His 
respect for the minority, acceptance of opposing views, and tremendous 
rhetorical skills are worthy of emulation by those in positions of 
leadership.
  Ron's long tenure attests to his effective service to his district. 
So beloved is Ron that some of his constituents have actually become 
offended when someone dares challenge him in an election year. Indeed, 
Ron's stature is such that he is known and admired by people throughout 
California. I know that some of my constituents were just as sad to 
hear of Ron's retirement as those from his own district.
  It has been a tremendous honor to serve in the House of 
Representatives with Ron Dellums. The Bay Area, the State of 
California, and the U.S. House of Representatives will greatly miss his 
presence, and I wish him and his family the very best in the years 
ahead.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Engel).
  Mr. ENGEL. Well, it is actually the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I apologize to the gentleman.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the majority whip for 
yielding me this time, and it just shows that Ron Dellums is 
appreciated all the way from California to New York, across the country 
and then back.
  One of the nice things about serving in this body, and this is my 
10th year in this body, is when you first come to Congress you meet 
people who are giants, you meet people you have read about, you meet 
people you have seen and that you really did not know. And the thought 
that you, as an elected Member of Congress, as a new Member, are a 
colleague of somebody whom you have heard about and read about and seen 
is really something to behold.
  I felt that way when I first came to Congress, and I still feel that 
way with regard to Ron Dellums. And I would never have forgiven myself 
if I had not come to the floor this evening to say just a few words in 
tribute to Ron, because you can never say enough to really capture the 
whole image of the man.
  I think of all the people I have served with in Congress, there is 
nobody kinder, there is nobody greater, there is nobody who cares more 
about this country. There is nobody who is a better friend than Ron 
Dellums. We have broken bread many times together at lunch and had 
many, many great talks.
  At first Ron Dellums came to my attention when he was leading the 
protests against the Vietnam war. And a lot of us at that time felt as 
he did, but he seemed to capture everything and knew just exactly what 
to say. And in the course of the 10 years I have served with Ron, I 
have never known anyone to have more integrity, more concern for this 
country, more love for this country, more love for the people with whom 
he served in the House of Representatives.
  We are really going to miss Ron. It's very nice, Ron, to be able to 
hear people say all these nice things about you while you are still 
alive. It is really, really nice. But I think you can see from the 
heart both sides of the aisle, people who would call themselves 
liberals and conservatives and moderates and everything in between, are 
all saying the exact same things.
  And at a time in Congress when many people do not agree with many 
other people, we all agree about one thing, and that is that Ron 
Dellums is a class act. Thank you, my friend. I am going to miss you, 
and I hope you will keep in touch. But you have served this country 
well, you have served your friends well, and class act is really the 
word.
  And I want to thank the majority whip for granting me the time.
  Mr. DeLAY. And, Mr. Speaker, once again I apologize to the gentleman 
from New York, but well said.
  My last Speaker is the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).
  Ms. WOOLSEY. And, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for letting us 
do this. I promise I would have been here earlier, but I was on an 
airplane coming from a very rainy, rainy California.
  I tell Ron this story because it made such an impact on me. Ron 
Dellums came to my district and spoke in front of a group of my 
friends. He spoke outside and the birds stopped singing because they 
were listening to him. There was not a person listening that had a dry 
eye. Every single person in that group, and there was at least 100 some 
people, had a story that they remembered about Ron Dellums and what he 
has done for this country. So then I had the fortune to come here and 
work with you, Ron, and I am so privileged that that has been part of 
my growing up here as a very junior Member of this Congress.
  And I appreciate you for daring all of us in this House of 
Representatives by giving us the challenges to go and do more than we 
thought we should do and could do. You dared us to not just settle for 
what is politically possible. You dared us and you inspired us to think 
beyond the day-to-day battles, to look at the big picture; to think 
about what we are doing and how it relates to our children, our 
families, our seniors, our communities. You did not ever have one small 
vision of what you were doing and talking about.
  I, like those ahead of me, could go on and on, but I want to tell 
you, Ron, that I have always thought of you as the dean of our 
delegation, of the Bay Area delegation, the California delegation; the 
person that has taught me the most about integrity. But what I am going 
to miss the most with your leaving us is that booming voice here on 
this House floor. I am going to miss that. I am going to miss your 
leadership and I will miss your message, but I will not forget it. 
Thank you for being my friend.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Dellums) for a response.
  Mr. DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from 
Texas for his generosity, and in respect to the special order that the 
gentleman is calling, I shall be brief and I appreciate his gesture of 
generosity to my colleagues as well as to myself.
  First, let me say in a humorous spirit, to capture the notion of my 
colleague from New York, it is kind of like a funeral, but the 
marvelous thing is I am still alive to hear it and to walk away, and so 
that is good. Hopefully, at some point before my service has ended on 
Friday the 6th, I will have some opportunity to take the well and to 
speak to all of my colleagues about what for me has been an 
extraordinary journey of 31 years across four decades in public life, 
27 years of them here.
  Suffice to say at this moment that I want to thank the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Ike Skelton) for setting up this special order and to all 
of my colleagues who took the time to participate. My heart is full at 
this moment. My heart soars like an eagle at this moment. And in the 
course of these few hours, I have felt every emotion from laughter and 
joy to tears and sadness.
  Just suffice at this moment to say that I never came here to become a 
celebrity. I never came here to become a big personality. I am just a 
guy from the Bay Area who came here to try to do a job. I have been 
extremely honored to serve in the Congress of the United States. Late 
night talk show host jokes about politicians notwithstanding, it is 
indeed an honor to have gotten up every single day to march to the 
floor of the United States Congress with life and death in my hands, 
along with 434 other colleagues, to try to shape the course of history 
in this country and throughout the world. It has been an extraordinary 
honor.
  Later, hopefully, I will be able to say more, but I leave without 
cynicism. The day that I take the plane out of Washington for the last 
time, know that I go with my optimism and my idealism intact and that I 
will miss all of you here, friends and foes alike, supporters and 
adversaries alike.
  We have become a family. You are part of my consciousness. Those of 
you

