[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 151 (Friday, December 8, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H12055-H12064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H12055]]
EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE JULIAN C. 
         DIXON, MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 671) 
and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 671

       Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
     the death of the Honorable Julian C. Dixon, a Representative 
     from the State of California.
       Resolved, That a committee of such Members of the House as 
     the Speaker may designate, together with such Members of the 
     Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral.
       Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be 
     authorized and directed to take such steps as may be 
     necessary for carrying out the provisions of these 
     resolutions and that the necessary expenses in connection 
     therewith be paid out of applicable accounts of the House.
       Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
     the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the 
     deceased.
       Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn as 
     a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 minutes to control to my 
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn).
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the minority leader.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the Democrats in the House and as a 
Member of the House, I rise to express our collective grief and sadness 
at the suddenness of this very, very, very negative event that has 
happened to all of us.
  I have served here nearly my entire time with Julian Dixon, and, as 
others have said, I have never known a more gentle, conciliatory, 
wonderful human being as we have known in Julian Dixon. He served in 
this body in the most sensitive and difficult positions. He served as 
chairman of the Committee on Ethics in some of the stormiest and most 
difficult times in our past; he has been ranking member on the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; he has been a subcommittee 
chairman and then ranking member on the Committee on Appropriations.
  All of that is important, but I guess what is most important to me, 
and I think all of us, is that he embodied to us the best in public 
life. He was a beautiful human being. He loved others, he cared for 
others. Everything that he did was with grace and excellence. He 
typified what it means in this country and in this world to be a public 
servant.
  We are deeply saddened by this unexpected tragedy. Our hearts and our 
prayers go out to his family, go out to his constituents, go out to all 
of his beloved friends, in California and around the country.
  To the members of the California delegation, all of us give our 
deepest sympathy, and all of us will pray in the days ahead for the 
comfort and understanding on behalf of his family and his loved ones.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Julian Dixon, as many have said, was a gentleman and a 
very caring person. He was 20 miles from my district. We worked 
together on a lot of different projects, especially in the defense 
area, and also in economic development.
  Julian was the type of person that could get everybody that was 
warring over something into the room, around the table, and work out 
something; and he did that with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, 
which was in deep trouble in Los Angeles County 6 years ago. Julian 
would get us all together, and the result was we became cohesive.
  Julian was the type of legislator that was for the Nation, for the 
State, for the county, as well as for his district, and we certainly 
will miss Julian Dixon.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters).
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am stunned; I am saddened. It is very 
difficult to understand how one day you have your colleague here with 
you, and, in a few days, he is gone.
  Julian Dixon is a man and a Member of Congress that is respected by 
all. I have known him since before he ran for the California State 
Assembly. When Julian Dixon was elected to the California State 
Assembly, he immediately established himself as a brilliant, credible, 
dependable human being. He gained a lot of friends in the California 
State Assembly, friends that he still has until today.
  He went on to be elected to the Congress of the United States, where 
he developed the same kind of reputation, steady as a rock, dependable, 
friendly, gets along with everybody, even mediates when there are 
problems between other Members. You could always go to him for help.
  He is loved in California. He is highly respected. This comes as a 
great blow. He is in the district immediately adjacent to mine; and so 
we share venues, we share all kinds of operations. We have held joint 
town-halls together.
  I am going to miss him, and my heart goes out to Bettye and to his 
family. I am certain that this Congress will show its deepest respect 
and sympathy in every way that we possibly can. We have lost a great 
legislator and a great friend.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I only knew Mr. Dixon for a few years; but after a vote 
on the House floor, we would often walk back to our offices together. 
As a much younger Member, Mr. Dixon and I would discuss the usual 
things you might suspect Members of Congress would talk about, the 
international community, the domestic situation, doing the Nation's 
business, the recent vote that we just took, the very volatile nature 
of a democratic process. But the most heartfelt things that I would 
remember that Mr. Dixon and I would discuss would be our families and 
the things that mattered most to the heart back home in our respective 
districts, with our family members, with our children, with our 
friends, and the nature of what it meant to be a Member of Congress.
  So we often think about the icons of America who are most in the 
news, who are most spoken of on a daily basis. But Mr. Dixon was that 
gentle, kind, most profound icon that this Nation can have, because he 
did the Nation's business in the most honest way. This place, the House 
floor, has lost the friendly presence of Mr. Dixon; but his spirit, I 
am sure, will dwell within each of us. So our heart goes out to lessen 
the sorrow that those who loved him most dear are feeling at this time.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, before recognizing the gentleman from New York, the 
ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means, I just want to point 
out to my colleagues that Julian had really two constituencies for 
almost 20 years. I served on the Subcommittee on the District of 
Columbia at the same time that Julian was chairing that subcommittee of 
the Committee on Appropriations, and the District of Columbia owes a 
great deal of gratitude over the years for the number of times that he 
came to the defense of home rule, to the aid of their schools, their 
health care, their police and fire departments, all at times where he 
was able to bring aid to a concern that was never, I hate to admit, the 
most popular committee in concern in this House, and that was dealing 
with some of the problems of the District of Columbia. But he felt a 
real responsibility, and he discharged that responsibility with great 
humanity. I think, in addition to his district in California, he had 
that added responsibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Rangel).
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, not too long ago we had elections in the Congressional 
Black Caucus, and Julian Dixon sent in his absentee ballot. All I can 
remember about it was that the chairman had indicated that Julian Dixon 
had said that he was undergoing ``minor surgery.'' But the key word and 
the key

[[Page H12056]]

thing about Julian is he also said, ``and don't worry about me, I will 
see you next week.''

