[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 153 (Thursday, December 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2335]]



              TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HON. MORRIS ``MO'' UDALL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. THOMAS C. SAWYER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 17, 1998

  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week my friend and predecessor 
in this great body, John Seiberling, called and asked that I insert 
into the Record of our work his thoughts on his friend and colleague, 
Mo Udall.
  To all of us who knew and worked with Mo Udall, he will always be an 
indelible model of all that we can be and do as lawmakers and as 
leaders, and as friends to one another even in the most difficult 
times.
  I am grateful and honored that John Seiberling would ask me to share 
his words in this way.

                                                December 14, 1998.
     Re Hon. Morris Udall. 

       The death on December 12 of Morris ``Mo'' Udall has taken 
     from us one of the most loved, most respected, and most 
     accomplished Members of Congress in this generation.
       Mo Udall was a BIG person, in every sense of the word. He 
     was big not only in physical stature but also in strength of 
     character, intellectual acumen, unfailing good humor, 
     political vision, and understanding of the House and its 
     constitutional role.
       I first became acquainted with Mo in 1970, when he came to 
     Akron to help me, a political underdog, in my ultimately 
     successful campaign for election to the House. After I was 
     elected, he helped me become one of his colleagues on the 
     Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, which he later 
     chaired with great distinction for over a decade. There I had 
     the privilege of working with him on some of the landmark 
     environmental legislative efforts that he led. These produced 
     the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which 
     curbed the destructive practices of coal stripmining, and the 
     Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, probably the 
     most monumental land conservation measure ever enacted.
       Mo's unswerving devotion to his native Arizona, to the 
     Congress, and to America's land and people, can and should 
     serve as a model for generations to come. The widespread 
     respect which Mo enjoyed resulted not only from his vision 
     and courage but also his fairness and eagerness to seek 
     common ground with colleagues on opposing sides of 
     legislative issues. Above all, I shall always remember Mo as 
     a warm and loyal friend, always considerate, humorous, and 
     kind.
       In 1980, Mo told me that his doctors had just informed him 
     that he had Parkinson's disease. So began his valiant 
     eighteen year struggle, during which his courage and serenity 
     continued to inspire his friends and family. To his wife, 
     Norma, son Mark, newly elected to the House, his brother 
     Stewart, and the other members of Mo's family, I share your 
     sense of loss, but also memories of his indomitable spirit 
     and undying friendship. Truly, love endures and, in the end, 
     prevails.
                                               John F. Seiberling.

     

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