[[Page H217]]

I had to challenge, stay up to 3 and 4 and 5 in the morning to try to 
be sharp enough to debate you because I figured you would be up to 3 
and 4 getting ready for me, hopefully, we made each other better 
people. I am a better person for having served here.
  Thank you very much for an evening that I will remember. It has been 
a most stunning and extraordinary and amazing evening. I am full by the 
evening and I am humbled by the evening. I thank you for your 
generosity, and I yield back to the gentleman.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I can only say that it is indeed a tribute to 
have as many Members come down to this floor. It shows you what kind of 
man the gentleman is. He is a great American, as the gentleman from 
California says, and the House will remember him and revere him and he 
will go down in history and young people will read about him. So we say 
farewell, but we always want him to come back.
  I also rise to pay tribute to another Californian, another Ron, one 
of the greatest Presidents of this century, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
  Now, later this week the House will take up a bill that will name the 
National Airport after Ronald Reagan. This legislation will be a 
fitting tribute to the greatness of Ronald Reagan. It will signify the 
soaring spirit of this man who did so much to lift the spirits of the 
American people.
  Now, some people, especially my colleagues who occupy the far left of 
the political spectrum, disagree with this legislation. They say that 
we should not name the National Airport after Reagan because of his 
actions with the air traffic controllers. Well, let me just set the 
record straight. By breaking the PATCO union, Ronald Reagan struck a 
blow for the American people and for the American taxpayer.
  Let me quote President Reagan. ``I believe in the collective 
bargaining in the private sector. I do not believe in it for the public 
sector because I do not believe that public employees can be allowed to 
strike. Public employees are striking against the people, and the 
people are the highest sources of power, other than the Lord himself, 
that the government has.''
  Ronald Reagan sat a very important precedent when he battled against 
that union. He established that no special interest could hold hostage 
the whole of the American people. Some Democrats may not appreciate 
that principle. After all, the Democrats are the party of the special 
interests.
  Ronald Reagan was a President of principle. That is why the American 
people still love him so much. That is why we will celebrate his 
birthday this week. They knew where he stood on any issue. They knew he 
believed in the American spirit and that he lived the American dream. 
Born in a small town in Illinois, Ronald Reagan came not from a 
background of wealth or privilege. He worked his way up from tough 
circumstance to become the President of the United States, a President 
we could all believe in.
  It was Reagan who said, ``Don't let anyone tell you that America's 
best days are behind her; that the American spirit has been vanquished. 
We have seen it triumph too often in our lives to stop believing in it 
now.'' Today, we need a President who stands for the best that America 
has to offer. Ronald Reagan was that kind of President. We still feel 
the impact of the vision of Ronald Reagan: It is a vision of hope, a 
vision of opportunity, a vision of faith and a vision of freedom.
  It was Ronald Reagan who said that the government was too big and it 
spends too much. It was Ronald Reagan who said the answer to government 
that is too big is to stop feeding its growth. It was Ronald Reagan who 
said raising taxes will not balance the budget, it will only encourage 
more government spending and less private investment; raising taxes 
will slow economic growth, reduce production and destroy future jobs, 
making it more difficult for those without jobs to find them and more 
likely that those who now have jobs can keep them.

