[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 27, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5194-H5198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JAMES H. QUILLEN UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4608) to designate the United States courthouse located at
220 West Depot Street in Greeneville, Tennessee, as the ``James H.
Quillen United States Courthouse''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4608
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The United States courthouse located at 220 West Depot
Street in Greeneville, Tennessee, shall be known and
designated as the ``James H. Quillen United States
Courthouse''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the United States
courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a
reference to the ``James H. Quillen United States
Courthouse''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4608 designates the new courthouse in Greeneville,
Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States Courthouse. This is a
good bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins), so that rather than me standing here and
telling my colleagues about it, the bill's primary sponsor and Mr.
Quillen's successor to the Congress may do so.
[[Page H5195]]
Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time, and as the gentleman has pointed out, this bill names our new
Federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, for Jim Quillen.
Jim Quillen served in this House of Representatives for 34 years,
longer than any other Tennesseean has ever served. He was, for many
years, the ranking member of the Committee on Rules, and at the time of
his retirement was chairman emeritus of the Committee on Rules.
Before he came to this Congress, he spent 6 years in the general
assembly in the State of Tennessee and before that 4 years in the
United States Navy in World War II.
Jim Quillen had a total of 44 years of dedicated service to his State
and to his Nation, and along the way he was able to found several
successful businesses, the first of which was a newspaper when he was
19 years of age. He went on to establish real estate, construction and
insurance businesses that were very successful down through the years.
Jim Quillen fought hard for many things for the first district of
Tennessee and for this country. I think his most notable achievement
was the good work that he did in helping to create a medical school
under the Teague-Cranston Act at the Veterans Administration Hospital
in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is now in operation. It bears his name.
It is the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, and it has been a very
successful operation for not only the State of Tennessee but for this
Nation in preparing physicians.
One of the last projects that Jim Quillen worked on in this House of
Representatives was this new courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee. Mr.
Speaker, we outgrew a very beautiful historic old courthouse in
downtown Greeneville, very near the home of Andrew Johnson, who was our
17th President. Jim Quillen got appropriations to purchase the land for
a new courthouse and to design the new courthouse. And since his
retirement, we have been able to get appropriations to complete that
courthouse, and it is very near completion.
Jim Quillen's life and work are a great American success story, Mr.
Speaker; and I believe that this would be a very fitting tribute to his
lifetime of hard work for his constituents and the people of this
country. I am proud of the fact that all nine of the House Members in
the State of Tennessee, all of the Republicans and all the Democrats,
are cosponsors of this legislation. I would ask that every Member of
this House vote favorably for H.R. 4608.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4608 is a bill to designate the Federal Courthouse
in Greeneville, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States
Courthouse. Jim Quillen served with distinction his constituents of the
first district of Tennessee for 35 years and holds the record for
having the longest continuous service of any Tennessee Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives.
Jim was a member of the Committee on Rules and served as ranking
minority member for many years. He was also chairman of the TVA Caucus
and a member of the Republican Policy Committee. Jim was also conscious
of needs of his constituents and worked very hard to secure funding for
medical facilities in northeast Tennessee and was diligent in his work
for farmers and veterans.
Jim Quillen has received numerous awards and honors, including having
a medical facility named in his honor, Route 181 from Virginia to North
Carolina is named in his honor, and a Chair of Excellence in Education
was named for him at East Tennessee State University. It is with great
pleasure that I support H.R. 4608 that designates the new Federal
Courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, in Jim's honor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), another great Member from
the Volunteer State, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation,
who is making air traffic cheaper and safer all across the country.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding
me this time, and I thank him for those very kind words. I also want to
express my appreciation to the gentleman from the first district of
Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) for his prime sponsorship of this very
appropriate legislation naming the new Federal courthouse in
Greeneville after Congressman James H. ``Jimmy'' Quillen.
