[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H9252-H9255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE SIDNEY R. YATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Everett). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) 
is recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to pay tribute to one of 
the most outstanding Members that the United States House of 
Representatives has ever had; that is Sidney R. Yates of the 9th 
Congressional District in the State of Illinois.
  Sid Yates is retiring this year after 48 years in the House of 
Representatives, 24 terms. It would be an even 50 years if he had not 
been selected by the Democratic Party of Illinois in 1962 to run 
against the then Republican leader of the United States Senate Everett 
McKinley Dirksen.
  In 1962, he ran against Dirksen in a very spirited hard-fought race, 
which he unfortunately, from our perspective, lost 53 to 47. For the 2 
years he was gone from the House of Representatives, he served as the 
United States representative to the United Nations. He returned in 1964 
to resume his influential position here in Congress.
  Sid Yates is the product of immigrant parents. His parents were born 
in Lithuania, and Sid was born here in this country shortly after his 
parents arrived. He also has 3 brothers that were born here in this 
country.
  Sid Yates has served on the Committee on Appropriations just about 
his entire career here in the House of Representatives. He also served 
on the Committee on Foreign Operations for many, many years. He has a 
law degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

                              {time}  1915

  But besides pursuing those academic credits at the University of 
Chicago, Sid Yates was an outstanding college basketball player. He was 
placed on the All Big 10 Team in his senior year, 1933, and he also was 
mentioned as an honorable all American candidate.
  He did not shoot jump shots. He did not shoot set shots, but, believe 
it or not, he played center for the University of Chicago and had an 
excellent left-handed hook shot and an excellent right-handed hook 
shot.
  Sid has been the subcommittee chairman on the Subcommittee on 
Interior for over 20 years. He is now the ranking member of the 
Subcommittee on Interior. He is an individual that has fought for the 
environment his entire career here in the House of Representatives. He 
is a man who has been the chief supporter of the National Endowment for 
the Arts and Humanities. He has also been the chief supporter of the 
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
  But he has also been very, very practical. He is a man that has 
always seen to it that money has come back into the City of Chicago and 
the State of Illinois for very significant and important projects: The 
Illinois Deep Tunnel system, Chicago Wilderness Project, the Chicago 
Green Streets program, the Chicago Shoreline project, the Indiana Dune 
center, and Navy Pier.
  It is only fitting and proper that a few days ago the United States 
House of Representatives renamed the auditors main building located at 
2101 14th Street, S.W. in Washington, D.C. in honor of Sidney R. Yates.
  Back in 1944, when Sid was 35 years of age, he joined the United 
States Navy and served from 1944 to 1946. When he came out of the Navy, 
he got himself involved in politics and, as I mentioned earlier, he was 
elected to the House of Representatives in the Harry Truman year of 
1948.
  Through all those years, Sid has had very, very few difficult primary 
or general elections. But in 1990, he did have

[[Page H9253]]

