[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 171 (Tuesday, December 11, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H9152-H9154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1800
      MIKE MANSFIELD FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3282) to designate the Federal building and United States 
courthouse located at 400 North Main Street in Butte, Montana, as the 
``Mike Mansfield Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3282

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building and United States courthouse located 
     at 400 North Main Street in Butte, Montana, shall be known 
     and designated as the ``Mike Mansfield Federal Building and 
     United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, may, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall 
     be demand to be a reference to the ``Mike Mansfield Federal 
     Building and United States Courthouse''.

  qThe SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duncan). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette)

[[Page H9153]]

and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) each will control 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg), the author of the bill, to 
explain the bill before us.
  (Mr. REHBERG asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks, and include extraneous material.)
  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3282, that 
designates the Federal Building and United States Courthouse at 400 
North Main Street in Butte, Montana, as the Mike Mansfield Federal 
Building and United States Courthouse.
  Mike Mansfield's tenure as majority leader of the United States 
Senate from 1961 until his retirement in 1976 is well-known. Likewise, 
his record as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1977 to 1988 was legendary. 
In both cases, he held each position longer than any of his 
predecessors.
  Mike Mansfield's public service spanned five decades, beginning from 
his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1942 to his 
retirement as U.S. ambassador in Japan in 1988. This remarkable career 
saw him work with nine U.S. presidents, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, 
Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.
  However, the formative stages of Mike Mansfield's early years are 
equally as remarkable. After the death of his mother, at age three he 
was sent from New York City to Great Falls, Montana, and raised by an 
aunt and uncle that owned a grocery store. One month shy of age 15, he 
joined the Navy, shortly before we entered World War I, and he served 
in the Atlantic. He served in the Army after the war. Finally, he 
enlisted in the Marine Corps for 2 years, serving in the Philippines, 
Japan and China. This contributed to his lifelong interest in the Far 
East.
  He returned to Montana in 1922 at age 19 and worked as a mucker, 
shoveling rocks and dirt in the underground copper mines in Butte. 
While in Butte he met schoolteacher Maureen Hayes, who became his 
future wife. She encouraged him to complete his high school education 
by taking correspondence courses.
  The City of Butte, Montana, was the chapter of Mike Mansfield's life 
that paved the way for his later career as a professor at the 
University of Montana, and a great statesman. As a result, it is only 
fitting that the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse there be named 
after him.
  Mr. Speaker,I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3282.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record an article by Associated Press 
writer Bob Anez.

     Montana Officials Recall Mansfield as Quiet, Dignified Leader

                             (By Bob Anez)

