[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TRIBUTE TO BILL GRADISON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN R. KASICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 1998

  Mr. KASICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to our former 
colleague Bill Gradison. Bill served as a highly respected Member of 
this body from 1975 through January, 1993. For the past 6 years Bill 
has served as President of the Health Industry Association of America. 
He will retire from that post at the end of the year.
  During his years at HIAA, Bill has demonstrated the same knowledge, 
commitment and skills that he did in this body. As an expert on health 
care policy, Bill worked to improve the Nation's health care system and 
the health of all Americans. Equally important, he did so at all times 
with great thoughtfulness and by truly being a gentleman.
  In his 18 years in the House, Bill had a strong influence on many 
issues, including health care, the budget, Social Security, trade and 
governmental self discipline.
  Bill found health care to be particularly absorbing and challenging. 
Both on and off Capitol Hill, Bill has worked hard to ensure that all 
Americans have access to high quality health care at a reasonable cost.
  In Congress, Bill worked enthusiastically to promote hospice care, an 
innovative, compassionate approach to caring for the terminally ill and 
their families. In 1982, legislation which he sponsored with then 
Representative Leon Panetta to allow hospices to provide care under 
Medicare was enacted. Over the years, Bill sponsored numerous other 
hospice-related measures that received strong bipartisan support. 
Today, this humanitarian yet cost effective end of life care is widely 
accepted.
  One of Bill's most significant non-health congressional achievements 
was indexing income tax brackets and the standard deduction for 
inflation. Bill was also a major participant in developing the 1983 
Social Security measures that restored the Social Security System to 
solvency.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating Bill for his 
years of service in Congress and at HIAA. We should certainly 
appreciate his contributions to public policy and wish him the best of 
luck in his future endeavors.

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