what some people thought was going to be a strong challenge. He ran up 
against a young alderman in the City of Chicago who was independently 
wealthy, who was extremely well funded. And the newspapers in Chicago 
and some of the political pundits had great concern that Sid Yates, 
after all these years in Congress, might go out a loser. But to the 
astonishment of many people who were not really that well informed, Sid 
Yates won that primary with 70 percent of the vote. His opponent 
received only 27 percent of the vote.
  I have a few other things to say here about Sid Yates, but there is a 
gentleman who has now joined me on the floor, a colleague of Sid Yates 
and a colleague of mine, Congressman Danny Davis.
  I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), my colleague, for first of all taking out 
this time to salute and honor a tremendous legislator, a tremendous 
American, a man whom I am proud to call a colleague, Mr. Sidney Yates. 
I thank the gentleman for yielding me the opportunity.
  Mr. Yates has the honor, of course, of representing the 9th 
congressional district of Illinois and has represented the people of 
the 9th district since 1953, serving 24 terms in the House. Born the 
son of Jewish immigrants in 1909, Mr. Yates was born in Chicago, and I 
am proud to say that he was born in my district, the district that I 
currently serve. His family lived on Maxwell Street, but later moved to 
the Lakeview area.
  Mr. Yates was educated in the Chicago public schools, attended 
college at the University of Chicago where he played on the basketball 
team. I am not sure that he slam dunked that often but occasionally I 
suspect that he could rise to the heights of the basket. But 
nevertheless, he received his law degree from the University of Chicago 
Law School.
  During the past 48 years, Mr. Yates can claim a leadership role in 
many important efforts. Most notably, he has been the staunch backer of 
the NEA and is often credited for saving this valuable program. Arts 
funding and environmental protection are perhaps two of his highest 
priorities.
  In addition to this, Mr. Yates has assisted projects such as Navy 
Pier in Chicago, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, defunding the 
School of the Americas, gaining citizenship rights for the Japanese in 
the United States after World War II, and the Chicago Transit 
Authority. I can think of no more spirited of an advocate for the 
people and their civil liberties than my good friend, Sid Yates. If he 
gets behind an issue, he will fight for it until the end.
  Mr. Yates has often been deemed by the press a Truman era liberal, an 
unapologetic liberal and the greatest friend the arts have in America 
today. In 1973, Congressman Anunzio remarked, For in the Congress, he 
is the people's advocate, and his contributions have been positive and 
numerous. He has waged war against the common enemy: hunger, disease 
and apathy. He has helped relieve human suffering by devoting his 
energies to equal opportunity for employment, housing and education. He 
has encouraged the immigrants and the oppressed from other lands to 
migrate to America, the land of the free. He is a true liberal with his 
goals and sights high, but with his feet on the ground. He has vision 
and courage in abundance.
  And so as Sid Yates takes leave of 48 years of service in the House, 
I am proud to salute the honorable Sidney Yates. His voice is one of 
principle and honor. His vote has always been one of the people, and 
all of the people in the 7th congressional district in the State of 
Illinois commend, congratulate and salute him for his service.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those fine words 
about Sid Yates.
  I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox).
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the leadership of 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) in taking out this time to 
salute Congressman Sid Yates, a pioneer for the people, someone who is 
a true gentleman and has been an outstanding member. He let his actions 
speak for his district and for his country, and in every way he has 
shown what a great Congressman can be, what it means to be selfless, 
what it means to be a visionary, what it means to make a difference. So 
while he will be concluding his many terms here in Congress, his legacy 
will live on in all the people programs that he supported. He is 
someone who for many of us who are newer Members, he is someone who we 
have gone to for advice. He is someone who has captured our imagination 
and our spirit and someone who has set high goals for us to reach, and 
we hope to continue the fine association with him and wish him the best 
as he moves forward in his life.
  Let me add, if I may, that at the same time we are going to be 
missing Congressman McDade of Pennsylvania, who has been the dean of 
our delegation and also a fighter for his constituents as subcommittee 
chair of the Committee on Appropriations, someone who has done great 
things to stop waste, cut taxes and fight for important programs that 
he and Sid Yates together thought were important to the people. And so 
two great giants of the House, Congressman Sid Yates and Congressman 
Joe McDade are individuals whose accomplishments are legion, Members 
who have given their whole professional life to this institution.

  Because of their outstanding service, their States, Illinois and 
Pennsylvania, are stronger, and America has a record of accomplishment 
second to none.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those words 
about Congressman Yates.
  I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Lipinski) for setting aside this time to pay tribute and honor one of 
the most distinguished and longest-serving Members of this House of 
Representatives.
  Even though I have only been here for two terms, I remember Sid Yates 
very findly because of the mark that he left on Illinois, because of 
the mark that he made in Illinois politics. He was in the House and 
actually ran for the United States Senate against a very distinguished 
Senator by the name of Senator Everett Dirksen. I think back in the 
days when Sid ran for that position, he actually thought that he could 
beat Senator Dirksen. But given the kind of record that Sid had even 
back then, he waged a very, very vigorous campaign and represented 
really, I think, the best of Illinois politics, because I know that he 
cares very deeply about issues that face Illinois and has been very 
strong on trying to solve problems on behalf of the State of Illinois.
  He represents, I think, one of the prettiest parts of Illinois and 
one of the prettiest parts of the Chicago land area along the coast of 
Lake Shore Drive and commonly referred to as part of the Gold Coast of 
Chicago. I think that for the people that Sid has represented, he will 
be long remembered, probably, as the Congressman for the arts.
  Of all of the things that I think Sid has accomplished here in the 
House, I think he will always be remembered for his very, very strong 
advocacy for the arts, for the humanities, and really trying to promote 
and encourage people in those areas, whether they be the arts or the 
humanities. I think in reality that is what his moniker will be.
  He also is someone that any Member of our delegation could go to and 
speak to about any particular project or opportunity for funding for 
the State of Illinois. Whether it be in Central Illinois, which I 
represent, or Southern Illinois, it did not make any difference whether 
the Member was a Republican or a Democrat, Sid would listen 
attentively, would pay attention, and then do his homework and do his 
work to accomplish whatever the Member needed for their part of the 
State, because as much as I know he loved his own district, he also 
loved the State of Illinois and would do anything he could to improve 
that part of Illinois that the Member had come to him and asked him 
about.
  He will be sorely missed for our State on the Committee on 
Appropriations. He will be sorely missed by the people who represent 
the arts and humanities for his advocacy, and he will be missed by all 
of the House for his intelligence and his ability to really come to the 
floor and make a case for the important issues of the day or the 
important

[[Page H9254]]

issues before the Committee on Appropriations.