                              {time}  1045

  I guess that shows us the type of person that Julian was, that he 
even at that time, when he was facing some type of a health setback, he 
was more concerned about the feelings of his colleagues.
  In this great body of Members of Congress, in this great body of 
politics, there are just some of us, and I am included in that number, 
who cannot resist the temptation to have press conferences and get on 
television. But all of us know in the bottom of our hearts that the 
real warriors of politics in this House are those who go about their 
business every day, wrestling with the difficult questions and not 
seeking the attention or the credit for the good that they do.
  Julian Dixon had to be the epitome of the selfless, hard-working 
legislator who, whether one is liberal or conservative, Republican or 
Democrat, we felt that he was one of our best friends.
  With all of the problems that I have stumbled across in the House of 
Representatives, there has been no Member who I have felt more 
comfortable in talking to than Julian Dixon. As a matter of fact, even 
if it was a personal problem, I would know that it would be well-kept 
within the heart of Julian Dixon.
  I hope that we can find some way in the days ahead, as we go through 
the most polarized period, I would suspect, in recent history that our 
country and this Congress will go through, that somehow we will 
remember that perhaps there will be the Rangels and the DeLays out 
there fighting, but the most important thing that our country really 
has as its treasures are not those who are out fighting but those who 
are out mending, and keeping this Congress and this country so great.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Dreier).
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot tell the Members how shocked and saddened I am 
to hear of the news of Julian Dixon's passing. One of the main reasons 
is that, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) and I were just 
talking about a few minutes ago, Julian Dixon seemed to be one of those 
indestructible human beings. He was such a bulwark of strength for his 
friends, for this institution.
  Sitting behind me is the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), who 
served with Julian Dixon on the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct. I remember so well the tremendous, nonpartisan approach that 
he took to that very important task here in the House. I had the 
privilege of working with him as a fellow Angelino on a wide range of 
issues that affected Southern California. We were always able to come 
together in a bipartisan way.
  I will say that when I think about the trips that we have taken 
together, the time that we have spent, he always did offer that very, 
very level-headed approach when it came to providing advice to all of 
us. He was a model Member of the United States Congress, and I will 
miss him greatly. My thoughts and prayers are with Bettye and with his 
family.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi).
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me, and for taking this special order.
  Mr. Speaker, as a Californian, I say to my colleagues, they have to 
know that our entire State will be in mourning over the loss of Julian 
Dixon. He served so well in the State legislature. The gentleman from 
California (Mr. Dreier) mentioned the words ``model Member of 
Congress''.
  He was a model public servant, indeed, imbued with a sense of great 
intellect, as I mentioned earlier; with a sense of fairness, whether it 
was on the ethics Committee, the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence, the Committee on Appropriations, the Subcommittee on the 
District of Columbia of the Committee on Appropriations where he 
served; he served appropriating and authorizing there. He cared about 
people.
  As I say, as a member of the State assembly, he was a fixture of our 
State. It is a terrible, terrible loss for us. Really, he was a giant 
of a man and a real teacher and mentor to so many of us.
  So to Bettye and his family, again, I hope it is a comfort to them 
that so many people share their loss, are grieving with them at this 
terribly difficult time, and are praying that they have the strength to 
get through it. Think of our State as crying at this time. California 
cries over the loss of the great Julian Dixon.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  I, like my colleagues, express my shock and sadness at the passing of 
our good friend and colleague who did great service to this House and 
to the people of America.
  It was on Monday, just this past Monday, that I was involved with the 
dedication of the Martin Luther King, Junior memorial here in 
Washington, D.C. As emcee, I mentioned in my comments the fact that 
Julian Dixon was my colleague who joined with me in several pieces of 
legislation in moving this opportunity for a memorial in the Nation's 
Capitol for Martin Luther King, Jr. This is a memorial that will be 
paid for by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity to which Martin Luther King, 
Jr., belonged.
  It was very interesting, Julian worked so very hard on this memorial, 
step-by-step with me, and it reflected what everybody has said and will 
continue to say about the fact that he worked in a bipartisan manner 
for what he believed was right.
  In so doing, as well as the site being in the District of Columbia, 
where mention has been made of his dedication to the Nation's Capitol 
as reflecting what is best in America on the authorizing committee, and 
then subsequently on the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of 
the Committee on Appropriations, I think he reflected so much of what 
Martin Luther King stood for, the concept of justice, justice arrived 
at in a peaceful manner by working with people, by espousing a 
philosophy and acting on it at the same time, too.
  So I think that as we look in the future to the memorial for Martin 
Luther King, Jr., there, as well as in this Chamber, will be a memorial 
also for our good friend, Julian Dixon. It will be a reminder of Dr. 
King's struggle, but Julian Dixon's struggle, also, to eliminate 
injustice and prejudice, be it here in Congress, be it in the Nation, 
wherever it may be.
  So I express also my sympathy to his wife, Bettye, and to his son and 
other family members, and to all of the friends who share this sense 
that he has left a legacy, but he will indeed be missed.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Millender-McDonald).
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I am shocked over the death of my friend, Julian Dixon . 
The only thing that I can say is that he was a gentleman's gentleman, 
one who served this country very well. He will be sorely missed. I, for 
one, will miss him dearly.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Goss), the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence on which Mr. Dixon served.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
yielding time to me.
  I obviously am as stunned as everybody else, and I am sorry beyond 
belief. I send my deepest sympathy to his colleagues, and to his 
family, of course.
  I will say that I had the privilege and pleasure of working with 
Julian, both on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and on 
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and out of that came a 
very easy, comfortable friendship. It was very genuine and very deep. I 
think the candor and trust between us is as far as ever goes between 
human beings. I will miss him more than I can say. I am truly in shock.
  I think, if I could find a legacy to talk about briefly, it was the 
model working relationship. I think we had to deal with problems that 
had to rise above partisanship or other interests where we had to focus 
on issues.

[[Page H12057]]

  Julian brought, as everybody knows here who worked with him, a great 
deal of perception to whatever he was doing, and an incredible 
persistence. He was a very pragmatic man. But the things that stood out 
as hallmarks when all the hard questions were asked and all the hard 
work was done, he had a wonderful sense of humor and he was very fair. 
I trusted Julian's judgment completely, as did everybody else, because 
we knew it was a fair deal when he got through examining the issue. 
What a wonderful thing to be able to say about somebody.
  I think my last memory of Julian is what I will cherish. It was in 
Frager's Department Store. He was trying to buy a light switch and I 
was trying to buy a light bulb, and we were both having troubles. I 
think that maybe says something about us both, worrying about the 
world's problems, and sometimes the details get to us.
  Often as we go through life we hear people, we as Members of Congress 
hear people say things about Congressmen. I would hold Julian Dixon up 
as a Congressman that I am very, very proud of. I do not know how one 
does better. When somebody talks about United States Congressmen, I 
think of Julian Dixon . He was the best.
  We will remember him that way, but boy, I am sorry we have to 
remember him at all. I wish he was with us.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New 
York (Mrs. Lowey).
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the shock, the deep grief, the sadness 
which has been expressed by the colleagues of Julian Dixon.
  As a Member of the Committee on Appropriations, I have always, always 
stood in awe of Julian Dixon. He is a person who would rise and only 
rise when he had something substantive to say. He would rise with 
elegance, authority, with grace, with respect.
  Julian Dixon has earned the respect of all of us in this Congress, 
and he exemplifies the very best of what a public servant should be. To 
his family, we just want them to know that our thoughts and prayers 
will always be with them. We will miss you, Julian.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Farr).
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, we are all here in absolute shock of this news that is 
less than a half-hour old that our colleague, Julian Dixon, died.
  Julian was such a presence around here. When we think that this body 
operates with people who are in key positions, positions of incredible 
respect and importance, serving on the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct and his role on the Committee on Appropriations, and 
many of us recall that in that role, it was pointed out by his 
colleague and friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark), that 
when he was Chair of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of 
the Committee on Appropriations he was like the ad hoc mayor of 
Washington, D.C., because he had a passion for this city and for it 
being the Nation's Capitol.
  I want to share with the Members just a moment, I was a young staffer 
in the California State legislature when Julian Dixon became elected. 
He was a magnificent human being: tall, handsome, smart. He was elected 
as caucus chair, Democratic Caucus chair in the California State 
legislature, and had incredible respect. Obviously, when a seat opened 
here in Congress, he was a natural to run for that seat, win, and serve 
in Congress with distinction.
  We are at a loss because we sometimes know that people are ill or in 
the hospital, but it is a shock when we learn that immediately someone 
is gone, and particularly those of us from California, if we look at 
the very short time in the last few years that we lost George Brown, we 
lost Sonny Bono, we lost Walter Capps. We have had an incredible loss 
of California Members of Congress.