As the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) mentioned and as the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) mentioned,
Congressman Quillen served the first district of Tennessee for 34 years
in this House, longer continuous service than any Member of the House
of Representatives in the history of the State of Tennessee.
Congressman Quillen was very proud of that, and rightly so.
He was a very district-oriented, constituent service-type of
Congressman. In fact, I think he was one of the first Members of this
body to just routinely fly home each and every weekend. I think it is
fair to say and proper to note that he probably spent more time at home
in Tennessee than he did in Washington, D.C., and so he stayed in
constant contact with his constituents and was always on top of the
needs of his district.
As the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) mentioned, probably his
greatest accomplishment was the medical school at East Tennessee State
University. There was tremendous opposition to that medical school,
because some people thought that the State could not support two
medical schools. But the other medical school is in Memphis, which is
at the opposite end of the State, Tennessee is a very long State
across, and that medical school would not have been opened, I do not
believe, if it had not been for the strong support and determination
that Congressman Quillen put behind it.
Congressman Quillen did rise to become the ranking Republican and
chairman emeritus of the Committee on Rules, and served with great
distinction on that committee. He also contributed to so many other
things. There is a highway in his district named after him. I think the
main building at the Methodist Children's Home is named after
Congressman Quillen; and this courthouse, as the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) noted, was the last major project that
Congressman Quillen worked on for his district of many, many projects.
Congressman Quillen was born into what some people would call
absolute poverty today, in Gate City, Virginia. He was born into a good
family but a family of very little money, and one of 10 children. He
came up surely the hard way. In fact, I would say that people on
welfare today have much, much more than Congressman Quillen's family
had. But he started the newspaper that the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Jenkins) mentioned at the age of 19, and then he became one of the
biggest developers in the city of Kingsport, and then one of the
leading insurers in that community and one of the most successful
businessmen in that entire area.
Then, as the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) noted, he served
in the Navy for 4 years. He was very proud of that, a very patriotic
man, very pro-military, and then he served 6 years in the legislature
and 34 years in this House, for 44 years of public service.
Most of us will remember that Congressman Quillen always sat in the
second seat in the second row, right below me here. In fact, many of us
thought that we should have named that the James H. Quillen seat here
in the House. I heard that NPR had on the news the other day that there
were no seats designated in the House except the Speaker's chair and
one that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) sits in on the
other side. But everyone knew that that second seat in the second row
was Congressman Quillen's seat in this House; and he was, I think, very
proud of that too.
{time} 1215
I am proud of the fact that, for 32 of the 34 years that Congressman
Quillen spent in this House, he served with a Duncan. He served 12
terms with my father; and they were very, very close friends. And then
I had the privilege and honor of serving with Congressman Quillen for 8
years. During that time, he was my mentor, he was my advisor, he took
me under his wing.
[[Page H5196]]
I will say this, Mr. Speaker: Congressman James H. Quillen was one of
the finest and is one the finest men that I have ever known in my
lifetime. I am proud to support this legislation.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley).
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the District
of Columbia for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the people of Greeneville,
Tennessee, for their newly named James H. Quillen Courthouse.
Now that they will be naming this courthouse after Jimmy Quillen, Mr.
Speaker, I think that every single building, medical school, and road
in eastern Tennessee should be named after Jimmy Quillen.
Mr. Speaker, that is the way it should be.
I served with Jimmy in the House Committee on Rules for over 21
years, and I can tell my colleagues from first-hand experience that he
deserves every accolade that comes his way.
Jimmy joined the Committee on Rules back in 1965 with another dear
friend of mine, Claude Pepper, and he served until 1996, at which point
he became the longest-serving Republican on the House Committee on
Rules. He also served in Congress longer than any other representative
from Tennessee, some 34 years.
Jimmy Quillen rose from a humble background to serve in the Navy in
World War II. He served the Tennessee State House, where he became the
minority leader. In 1963, he went on to represent the first district of
Tennessee in the United States Congress.
Jimmy believed in old-fashioned, constituent-oriented representation.