                              {time}  1800

  It was Ronald Reagan who campaigned so effectively for a line item 
veto, something that my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Solomon), worked so hard to get signed into law. It was Ronald Reagan's 
wife, Nancy, who led the fight against illegal drug use. Her campaign 
that urged children to ``just say no'' inspired the American people to 
take responsibility for their actions. It also inspired a 67-percent 
drop in illegal drug use. Now that is the kind of moral leadership that 
we need. It is leadership based on the principles of freedom and 
personal responsibility.
  Today we are working on an agenda that is inspired by the Reagan 
vision for America, and this agenda has four pillars: First, we want to 
make the Government smaller and smarter so that it takes up no more 
than 25 percent of the average family's income. Americans are 
overtaxed, overregulated and overgoverned. It is not right that most 
people spend half the year working for the Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I just challenge the American people who, during this 
week, look at today and tomorrow. Today, the American people are still 
working for the Government. Tomorrow, it will not be until after lunch 
that they start working for themselves this week. Over 50 percent of 
the American family's income goes to the Government.
  If we add up local, State, and Federal taxes and the cost of 
regulation, 50 cents out of every hard-earned dollar goes to the 
Government. No wonder it takes one parent to work for the Government, 
while it takes another parent to work for the family today.
  Washington confiscates too many of the hard-earned dollars, spends 
too much; it wastes too much and has too much power and authority over 
our lives. This was true when Ronald Reagan was president, and it is 
still true today. The only way to return power and authority from 
Washington back to the people is to limit the amount of money 
politicians get their hands on in the first place.
  Look at what is happening to the Clinton budget that was introduced 
just yesterday. All of a sudden, the President and the politicians have 
found what they think are surpluses in our budget. Because of a good, 
sound, fiscal policy, we actually may balance the budget and surpluses 
may flow. And what is their first reaction is to raise the size of 
government, start taxing and spending again.
  Think about it. Just think about it. The less that we send to 
Washington, the less Washington can waste. Hard-working Americans 
deserve a break today, and we are committed to keeping more of their 
money in their pockets and less in Washington.
  Our focus in 1998 will be to increase family income by cutting taxes 
and making Government more accountable for the way it spends the 
people's money.
  But tax relief is only the first step. The only way to ensure limited 
government and individual freedom is to eliminate the IRS as we know it 
today. We believe it is morally wrong for a free people to live in fear 
of any government agency. We believe it is morally wrong for citizens 
in a democracy to be assumed guilty until proven innocent.
  Yet even IRS reform is not enough. The real problem lies with the Tax 
Code itself. It is too long, it is too complicated, and it is simply 
unfair. It makes lawyers and accountants rich and the rest of us poor. 
It punishes achievement and discourages hard work and savings and 
innovation.
  Mr. Speaker, let us replace the Tax Code with a new system that is 
fair, consistent, easy to understand, easy to comply with, and less 
coercive and intrusive. We need a Tax Code that encourages savings and 
investment. Most importantly, we need a Tax Code that confiscates less 
for Washington and keeps more in the people's pockets. Now, that is a 
Ronald Reagan vision.
  A second pillar of our agenda is education. A philosopher once said 
that ``only the educated are truly free.'' Our schools have to improve 
if we are going to protect our freedom. Nothing is more important than 
the education of our young people.
  I have struggled with this issue. Because, while I believe that 
education should be a top priority for the American people, I also 
believe that this priority is best accomplished at the local and the 
State level. But I do believe that the Federal Government can play a 
role and that role should be in promoting greater freedom and greater 
choices for the parents of our children.
  Our education plan proposes fundamental change. Official Washington

