[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1503-H1506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE STEVEN 
          SCHIFF, REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 395) 
and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 395

       Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
     the death of the Honorable Steven Schiff, a Representative 
     from the State of New Mexico.
       Resolved, That a committee of such Members of the House as 
     the Speaker may designate, together with such Members of the 
     Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral.
       Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be 
     authorized and directed to take such steps as may be 
     necessary for carrying out the provisions of these 
     resolutions and that the necessary expenses in connection 
     therewith be paid out of the contingent fund of the House.
       Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
     the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the 
     deceased.
       Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn as 
     a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen) is 
recognized for 1 hour.

[[Page H1504]]

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SKEEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, our great state of New Mexico is mourning the 
death of the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Schiff), one of our most 
distinguished colleagues of this honorable body we proudly call the 
United States House of Representatives.
  Steve has been suffering from cancer for nearly a year, and 
unfortunately this morning his fight came to a tragic end. Since Steve 
became ill, we all prayed every day for his recovery. We prayed that he 
would win this tough battle so that he could once again join us in 
Washington and continue to do the work that he enjoyed and loved. Steve 
was dedicated to his constituents and worked hard to represent their 
interests in Congress. Even in the face of this tragic situation, Steve 
continued to put the needs and interests of his constituents and all 
New Mexicans at the forefront almost until the very end of his life. 
Even though his illness forced him to remain in Albuquerque, he 
continued to spend several hours a day in his district office and 
working at his home for the people of his district.
  Steve Schiff, who is survived by his wife Marcia and two children, 
Jaimi and Daniel, will be remembered with great fondness by the many 
people whose lives he touched as husband, as father, as friend and 
neighbor, as U.S. Air Force officer, and a distinguished public 
servant. Steve was widely respected by everyone, including his 
political adversaries. This public admiration was due in large part to 
his reputation for being a man of integrity, his evenhanded approach as 
a public official, and for always standing by his word. All of us 
regret his untimely passing and the terrible emptiness his death leaves 
in our lives.
  Thank you, Steve Schiff, for caring so much, for trying so hard, and 
for doing so much for your district, your State and your country. I 
know that you will arise to the occasion for the two bell votes in 
heaven. God bless you.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Redmond).
  Mr. REDMOND. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sadness we mourn the loss 
of our fellow New Mexican, Congressman Steve Schiff. Steve was highly 
respected in the House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle. 
Steve was known for his keen mind, his absolute sense of fairness, and 
above all his integrity. As a friend and mentor, I share in the loss 
with his family. New Mexico and America have lost a patriotic son and a 
humble servant in Steve Schiff. Steve will be greatly missed.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde).
  (Mr. HYDE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Skeen) for taking this moment to commemorate the loss of our mutual 
friend, Steve Schiff. I knew Steve years ago before he was involved in 
Republican politics. Actually he was a lawyer for the Democratic Party 
in the State capital of Illinois, Springfield, when I first encountered 
him. I took an immediate liking to him because he was very smart, he 
was very serious about government and was a very honorable young man. 
You can imagine my delight when I learned a few years later that he had 
become a Republican and was elected the State's attorney in his 
community in New Mexico and then ran for Congress and got elected. 
Again it was my good fortune to serve with him on the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Steve, as I say, was bright, he was serious. He brought to government 
a desire to make things better. He loved the law, yet he had a 
compassion, a sensitivity and understanding about people and their 
problems. He was always someone you could count on for a very 
thoughtful appraisal and analysis of difficult situations.
  As the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Redmond) just said, he will be 
sorely missed. I think it is St. John who said when you love somebody, 
they are no longer where they were, they are always where you are. It 
will be impossible to turn around and look at the seats and the spaces 
that are left for the members on the Committee on the Judiciary without 
imagining Steve there and without missing him terribly, his wise 
counsel and his support.
  A death is always beyond expression in terms of adequate language. 
Martin Luther King had a wonderful saying, the inaudible language of 
the heart. And so it is with the inaudible language of the heart that I 
extend to his family, whose loss is tremendous, because he was such a 
tremendous person and so his being taken from them is a tremendous 
loss. I extend to them my deepest sympathy. Life is a mystery and death 
is a mystery. The way he met a not terribly pleasant illness at the end 
was typically Steve Schiff, brave, courageous, uncomplaining, hopeful. 
We remember you, Steve. You have made us better people for having known 
you.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Stearns).
  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Skeen) for setting aside time tonight to talk about our friend, our 
dear friend. When I think of Steve, I think of his sense of humor. 
Perhaps not many people have mentioned that. He used to be in the 
cloakroom, he would have his time back there, he would have a small 
sandwich, he would have something to drink, we would talk and sit side 
by side. He and I came in together in 1988. We were elected in the 
101st Congress. Our class is pretty small. We came in with George Bush 
when he was President. I think George Bush helped a number of us get 
in, but we had a very small class, so we would meet. There were about 
16 of us. I think from the moment we all came together and we were with 
Steve, we realized that there was something about him, something 
righteous. It was the way he either carried himself, the way he spoke, 
the way he looked, the countenance on his face. It was one of a 
righteous soul, somebody that you could trust, somebody that you could 
go into business with, somebody who would be your lawyer and as I 
understand he was a district attorney. You just sort of would gravitate 
toward Steve and would listen to what he had to say and with that sort 
of twinkle in his eye, I remember that twinkle in his eye he had when 
he would look at you, you just know what he was saying was almost the 
gospel.
  I extend my deepest sympathy and compassion for his family. I think 
that we are all going to miss him very much. Sometimes we kid each 
other, because I would vote and he would vote and we would compare each 
other and he would say, ``Well, there you go, Cliff, you're voting with 
the right wing,'' and I would say ``There you go, Steve, you're voting 
with the moderates.'' He said, ``No, it's not moderate, Cliff. I'm 
voting as an enlightened Member of Congress.'' We had our side jokes.
  I think tonight it is obviously a great deal of sadness we have that 
he is not with us. His tragic death is remembered tonight. I think he 
will be remembered for many, many years. I come to the House floor 
tonight to pay my respects and again offer my condolences to his 
family.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Solomon).
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlemen from New Mexico for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, we certainly will miss one of the finest gentleman I 
think I have ever had the privilege of knowing in this body and 
anywhere else in America. I certainly have known a cross-section of 
people. The thing I guess that always struck me the most about Steve 
Schiff is his inquisitiveness and his wanting to know what was going on 
and how sincere he was about it.
  I have an office right up over the gallery here. I do not know how 
many times in the last several years that Steve would call and ask if 
he could have a few minutes just to come in and talk things over, not a 
particular subject, but he wanted to know what was going on and he 
wanted to know both sides of the issue. That is a remarkable

