[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1309-E1310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 J.J. ``JAKE'' PICKLE FEDERAL BUILDING

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. CHET EDWARDS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 14, 1998

  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tip my hat and pay tribute 
to former Congressman Jake Pickle for his service to the state of Texas 
and the people of the 10th Congressional District. Jake Pickle served 
with distinction and honor during his 31 years in Congress. I consider 
it a great privilege to have served with him. I now find it an honor to 
support H.R. 3223 which names the Federal Building in Austin, Texas, as 
the J.J. ``Jake'' Pickle Building. The bill has my wholehearted support 
and the man has my deepest respect.
  Jake Pickle's legacy extends far beyond the naming of a building in 
his honor. His legacy lies in his many years of public service and the 
millions of Americans who have been touched by his devotion and 
dedication. Jake Pickle was an independent minded man who never shied 
from a fight, but who was always ready to listen to a problem and lend 
a helping hand. Jake Pickle looked beyond partisan politics to help 
insure that Social Security is solvent today and that the elderly have 
Medicare. He was instrumental in a wholesale reform of the tax code and 
in fostering government programs that spurred small business and 
created jobs for working families.

[[Page E1310]]

  Jake began to develop his political expertise at the University of 
Texas at Austin where he served as student body president. His 
political journey began in the early 1930s when he became a friend and 
political ally of Lyndon B. Johnson. Jake Pickle was a student of the 
New Deal era which taught that a person has an individual 
responsibility and that the government should be responsible for its 
citizens.
  Jake Pickle answered the call of his country and served in the U.S. 
Navy during World War II. After the war, Jake returned to Austin and 
was a business partner in a local radio station. He maintained his 
political ties, stayed involved in the community and continued to 
practice his philosophy of individual and governmental responsibility.
  He brought that philosophy with him to Washington when he took his 
seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in December 1963, less than a 
month after LBJ assumed the presidency. Jake immediately got to work 
for the country and the constituents of his Hill Country congressional 
district.
  Jake Pickle cast important ground breaking votes for the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These votes were 
politically difficult for a new member from the South, but Jake Pickle 
made the right decision.
  Jake served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, where he 
was a leader on many important issues and willing to take a stand for 
working families. He worked tirelessly on Social Security reform and on 
programs that provided a better life for this nation's senior citizens.
  I am proud to have served in this House with Congressman Jake Pickle. 
His service to the State of Texas and the people of the 10th district 
will be remembered for many years to come. It is appropriate and quite 
fitting that the federal building in Austin is designated in Jake 
Pickle's honor.

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