                              {time}  1100

  Julian was a champion among them all. I am chair of the delegation, 
and some people are already going back to California, and I am sure 
they will hear on the airplane or the minute they get off, and we will 
share this shock of great loss, not only to the State of California, to 
his family, but to this Nation.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Mrs. Meek).
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this Congress has suffered a great 
loss in the death of Julian Dixon. God called Julian home; and he said 
to him well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done. Julian was 
outstanding. He was a consummate legislator, a consummate gentleman. I 
served with him on the Committee on Appropriations. I will never forget 
how fearless he was, when he stood before many times, not a very 
agreeing committee, to speak up for D.C. and to speak up for all of the 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, I served with him on the Congressional Black Caucus 
Foundation's board. He was a voice of wisdom. He was a voice of calm. 
He was a very, very bright and smart man; but the other side of Julian 
was a very funny humorous side. He used to call me back there where he 
sat and he would tell me nice, little grandmotherly jokes, and I would 
laugh. Sometimes they were not even funny; but I laughed, because they 
came from Julian. 
  I always teased him about Juanita Millender-McDonald, and we always 
had a running joke about Juanita. Julian loved her. He loved me. He 
loved all of us in Congress. So it is with great humility that I say 
God called home a soldier. Well done, Julian. 
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Owens).
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in 
extending my condolences to Julian's family. We are all shocked and 
saddened. As a young freshman coming to Congress, I found Julian Dixon, 
who was not that many years ahead of me in seniority, to be the most 
nuturing, the guy who showed us around and gave us the details and 
cared a great deal, wise beyond his years of service in the Congress.
  Julian was the kind of person that always did his homework as a 
chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as the chairman of the 
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. I admired the way in which 
Julian worked, always thorough, always conciliatory, always willing to 
be the reconciler. Everybody trusted Julian because he was that 
thorough and basic.
  Julian did not run like a firefly to the cameras. Julian was not a 
peacock seeking headlines, but you knew Julian would get the job done. 
I think that the trust that we felt as freshmen coming in and 
experiencing Julian's leadership was also obviously the kind of trust 
that the leadership felt about Julian. 
  He was appointed head of the Committee on Ethics. He was on the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. And whenever there was an 
ad hoc committee that had a difficult job to do, I noticed that the 
leadership, three speakers, would lean on Julian Dixon; and I think 
that the trust extended across party lines. It was not just the 
Democrats, but also the Members of the other party on the other side of 
the aisle seemed to have the same kind of trust in Julian Dixon. 
  If you had to take a poll, probably the individual who was trusted 
most in the last 20 years, 30 years, Julian would be high on that list 
in terms of being the most trusted among us. And I am very saddened by 
his departure.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman of the Committee on International 
Relations.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
yielding the time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret and sadness that I join our 
colleagues today in expressing our sorrow over the passing of our good 
colleague and friend, the gentleman from California (Julian Dixon).
  Julian's contributions to this body and to our Nation are 
incalculable. First coming to the House some 22 years ago, Julian 
immediately made an impact upon arrival.
  He had previously served as a staff member to State Senator Mervyn M. 
Dymally, who was later a Member of

[[Page H12058]]

this body. And Julian then served with distinction in the California 
State Assembly succeeding Congresswoman Burke. His popularity in his 
home district in California never diminished throughout his 22 years of 
public service.
  Julian came to personify the people of the Los Angeles district. In 
him, they had an articulate, compassionate spokesperson. The fact that 
he never once received less than 75 percent of their votes at home is 
an indication of the reverence and gratitude that his constituents had 
for him.
  Congressman Julian Dixon's contributions came in great part through 
his role on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a committee 
reflecting a patriotism of its members.
  Congressman Dixon has also been an articulate and active member of 
the Committee on Appropriations, where he was a spokesperson for the 
needs, not only of his own district, but for all of urban America.
  In the loss of Congressman Julian Dixon, our Nation's Capital has 
lost a champion. As a member of the Subcommittee on the District of 
Columbia, he was a defender of home rule for the District, for adequate 
education in the District of Columbia, and for the enfranchisement of 
the District's residents.
  Julian served in the Army from 1957 through 1960, and as one of a 
dwindling number of Members who were veterans in the Armed Services, he 
was a continual spokesperson for the needs of our military and for the 
importance of maintaining a strong defense posture as we negotiate for 
peace.
  His knowledge and understanding of the needs of our military never 
ceased to amaze and impress all of us. His was a voice which compelled 
the rest of us to listen carefully.
  Mr. Speaker, Julian was a good and respected friend to all of us on 
both sides of the aisle. He earned our respect and admiration; his 
shoes are going to be difficult to fill. I join with all of our 
colleagues today in expressing condolences to his widow, Bettye Lee, to 
their child and to the many people who considered him a role model and 
a hero.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Bishop).
  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, join with my colleagues in expressing our 
profound sorrow in the loss of our colleague, Julian Dixon. Julian was 
special to all of us; but he was particularly special to me because, 
when I came to this body some 8 years ago, I identified him quickly as 
a mentor. I talked with him.
  Mr. Speaker, I would seek his advice and his counsel. When I decided 
that I was interested in becoming a member of the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence, I immediately sought out Julian Dixon, 
calling him long-distance from South Africa to get his advice and 
counsel on how to make that happen.
  I had the opportunity to work with Julian and to observe him in his 
relationship with the majority on the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence, to see his relationship with his staff and the profound 
respect in which they held him.
  Julian could be summed up by saying he had character, honesty. He was 
hard working. He was diplomatic, but he was tough. He was a friend to 
so many of us. He has made a profound impact on this Congress, on the 
United States, and on the world. He carried the load for a lot of the 
dirty work.
  And I guess I must at this moment just remember Julian in the words 
of one of my favorite poems called ``A Bag of Tools'':
  Isn't it strange how princes and kings, and clowns that caper and 
sawdust rings, and common people, like you and me, are builders for 
eternity?
  Each is given a bag of tools, a shapeless mass, a book of rules. And 
each must fashion, ere life is flown, a stumbling block, or a Stepping-
Stone.
  On behalf of all of my colleagues of all of those who knew Julian, 
and particularly the Democratic staff on the Permanent Select Committee 
on Intelligence who feel this loss so profoundly, I say we are so happy 
and America is happy and the world is better because Julian was not a 
stumbling block. He was indeed a stepping-stone for a better life for 
human kind in this world.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis), chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense, and 
who worked with Julian on the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate my 
colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn), for yielding me 
the time.
  Mr. Speaker, to my friends, many know that this has been a year of 
crisis for me personally. It is the tragedy of human life that causes 
us to focus and refocus on those things that are important. We talk 
often about crises around here, issues come and go, and it kind of 
makes up our life and our day. And we take too little time to think 
about the importance of the humankind who make up this body.
  This tragedy should remind all of us that there are many, many more 
important things about the work that we do than a single issue or a 
single day or a single crisis. We will be talking a lot about the need 
for our coming together; and perhaps this horrible tragedy will serve 
as a beginning point for us to once again try to reach out to each 
other and express that love that really makes this body what it can be 
and should be.
  Mr. Speaker, I have not had a closer friend in the House than Julian 
Dixon. We go back to the legislature together in California. We came 
here as classmates. We have served for years on the Committee on 
Appropriations together. As Steve indicated, he was a member of my 
Subcommittee on Defense. He did marvelous work in the Committee on 
Ethics.
  He served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a way 
that few could begin to appreciate unless you watched him day in and 
day out.
  Julian Dixon is one of the great men of the House, a legislator who 
cares about people; and indeed, he and Bettye over the years became 
Arlene and my closest friends in terms of social contact. We traveled 
together. We loved one another.
  I would close my remarks by telling a story that relates much of what 
we did together. Many years ago as a young Member of the House on the 
minority side, I got used to staffers who think they run our life. And 
I talked to a young staffer on the Committee on Banking and Financial 
Services about the fact that there had been many, many years since we 
had had a gold coin in this country.
  I was concerned about the fact that that was symbolizing our trade 
deficits, et cetera; and I introduced a bill to create a new gold coin. 
And that staffer of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, 
when I took the idea to him, he literally mocked and said, Congressman, 
that bill will never get a hearing. And you know what, it did not 
through that Congress.
  The following year, I introduced a bill again and then I sat down 
with my friend, Julian Dixon, and talked about the trade deficit in 
gold with South Africa. And Julian Dixon cosponsored that bill, the 
entire Black Caucus sponsored that bill, almost the whole House did.
  You know what? When I hold up that gold eagle coin, forever now, I 
will always remember our friend, Julian Dixon, and what he meant to our 
potential on both sides of the aisle as human beings working together. 
Let us use this as a symbol of the work we must do together.
  God bless Julian and Bettye Dixon.