[[Page H1505]]

man, to be as fair as he was. I do not think that there was a partisan 
bone in his body. He was here to serve his State, his congressional 
district, and more than anything else to serve his country, which he 
did so admirably.
  I thank the gentleman for offering this resolution. Again we are so 
sad to see him be taken away.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).
  Mr. WAMP. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I, too, 
Mr. Speaker, come to the well today with a heavy heart, remembering a 
wonderful life of our colleague and friend, Mr. Steve Schiff from New 
Mexico. He was my subcommittee chairman in the 104th Congress in the 
Committee on Science. He was always thoughtful, always pleasant, one of 
the most intelligent Members of this body that I have come across. 
Soft-spoken, very effective, always going the extra mile.
  I remember he came to Oak Ridge, Tennessee at my request to chair a 
field hearing of the Committee on Science. I just want to say that part 
of that arrangement was that I would at some point travel to New Mexico 
and participate in a field hearing there for him. Unfortunately, I will 
not have that opportunity. But as he breathed his last breath this day, 
our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and all those that 
crossed the path of Steve Schiff. We were blessed with his relationship 
and his life. I just pray that the peace of God, the peace which 
passeth all understanding, will be with his family in the hours ahead 
as the United States House of Representatives mourns the loss of Steve 
Schiff with his family in New Mexico.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I also rise with a heavy heart to pay 
tribute to a close friend, a good colleague, and a wonderful 
Congressman. During my maiden voyage in Congress after election in a 
special election, and you may recall that in a special election we jump 
right into the work, one of the subcommittees I was assigned was the 
one chaired by Mr. Schiff. He was an outstanding chairman and a very 
kind friend that was willing to show a freshman the ropes and was 
extremely helpful. But what struck me most throughout my brief 
acquaintance with him in the House was that he was absolutely totally 
honest. He was diligent, a straight arrow, a very fine person and a 
good example for all of us. It was a delight and a pleasure to work 
with him.
  I, along with the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) and all my 
other colleagues, offer our prayers for him and his family. I think 
especially of his wife Marcia. We pray that she may enjoy the comfort 
of God during these difficult times and that his family will feel his 
presence as well. We certainly offer them our best. We pay tribute to 
Steve for serving his country well in so many ways, but particularly in 
this Congress.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi).
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Skeen) for offering this resolution in honor of a very special Member 
of Congress. I am pleased and saddened to join my colleagues in 
honoring the memory of Steve Schiff. In this Congress, we have the 
protocol of referring to each other as the gentleman or the 
gentlewoman, the gentlewoman from our State, but Steve Schiff was 
indeed a gentleman from New Mexico.

