[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 5, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H2860-H2861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PERMITTING USE OF ROTUNDA OF CAPITOL FOR PRESENTATION POSTHUMOUSLY OF 
             CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO CHARLES M. SCHULZ

  Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 149) permitting the use of the 
Rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to present posthumously a gold 
medal on behalf of Congress to Charles M. Schulz, and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, reserving the right to object, and of 
course, I shall not object and, in fact, I will urge the support for 
this request, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for 
an explanation of the concurrent resolution.
  Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer) for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution commends Charles Schulz, better known 
as ``Sparky,'' creator of the Peanuts comic strip which ran for nearly 
50 years, which continues to be appear in reruns, and is extremely 
popular with all ages in this country.
  The comic strip appears in 2,600 newspapers and 21 different 
languages. It is estimated that 350 million readers in 75 different 
countries read the strip.
  Mr. Schulz announced his retirement in December 1999, and he died 
shortly thereafter on February 12, 2000, in Santa Rosa, California. His 
death came just hours before his final Sunday strip ran. He personally 
drew the final strip, as he had every strip over the previous 5 
decades, refusing to let anyone else draw the characters created, 
because, he said, ``The strip is me and I am the strip.''
  In his farewell message printed in the strip, Schulz wrote, ``I have 
been grateful over the years for the loyalty of our editors and the 
wonderful support and love expressed to me by fans of the comic strip. 
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy; how can I ever forget them?''
  Well, we will never forget them either, and we are grateful to you, 
Charles Schulz, for enriching our lives with these wonderful 
characters.
  I would like to add a personal note as well. First of all, Mr. Schulz 
was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, a few years, in fact 12 years, before 
I was born in Edgerton, Minnesota. I spent the first 14 years of my 
life there. Neither of us, of course, knew of each other's existence at 
that time, but our paths crossed when I was a student at the University 
of California at Berkeley, and I met him.
  In fact, my first meeting was when he attended a Bible study that I 
was

[[Page H2861]]

meeting with regularly, and he came to talk about his personal faith. 
He was a very devout believer and also, frankly, a rather good amateur 
theologian. He gave a very good explication of his faith and it was 
very inspiring to all of us there. He was a wonderful person in many 
different ways and part of the charm of his strip is that his 
characters also were amateur theologians and amateur philosophers.
  I find that very fascinating. In fact, it was so fascinating that a 
young seminary student in the 1970s wrote a book entitled, The Gospel 
According to Peanuts. It was a charming little book written on the 
basis of the strips. The author reproduced a number of the strips, 
performed exegesis, and explained the theology of the Peanuts group.
  He was a wonderful person. It was a loss for all of us that his life 
was cut short and we could not enjoy a fresh comic strip every day, 
Sunday, but the purpose of this resolution is to acknowledge all that 
he has done and to recognize his achievements by allowing the use of 
the Rotunda to present him a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, further reserving the right to object, the 
Capitol rotunda has been the scene of many ceremonies in our Nation's 
history, some jubilant, others more somber. The rotunda has witnessed 
the awarding of Congressional Gold Medals to 34 worthy Americans who 
have distinguished themselves in various ways in service to our 
country. I think most of us can think of no American who has brought 
more smiles to more faces of children and adults alike, and thus 
deserves to join the pantheon of distinguished gold medal honorees more 
than the late Charles Schulz.
  In recognition of Mr. Schulz' lifetime of service, last year Congress 
enacted and President Clinton signed legislation authorizing this 
honor, which is Congress' greatest expression of national appreciation 
for civilians.

                              {time}  1845

  A gold medal, Madam Speaker, is entirely appropriate for a tireless 
man who drew every frame of his Peanuts comic strip for nearly half a 
century.
  His cartoonist career followed his service in the infantry in World 
War II, during which he entertained his comrades with cartoons about 
military life. I am certain that his cartoons helped many soldiers 
endure the horrors and hardships that confronted them during that time.
  I think all of us regret that Charles Schulz cannot be present to 
enjoy the honor that the Congress has bestowed. Although Mr. Schulz 
left us early last year, his work, of course, is timeless.
  Fortunately for us and for generations yet unborn, Charlie Brown, 
Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang will always be 
here to amuse us and, yes, to teach us. They have become, as last 
year's legislation noted correctly, part of the fabric of our national 
culture.
  Madam Speaker, there could be a no more fitting use of the rotunda 
than to honor Charles Schulz in this way.
  Madam Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
sponsor of the resolution and last year's legislation, the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Thompson), in whose district Mr. Schulz lived.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the 
House to approve House Concurrent Resolution 149 to allow us to use the 
rotunda on June 7 to honor Charles Schulz, Sparky Schulz, who not only 
is an institution in this country and all the other countries where his 
comic strip was printed daily in all of the different newspapers, but 
also a very good personal friend and a constituent.
  Scott Adams, who is the creator of the Dilbert cartoon, once remarked 
about Sparky's passing, ``It's the end of an era, and it's hard to 
imagine that cartooning will ever be the same. In basketball, you can 
say that Michael Jordan was the greatest ever. In cartooning, Charles 
Schulz was the greatest ever and probably the greatest there will ever 
be.''
  I think it is most fitting that this Congress chose to bestow on Mr. 
Schulz the Congressional Gold Medal, and I think it speaks more to, 
than just to his cartooning. He was a great American, a great citizen. 
For 50 years, every day he drew his own Snoopy cartoon. He was also 
there, it was mentioned, in World War II entertaining the troops. It is 
also important to note that this great American was there on D-Day on 
the front lines.
  Charles Schulz is most deserving of this recognition; and it is 
appropriate, I believe, that we allow the rotunda to be used for this 
purpose. I would ask all of my colleagues to support this effort.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) for his remarks and 
for his personal observations with regard to Mr. Schulz.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support for the measure.
  Madam Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 149

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to 
     be used on June 7, 2001, for a ceremony to present 
     posthumously a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Charles M. 
     Schulz. Physical preparations for the ceremony shall be 
     carried out in accordance with such conditions as the 
     Architect of the Capitol may prescribe.

  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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