                              {time}  1115

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues very 
much. The loss of Congressman Julian Dixon is a catastrophic loss. It 
is a catastrophic loss for this Nation and for this body.
  When others spoke of bipartisanship, Julian Dixon practiced it. When 
others spoke of congeniality and friendship and fellowship, Julian 
Dixon exemplified it. When others spoke of kindness and outreach, 
Julian Dixon embraced you. When there was a hard task, an unpopular 
task, a challenging task, this House turned to Julian Dixon. 
  I did not have the honor and pleasure of serving with Mr. Dixon on a 
committee of this House, but I had the

[[Page H12059]]

honor of serving with him in the Congressional Black Caucus and knowing 
him through my predecessors who served in this House in the 18th 
Congressional District in Texas.
  I heard of Julian Dixon before I arrived in this place, and the words 
were sweet and melodious. They were words that were uplifting. They 
were friendly words describing him.
  To his wife Bettye and to his family, I know that he is at this point 
missing in your heart, your mind and your souls. But be forever 
reminded that the Nation mourns with you.
  Those of us who Julian Dixon endeared himself to because he was that 
kind of man and that kind of American, our hearts are torn, our hearts 
are deep with a loss. I can only say to my colleagues that I remain in 
shock, but I remain bolstered by the fact that Julian Dixon lived, he 
walked this Earth, he served this Nation. But most of all, he has shown 
himself to be the kind of person that the world will be reminded of, 
selfless, committed, self-sacrificing, loving, and special.
  God bless this Nation, God bless Julian as he flies among the eagles, 
and God bless his family.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cox), chairman of the Majority Policy Committee.
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, in a way, it is nice to be here on the floor and to 
listen to all of these things being said about Julian Dixon, because my 
southern California colleague, even now that he is gone, is going to be 
a powerful force among us.
  All of us in our spiritual lives have aspirational goals that we try 
to reach, something greater than us that we try to be. But it is also 
important in life to have real human beings that one can look at and 
say that is a person I would like to be like. That is someone who, if I 
strive, I work, I could be like that person. Julian Dixon is such a 
model for all of us, and is not just now in death, but was while he 
walked among us such a person.
  He and I were facilitators together at Hershey at the bipartisan 
retreat. We spent a lot of time talking on airplanes flying to and from 
Southern California and discussing important national security business 
on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where he bore so much 
responsibility.
  But it is with respect to the efforts that we have made over a period 
of many Congresses at Hershey that I think I will think best of Julian 
Dixon, because in a time when so many people are talking about the need 
for bipartisanship, Julian Dixon can remind us of what that really is.
  Bipartisanship, as he showed us, is not lacking convictions. It is 
not being a political hermaphrodite, half Republican, half Democrat. 
But Julian believed passionately about the things he did, and he was a 
great leader for our country. But, rather, it was transcending that 
conviction and recognizing that many of the things that we believe so 
deeply divide us are transitory, they are products of the time and the 
place in which we live, and focusing instead on our essential humanity, 
on our respective worth and dignity.
  I think that, in the year and years ahead, there can be no better 
model for every Member of this body than our good friend who we will so 
deeply miss, the Honorable Julian Dixon. 
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to observe for the House that we have 
received a phone call from former Member Vic Fazio of California who 
came to Congress with Julian in that class, I think, in 1978, who 
wanted me to express to my colleagues and to Bettye Vic's condolences.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. 
Kilpatrick).
  (Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, giving honor to God who is the head of 
my life, I join with my colleagues to really stand here and say what a 
giant we have lost. As was mentioned earlier, Congressman Dixon said, 
``See you next week,'' and he will, because his spirit lives, and it 
will always live as long as we remember him.
  Congressman Dixon supported me before coming to this House of 
Representatives. Every day as we served as a member of the Committee on 
Appropriations for this House, his strength, his intelligence, and his 
endurance was a light for all of us to follow.
  Over the rostrum here, it says ``In God we trust.'' Our Nation, this 
House, and the world is in perilous times at this moment. Let the 
spirit of Congressman Julian Dixon guide us through these troubled 
waters. If we should use his spirit and his strength to get us through 
these difficult times, God will bless us, this country will be a better 
place, and the world will be a safer place.
  So, Mr. Speaker, as we honor his memory today, let us not forget who 
he was and what he stood for, fighting injustice wherever it reared its 
ugly head, racism, sexism. This is a great country, and the best homage 
we can pay to Congressman Julian Dixon is to honor that memory and 
instill those principles in this House.
  My love goes out to Bettye and the family, always know that we are 
here to support you. Julian Dixon, through this House of 
Representatives, can lead us the way into the future.
  God bless you, my brother, and may you rest in peace.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, many of the Members are not even aware of this 
announcement, so I ask unanimous consent to yield the time we have 
remaining to the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Without objection, the time 
allocated to the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) will be 
controlled by the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Horn), and we appreciate that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. 
Hilliard).
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in expressing 
sympathy to the family of Congressman Dixon. 
  Every now and then in every profession, on every job, there is 
recognition of a person who can give advice. That person among his 
colleagues is sought out for advice; and he is sought out because of 
his talent, because of his perseverance, because of his sincerity and 
because of the good advice he gives. Julian Dixon was such a person.
  If he had been a doctor, he would have been known as a doctor's 
doctor. If he had been a lawyer, he would have been known as a lawyer's 
lawyer. He was a congressman; and because of the advice that he gave me 
and many of our colleagues, I consider him as a congressman's 
congressman.
  But I knew him also in another capacity. We both are brothers in the 
fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Because of the 
effort of brother Julian Dixon, members of Alpha now can pay tribute to 
Dr. Martin Luther King, our most famous brother here in this district 
because of the monument that he helped Congress create.
  So on behalf of the more than hundred brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity, I express my sympathy to his family. We lost a good 
brother, this Congress lost a good Member, and this Nation lost a good 
servant.
  I wish to express my deepest sympathy today for a dear friend and 
colleague who dedicated his entire life to serving his family, his 
District in California, and this United States Congress. He served with 
determination and an unwavering spirit of dedication. This void cannot 
be filled. He was a native son of Washington, D.C., and he made his 
home in Los Angeles California, where he planted the seeds of faith and 
overcoming. Julian overcame obstacles with a sense of grace and 
dignity. Now we can embrace the harvest he has left behind. We must not 
forget the abundance of that harvest when we continue our good works on 
the different committees upon which he served. I want to express my 
deepest sympathy to his dear wife Betty and his son Cary. I shall 
remember both of you in my prayers. Julian was truly on loan from God.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I add my voice to those who have already 
spoken to express my heartfelt sympathy for the family of Julian Dixon. 
When I decided to run for chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, 
among the