[[Page H218]]

now has 760 education programs and 39 different bureaucracies, spending 
over $100 billion a year. It is mind boggling. That does not make any 
sense. It does not make any sense for Washington to tax the people's 
community and then graciously give back the money with all kinds of 
strings attached.
  We want to cut those strings. We want to remove outdated rules and 
restrictions that are holding back our schools from the future. Even 
the best teachers cannot get results when their school is a dangerous, 
violent place.
  We hope the President will stop his opposition to our proposal to 
give freedom of choice to low-income families in Washington, D.C. These 
families have children who are stuck at dead-end, drug-infested 
schools. We want those families to have the same option exercised by 
all of us, including the President and the Vice President, the option 
to choose the kind of education that best meets the needs of their own 
children. Republicans believe that American education should be the 
best in the world.
  The third pillar of our agenda is the war on drugs and crime. When a 
mother sends her son off to a foreign war, she worries ceaselessly 
about his safety. Yet every day, every day, millions of mothers put 
their children on the school bus and send them off into a domestic war 
zone. Ronald Reagan understood the plague of drugs and he stood firmly 
against illegal drug use. He was a role model for the American people.
  The leadership from the White House today is less clear, and that 
explains our current problems. Teen drug abuse has reached epidemic 
proportions, and there are no safe havens from this insidious modern 
plague. Overall, teenage drug use has nearly doubled in the 1990s; and, 
perhaps most frightening of all, nearly half of all 17-year-olds say 
that they can buy marijuana within an hour.
  The scourge of drugs and horrible violent crimes are reminders that a 
good economy is not everything. We have to guard against America 
becoming rich in things but poor in spirit, and that starts at the top 
with our police and our elected leaders of this country.
  Too often I think Government's well-intentioned programs have 
backfired, have led to dependency and illegitimacy and despair in the 
area of welfare, for example. We have some solutions to this problem.
  First, if we wish to solve the drug crisis, we have to start with the 
family and the school and in our churches and synagogues. Teens with 
families that eat together and play together and pray together are the 
ones that are least likely to try drugs. If the battle against drug 
abuse is waged at home, the war is half won. Ronald Reagan understood 
that fact, and his lovely wife Nancy's campaign to ``just say no'' was 
effective. We need that kind of moral leadership in the White House 
today.

  Second, parents must demand that their schools be made drug-free. We 
need to empower teachers so that they can kick drug dealers out of 
their schools. We have to demand accountability and zero tolerance by 
principals for any drug use on school grounds; and if those principals 
do not adhere to zero tolerance, we need to get rid of those principals 
and replace them with ones that will.
  Third, the Federal Government has an important role. We must do a 
better job in defending our borders, our national borders, from drug 
dealers. We have to be more diligent in our policing and arresting and 
prosecution of anyone who sells this poison.
  Next, we need to get as tough on these people as they are on us, 
ending parole for violent offenders, increasing prison capacity, 
mandatory penalties for crimes committed with a gun, cracking down on 
juvenile criminals, and making the death penalty a very real threat. If 
we are truly committed to protecting the innocent, we must do more to 
punish the guilty.
  Finally, we have to set examples for our children. For those who say 
that sin is not important, that morals are not important, that setting 
examples are not important, I say no wonder we cannot win this war.
  The fourth pillar of our agenda for the future is also a part of the 
Reagan legacy. Ronald Reagan signed the law that saved Social Security 
for the next generation. Now we have to take steps today to save and 
strengthen Social Security for the next century. Today, more young 
people believe in UFOs than believe that they will ever see a Social 
Security check; and we have to make this system one that all Americans 
can believe in.
  President Clinton's proposal to hold on to any surplus until we 
reform Social Security is just flat wrong. In fact, it does not even 
make any sense. I believe that this is just a sneaky way for the 
Government to keep more of the taxpayers' money. But we need to fix 
Social Security. Ultimately, it comes down to the question of control. 
Who should make these key decisions about the people's retirement? The 
people or the Federal Government?
  Now, we believe that the American people need to play a more active 
role in designing a retirement system that they can control, and I 
think we can design a better system that all Americans will believe in. 
A national commission or a national debate with the active 
participation of the American people will help us design such a system. 
Such a debate would be a further reflection of the Reagan legacy.
  According to press accounts, Bill Clinton is worried about his legacy 
once he leaves office. The legacy that a president leaves is not just 
the legislation he signs, not the programs that he proposes or even the 
speeches he makes. The legacy is also the vision he promotes for a 
better America.
  President Reagan saw the brighter side of an American dream. He saw a 
land of boundless opportunity and a people of boundless energy. He saw 
an America that served as a shining city on the hill, an America that 
served as a beacon of light for the rest of the world. He believed that 
a government that preserved freedom was a limited government that knew 
its role in society. He believed that freedom, coupled with personal 
responsibility, created wealth and fostered happiness. He knew that the 
world was a dangerous place and that an America was a force for good in 
making it a less dangerous place. He also knew that the position of the 
president of the United States was not only a job but also a symbol of 
freedom to people across the world.
  Reagan also knew that, as president, he did serve as a role model for 
the Nation's youth; and he did his best to bring dignity to the office 
and to the Nation. I knew Ronald Reagan. I served under Ronald Reagan. 
Ronald Reagan was a friend of mine.
  President Clinton, you are no Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan had his 
enemies, but even his enemies respected his vision of America. They had 
no choice.

