[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8620-H8621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TO HONOR REPRESENTATIVE BILL GOODLING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sherwood). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Shuster) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I rise today 
to honor our dear colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Goodling). Mixed feelings because it is a wonderful feeling to rise to 
honor him, but a sad feeling to realize he is no longer going to be a 
Member of this body.
  When I came here as a freshman, there was a rather secretive place 
called the Botts committee. It was named the Botts committee after Herb 
Botts, who was the manager of that very secretive place called the 
House gymnasium. I went down there to see if it might be a good place 
to try to stay fit and get to know some of the Members, and there I 
bumped into a gentleman named George Goodling, Bill Goodling's father.
  He was in his late 60s, early 70s, perhaps, and they had a sissy game 
down there called paddleball. Now, I was a pretty serious handball 
player and, of course, a young whipper snapper compared to George 
Goodling, so he asked me if I would play. I, in a rather condescending 
way, said sure. I thought it would be nice to get to know the old 
gentleman, and so we played a game of paddleball.
  Mr. Speaker, he beat me into the ground. He destroyed me. He 
humiliated me. He embarrassed me. That was my introduction to the 
Goodling family. Well, he retired, and I heard his son was going to 
come to Washington. I heard that, just as his father, he was an 
outstanding person. But I worried about whether he was as good an 
athlete as his dad. I heard he had been a football coach and an athlete 
himself, and I resolved right then that while I would do my best to 
become friends with Bill Goodling, I would never under any 
circumstances play paddleball with him in the House gym. Mr. Speaker, I 
have kept that resolve over the years, and as a result, and perhaps 
hopefully for other reasons as well, we have remained good friends and 
neighbors in terms of parts of our district adjoining each other.
  If anybody in this body deserves the title ``Mr. Education,'' it is 
Bill Goodling, because he has forgotten more about education in America 
than most of us will ever know. And, of course, by virtue of his 
service on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, his becoming 
chairman of the committee, he has been in a position to do so many good 
things for America, for Pennsylvania, and for his own congressional 
district.
  It is a great honor to salute Bill. In his first election, he was 
elected with only 51 percent of the vote, a very, very tight election. 
But in his 13 straight terms, which I might emphasize is the longest 
tenure for the 19th district in this century, he typically now captures 
about 70 percent of the vote.
  He served on the Committee on Education and the Workforce since his 
first term, becoming the ranking member in 1990, and chairman in 1994. 
He served with great distinction on the Committee on International 
Relations, as well as on the House Permanent Select Committee where I 
had the great privilege of serving as both a member and as the ranking 
member. He also served on the House Budget Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I think perhaps he and I feel the same about the 
Committee on the Budget. I had the privilege of serving on that 
committee as well, and it is sort of like the story about the two 
happiest days in a boat owner's life: the day he buys his boat and the 
day he sells his boat. It was a great privilege to serve on the 
Committee on the Budget and learn so much, but after being put through 
that wringer for 6 years, getting off of it was not exactly a negative 
experience.
  Bill has been married to his wife, Hilda, forever. She's a wonderful 
lady. A wonderful lady. Two children, Todd,

[[Page H8621]]

an architect, and Jennifer, who by the way which simply shows what 
athletic genes this family has, was a professional tennis player and is 
a phys ed. instructor. In addition to all of his many talents, Bill 
enjoys singing and he is also a pianist, a tremendous sports 
enthusiast, and he raises horses.
  Since I also have been in the business of racing horses, I learned 
that if one really wants to figure out how to get rid of what little 
money they have, the thing to do is buy a race horse. Now, I hope Bill 
has had better luck than I have, but anyway we have mended our ways in 
the Shuster family and now only have riding horses.
  Bill is really a man for all seasons. He is an intellectual, an 
athlete, a good family man, an educator, a distinguished American. And 
so it is my great privilege and my honor to take the floor today to 
recognize my colleague and friend, Bill Goodling.

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