[[Page H12060]]

first persons that I sought advice from was Julian Dixon. He had a way 
of sorting out the issues, trying to ensure that the purposes of the 
Congressional Black Caucus were definitely on the agenda that I was 
going to propose and gave me tremendous advice. That was just the way 
that he was.
  I think the committees that he served on sort of said it all. He was 
a member of the Committee on Appropriations. He would not only 
appropriate formally on the committee as his responsibilities said he 
should and fought for the District of Columbia when there was a lot of 
adversity; but he in his own private way was a giver, he was an 
appropriator, he gave advice.
  He gave a wonderful event at the Democratic National Convention where 
he had a beautiful dinner just for friends, because that was the type 
of person he was. He was on the Committee on Ethics. He is a person of 
high ethics. Everyone knows that. I think the committees that he served 
on said it all.
  Finally, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, one could 
not find a person more intelligent, more noble, more thorough and 
efficient than Julian Dixon. 
  We traveled recently, and he and his wife just complimented one 
another.
  So as I conclude, I think that we can simply remember that old Negro 
spiritual that said that ``Let the work that I have done speak for 
me.''
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
  (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us are in shock, and I join with my colleagues in 
saying that I am in shock, too. But I also join my colleagues in saying 
I am in profound appreciation for the example and the life that Julian 
Dixon led. All of us knew him for unique features, but just listening 
to the remarks, one understands all of us had tremendous respect for 
him.
  Some of us knew him as a person who, indeed, could feather out 
conflicts. He had friends on both sides of the issues. Whether he 
agreed with one or not, he would give one his advice.
  I serve on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and serve 
currently as chair, and he knew I was kind of a reluctant chair of that 
committee. Part of his admonition to me was that the greatest thing one 
can do is bring about stability, understanding, and working together. 
Julian certainly was not one to run away from thorny issues. So I will 
remember him for that.
  I thank him for the life he leaves for us. I hope that we can use it 
as a challenge that we, too, can bring that calmness, that respect, and 
the loving care in being a public servant. God bless you.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Roemer).
  (Mr. ROEMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, Julian Dixon was a giant and a gentleman. I, 
first of all, want to extend my prayers to his family, to Bettye Lee, 
and to his son, to his staff and the staff in the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence, and to the people of the 32nd District of 
California, and especially thank them for sending to us this giant and 
gentleman who I served with on the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence.
  He was a giant in that the tough jobs that demanded bipartisanship 
and fairness and ethics and intelligence, like the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence and like the Committee on Ethics, were given 
to Julian. 
  We have a saying, Mr. Speaker, around here when we refer to people as 
the gentleman from California. Julian Dixon was a gentleman in every 
sense of the word, kind and compassionate to everybody he met, and he 
was a gentleman with a soothing voice.

                              {time}  1130

  He served the country in the military. He served the country as a 
public servant. He served all of us. And now the good Lord has called 
him home to do even more important work.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my 
colleagues in expressing my deepest sympathy to Julian Dixon's wife and 
family. I met Julian Dixon the year that he was elected to Congress 
through mutual friends. I had a lot of relatives in his district who 
told me that he was going to be the best. I considered him and Bettye 
my dear friends. He was quiet, dignified, professional, dependable, 
thorough, hard working, and, as we hear, respected by all.
  Julian was fair and knowledgeable of his work. I will miss him. We 
will all miss him; but I will miss him as a role model, I will miss him 
as a friend, and Bettye and family will have my deepest sympathy.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the 
Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me 
this time.
  I, like my colleagues, am trying to deal with the shock of our loss, 
and all of us who have had the privilege of knowing and working with 
Julian grieve at his death. I want to extend on behalf of the all of 
the people of the Virgin Islands to his beloved wife Bettye and his 
family our sincere condolences.
  It was truly a privilege for me to have been able to serve with 
Julian and to benefit, as so many others, from his wisdom and his 
experience, as the whole Nation and indeed the world has from his 
service. Julian was also my landlord; and my family and I are deeply 
appreciative of the great generosity that he showed to us when we 
rented from him.
  Our love and our prayers go out to Bettye and his family, and we hope 
that they are comforted not only by the fact that so many share in the 
burden of his loss but by knowing that his living and his service have 
not been in vain.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), who, for a long time, was the chairman and now 
ranking member under whom Julian served on the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, Julian Dixon was one of those people who 
almost reveled in functioning anonymously in this House. He took jobs 
that were behind the scenes. Chairing the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence was not a publicity-seeking job; serving as chairman of 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was a job that required 
discretion and, for the most part, silence while judgments were being 
made. There are so many Members of this place who would almost kill to 
get to a microphone ahead of some other Member. Julian was never one of 
that type.
  I served with him for every day that he served in this institution 
and had the privilege to serve with him on the Committee on 
Appropriations. Above all else, what was driven home to me on a daily 
basis was how much he loved and how much he knew this city. I venture 
to say he knows as much about this city as the mayor. He would, for 
years, undertake the thankless job of representing those American 
citizens who have virtually no recourse in the face of grievances. 
Because while they are taxed, they are not represented to the point 
where they have an actual vote on this floor, and so he saw that as his 
special responsibility and special duty to tend to the needs of this 
city.
  In our Committee on Appropriations we have a head table at the front, 
and then we have four or five tables that go down from the head table, 
and there is a gap between the committee rostrum and the seats where 
most Members sit. Julian sat at the end of that table nearest the 
rostrum. When he felt especially passionate, he would stand. And he 
would not stand at his microphone, as most Members do. When he felt 
strongly about an issue, he would speak truth with passion to his 
adversaries in that room and he would roam. He would roam that well and 
drive home his points with an attitude and a demeanor that said ``Don't 
mess with me,'' and ``Don't bafflegab.''
  He knew what the facts were. He defended truth. He defended the 
defenseless. He had guts. He had judgment. He had balance. He had 
passion. He was everything a public servant should be,

[[Page H12061]]

and this country has lost an incredible amount when they have lost 
Julian Dixon. 
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter).
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me this 
time. I wanted to add my voice to those of my California colleagues who 
dealt with Julian and knew Julian over the years and appreciated so 
much his comity, his ability to reach across the aisle in his 
friendship and his warmth.
  In California, we are sometimes different from other States. I 
remember coming in as a freshman in 1980, and while sometimes in Texas 
it is tough to tell a Texan apart in terms of philosophy, in California 
we were pretty strongly polarized. And it was guys like Julian, and 
particularly Julian, who had that great ability to reach across the 
aisle and talk to friends.
  And we really knew we were Julian's friends, because he was so 
genuine and so good and established that relationship that allowed us 
to work on lots of projects together. He could look across the wall of 
contention and combat and competitiveness that marked the election and 
get together.
  So it is interesting. We look back at our colleagues that we have 
served with, and often we cannot remember all the issues, or we cannot 
remember all the details; but we always remember the person. We are a 
people who remember other people. This institution manifests itself not 
in the walls and the columns but in the people. Julian Dixon was a 
wonderful, wonderful person.
  I hope we can all remember him, and sometimes when we are having 
those fights that may tend to get a little bit bitter, remember Julian; 
and I think we will all be a little better to each other and to the 
institution.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Mrs. Jones of Ohio).
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues this 
morning to mourn the loss of Julian Dixon.
  I have the pleasure of succeeding Congressman Louis Stokes, who I 
called this morning. He was just in shock, as we all are, about that 
friendship. He said to me, ``Do you remember when I introduced you to 
Julian Dixon?'' I said, ``I can never forget it.'' And I can never 
forget that the first check I got for my campaign came from Julian 
Dixon.
  I was trying to think what else I could say very quickly, and I went 
back to a speech by Martin Luther King where he was talking about a 
drum major's instinct, and I will paraphrase this for Julian Dixon.

