[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 111 (Monday, August 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H6796-H6798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THOMAS S. FOLEY UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND WALTER F. HORAN PLAZA
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 211) to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse located at West 920 Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington,
as the ``Thomas S. Foley Federal Building and United States
Courthouse'', and the plaza at the south entrance of such building and
courthouse as the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza'', as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 211
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF COURTHOUSE.
(a) Designation.--The Federal building and United States
courthouse located at 920 West Riverside Avenue in Spokane,
Washington, shall be known and designated as the ``Thomas S.
Foley United States Courthouse''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
Federal building and United States courthouse referred to in
subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the
``Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF PLAZA.
(a) Designation.--The plaza located at the south entrance
of the Federal building and United States courthouse referred
to in section 1(a) shall be known and designated as the
``Walter F. Horan Plaza''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
plaza referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a
reference to the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Coble) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr.
Baird) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble).
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 211, as amended, introduced by the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Nethercutt), honors two former Members of this body,
former Speaker Tom Foley and Congressman Walter Horan. The amendment
simply corrects the address and properly designates the facility as a
United States courthouse, which the building is typically referred to
as in Spokane.
This legislation will designate the United States courthouse and
courthouse plaza in Spokane, Washington, as the ``Thomas S. Foley
United States Courthouse and Walter F. Horan Plaza''. This designation
is a most deserving one.
Ambassador Foley served in the Congress from January 1965 until
December 1994. As most of the Members here are well aware, Ambassador
Foley was our 49th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Prior to
his election as Speaker, Ambassador Foley was the majority leader,
majority whip, chair of the Democratic Caucus and chairman of the
Committee on Agriculture. Before being elected to the Congress,
Ambassador Foley was special counsel to the Senate Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs. He also served as deputy prosecuting
attorney in Spokane and assistant attorney general for the State of
Washington.
After leaving this body, former Speaker Foley continues to
distinguish himself in public service as the United States Ambassador
to Japan. Naming the courthouse in Ambassador Foley's hometown is a
reminder of his dedication and hard work in public service.
The plaza entrance to the courthouse will be designated as the
``Walter F. Horan Plaza''. This will be a reminder to all that are
entering the courthouse through the main plaza of the many
accomplishments by former Congressman Horan for his eastern Washington
district.
If there ever was an example of the American dream, it is Walter
Horan. He was born in a log cabin on the banks of the Wenatchee River
in 1898. After attending the Wenatchee public schools, he was graduated
from Washington State College in 1925. Prior to that, he entered World
War I, serving for 2 years in the United States Navy as a gunner's mate
third class. Upon graduation, he returned to his apple farm in
Wenatchee, Washington where he engaged in fruit growing, packing,
storing and shipping until he was elected to the 78th Congress in 1942.
He went on to serve in the next 10 succeeding Congresses and rose to
third in seniority on the Committee on Appropriations. He always gave
close attention to agriculture and the conservation community. Former
Congressman Horan passed away in 1966. Naming the Plaza on his behalf
is a fitting designation.
This is a fitting tribute, Mr. Speaker, to two former Members of this
body. I support the bill and urge my colleagues to join in support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Also, I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) for
introducing this bill and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster)
for bringing this bill to the floor in such a timely manner.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 211, a bill to designate the Federal
building and courthouse located at 920 West Riverside Avenue in
Spokane, Washington as the Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse,
and the plaza located at the south entrance as the Walter F. Horan
Plaza.
Mr. Speaker, as a new Member from Washington State, I know that we
come here with big shoes to fill. We had Scoop Jackson, Warren
Magnuson, and we had Speaker of the House Tom
[[Page H6797]]
Foley. Tom Foley had an outstanding and distinguished public career and
it is a career that continues to this day. As we all know, for 30 years
he ably represented the Fifth Congressional District in Washington.
During that time he served as the majority leader, the majority whip,
chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and was, of course, the
49th Speaker of the House. Mr. Foley continues to serve today as our
country's Ambassador to Japan.
During his time in Congress, Tom Foley's top legislative priorities
included increasing the minimum wage, revising clean air standards and
parental leave and child care measures.
Tom was a Washington native. He was born in Spokane in 1929. He
attended local school, graduated from Gonzaga High School and went on
to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. He later graduated
from the University of Washington Law School in 1957.
Tom Foley's legacy is lasting and his reputation for fairness, for
dignity and for openness is a model for all Members to follow. He is
well respected, affable and a conciliatory person. Speaker Foley served
to help make Congress the best forum for democracy in the entire world.
It is with great pride that I support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, as was mentioned, H.R. 211 also honors Walt F. Horan by
designating the plaza at the south entrance to the building as the
Walter F. Horan Plaza.
As was mentioned earlier, Mr. Horan served his country in the House
of Representatives for 22 years, from 1943 to 1965. He was proud of the
fact, it was mentioned, that he was born in a log cabin on the banks of
the Wenatchee River, truly a pioneer in our State and a pioneer in this
legislative body. He attended local public schools. After graduating
high school, he served in World War I as a gunner's mate third class.