                              {time}  1930

  I am sorry Sid is not here tonight, but in the remaining days that we 
have, I know that many of us will have an opportunity to bid him a fond 
farewell and thank him for the many, many things he has contributed to 
his own district, one of the most beautiful parts of Chicago, to the 
beautiful State of Illinois, and to our wonderful country. And on 
behalf of, I think, those in Illinois that are not represented by Sid, 
in central or southern Illinois, we say, ``Thank you for your 
stewardship and your service.''
  And I thank the gentleman for setting aside this time to honor a 
great American, a great Member of this body, Sid Yates.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. We 
appreciate the words the gentleman had to say about Sid Yates, and I 
want to say to the gentleman that when he talked about Sid Yates being 
a gentleman, he certainly is a gentleman. We could not find a finer 
gentleman in this body or, I believe, anyplace in this country. I think 
his character has always been beyond reproach and his integrity has 
been of the highest possible degree. And in this day and age, that is 
something we really have to salute and admire.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the subject of this special order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gilchrest). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Jesse Jackson).
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, 
and I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to pay tribute to a distinguished 
legislator, a paragon of virtue and a national treasure, Congressman 
Sidney Yates from my home State of Illinois.
  I am deeply saddened that Mr. Yates will be leaving the House of 
Representatives at the end of this term. I join my colleagues in 
thanking this truly remarkable man for his invaluable contribution to 
this Nation.
  Mr. Yates was first elected in 1948, and for 4 decades he has served 
as a member of the Committee on Appropriations. As the Member who 
coined the appropriations moniker, ``College of Cardinals'', he has 
spent 20 years as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior of the 
Committee on Appropriations and has been a staunch advocate for the 
arts and defender of the environment.
  Mr. Yates embodies all that is just and virtuous about public 
service. Through his exemplary tenure, Sid Yates has typified what it 
truly means to be called ``the honorable''.
  Mr. Yates has been considerate to me, generous with his time, and 
extremely helpful to me as a new legislator. On December 14th, 1995, 
Mr. Yates introduced me, after I took the oath of office, and has 
continued to serve as a guide and a teacher. As the dean of the 
Illinois delegation, he has proved inspiring by his courageous and 
principled stands on issues and legislation, despite great pressures to 
do otherwise.
  I believe I speak for everyone in this body by thanking him for his 
leadership, public service, experience and wisdom. I will miss my good 
friend and trusted mentor, and I wish him and his family the very best 
as they embark upon the next chapter of their lives.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), 
and certainly the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), for being 
considerate enough to yield to me this time and for hosting this 
special order on behalf of Mr. Yates.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. I thank the gentleman very much for those outstanding 
words about Sid Yates.
  I was just thinking the other day that people have never talked about 
the Ninth Congressional District in the State of Illinois as anything 
other than the Yates district. Even when people were campaigning in the 
primary to succeed Congressman Yates, they never talked about running 
for the Ninth Congressional District, they talked about running for Sid 
Yates' seat. And I believe that it will be thought of as Sid Yates' 
seat for a long, long time into the future.
  As I mentioned earlier, Sid Yates is a man of the highest quality of 
character, the greatest integrity. He is a gentleman in the finest 
sense of the word. He never has a bad word to say about anyone. He has 
led many, many causes on this floor. He led them very strongly. He led 
them with a great deal of intellectual persuasion behind these causes. 
He never became upset with what other people had to say, even though, 
as time has gone on, some of the causes, some of the things that he 
championed may have had less and less support here in the House of 
Representatives.
  As the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jesse Jackson) just mentioned, 
and as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) has mentioned, he never 
changed his position. He never changed his principles. You knew when 
you met Sid Yates where he stood. We knew that when he spoke, he spoke 
directly, accurately, forcefully, and with the highest degree of 
integrity behind it.
  There are many, many things that Sid Yates has done for this country 
by being a Member of this body. He is retiring at the end of this term, 
but the accomplishments that he has had for this country will not only 
be remembered for many, many years in this body but will be remembered 
by many people in this Nation. Because many of the things that he has 
done in the arts, in the humanities field, and in the environmental 
field are things that people know about, people appreciate, and people 
will always be happy that Sid Yates was here for almost 50 years.
  I would now like to conclude this special order by recognizing the 
Congressman from Indiana (Mr. Peter Visclosky).
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and 
for setting aside this time to honor Mr. Yates.
  I have kidded Mr. Yates in the past that one of the advantages he has 
over me is that during the summer months potentially half of his 
constituents tend to live in my Congressional District along the 
southern shore of Lake Michigan. But what I would like to remember 
about Mr. Yates tonight is not only the fact that he is a true 
gentleman, in every sense of the word, but as the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) just pointed out, his unflinching devotion and 
energies to preserving the environment of the United States of America 
as well as this planet and, in particular, the closeness to which he 
held the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to his heart, one of the 
great natural resources of this country.
  I have a picture in my office of my son John when he was 8 years old, 
and he had a look of bliss on his face as he was jumping off a small 
bluff along the southern shore of Lake Michigan on the day a fence was 
torn down and the Dunes was expanded to include an area called Crescent 
Dune in the Michigan City area.
  It was the last 36 acres of undeveloped property along the 45-mile 
southern lakeshore of Lake Michigan. And that property was included for 
future generations forevermore because of the strenuous efforts and 
commitments of Sid Yates to the environment. It sat next to Mount 
Baldy, which was also included in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, 
the highest geographic feature in Northern Indiana because of the 
efforts of Mr. Yates.
  But most importantly, I think, there are now environmental education 
centers, campgrounds and other facilities. So that whether it is the 
young students of our area, whether middle-aged individuals or senior 
citizens who want to learn more about their surroundings and the 
environment, they are now able to do that because of the good works of 
Congressman Yates.
  He is a gentleman in every sense of the word. He is dedicated to his 
family and to his country, and it has been a privilege for me to be 
able to serve with Mr. Yates for 14 years. And, again, I thank the 
gentleman very much for allowing me the opportunity to speak.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I salute my good friend and long-time 
colleague and political neighbor, Sid Yates, as he comes to the end of 
a most remarkable career in the House of Representatives.