       If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I 
     don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver 
     the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And tell them not 
     to mention that I was a Member of Congress. That wasn't 
     important. Tell them not to mention that I have 300 or 400 
     other awards. That is not important. Tell them not to mention 
     where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention on that 
     day that Julian Dixon tried to give his life serving others. 
     I'd like somebody to say that on that day Julian Dixon tried 
     to love somebody. I want you to say on that day that Julian 
     Dixon tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be 
     able to say that he tried to feed the hungry. I want you to 
     be able to say on that day that I did try in my life to 
     clothe those who were naked; that I did try in my life to 
     visit those who were in prison, and I tried to love and serve 
     humanity. I want you to say that I was a drum major; that I 
     was a drum major for justice; that I was a drum major for 
     peace; a drum major for righteousness, and all of the other 
     shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to 
     leave behind; I won't have the fine and luxurious things of 
     life to leave; I just want to leave behind that I committed 
     my life to do for others. A drum major for success: Julian 
     Dixon.

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Cummings).
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the family of Julian 
Dixon, and certainly to his friends and relatives that they certainly 
have our sympathy. I also want to say to the staff, who I am sure is 
looking at this right now, that we thank them for all that they have 
done to uplift his life and uplift ours.
  In these moments it is really difficult to figure out what to say. 
But sometimes I think when we are going through grieving moments we 
have to first of all thank God that he allowed our lives to eclipse 
with Julian Dixon's. It was quite possible that we could have been on 
Earth at another time. We could have been on Earth at the same time and 
never had a chance to meet or never got a chance to know him.
  I got a chance to know him. We worked on the Congressional Black 
Caucus Foundation board together. Just a few weeks ago we were working 
on personnel policies, and he said, ``Cummings, when we start off, I 
want you to be real clear. We are going to be fair. These policies are 
going to be things where people can look at them 50 years from now and 
feel good about them.'' That is the kind of guy that Julian Dixon was.
  So we thank God for his life. We thank God that he allowed our lives 
to eclipse with his. This whole experience is a reminder that we are 
all bound by the reality of our mortality. We really are.
  So I guess one could sum up his life by that old spiritual that says, 
``Peace, like a river, attendeth my way when storm clouds like sea 
billows roll. Whatever my life, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, 
it is well with my soul.'' May God bless.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman).
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this country has lost a leader of depth and 
integrity. We in this House have lost one of our own. Bettye and Cary 
have lost a husband and a father, and I have lost a role model and a 
friend.
  We in the California delegation have lost a leader and a mentor, and 
we have been thunderstruck with the fourth sudden death in our 
delegation in 4 years.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from Indiana pointed out, we often use 
the term ``gentleman.'' But no one better exemplified that term than 
Julian Dixon. He showed us honor, he was a conciliator, a wise voice 
even when others were gripped with emotion. Yet under that calm 
demeanor was a man of passion who fought for education and civil rights 
and the dispossessed, a man who cosponsored virtually every civil 
rights bill of significance over the last 20 years and who obtained 
funding for the same Simon Wiesenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, 
Tools for Tolerance program in Los Angeles, a man who was placed on the 
Intelligence Committee and the Ethics Committee because of what he 
could bring in intelligence and in honor to those committees, a man who 
cared very much for the two cities in which he spent his life, 
Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles where he did so much to provide 
transportation for our city.
  Mr. Speaker, we have lost a great man. He will be missed.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
  Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the sorrow of my colleagues on the loss 
of our colleague and our friend Julian Dixon. I am not a Californian. I 
have not served the length of time in this body that Julian Dixon did. 
I did sit with him on the Committee on Appropriations. As someone who 
was senior to me on that committee, I sat and I listened and I observed 
and I watched him. And when he stood and he spoke, which was not often, 
he spoke with great authority, he spoke with great dignity, he spoke 
with great passion and with determination, because he understood, 
better than most, the potential of this institution and its effect on 
the lives of people that we represent in this institution.
  He was never afraid to stand tall and to speak softly or loudly and 
with great passion about what this institution can mean in the lives of 
people in this country. For that, I respected and admired and viewed 
him as a role model.
  But this institution can often be cold and it can be very impersonal, 
not only for people outside of it but for people inside of it. And if 
you needed someone to get some advice from, someone to help you build 
your own confidence, you could go to Julian Dixon, and he never said no 
to the time that you might have needed, and to respond to when you 
extended your hand. He reached out and took your hand, and he always 
had time to show you the way.

[[Page H12062]]