                              {time}  1745

  He was a quiet man, so unless my colleagues worked closely with him 
sometimes, they would not know the full force of his contribution to 
this body, and it was very, very significant.
  People have said, I think almost every spokesperson has spoken about 
his honesty. He was a man of great integrity. I served with for many 
years, more years than I think we both would like to have served, on 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with Mr. Schiff, and 
every single day there we learned from him.
  As was mentioned, he was a prosecutor. He knew the law; we learned 
from him every day. And he was a person of very, very, very high 
standards. He served here with great dignity. With great dignity.
  I think of many words to describe him: Integrity would be one; 
dignity another; intellect, a great intellect; and he was very, very 
proud of the district that he represented.
  We used to vie to see who had the better district. I, of course, 
think San Francisco is the best district to represent, but he was 
certain it was Albuquerque. We both agreed that New Mexico deserved the 
name ``Land of Enchantment,'' it being a very special place. But he was 
very, very proud of his very special constituency in Albuquerque, and 
he served his constituents well.
  His commitment to public service, his dedication to high ethical 
standards, and his great intellect were a resource not only to his 
constituents but to every Member who served with him on any committee.
  One of the tragedies of today is that I know one person, Ben Cardin, 
my colleague who also served with us, when we served together on a day-
to-day very close basis on our subcommittee, and Ben and Steve spoke 
the same language; they were both attorneys, the two others of us were 
not. So they had their own sympatico, and I know that Ben would love to 
be here to be a comfort to Steve's family, and I know he will be in the 
future. But I think of all these people here, these two people would be 
a comfort to each other.
  I am pleased to join my colleagues in extending my deepest sympathy 
to Marcia, to the Schiff family, and to say that we all will miss him 
very much for a long time to come, and though he is no longer 
physically with us here, his contribution has made an impact on us for 
as long as we serve in the Congress, and longer.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica).
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, we have lost one of our beloved colleagues and 
one of my dear friends, Steve Schiff, the gentleman from New Mexico.
  I had the great honor of serving with Steve when I first entered this 
body as a new Member of the House of Representatives on the Committee 
on Government Operations. Steve grew to be, as I said, not only my 
colleague but my friend.
  There are some things that you distinguish about individuals, and 
others have said it here today, but truly, in the very truest sense of 
the word, Steve Schiff was a gentle man.
  As my colleagues know, he was also a wise man, a wise man because I 
know so many, including myself, sought his counsel and we depended on 
him, his judgment, his wisdom and his great intelligence.
  Steve Schiff was also a tough man. If my colleagues knew Steve, he 
was a tough individual with a tough prosecutorial background.
  But most of all, he was a fair man, and that is something we all 
remember about Steve.
  Most of all we must remember, and I remember Steve as a family man, 
and how his family must mourn him today and how we will all miss him 
because of his dedication to not only his congressional family, but his 
own family who has suffered such a great loss.
  This afternoon and in the coming days, my prayers go out to Steve's 
wife and his family and his many friends in his district, for we indeed 
have lost a great friend and a gentleman. The House of Representatives 
has lost indeed a great Member.
  Mr. Speaker, we will all miss him, and I miss him as a friend.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox).
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I 
rise to join my colleagues because of the loss of a great friend, Steve 
Schiff. His life, however, is one to celebrate because he did so much 
good. He did good not only as a great Congressman, but he was a great 
prosecutor. Those men and women in law enforcement in New Mexico and 
across the country realize well that he was a great district attorney, 
United States Attorney; he was fair, honest, a crime fighter to be 
sure, but someone who would make sure that it was done in the right 
way. And because of his outstanding efforts, we have seen reductions of 
crimes in the areas where he worked, and we have seen other district 
attorneys and other prosecutors want to be in the field because of 
Steve Schiff's outstanding efforts and outstanding accomplishments.

[[Page H1506]]