       Mike Mansfield, who dominated Montana and national politics 
     during his 34-year legislative career, was remembered Friday 
     as a statesman of honesty, homespun integrity and few but 
     gentle words.
       ``I don't remember anything mean that Mike ever said,'' 
     said former Democratic Gov. Ted Schwinden.
       ``But that doesn't mean he couldn't speak out on difficult 
     issues like the Vietnam war,'' he said. ``Mike was not afraid 
     of the fray, but was able to step above it.''
       Mansfield, who died Friday morning at the age of 98, was 
     Senate majority leader for 15 years during a period of 
     political and social turmoil that enveloped a civil 
     revolution, an assassinated president, a war he opposed and 
     the first presidential resignation. He retired in 1976 and 
     then served as ambassador to Japan for 11 years.
       Francis Bardanouve, a Democratic state representative for 
     37 years, recalled Mansfield's quite demeanor during that 
     time. ``He was a calm leader; he gave confidence to the 
     people that government was in good hands.''
       Gov. Judy Martz, who ordered U.S. and Montana flags at all 
     public buildings flown at half staff until sunset Saturday, 
     called Mansfield a rare find for humanity.
       ``There are very few people who have or will walk this 
     earth like Senator Mike Mansfield,'' the Republican said. 
     ``He served as an example throughout Montana, the nation and 
     the world through his work ethic and dedication to service.
       ``I am sure that he has now rejoined his beloved wife, 
     Maureen,'' Martz added, referring to Mansfield's wife, who 
     died Sept. 20 last year.
       Donna Metcalf, whose husband Lee served in the Senate with 
     Mansfield for 16 years, recalled Mansfield as a gentle giant.
       ``He was a very kindly and considerate person who never 
     forgot where he came from,'' she said.
       She first met Mansfield when he was a popular instructor at 
     the University of Montana and grew to be good friends with 
     the Mansfields during the time the two men served together. 
     ``They made good partners for Montana,'' she said.
       Pat Williams, who was a Montana congressman for 18 years 
     until retiring in 1996, said Mansfield's integrity set him 
     apart.
       ``Mansfield, as our senator, he brought honor not pork to 
     Montana,'' the Democrat said. ``He did things his way and 
     believed that if Montanans didn't like it--as they didn't on 
     his position and votes on gun control--that they'd bring him 
     home at the next election. But, of course, we never did.''
       Kelly Addy, a Billings attorney, former legislator and 
     staffer for Mansfield in 1974, described the senator as 
     extremely humble and mindful of his modest beginnings in the 
     Butte mines.
       ``He knew who he was,'' Addy said. ``He knew he came from 
     nothing. He knew everything had been given to him. He had no 
     quarrel with anybody.''
       He said he learned a valuable lesson from Mansfield. ``You 
     can't be anything more than who you are, but if you're 
     willing to be that, it can be quite something. He was able to 
     accept himself and, therefore, he was able to accept 
     others.''
       Former Gov. Stan Stephens called Mansfield ``probably the 
     most distinguished Montanan in the history of public 
     service.''
       Mansfield was revered by members of both political parties 
     because of his nonpartisan character, the Republican said. 
     ``He was a very kind and considerate man. He never looked at 
     people or issues as political threats.
       ``He has made Montana proud,'' Stephens said.
       George McGovern, a U.S. Senator from South Dakota during 
     all but one of Mansfield's years in the Senate, praised his 
     former colleague as an ``example to all of us in the world of 
     politics.''
       ``Always a humble and dedicated public servant for the 
     people of Montana, he became a superb majority leader of the 
     U.S. Senate and a brilliant diplomat in the Far East,'' said 
     McGovern, who was in Missoula where his wife is hospitalized.
       Schwinden said a defining memory he has of Mansfield was 
     his campaign visits to Wolf Point, Schwinden's home town. 
     Dozens of people in the small community would turn out on 
     short notice to see the popular Senator.
       ``If there was a stage, he loved to sit on the stage with 
     his legs crossed,'' Schwinden said. ``He never lectured. He 
     just visited with his constituency.''
       The attitude is what defined Mansfield and made him a man 
     of few words, recalled former Secretary of State Mike Cooney.
       ``He listened. It wasn't that what he had to say was the 
     most important,'' Cooney said. ``He understood that if you 
     could sit and listen to people, you could learn a lot more 
     than if you sat there yacking.
       Gov. Tom Judge, who was governor from 1973 to 1981, 
     remembered Mansfield as a man who did ``an enormous amount of 
     work for Montana, all the while doing it in a quiet, 
     effective and--most importantly--very dignified manner.''
       Judge said he first became acquainted with Mansfield while 
     still in college in the mid 1950s.
       ``When I was a junior in college I nominated him for 
     president in a mock election at Notre Dame and we almost 
     won,'' Judge said. ``It was a tight race between him and 
     Lyndon Johnson. . . . We didn't win but I guarantee you 
     everyone at Notre Dame knew who Mike Mansfield was when we 
     were done.''
       Bob Ream, Montana Democratic Party chairman, said Mansfield 
     remained Senate leader for longer than anyone else because he 
     earned and commanded a great deal of respect.
       ``I think he stood for the best in politics,'' Ream said. 
     ``He was an extremely ethical person and well-respected by 
     people on both sides of the aisle.''
       ``The last time I saw him was about a year and a half ago, 
     and he still had that twinkle in his eye,'' Ream said. ``And 
     whenever you left his office, Mike always had the same 
     farewell. `Tap her light,' he would say. . . . It was an old 
     miner's line.''

