[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      HONORING RICHARD L. OTTINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 7, 1998

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to an outstanding 
leader, good friend, and beloved former member of this House, Dick 
Ottinger.
  Dick represented Westchester County in the United States House of 
Representatives from 1965 to 1971, and again from 1975 to 1985. 
Throughout his service in the Congress, Dick was a model of integrity 
and energy. He fought for the interests of working families and 
consumers, for the underprivileged and for seniors--always guided by a 
powerful sense of justice and idealism.
  But Dick's greatest passion has always been the environment. He came 
to Congress at a time when few in Washington devoted sufficient 
attention to the cleanliness of our air and water, to the depletion of 
fossil fuels, or to the long-term relationship between economic growth 
and sound environmental stewardship. He left Washington with these 
priorities enjoying wide acceptance among lawmakers and the public 
alike. Without a doubt, Dick's contribution to the environmental cause 
was wide and deep--and today his legacy is as great as the American 
outdoors.
  Mr. Speaker, Dick's accomplishments are not limited to the arena of 
elected office. Public service is at the very heart of Dick Ottinger's 
character, an instinct revealed in every season of his life. He was one 
of the founding members of the Peace Corps, a distinguished attorney, 
an author of numerous books and articles, and today the Dean of the 
Pace University School of Law as well as the Co-Director of Pace's 
prestigious Center for Environmental legal Studies.
  For his extraordinary body of work, Dick Ottinger has been honored 
many times over. But perhaps the greatest tribute is the lasting 
affection and admiration of the men and women whom Dick so ably 
represented and about whom he continues to care so deeply.
  I am pleased to recognize Dick Ottinger, together with his wife June, 
and to express my thanks to an outstanding role model and wonderful 
human being.

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