                              {time}  1815

  I wanted to wish President Reagan a happy birthday, and I am sure 
that the current fight to name the National Airport in his honor 
bewilders him and Nancy. It bewilders me. But we should not let this 
partisanship get the best of us. We should adopt Ronald Reagan's good 
humor and push forward on this legislation. It will be the best thing 
we can do for the image of this city and the image of our capital.
  Mr. COX of California. I wonder if the gentleman would yield.
  Mr. DeLAY. I would love to yield to the gentleman that worked for 
Ronald Reagan in the White House, the gentleman from California and the 
Chairman of the Policy Committee, Mr. Cox.
  Mr. COX of California. I thank the whip, and I thank him especially 
for his inspiring remarks about an inspired man, a hero of mine and his 
and so many Americans.
  What happened during the 20th century, which really spans Ronald 
Reagan's lifetime, was nothing less than the rise of totalitarianism as 
a model of the state and its defeat in the great war, World War II, 
that our folks, some of us here in Congress, fought in, and its defeat 
subsequently in the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, when he led the 
victory of the West in the Cold War, and he led the intellectual 
victory that results now in Democrats and Republicans agreeing on the 
central point that free enterprise, not a state-run economy, is the 
model for America and the whole world and for the creation of jobs and 
opportunities for people everywhere.
  In that sense, Ronald Reagan, while he was a Republican by 
registration at the end of his life and a Democrat to campaign for FDR 
and Harry Truman earlier in his career, was really a person who 
transcended partisan politics.

[[Page H219]]