To prove his point, Jimmy even took his office door off its hinges to
represent his open-door policy, and that open door served as an
inspiration for many of us who followed him.
Jimmy was a true Southern gentlemen whose word was his bond. I can
remember in the 1980's when we were working on the S&L bailout and
someone proposed eliminating some of the benefits that were promised to
the people who bought these failing S&L's and Jimmy Quillen stood up
and fought that amendment tooth and nail, saying, ``a deal is a deal.''
And, Mr. Speaker, he was right. But every time after that we would look
at Jimmy and say, ``a deal is a deal.''
What was important to Jimmy was comity and good faith above all else.
He was a distinguished, hard-working, kind member of the Committee on
Rules and a very worthy adversary.
Every once in a while, I catch myself looking for Jimmy in the second
seat in the second row on the House floor. He is sorely missed here in
the Congress.
Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to have served with Jimmy Quillen and
even a greater honor to call him my friend.
Once again, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the people of Greeneville on
their newly named courthouse.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Bryant).
(Mr. BRYANT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BRYANT. Mr. Speaker, as I was sitting here listening to our good
friend from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) talk about some of the years
involved here, I was thinking back to 1965 and how long ago that has
been, and I was thinking that it has been so long that the gentleman
from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) was just finishing shooting jump shots in
Union City back in those days. That was a long time. I think they were
set shots back in those days. I know there were peach baskets up there.
It has been a while.
I do want to thank my other colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Jenkins), for sponsoring this bill, introducing this legislation,
which, as has been said, does designate the Federal courthouse there in
Greeneville, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States
Courthouse.
I had an opportunity recently to go to Greeneville. I used to live
there as a child myself. I do not have a lot of recollection about it,
but I was able to go about the town and to not only visit the current
courthouse there but also to see the newly constructed courthouse in
progress. It certainly is going to be a wonderful facility there, and I
know will be well used; and in that it carries Congress Quillen's name,
I think it certainly has a distinctive honor.
There are a lot of things up in east Tennessee already named for
Congressman Quillen, the medical school and highways and things, and
certainly all well-deserved.
I, among others and many that have been in this body, have been
privileged to serve with Mr. Quillen. There was an overlap when I came
up in 1994 of about one or two terms there. And, as has been pointed
out, I very quickly learned about the chair on the second row and not
to sit there. Although, we did tend to gather around him and seek his
wisdom and judgment that he always possessed.
Many of my colleagues do recall him as a Member who dedicated his
entire career up here, as well as his life so far, and he is still very
active back in east Tennessee today, but he dedicated his life to the
pursuit of hard work and honesty and, particularly, love of family.
Going back just a minute, I know that the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Duncan) has talked a great deal about Mr. Quillen's background,
but I wanted to share a couple of things that, as I went back and
studied about Mr. Quillen, I was just tremendously impressed by those
folks who served in World War II and the book that has been written
about the greatest generation and the folks that saved the world and
came back and built the economy and built America into the country it
is today. Mr. Quillen was certainly a part of that great generation.
Back in 1942, he served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Antietam as an
ensign; and after serving honorably his country, there he was
discharged as a lieutenant in 1946 after the war. Although he was
offered an opportunity to go to West Point and become an officer there
and go through the Academy, he declined this in order to return to
Tennessee and to his civilian life.
In 1954, he was persuaded to enter a race for the Tennessee State
Legislature and was elected into the position that he held until 1962.
And during his service in Tennessee in Nashville, he served as the
minority leader and was nominated for the Speaker of the House.
In 1962, Mr. Quillen went on to be victorious in a race for the seat
in this very House of Representatives. As a Member of Congress, Mr.
Quillen quickly developed a reputation as a man dedicated to
constituent services. All of us that serve in this body can really
appreciate that and can look at people like Mr. Quillen and the job
that he did representing the people in the first district of Tennessee
that he came to represent up here, as well as taking care of their
needs back in the district, and certainly envy that record.