[[Page H9255]]

  It was an incredible fifty years ago that Sid first won his seat in 
Congress. I was a high school senior at the time, undecided about my 
future in the post World War II period.
  Over the years since, both Sid and I have worked hard together in 
support of numerous projects involving many issues for the betterment 
of Illinois citizens. And I must say that Chicagoans have long been 
appreciative of Sid's remarkable ability as Chairman of the Interior 
Subcommittee on Appropriations to bring to the Windy City large 
allocations of funds for many important projects. Literally he has been 
able to win billions for the city and for Illinois in projects such as 
the Chicago Shoreline Project, the Navy Pier Restoration Project, the 
Indiana Dunes Land Acquisition Project, the Chicago Cultural Center--in 
addition to many specific public works projects of importance to 
Chicago.
  Moreover, as one of this country's earliest environmentalists, Sid 
Yates will be remembered fondly by many across the land as the prime 
mover in the creation of many national parks, as well as in the 
preservation of wildernesses, scenic rivers, seashore and lakeshore 
projects, for all Americans to enjoy. Each one of these projects stands 
as a testimony to Sid's long dedication to keep America beautiful.
  These are just some of the accomplishments of my good friend who has 
represented the Ninth District of Illinois so ably and for so many 
years. His record has continually won him the admiration of his 
Congressional colleagues, who will surely miss him in the years ahead.
  Because we were of different political parties, Sid and I have not 
always, of course, concurred on all the issues. Over the years, we have 
particularly had disagreement regarding the NEA. However, all of our 
exchanges of opinions on the floor have always been marked by 
cordiality and comity. Indeed I have always enjoyed our debates in the 
House chamber.
  I rise with my fellow Illinois delegation members to salute Sidney 
Yates for his incomparable half-century of dedication and 
accomplishment in the halls of Congress--a most admirable record which 
should well serve as a model for new members as they arrive and take up 
their tasks in this hallowed House. We hope he will find time on 
occasion to grace the House floor with this presence, so that those of 
us who remain may be reminded that his many past examples of 
collegiality and hard work should still remain important to this body.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. I thank the gentleman.
  I would just like to say, in concluding this special order honoring 
Sid Yates, that there has not been a finer Member of the House of 
Representatives in its history than Sidney R. Yates of Illinois.

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