He did that for me as a newcomer to this great institution. It is 
something that I will not forget, and it is something that I will share 
with his family in telling you how much he meant to those of us who 
serve here.
  We send you our thoughts; we send you our prayers. And for those of 
us who serve, he was someone that we could take heed from, that you 
should stop and spend a moment of friendship with the people that you 
serve with and to give to those who do not serve with us the intent 
that we will stand tall and speak loudly and with determination on your 
behalf. He will be someone that we sorely miss and someone that I will 
miss.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Skelton).
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I find myself somewhere between shock and 
disbelief this afternoon. And yet as I sat in this Chamber listening to 
our colleagues reflect upon our friend Julian Dixon, I sat in amazement 
that even out of the grief and sadness of this moment, such warm and 
eloquent words could be spoken of someone's life, and I realized that 
any words I speak would not measure up.
  I knew him. He was a colleague. I was on the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence with Julian Dixon. I worked with him. He was 
as bright as a tack. Patient. I will repeat that. He was patient. The 
polestar of his work on that committee as I witnessed it was that of 
American security. But more than his work on that committee, I 
witnessed him in leadership positions in this House. He was a true role 
model. He was someone who gave advice freely and, more than anything, 
served as a friend. That is how I will remember Julian Dixon, as a 
friend.
  I express my sympathy to his wife Bettye, to his family, to his 
colleagues from his State, and to those who knew him well. He was not 
only a gentleman, he was a gentle man. We shall long remember him.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Moran).
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the rest of the world will wake 
up tomorrow morning and read in the obituaries about Julian Dixon's 
leadership on appropriations and on the Intelligence Committee and the 
Ethics Committee. They may figure out that he had a 100 percent perfect 
voting record on civil rights, on education, on the environment, on 
labor issues. They may find out about his funding of the tools for 
tolerance program at Simon Wiesenthal Center or the Angel Gate Academy 
for at-risk youth or any number of dozens of other things that he 
started in his constituency. But they will not get a full flavor for 
what he meant to this body, his credibility, his courage, his heroism, 
his decency. That is his legacy.
  Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express particularly on behalf 
of one of our colleagues, the Delegate from the District of Columbia, 
her longtime aide, Donna Brazile, is in the cloakroom here and just 
told us that Eleanor is on a plane but wishes so much that she could be 
here to express her sadness, her grief, and her appreciation for all 
that Julian Dixon has meant to the District of Columbia.
  D.C. grieves today at having lost one of its strongest, most 
committed friends, advocates, believers. Julian Dixon knew more about 
the District of Columbia and what needed to be done legislatively than 
any other Member of this body with the possible exception of its own 
Delegate. He used his influence thanklessly to advance the cause of 
people who did not have a sufficient voice within this body. He used 
his influence to give them that voice.
  When I became ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on D.C., it soon 
became so apparent that it was Julian that had laid the foundation for 
the most important issues, who understood. His knowledge, his 
intellectual honesty and his courage had made such a difference. And 
when there was an issue that no one else was willing to take on, let 
alone win, it was Julian that would take up that issue.
  When he realized that more women were dying from AIDS as a result of 
dirty needle exchange in D.C. than anyplace else in the country, he 
knew that this was a thankless issue that nobody wanted to take on, but 
Julian did. He stood up in that full Committee on Appropriations. Our 
ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) described what would happen when Julian stood up. 
He commanded attention because of his articulation but most importantly 
because of his credibility, his courage.
  He won that issue. Nobody else could have won that issue. But the 
Members had such deep respect for Julian Dixon. That is his legacy. It 
is a legacy that gives all of us a model, a model personally and 
professionally. He is what we need to be. Julian, we thank you for all 
you have been to this body and this country.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Wynn).
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute Julian Dixon. I believe he 
represents the very best of this institution. Not because of fiery 
rhetoric, not because of eloquent words, although he was certainly 
capable of both, but because of his ability and his skill to work 
within this institution across the aisle to accomplish things, to get 
things done for the American people.
  In my mind that is the true standard of greatness in Congress. Not to 
make the most noise but to get the most done. I admire particularly the 
fact that he could stand in the face of popular trends and tell you the 
real deal. He could tell you the truth. He could speak the truth in the 
face of overwhelming odds. It did not matter. Julian had something to 
say. We have all come to respect what he had to say.
  He was a wonderful man, a kind man, a gentle man, and he was a very 
wise man. I think that is important. We do not have enough wise men in 
this institution, people who are thoughtful and reflective and consider 
the issues and not just popularity or not just their own political 
future. I admired Julian Dixon greatly. He was one of the Members that 
I would emulate. But aside from policy, Julian Dixon could be a real 
friend.
  When I heard of his passing, the first thing that I thought of was 
that I did not finish the book because we talked about books on 
numerous occasions and he had recommended a book to me and I had not 
finished it. I feel bad about that. But I assure you, Julian, that I 
will finish the book.
  In closing, I would just say that we have truly lost a giant in this 
institution, one who represented the great potential of Congress and 
one who represented our greatest accomplishments, getting things done 
on behalf of the American people in a most selfless way. He was a true 
public servant and a great American.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Meeks).
  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, to the family of Julian Dixon, 
what echoes still in my head is the letter that Julian sent to the 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus where he said, ``Rest 
assured, I'll be okay.'' I would like to say today to the family that 
he is, in fact, ``okay.''
  In this time, you think and you have to say thank you. Thank you to 
our good Lord for passing Julian Dixon this way.

                              {time}  1200

  Thank you for sending a servant who had the characteristics that one 
could look up to.
  When I think of Julian, I think of a role model, and I oftentimes 
wish that I could always have his cool and calm demeanor, even in the 
face of a storm. I wish that I could have his dependability, because 
you could always depend upon Julian in a time of need. I think of him 
as ``old reliable,'' one who sometimes, you know, you just make the 
presumption that he is there, because he always had been there for you 
in time of need, a faithful individual and a servant of this great 
Nation.
  So I can imagine that when Julian was called home, our Lord said, 
``Job well done, my good and faithful servant.''
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in sharing my deep sense 
of shock and love for our beloved Julian Dixon. Julian was a warrior 
and a statesman. I met Julian in 1975 when I worked as a member of 
Congressman Ron Dellums' staff, who I know joins

[[Page H12063]]

us today in remembering this great human being.
  I will always remember how Julian treated me as a staff member with 
dignity and with respect. I know today that his staff would want me to 
say that Julian was a wonderful boss, who demonstrated with them, like 
he did with us, his tough love, his quiet strength. But that is what 
really kept many of us centered and focused.
  As a new Member, Julian counseled me on many of the tips of this 
trade. Whenever an issue relating to an appropriations project came 
before the Committee on Appropriations with regard to my district, he 
always checked with me first. He would never let me get blindsided, and 
he always made sure that my views and my input with regard to my 
district were paramount in his negotiations. He never let me get 
blindsided. He was truly a gentleman.
  Some of my most special moments, however, with Julian were riding 
home with him, sometimes late at night. We lived right around the 
corner from each other, and during these rides he talked about things 
he really cared about: the issues and the people of his native 
Washington, D.C., and, of course, of his congressional district, and 
his family.
  But what he always reminded me during these very personal 
conversations was that I should not let the business of my life here in 
Washington, D.C. get in the way of my personal friendships. All of us 
really do need to remember his words of wisdom, and I thank him for 
this.
  I want to thank Bettye and Julian's family and his constituents for 
sharing this great leader with us. I want to wish them God's blessings. 
May Julian's soul rest in peace.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in deep sorrow at losing a good 
friend and colleague on the Committee on Appropriations and on the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where we served together, 
and my heart goes out to his family, to Bettye, and to his staff, both 
here in Washington, D.C. and back in his district.
  Julian Dixon was a class act and someone who will be missed. He was a 
person that the leadership would go to when there was a delicate 
assignment, either on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence or 
on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, where he also 
served. For many years he and I served on the Subcommittee on Defense 
Appropriations, and we worked together to really help the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and our various chairmen over the years 
strengthen the United States of America and to rebuild our national 
security.
  I can tell you, on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence he 
sat next to me, and on some of the most delicate issues the gentleman 
from Florida (Chairman Goss) and I would turn to him and ask, ``Julian, 
will you take this on? This is something that is so sensitive, but we 
need your kind of professional, thorough investigative style. Will you 
do it?'' And he would take on some of these assignments that were 
highly classified, but so crucial to the country.
  There was a story in the San Jose Mercury that was very explosive 
about possible crack cocaine being supplied to African Americans in our 
country, one of the most sensitive issues that I can recall since I 
have been in Congress. Julian Dixon was the person on the committee who 
we asked to take that responsibility, and he helped bring the truth to 
that issue and helped defuse it.
  His service will be missed in this institution. He was, as has been 
said here today, very quiet. He was not the kind of person who was 
excitable, but he cared deeply about his responsibilities.
  I can still see him standing up in the Subcommittee on the District 
of Columbia appropriations issue that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Moran) mentioned, about this free needle exchange and how important it 
is to protect these people's lives, and even though the committee is 
overwhelmingly stacked against it, on the basis of votes, he was able 
to get almost the entire committee to join him in this important 
endeavor, and he explained why it was so crucial to the lives of so 
many people here in the District of Columbia.
  So I miss him already. There will be a great void here in this House 
with his loss, but I hope that people will remember the great work that 
he did as one of our best Members of the House of Representatives.
  Julian, God bless you and your family. We are going to miss you.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise and to thank 
Julian Dixon on behalf of myself and the community I represent in 
Tampa, Florida, and also to provide a further glimpse as to this really 
remarkable man that so many of us served with.
  I got to know Julian as really a relatively new Member here. He did 
not really know me from Adam, and I came to him with a very serious 
national security issue, and he treated me like someone that he had 
known for years and who had earned his respect, which I had not. I will 
never forget that. That is rare around here. It is rare most 
everywhere. I got a chance to watch him in action working with the 
Attorney General and working with Republicans and Democrats and members 
of the senior executive branch around here, and it was like a knife 
through butter. He had earned respect. He knew how to talk to people. 
He had earned the trust of so many people that depended upon him for 
his honest judgment.
  It is so easy to be cynical today in this particular time as we work 
through a very difficult presidential election and we begin to work 
through a very difficult political environment up here, but I think if 
the people I represent could see people like Julian Dixon in action 
here, making the difficult choices for the right reasons, I think it 
would reaffirm their faith in this institution and the mere people that 
serve here.
  I am proud to have known Julian Dixon and to have served with him. We 
will not talk about Julian Dixon in the past tense for a long time, 
because he will remind us, and I hope many people who watch us, of the 
great things we can all do as people and the fine things about this 
institution we are so privileged to serve in.
  Thank you again, Julian.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am about to make the usual motion to adjourn, but I 
would like also to ask that because today's adjournment, at least for 
Julian, will be sine die, that we save the gavel for his family.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, it is my sincerest wish 
that I would not have the need to stand on the floor of this House and 
address my colleagues today. My colleagues and I are here today to 
offer our prayers and condolences to Congressman Julian Dixon's 
constituents, friends, and family upon his sudden passing.
  I want to especially extend my prayers to his wife, Bettie, and his 
son, Cary. If I could take a second to address them personally, I 
simply say that while we cannot possibly share the sense of loss you 
are feeling, we can offer our understanding and our support in this 
trying time.
  If we could possibly bear your grief, we would gladly do so. Please 
know that you are in our thoughts.
  Those of us who knew Congressman Dixon understood him to be a 
tremendous leader, legislator, colleague, and friend. Congressman 
Dixon, like so many others who have served in this legislative body, 
had a sacred trust, a sort of covenant, with the people who elected 
him. In him, they entrusted their voice in government, and the 
direction of their futures. Congressman Dixon lived up to the trust 
that was placed in him with an energy and dedication that should serve 
as a tremendous example of public service to each and every one of us.
  In his work in the House of Representatives, he fought against crime 
in our neighborhoods, against the hopelessness that plagues many of our 
nation's inner-city youth, against the racial misunderstanding that 
birthed the Los Angeles riots and against the idea that one should be 
treated different in America because of the color or their skin. But he 
also brought his skill as a leader and a legislator to fight for the 
things that have made our nation great.
  He fought for programs that increased the strength of America's Armed 
Forces, for initiatives that made life a little easier for our men and 
women in uniform, for policies that protect Americans from terror 
overseas and for the belief that anyone, with hard work and dedication, 
can attain the American dream.
  While we, as a legislative body, may feel that we are that much more 
diminished because of his loss, that is not the case. We are