In 1925 he graduated from Washington State College in Pullman.
Walter Horan served with dignity and diligence for over 20 years. It
is fitting and proper to honor him with this designation.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 211.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) the chairman
of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mr. SHUSTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I did not have the privilege of knowing Congressman
Horan. I support this legislation strongly. But I did have the
privilege and do have the privilege of knowing Ambassador Foley, of
knowing him as a colleague, of knowing him as the distinguished Speaker
of this House, of knowing him as the chairman of the Committee on
Agriculture, and I felt I had to be here today to express my enormous
admiration for this distinguished American.
{time} 1645
He as a Speaker, a Democratic Speaker, but a Speaker of the Whole
House, was always very, very fair. This distinguished American treated
those of us in the minority, when indeed Republicans in the minority,
with fairness, with consideration. In fact, one of my Democratic
friends some years ago when Speaker Foley was indeed in the Chair
leaned over with a smile on his face and whispered to me, ``You know,
one of the things, perhaps the only thing, that is wrong with Tom Foley
is sometimes he is too bipartisan.'' Well, of course the Speaker is the
Speaker of the Whole House, and he was fulfilling his duties and his
obligations, and he was fulfilling them with dignity, with intelligence
and in the best tradition of the great speakers of this august body.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly therefore want to very strongly support this
legislation today as a tribute particularly to Ambassador Foley, and I
want to note that indeed it is a Republican Member of Congress, the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) who has been the prime mover
of this legislation, and I think that is very fitting because I believe
it sends the very clear message that we on this side of the aisle have
the same respect and love and affection for Speaker Foley that our good
friends on the other side of the aisle certainly have indicated.
So I urge the passage of this legislation, and I trust and hope it
will be unanimous.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no more requests for time at this
point, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Coble) for the time and the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) for their
kind remarks. I am proud to be the sponsor of this legislation along
with the other 8 members of the Washington State congressional
delegation to name the Federal Court House in Spokane, Washington, my
hometown, the Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse and the plaza in
front of that courthouse as the Walter F. Horan Plaza.
As the successor to Tom Foley, I came to know him very well in the
1994 elections, and I must say, as difficult as elections can be, the
one that occurred in 1994 in my judgment and I think in the judgment of
many other people was one that was carried on with great dignity and
discussion and debate of the issues and the leadership that was proper
for the future for our Fifth Congressional District.
I won that election with mixed emotions frankly. I felt terrible for
my predecessor who had served for 30 very long years and dignified
years and years filled with great service, and I felt sorry that he
ended his service with an election like that which occurred in 1994,
but at the same time I was pleased to be able to represent the Fifth
Congressional District and go forward in the years ahead, wanting to
have good representation for the entire east side of the State of
Washington.
So it was bitter sweet in many respects, but my respect for Mr. Foley
certainly is not bitter sweet. It is undying, it is unyielding, it is
constant, because I have had him as my representative before I came to
public life for 30 years and Mr. Horan for the prior 22 years,
virtually my entire adult life until I was elected in 1994. So I have
known these two men and watched them represent eastern Washington and
the State of Washington's interests with great dignity, with certainly
unquestionable respect for the institution of Congress and respect for
the people of eastern Washington.
During law school I happened to serve as a law clerk in the Spokane
County Superior Court, and my prime judge for whom I was assigned was
William F. Williams, a very close friend of Foley who was later a
Supreme Court Justice in our State. But I also served as a law clerk
for Thomas S. Foley's father, Judge Ralph Foley.
So Tom, the former Speaker, comes to this institution with a very
distinguished background, a distinguished family. His mother and father
were very highly recognized and respected in eastern Washington, as was
Thomas S. Foley. He served, as was stated here, for 30 years
representing our district as Speaker of the House, as majority leader,
as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, a chairmanship that was
vitally important to eastern Washington and the agricultural community
that exists there even to this day.
I saw Mr. Foley in Japan earlier this spring, and in characteristic
conduct he conducted himself and has conducted himself as a
representative of the United States of America in Japan with great
respect and dignity, just as he did here in this House for so many
years.
I just want the people of eastern Washington, the people of this
country, to know that in designating this courthouse in the name sake
of Tom Foley and Walt Horan we are paying tribute and respect to their
work for all of us in eastern Washington and in our State of
Washington, our beloved State of Washington. So it was with pleasure
that all of the members of our delegation signed onto this bill that I
introduced, most notably Democrats and Republicans alike who had worked
with Mr. Foley and Mr. Horan in some respects and have enormous respect
for those two men.
So I thank the House for considering this bill, I urge that it be
adopted unanimously and that the respect and dignity that is due Mr.
Horan and Mr.
[[Page H6798]]
Foley will continue under the name sake of the Thomas S. Foley United
States Courthouse and the Walt F. Horan Plaza.
Mr. COBLE. I have no further requests for time, Mr. Speaker, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on
the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble)
that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 211, as
amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to
designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at
920 West Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington, as the `Thomas S.
Foley United States Courthouse', and the plaza at the south entrance of
such building and courthouse as the `Walter F. Horan Plaza'.''
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________