In fact, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) said, on
election night when he was first elected into this body, his supporters
took the hinges off the campaign office to signify his promise that he
was always going to be available to the people that he represented.
In 1965, he became a member of the House Committee on Rules and
served as the ranking member for the committee for many years. He later
served as Chairman Emeritus, an honor that is the first for any Member
of Congress.
In addition to his service as chair and vice chairman of several
committees, he holds the record for the longest continuous service by
any Tennessee Member of the United States House of Representatives.
Over the years, he has received numerous awards and honors in
recognition of his years of service to his constituents and to his
State. On January 3, 1997, he retired in his position from the House of
Representatives.
I am proud to have served with Mr. Quillen, and I am proud to
cosponsor this bill. I urge its adoption. I urge my colleagues to adopt
this bill.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Clement).
Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the
time. I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) for
introducing this legislation to designate the U.S. Federal Courthouse
Building in
[[Page H5197]]
Greeneville, Tennessee, after a great man, James H. Quillen.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity, like others did here, to serve
with Mr. Quillen. Not only was he a friend of mine, but he was also a
close personal friend of my late father, Frank G. Clement, who served
as governor of Tennessee. While my father was serving as governor,
Jimmy served in the Tennessee State Legislature, where their mutual
friendship and admiration for one another blossomed.
Jimmy Quillen was a man of his word, he was a man of tremendous
integrity, and he was a true patriot. There are a lot of
accomplishments by his name, including those that have already been
mentioned by my Tennessee colleagues and those also that knew him and
loved him and admired him and respected him from across the country.
Among his list of accomplishments, also, he served in the U.S. Navy.
And, no doubt, he was a savvy businessman, but he was a true public
servant. He entered the political arena in 1955, serving in the
Tennessee State House of Representatives.
In 1962, he was elected to serve in the 88th Congress and served
honorably from January 3, 1963, to January 3, 1997. Jimmy was the kind
of Member that brought people together. He worked for the greater good
and always did what was in the best interest of the people of
Tennessee, Democrats and Republicans alike. This great House misses
Jimmy Quillen and misses his leadership. He was a role model and still
today is one of the greatest statesmen that Tennessee has ever
produced.
One thing I do remember about him, and I think all of my colleagues
would remember this, as well, is that handshake. Now, when he put that
hand out there and grabbed their hand, he would drag them about halfway
across the room. I remember that because he did that to me and did that
to many others. I do not know how many people's arms he pulled out of
socket, but I will tell my colleagues one thing, it got their attention
and the next time they shook hands with Mr. Quillen they were ready for
him so he would not do it to them.
It is with great enthusiasm that I support this legislation, H.R.
4608, and encourage my other colleagues in the U.S. House of
Representatives to support this meaningful legislation.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as
he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Hilleary), another
member of the Tennessee delegation who represents many points of
interest in Tennessee, but my most favorite, Lynchburg.
Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I do represent a lot of interesting places in Tennessee,
as we have talked about several times. But Mr. Quillen, who we are
honoring here today, represents, I think, one of the most beautiful
areas in the whole country.
I am proud to cosponsor this piece of legislation. I think it has
been an honor for me to have at least 2 years to serve in this House
with Mr. Quillen. As has been said, he served longer than any other
Member in the history of the State of Tennessee in this House, 34
years.
The thing about him that I think I find the most interesting is that
he was a role model for us as being a Member of Congress, and we
learned a lot from him. He did not care for partisan politics one bit.
He always put his district and his constituents first, without
question. I think that those who have come on after Mr. Quillen's
tenure really did not get that advantage of being able to kind of learn
the ropes under his tutelage.
The thing that I find very impressive about him, as well, is that he
is the stereotypical American dream in the sense that he was very much
and is a self-made man. He was born into a pretty poor family in 1916
with 10 children, very little money; and he was, as one of my
colleagues said, part of that greatest generation that Tom Brokaw talks
about. He did join the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He is a family man. He married his lovely wife, Cecile in 1952; and
through sickness as in health, as the vows go, he has stood by her all
those many years.
