[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2196-E2197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE LEE HAMILTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I particularly regret that I was not able to 
be on the floor when our colleagues offered their fine tributes to my 
very good friend, Lee Hamilton, the Representative from the Ninth 
District in the historic southeastern part of Indiana.
  I wish to add my voice to the strong chorus of admiration and praise 
with which so many members on both sides of the aisle saluted this very 
special legislator who has spent a third of a century in the service of 
his country.
  Not too many of our colleagues know that as fellow Hoosiers, Lee and 
I were college students for awhile at DePauw University in Indiana, 
that we each spent some time studying in German universities, and both 
later got higher degrees at Indiana University. Few members also 
realize that Lee was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame 
for his prowess in the sport at Evansville Central High School as well 
as at DePauw University, where he also starred.
  In those early days he was the tall, rangy player on a basketball 
court. Since his arrival in Congress in 1964 he has been a towering 
figure in this body, where the absence of his sage counsel, his good 
common sense and immense expertise will surely be felt by all of us for 
many years to come. Unfortunately, we are not likely to see the likes 
of the Honorable Lee Hamilton very soon again in these halls.
  During our concomitant tours in Congress, Lee and I have often had 
common interests and similar concerns about issues vital to the United 
States. When it came to what was best for the citizens of this country, 
no one has shown more determination than he has in putting the 
interests of the nation first. Indeed, in pursuit of proper solutions 
he has not hesitated to criticize his own party when he felt it 
necessary. More often than not I have shared his views in matters of 
importance to the country. I especially appreciated his long support 
for free trade as the engine which drives international commerce and 
brings so many jobs to Indiana and Illinois.
  His fellow Members look with admiration at the formidable array of 
accomplishments of this dedicated statesman. Seldom has one man had so 
many responsible positions during a career in this Congress. Lee was at 
one time or other Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Chairman of 
the Joint Economic Committee, Chairman of International Relations, Co-
Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, and 
Co-Chairman of the Task Force on Foreign Assistance--to say nothing at 
all of his subcommittee chairmanships. Few members have ever had so 
comprehensive a grasp of so many issues of national importance.
  As an historian I have shared Lee's great concern with the long-term 
consequences of important foreign policy decisions. I have applauded 
his extensive experience and especially his responsible efforts to 
create a bipartisan foreign policy. Often enough in the search for 
solutions to problems involving other nations, fellow members have 
sought his advice, knowing that his judgment would be even-handed and 
based on a wealth of knowledge of world affairs that few members have 
attained.
  Indeed, word has it that because of his stature in this body, Lee has 
been urged more than once to consider various higher positions such as 
governor or senator, but has preferred to remain loyal to his 
commitments to the House. It is also common knowledge that he has been 
considered for the post of Secretary of State by past presidential 
candidates and by the present administration--a position for which no 
one could be more qualified.
  Indeed so preeminent are his qualifications in a great variety of 
disciplines that he has already been chosen as the Director of the 
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and will take up his 
duties in January. He has also agreed to establish a center at Indiana 
University--his old alma mater and mine--to develop a better 
understanding of this Congress, with the hope that American citizens 
might better appreciate the complexities of the legislative process and 
what their representatives are doing on their behalf.
  So it is with mixed emotions that I salute my fellow Member from 
Indiana who has come so far and achieved so much since we both attended 
the same great Hoosier schools so long ago. He will not be far away at 
the Wilson Center here in Washington, and we hope he will be able to 
walk over to the Floor as often as he can so that his presence will 
serve as a continuing role model for younger Members, and as a reminder 
that his legacy of comity and bipartisanship should continue to 
permeate our efforts here in House.

[[Page E2197]]

  Lee, your departure will create an enormous need in this House to 
replace the kind of civility, wise balance, and professionalism with 
which your presence here has always been marked. We send you on your 
way with every special blessing, and in continuing gratitude for your 
new work in the cause of humanity. God Bless, Lee, and Godspeed!

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