[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H376-H377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A FURTHER TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RONALD V. DELLUMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gibbons). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, this is the last day for one of our most 
distinguished Members, Ronald Dellums, who has represented Oakland, 
California, for almost 27 years. Yesterday or the day before there have 
been some tributes to Ron Dellums. There were so many Members who 
wanted to step up and speak their piece that some of us simply ran out 
of time. I did not want to end today, have Mr. Dellums retire or for 
myself for me to go home without saying a few words on his behalf.
  I am a freshman on the Committee on National Security on which he has 
been the former chairman and now the ranking member for the Democratic 
Party. In the course of my experience with Ron Dellums on the Committee 
on National Security, I have been struck by several things. He is a 
ranking member who has been always careful to make sure that he takes 
part of his time and allocates it to newer Members. He has forgone 
questioning witnesses on his own to make sure that new Members have a 
chance to ask questions themselves. Throughout his management of that 
committee, throughout his management of the minority, he has been very 
careful to show respect for others because he cares for others.
  Today when he spoke here in the well of the House for the last time, 
he talked about learning the lessons of patience and the lessons of 
humility during his 27 years here in the House. He treated us all 
consistently with respect, and those who heard his remarks today will 
understand how much he values this House and how much he values its 
traditions.
  I will also cherish some of my private conversations with Ron 
Dellums. During one of those conversations, we talked about something 
that Martin Luther King, Jr. once said. Reverend King once said, the 
most radical action that anyone can take is to assert the full measure 
of his citizenship, to assert the full measure of his citizenship. When 
I go back to Maine and I talk to people in Maine and I want to 
encourage them to participate in civil society, when I want to 
encourage them to do everything that they can to participate in this 
political process, I use that quotation, and I cannot think of anyone 
who better exemplifies the full participation of his citizenship than 
Ron Dellums.
  As a freshman Member when I go back to Maine, I am often asked what

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I think of other people in this Chamber, how I regard other Members of 
Congress, how they stack up. And several times in the last few months 
people have said to me, is there anyone in Congress that you regard as 
truly great? My answer has always been the same: Ron Dellums. Ron 
Dellums is a truly great man. This Chamber will miss him.

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