[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H11687-H11688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO LEN SWINEHART AND KERRY KNOTT

  (Mr. GINGRICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to rise for just a moment to call 
the Members' attention to several members of the leadership staff who 
are leaving and to point out that when we look at the complexity of 
this institution, at how many different things have to work in order 
for us to be successful, that the very hard work of our staff members 
is a key part of how this institution works, whether it is our personal 
staff or committee staff or in the case of leadership, members of the 
leadership staff.
  In my case, I am rising tonight to recognize Len Swinehart, who is 
celebrating today his 50th birthday and spent the last two weeks 
totally immersed in helping the appropriations process and finishing up 
the budget agreement with the President. Len has served here since 
1976, when he came as a special assistant to Representative Harold 
Sawyer of Michigan. He went on from there to be administrative 
assistant to Vin Weber and then to become the deputy minority staff 
director on the House Committee on the Budget, and then became my floor 
assistant when I was the whip and finally floor assistant to me as 
Speaker. He has worked in particular on budget and appropriations 
matters.
  Let me just say that Len has had a tremendous impact on this 
institution. I remember in particular working with him during the 
budget summit of 1990 as we tried to deal with issues that were very 
complex and where his background from the Committee on the Budget was 
invaluable. He has since played a major role both on budget and 
appropriations matters and in working with David Hobbs in trying to 
manage from the leadership's perspective what happens on the floor on a 
day-to-day basis. He has a tremendous record of service to the American 
people.
  Because he came here a good while back, he is in a position to leave 
us and retire on his 50th birthday, and I just want him to know we are 
going to miss him and that we know that he is taking with him an 
institutional knowledge and awareness of this place that is truly quite 
remarkable.

                              {time}  2015

  I think it is particularly appropriate that he is having his 50th 
birthday today as we are passing a bill into which he poured so much 
time and effort and in which he worked with the appropriations staff in 
a very effective way.
  So Len, we will miss you.
  If I might take a moment of my time and yield to the distinguished 
majority leader.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Speaker for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, let me share the gentleman's sentiments about Len 
Swinehart. We have had the privilege of working with Len on so many 
very difficult, and sometimes it seems arcane, provisions of the rules. 
His knowledge, his experience, his understanding of the history of the 
institution and the precedence on which we could draw has always been 
invaluable to us in working out these complex problems, and we will 
truly miss Len.
  In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the 
imminent departure from our leadership staff of my chief of staff, 
Kerry Knott. I first became acquainted with Kerry Knott in 1983. In 
1983 he was a young idealist that wanted to be involved in politics and 
wanted to do it for the best of all reasons: to improve the quality of 
this Nation and to accede the government in service to the future of 
our children and our grandchildren. Through all of these years we have 
worked together, he has never changed.
  I was laughing about that as I thought this morning, and I have said 
it many, many times, that there is always a danger when one comes to 
work in the government that one may come here as a young idealist and 
leave here as an old cynic. Kerry has defied the odds on both accounts. 
He came here as a young idealist and he leaves here as a young 
idealist. He will leave here I am sure satisfied in his own mind and 
heart, as I am, that each and every moment he spent in this town was a 
moment when service to his country was more important to him than any 
other consideration.
  We see two fine young people who have done good service to this 
Nation leaving our ranks. We will miss them sorely, and if I may add on 
a very personal note, I will miss Kerry Knott not only as a working 
colleague, but as a personal friend. As he leaves me as a colleague, I 
hope to retain him as a friend.
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, let me also comment, 
because I had the opportunity to work with Kerry. He became in the 
years when we were in the minority our chief planner and he, working 
with Dan Meyer and Len Swinehart, developed the transition plan which 
was a multi-volume loose leaf document which enabled us to actually 
take over the House in 1995, and to move into the 100 days, 93 days, as 
he used to remind us, and pass the entire Contract With America, with 
one exception. Kerry did an outstanding job of planning. We are going 
to miss him. It may be a sad commentary in our years of experience that 
we regard Kerry Knott and Len Swinehart as young men, but I think we 
will work on that later on.
  Anyway, I want to just say again, not just to these two fine members 
of the leadership staff, but sometimes when government courses are 
taught, people should realize that behind every Member there is a team, 
a staff that is working to serve their constituency; behind every issue 
there are staff members who specialize in that topic. For every 
committee there are professional staffs working all year-round; and for 
the leadership on either side, Democrat or Republican to function, 
there have to be leadership staff members who do an outstanding job.
  Finally, sitting here in front of us and gathered all around us is 
the House staff which as an institution makes it possible for this very 
complex and remarkable institution to represent the will of 260 million 
Americans. So let me just say as we are closing out this particular 
Congress, I want to thank each and every member of every staff in both 
parties and the House institutional staff, for the dedication, the 
discipline, and the hours of professionalism they put in to serve their 
country,

[[Page H11688]]

because they truly make it possible for the rest of us to do our jobs.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield for one final 
observation, Kerry, Len, look at the two of us. Before the Speaker and 
I met you, we did not have a gray hair between us. Thank you.

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