[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BILL GRADISON

 Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to our 
former colleague, Bill Gradison. Bill served as a highly respected 
member of the House of Representatives from Ohio from his election in 
November 1974 until his retirement from the House of Representatives on 
January 31, 1993. I personally was fortunate to serve with Bill in the 
House for eight years. As many of my colleagues know, at the end of the 
year Bill will be stepping down from his presidency at the Health 
Insurance Association of America (HIAA), where he has served with great 
distinction for the past 6 years.
  During his years at HIAA, Bill demonstrated the same knowledge, 
commitment and skills that he did when he served in Congress. Bill 
Gradison is truly an expert in health care policy. And he has worked 
diligently over the past few years to improve the nation's health care 
system and the health of the American people. Equally important, he did 
so at all times with great thoughtfulness and by truly being a 
gentleman.
  In Bill's 18 years representing Ohio in the House of Representatives, 
he had a strong influence on many areas, including health care, the 
budget, taxes, social security, trade, and governmental self 
discipline.
  Of all the issues which he studied and tackled, though, he found 
health care to be particularly absorbing and challenging. In Congress 
and out, Bill has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Americans have 
access to health care that is both high quality and reasonable in 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 the 
Medicare program, was enacted. Over the years, Bill sponsored numerous 
other hospice-related measures that received strong bipartisan support 
and were subsequently enacted. 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 also was a major participant in developing the 1983 
social security measures that restored the system, then teetering on 
bankruptcy, to solvency.
  Mr. Speaker/Mr. President, I invite all my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Bill on his years of dedicated service to Congress and 
to the HIAA, and wishing him the best of luck in all of his future 
endeavors. I know we will continue to be enriched by Bill's 
contributions to the health care debate and to public policy generally 
for a long time to come.

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