[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E391-E392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 HONORING MORRIS KING UDALL, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE FROM 
                                ARIZONA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. MARTIN FROST

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 4, 1999

  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise to add my voice in commemoration of 
the remarkable career of Mo Udall.
  During my first term in Congress, the great respect that we all had 
for Mo was demonstrated in an incident that took place in the Rules 
Committee. We had under consideration the rule on the Alaska National 
Land Act, the landmark legislation which preserved thousands of acres 
of pristine wilderness in the state of Alaska.
  There were two competing versions of the bill: one that was reported 
from the Interior Committee and one that was authored by Mo. Mo's bill 
was defeated in his own committee and the reported bill was supported 
by interests who sought to drill for oil in the Alaska wilderness, a 
position Mo vigorously opposed. Mo acknowledged his defeat in committee 
but still sought the right to offer his bill as a substitute on the 
floor.
  There was a fierce battle over the rule. Everyone knew that Mo had 
the votes in the House to pass his substitute. Mo's bill was favored by 
the environmental community and they lobbied furiously to allow the 
Udall substitute to be considered in the House. However, the opponents 
of Mo's bill were lobbying just as hard to deny him the chance to 
present his substitute once the Alaska Lands bill came to the floor.
  The Rules Committee was closely divided on the question of whether or 
not to specifically make Mo's substitute in order. I was the most 
junior Member of the committee and would thus vote last on the roll 
call. When the vote got to me, the vote was tied: everyone in the room 
assumed that since I was from Texas, an oil producing state, that I 
would side with the oil industry and against Mo.
  However, I held Mo Udall in such high regard as a person and as a 
legislator, that I voted with him to allow him to offer his substitute 
on the floor. He was, after all, the Chairman of the Interior Committee 
and a champion of protecting the wilderness, and there was little doubt 
in my mind, in spite of my home-state loyalties, that he should be 
given that opportunity.
  Ultimately, the rule passed and when Mo's substitute was voted on, it 
passed by a vote of 268 to 157. The bill itself, as amended with the 
Udall substitute, was ultimately passed by an overwhelming vote of 360 
to 65.

[[Page E392]]

  I can honestly say that had it been any other Member of Congress who 
had asked to have this far-reaching version of the Alaska Lands bill 
made in order that, as a freshman, I probably would not have gone 
against an important industry in my home state.
  However, there was no way in good conscience that I could have denied 
Mo his day in court and his vote on the floor of the House. He was that 
good a man; that good a legislator. Mo had the moral authority to 
command fair treatment. And that, Mr. Speaker, is what made him a great 
legislator.
  I am honored to have known him and more honored still to have served 
with him in this House. His legacy will live on for many generations of 
Americans both in the crown jewels of our national park system in 
Alaska and here in the House of Representatives.

                          ____________________