  And he was a great Congressman. As a member of the Committee on the 
Judiciary, he helped write laws to improve our court system, helped 
write laws to protect the rights of individuals. As a member of the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, where he was a leader, he 
led special investigations in the United States Government to make sure 
we root out fraud, waste, and abuse, and he did so in a very thorough 
and effective style.
  His leadership was also shown as a great humanitarian. For those of 
us who had the privilege and honor to serve with him, we saw him as a 
role model, as someone who lived his life in an exemplary way, someone 
who is a great father, a great husband, great family man, and someone 
who wanted to give back to his district 1,000 percent. Everything he 
thought about was how can he help his constituents and how can he make 
this country better and stronger, safer and more fair.
  And he was a great speaker. When he used to speak on the House floor 
right here or in committee, people listened because he always had 
something to say that hadn't been said before, or had not been said in 
a way that only Steve could explain it. He knew how to marshal the 
facts, to research the law, and then to apply the appropriate 
persuasion to win his point, and he did that repeatedly, and that is 
why his legislation was passed, his amendments were passed, and the 
country is better, safer, and stronger because Steve Schiff has been a 
Member of this House and made a difference for his home State of New 
Mexico as well as the country at large.
  So I join my colleagues and all the residents of his wonderful State 
and across the Nation in saluting a great man who made a difference not 
only with his family and his friends and his community but to his 
country. He was a great patriot, and we will forever remember, as we 
have difficulty looking at this in the future, we would say to 
ourselves, what would Congressman Schiff do, and I am sure the answer 
will come to us swiftly.
  We love you, Steve. God bless you and your family.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cox).
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New 
Mexico for yielding this time to me, and I echo what the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox) just said. He said, ``We love you, Steve.'' 
Steve is not with us here, but he really is still here with us.
  Steve is a classmate of mine. We got elected as freshmen together, 
and tomorrow night over at my house we are having a get-together, the 
class of 1988. We have been planning this for a long time. We have not 
had enough get-togethers of our class, and so even though Steve has 
been seriously under the weather, we were hoping at least a few months 
back that he would be able to be there with us tomorrow night.
  His office is right next door to mine, and we got together as 
freshmen routinely for many years, had an office together, and his seat 
is right next to me on the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight. When I go to the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight meetings now, I sit next to his empty chair, and the sign is 
still there for his name; we do not take it away. I just sit next to 
his empty chair and go back to my office and pass the open door to his 
office where his staff have been coming to work every day.
  Steve is not gone, really. I mean, Steve is still here. He is only 5 
years older than I am. This is not an old man who is passing on at the 
end of a long life. This is the same as somebody getting run over by a 
car or bus right in the middle of a very healthy and active life.
  We know that he was a lawyer and prosecutor. And some people have in 
fact said, how does a Jewish lawyer from New Mexico end up representing 
Anglo Protestants and Hispanic Catholics? And people who ask that 
question are not from America, because that is the way America works. 
And, of course, Steve was the perfect representative for New Mexico, 
and Steve will always be the perfect model for a Representative back 
here.
  But sometimes we forget that Steve was a lot more than just a very 
able prosecutor and a very able lawyer on the Committee on the 
Judiciary, or a very able government reformer looking after ways to 
streamline the Federal Government and make it work better on the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.
  At the time of the Gulf War, when we had one of our best debates ever 
on the floor of the House, Steve not only supported the decision that 
President Bush took to use force in the Gulf, but then as a colonel in 
the Air Force Reserves, he went there. He was in Turkey, he was in 
northern Iraq. He opposed President Clinton's sort of cockeyed Dayton 
plan for Bosnia, but once that decision was taken to send troops to 
Bosnia, he went to the mission op center at Aviano Air Force base in 
Italy and volunteered. That is what Steve Schiff did.
  He was a great defender of our national labs on the Committee on 
Science, and of course while we are always as Republicans looking for 
ways to save money and cut spending and so on, he was dedicated to 
making sure that that part of government which worked got more 
attention, and he firmly believed that that was true about our national 
labs.
  He was tough on crime. We all know that he personally, single 
handedly, virtually pushed through Congress successfully the Sexual 
Crimes Against Children Act, and basically that was because he was a 
very tough and strong prosecutor. But he was also responsible for our 
1996 crackdown on health care fraud.
  Tomorrow night when my class of 1988 gets together, in the same way 
that I walk by that open door when I go back to my office and I sit 
next to that empty seat in the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight, we will have a seat at the table for Steve, and he will be 
there with us.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on tap, and I would 
like to say good-bye, Steve we will miss you.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my 
condolences to the family and friends of Congressman Steve Schiff. We 
are all saddened by the loss of Steve, and his presence and his efforts 
in this Chamber and on the Judiciary Committee will be missed.
  I was fortunate to get to work with Steve, because he and I shared an 
interest in law enforcement technology. Steve saw that as criminals 
became more sophisticated, we in Congress had an obligation to provide 
our law enforcement officers with the best and most cutting edge 
equipment to combat crime. He worked tirelessly with the National 
Institute of Justice and Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico to support 
the research, development, and testing of critical and innovative 
technology, such as personalized guns. I recall participating in a 
press conference with Steve and Pat Schroeder to report on progress 
toward developing these firearms, which can only be fired by their 
owners, and to unveil the first working prototype of such a gun. I 
recall how pleased Steve was to know that this technology was moving 
forward, and that someday, police officers would not have to fear 
having their own weapons turned against them.
  Despite Steve's illness, he continued to support efforts to improve 
technology and to ensure that the important research being done by the 
National Institute of Justice in the area of law enforcement technology 
remains to be a priority. My office has worked with Steve's and his 
staff on these issues, and I will continue to work here in Congress to 
see that these efforts continue.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered.
  There was no objection.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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