[[Page H12064]]

richer because of the idealism he brought to us, because of the 
professionalism he has shown us, and because of the friendship he 
shared with us. And, what I think is most troubling to us, is that 
because of his sudden passing, we were not able to talk to him, to hold 
his hand one last time and say goodbye to our good friend. And so, I do 
so today. Julian  * * *  goodbye. We'll miss you.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, only the residents of Julian Dixon's own 
district can feel as deeply about his loss as the citizens of the 
District of Columbia, the city where he was born and received his early 
education. Julian managed to serve two districts at once with his 
extraordinary wisdom, excellence and diligence: his own in California, 
where he owed his first allegiance, and this city. Julian became a 
Californian when his parents took him there as a child, but he never 
ceased to be a Washingtonian.
  I personally owe much to his wise counsel, particularly during my 
first years in Congress when Julian almost singlehandedly guided our 
appropriations smoothly through tough terrain. I am eternally grateful 
that he continued to serve on the D.C. Appropriations Subcommittee 
although it is a post with headaches, but no rewards. Yet all the 
provincial service to his own district and ours must not obscure 
Julian's singular service to the institution in posts assigned only to 
members whose balance of justice, compassion and integrity is perfect. 
Julian's service on the Intelligence Committee and the Ethics Committee 
came because he was regarded as a member's member, the best that we had 
and the best that there was. We should be so fortunate to ever attract 
again a member so wise and intelligent, so collegial and so perfect for 
this House.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, today America has lost a champion of human and 
civil rights, Julian C. Dixon of California. I offer my deepest and 
profound sympathy to his wife, Betty, his son, Cary, and his other 
family, friends, and loved ones. Julian was serving in his 11th term 
representing the 32d congressional district, was a friend, a brother, 
and a patriot. Mr. Dixon was a vigorous, tireless fighter for civil 
rights, cosponsoring every major civil rights measure during his time 
in Congress. He lead the fight to protect the U.S. Civil Rights 
Commission when it was under assault. He was also a tireless advocate 
of Home Rule for the District of Columbia so that all citizens would 
have a voice in Congress. He was held in the highest regard by all of 
his Congressional colleagues.
  He was a champion for the youth of Los Angeles, securing funds for 
anti-crime prevention programs across the city, and was a consistent 
and effective voice in protecting the poor. In 1983, he wrote the first 
economic sanctions law against South Africa, and, in 1987, he authored 
an urgent appropriations bill to provide humanitarian aid to southern 
Africa, the world's poorest region. Julian was a great leader in the 
Congressional Black Caucus, serving as its chair in 1983-1984. Julian 
more than any CBC member, defined the role that the caucus has played. 
In 1984, Julian said, ``On the floor of the Congress, in committee 
hearings, before the press and across America, we have spoken out 
against policies which undermine the enforcement of civil rights and 
civil liberties, respect for law and order, disregard for personal 
rights of privacy, and attempts to infringe on the rights of free 
speech. Whether it was a president's assault on the Civil Rights 
Commission, a proposal for a youth sub-minimum wage, efforts to weaken 
federal contract compliance, to lessen the effects of full-employment 
legislation, or to eliminate minority set-asides, the Caucus was there 
to respond.''
  Today we mourn the loss of the Julian Dixon, and send our heartfelt 
sympathies to all who love this generous and passionate man. He will be 
sorely missed by the United States House of Representatives.
  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I add my voice 
to the chorus of condolences offered to Congressman Dixon's wife Bettye 
Lee and son Cary. This unexpected loss is such a tragedy to all of his 
friends, staff, and constituents--but mostly of course to his loved 
ones and family.
  Shocked to learn the news this morning while in Los Angeles, I wish I 
could be there on the House floor with my colleagues to join in the 
expressions of sorrow and words of honor. As the heartfelt eulogies 
flow from Washington D.C. to the rest of the country, many are 
reflecting on the lifelong contributions and inspirational leadership 
of Congressman Dixon.
  A superb public servant and guiding mentor to so many of us, 
Congressman Dixon will be greatly missed in the halls of Congress and 
in the heart of Los Angeles. Again, to his closest family and to all 
who respected and honored Congressman Dixon, my deepest condolences.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my condolences to the family 
of Julian Dixon. All of us are dismayed at his untimely death. He was a 
colleague and a friend here in the Congress since my arrival here in 
1983. While he will long be remembered for his work with the House 
Ethics Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence, his 
achievements in supporting development assistance to countries in the 
Caribbean and Africa should not be overlooked. In fact, it was under 
his leadership that the first South African sanctions bill was enacted 
by the United States Congress.
  His death is a loss not only to his family and the people in his Los 
Angeles district but to the nation as a whole. I will always feel his 
loss greatly.
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, having heard from Julian's colleagues from 
California and across the Nation, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the 
resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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