 He had Democrats and Republicans voting with him every single time he 
did one of the great things for which we remember him. Of course, that 
was the good Democrats and the good Republicans who always were siding 
on the majority with Ronald Reagan. But it took those Boll Weevil 
Democrats to join with the Republicans in the House to bring us those 
incredible tax cuts.
  I remember when President Reagan spoke when I was a freshman here in 
Congress, having worked for him in the White House, he spoke to us 
towards the end of his term, in January, but he did not stand at your 
lectern, he stood at the one on the other side, which is, of course, 
where the Democrats address the House, not Republicans.
  Halfway through his remarks, some of us, since he was speaking only 
to the Republican Conference, I am sure you remember it, some of us 
thought he just made a mistake and didn't understand how the House 
worked and showed up on the wrong side of the aisle. But halfway 
through the remarks he crossed over to the lectern you are speaking at 
right now, and he said, I am crossing the aisle right now to talk to 
you because that is what I did midway through my adult lifetime: I 
changed parties, and, as he was always so fond of saying, I didn't 
leave the Democratic Party, some of the people in the Democratic Party 
left me.
  Nowhere was that more true than in the area of foreign policy and 
national security, because while Ronald Reagan was winning the Cold War 
in Europe, bringing about ultimately the collapse of the whole Soviet 
empire and the freedom of what we then referred to as the captive 
nations of central Europe and the Baltics and so on, he also was 
fighting for democracy right here in our hemisphere, nowhere more 
forthrightly than in Central America.
  I remember what was at stake at that time. I remember that the 
Sandinistas, the Communists, with the aid of Soviet troops, Soviet 
military spending, Soviet advisors, Bulgaria and East German advisors, 
were building a very expansionist Communist state that threatened the 
new democracies of Central America in the 1980s. Not only Ronald Reagan 
but many in Congress felt very, very strongly this had to be stopped 
and contained. The Sandinista Communist Government of Nicaragua, which 
had come to power by force, told all the workers who they were supposed 
to be liberating that the right to strike was now abolished; it would 
be illegal to go on strike, because this was, after all, a Communist 
government and they didn't allow such things.
  They shut down La Prensa, the main newspaper, that had been such a 
wonderful outlet for the views of competing political interests in 
Nicaragua, and they assassinated the editor of La Prensa. The editor's 
widow, Violeta Chamorro, quit the revolutionary government of Nicaragua 
to fight for democracy and to talk about democracy, to the extent that 
the government would let her, in the pages of La Prensa.
  Well, in this climate, the President sought humanitarian and military 
aid to the people who were fighting to get democracy back in Nicaragua, 
and the United States Senate went along with him. He asked, because 
everything hinged on the vote here in the House of Representatives, to 
come and stand where President Clinton just stood the other night, to 
address us about the importance to the whole world, and certainly to 
the cause of democracy, of winning this battle and of sending that aid 
to the freedom fighters in Nicaragua.
  But the Speaker of the House turned him down. So I got a request from 
Don Regan, then the Chief of Staff, to answer this legal question, if 
you will: Can the Speaker of the House, Jim Wright, turn down the 
President of the United States when he asks to come and address the 
body? Has this ever been done before in American history? Is there 
precedent for it, and can he get away with it?
  Well, it turned out as a matter of tact, judgment and political 
comity, it was a huge mistake, but as a matter of law, yes, the Speaker 
of the House had the right to bar the President from coming to address 
the Nation and the Congress, which he did.
  President Reagan was not a lawyer, so while I was disappointed to 
have to give him that legal answer, what he said in reply, very 
quickly, was, ``They have TV's up there on Capitol Hill in their 
offices, don't they?'' Of course, you know what happened. The President 
went on national television and addressed the country and, 
incidentally, all the Members of the Congress in their offices, and as 
a result of the speech that the President made explaining his case, 
laying it out, just as Harry Truman did, he pointed out in that speech 
when he was seeking aid to stop communism in Europe after the war, he 
won.
  Here in the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives, where 
the Speaker of the House prevented the President from speaking and 
making that pitch, the vote was 221 to 209 for the Edwards-Skelton-Ray-
Chandler amendment to the MILCON bill, the military construction 
appropriations bill, and we provided $100 million in humanitarian and 
military aid, which the Senate had already agreed to, to the freedom 
fighters in Nicaragua.
  Of course, Violeta Chamorro became the democratically-elected 
President of Nicaragua, and Nicaragua, along with Guatemala, Honduras 
and the rest of the nations enjoying democracy in Central America, 
became part of this late 20th-century tide against statism, against 
communism, for free enterprise, for democracy, for individual rights, 
for the right to strike, for free press, for all of the things that 
communism was against.

  So, when I think of that story, I think not only of what Ronald 
Reagan accomplished, but what it tells us about who he was. He was not 
a creature of Washington. He was much closer to the American people 
than he ever was to politicians on Capitol Hill. Even those of us who 
are now in Congress who so strongly support and agree with everything 
Ronald Reagan did understand the reason we love him is because he is 
just like we are when we are at home with our constituents, not like 
all the back room wheeling and dealing that we see here on Capitol 
Hill.
  He is a remarkable figure, and I considered it an honor to have 
worked for him. I am delighted that very shortly in honor of his 
birthday we will be naming, in bipartisan fashion, I am quite sure, 
just like everything Ronald Reagan ever accomplished, we will be naming 
the National Airport in bipartisan fashion, the National Airport, the 
Ronald Reagan National Airport. It is a small thing to do in honor of a 
very, very great man.
  Mr. DeLAY. I thank the gentleman from California. His words are like 
a paintbrush, painting who the real Ronald Reagan was. Many of us that 
serve in this House serve in this House because of his inspiration, and 
getting us involved in politics and dragging us out of the private 
sector, and making us stand up, as he did, for freedom and personal 
responsibility. I appreciate the gentleman for coming down and helping 
me with this special order.

                          ____________________