[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  JOHN SEIBERLING--ENVIRONMENTAL HERO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of my 
colleagues that yesterday, September 8, was the 80th birthday of our 
former colleague and a good friend, John F. Seiberling.
  John Seiberling was first elected to Congress in 1970, having already 
spent 25 years as a member of the military serving in World War II and 
as an attorney in private practice with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber 
Co., which his grandfather founded. After 16 years of Congressional 
Service, John retired voluntarily in 1986 with a lifetime of 
outstanding accomplishments.
  Originally inspired to run for Congress by his opposition to the U.S. 
involvement in Viet Nam, John Seiberling quickly rose as a leader in 
the House efforts to end the war. Concerned about our defense and 
foreign policies, John was also a leader in the Congressional 
organization, Members of Congress for Peace through Law, known later as 
the Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus.
  In the House, John Seiberling served on the Committee on the 
Judiciary. An active member, John participated in the Watergate 
hearings and was the floor manager for the historic House passage of 
the antitrust law rewrite, the Scott-Hart-Rodino Antitrust Act.
  However, John was best known for his commitment to the environment 
and for his many accomplishments as a member of the House Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs. Today, this Committee is the House 
Resources Committee. As a member of that Committee, John was a very 
special Member who stood very tall. I had the privilege to serve with 
John for ten years and to learn from him. John played a major role in 
securing the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
of 1977. This important law has reversed the damage caused by surface 
coal mining. John was also largely responsible for the enactment of the 
Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area Act. This law created Ohio's 
first national park.
  Alaska and the preservation of the unique national treasures of that 
state were at once a passion and an inspiration for John Seiberling. As 
Chairman of the Subcommittee on General Oversight and Alaska Lands in 
1977, John Seiberling was a leader in speaking out, fighting and 
shaping the comprehensive law and policy that finally preserved this 
last bit of wilderness for all America. While the fight took six long 
years and much of John's time, it was a labor of love. John Seiberling 
and Mo Udall were eventually successful in passing Alaska lands 
legislation which doubled the size of our National Park System and 
quadrupled our national wilderness system.
  John's commitment to the environment continues today in his role as 
the Director of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, of which 
he was a founder.
  I am certain that my colleagues will join me in saluting John 
Seiberling's accomplishments and wishing him a very happy birthday--a 
well deserved 80th year. John has shaped our landscape and 
environmental policies well into the future. Our best wishes for many 
more years of life and celebration of his work, the legacy and American 
heritage for generations yet unborn. Happy Birthday to the 
environment's best friend, John Seiberling.

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