I recently got married, 3 weeks ago almost to the day, 3 weeks ago
Saturday, and I can only hope to follow in the footsteps of the model
that he showed all of us as far as being a loving husband.
{time} 1230
He was in the State House for 8 years. He has basically spent his
entire life in service to others and in service to his State and Nation
and this country. I think it is very appropriate that we honor him in
this way. The James H. Quillen, Jimmy Quillen United States Courthouse
in Greeneville will be just yet another structure in the first district
that is named after Mr. Quillen.
We cannot go around a bend in that lovely First Congressional
District without seeing a school or a highway or a building, something
that was an accomplishment of Mr. Quillen's while he was in Congress,
named in honor of him; and I think that is very appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Quillen used to sit right there, the second seat
over here from the aisleway in the second row. I often bring groups in
here at night, and I say this was Mr. Quillen's seat; and even though
we do not have assigned seats in this House, some of the Members who
have been here for a while, as we all know, sort of pick one seat as
their seat, and that is where they always sit, and out of respect for
them and their tenure and their service, we do not sit there. Except
for my first time I was in here, I made the mistake of sitting there
and with that big yank of a handshake, he popped me up and sat down in
it.
We have no problem with that, because we revered and respected Mr.
Quillen so much. That seat, as far as I am concerned, will always be
Mr. Quillen's seat, no matter who else sits there while I am here in
this House. I am honored to be a part of this legislation. I certainly
ask everybody to get behind this in an enthusiastic way, and I was
proud to serve with Mr. Jimmy Quillen.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Tanner).
(Mr. TANNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate and endorse what my
friends from Tennessee have had to say about Mr. Jimmy Quillen. I want
to thank my friend, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins), for
introducing this resolution. I came to the Tennessee Assembly in 1976;
and for the longest time, it seems Mr. Quillen and I were the
graduates, I guess we might say, of the Tennessee General Assembly. The
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) also served there.
Mr. Quillen not only was the king of East Tennessee, as we used to
call him, I live over in West Tennessee and his service to our State
transcended the First Congressional District. I live in the Eighth
Congressional District, and Mr. Quillen journeys over there to one of
the premier political events in the springtime every year, down in
Covington, Tennessee, the Oney Naifeh political dinner and his service
to our State is appreciated, not only by those citizens in the first
district in East Tennessee, but it was appreciated throughout, across
the width and breadth of Tennessee.
Many, many mutual friends from Joe Bewley, who was in the legislature
and lives in Greeneville, to many others, Ralph Cole and others I have
known through the years and all from up there in the first district had
the same love and respect for Mr. Quillen that those of us who got to
know him from other parts of the State developed.
Mr. Speaker, he truly has given a very large measure of his life to
the service of others, and it is with a great deal of pleasure and
pride that I think that almost every Member from the Tennessee
delegation, Democratic and Republican alike, has been down here this
morning to say a kind word for Mr. Jimmy Quillen and I would add with
great appreciation for the opportunity, my thanks and my endorsement of
this process.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to
close.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Traficant).
[[Page H5198]]
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Quillen was a friend of mine, and I
can remember he and another dear friend, Walter Jones, sitting down
with me on occasion, giving me sound advice to sit down and shut up. As
a member of the Committee on Rules, he helped me bring to the floor
many amendments that many people did not have a shot.
I just wanted to chime in and say, if there is any distinguishing
element to his great career, he was fair. He treated everyone fairly,
and he was always a consummate gentleman. So I think the naming of this
courthouse in his honor is absolutely fitting, because he was a great
American. I appreciated the times that he and I were able to speak, and
he imparted much of that wisdom to me, as he did to other Members at
that time who were young and just coming on; and his advice to shut up
probably was the best I ever got. Mr. Quillen, God bless you and the
family.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I urge its passage,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4608.
The question was taken.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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