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3282 is a bill to designate the Federal Building 
and United States Courthouse in Butte, Montana, in honor of Senator 
Mike Mansfield.
  Senator Mansfield, as all of us know, died in October of 2001 at the 
age of 98. He served as the Senate majority leader longer than anyone 
else in the history of that institution. His legacy spans decades and 
is one of public service with unimpeachable integrity, admiring 
colleagues, fiercely loyal friends and devoted family.
  Senator Mansfield was a native New Yorker, born in New York City on 
March 16, 1903. As a young child, he and his family moved to Great 
Falls, Montana. When he was only 14 years old, he enlisted in the 
United States Navy and served in World War I. From 1919 to 1920, 
Senator Mansfield served in the U.S. Army, and later joined the U.S. 
Marines as a private first class.
  After the war, he returned to Montana and finished his education. He

[[Page H9154]]

graduated from Montana State University at Missoula, where he received 
his undergraduate degree, and in 1934, received a masters degree.
  From 1933 until 1943, Senator Mansfield was a professor of history 
and political science at Montana State. In 1943, he was elected to the 
U.S. House of Representatives, where he served 10 years. During his 
service in the House of Representatives, Senator Mansfield voted for a 
higher minimum wage, economic aid to Turkey and Greece, the Marshall 
Plan, and opposed funding for the House Un-American Activities 
Committee. In 1953, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and began a 
career filled with accomplishments.
  He served the United States in many capacities: Special Committee on 
Campaign Expenditures; Democratic Whip; Majority Leader; Chairman of 
the Committee of Rules and Administration; Special Committee of Secret 
and Confidential Documents; and Ambassador to Japan. In 1956, Lyndon 
Johnson named him Assistant Majority Leader. When Johnson was elected 
Vice President in 1961, Mansfield became the Majority Leader and served 
until 1977.
  Mr. Speaker, Mike Mansfield had an unbelievable career. I could go on 
and on about his accomplishments and achievements. His word and his 
integrity, without question, and his reputation as a straight shooter, 
was well-deserved. Unflappable, honorable, brilliant, humble and a 
strong person, he will always be remembered.
  It is fitting and proper that we honor Mike Mansfield's lifetime of 
public service to his country with this designation. I support this 
bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3282, a 
bill to designate the federal building and United States Courthouse in 
Butte, Montana, in honor of Senator Mike Mansfield, who died in October 
of this year at the remarkable age of 98.
  Senator Mansfield was born in New York City on March 16, 1903. His 
family moved to Cascade County, Montana, in 1906 where he attended 
local public schools until he dropped out at age 14. At that time, he 
lied about his age and enlisted in the United States Navy to serve his 
country during World War I. Mike must have liked the military life, 
because when he left the Navy, he first joined the Army for two years, 
and then the marines for two years, finishing his military service in 
1922.
  When he returned to Montana, Senator Mansfield went to work in a 
copper mine near Butte. While still working the mines, he enrolled in 
the Montana School of Mines, where he met this future wife, Maureen 
Hays, a schoolteacher. She persuaded him to complete his high school 
education by taking correspondence courses.
  In 1930, he enrolled at the University of Montana, where he received 
his undergraduate degree, and a master's degree in 1934. From 1933 
until 1943, Mike Mansfield was a professor of history and political 
science at Montana State. In 1943, he was elected to the United States 
House of representatives, where he served for ten years.
  Later, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he launched an 
illustrious career, serving as Committee Chairman, Democratic Whip, and 
Majority Leader.
  Some of our Nation's most turbulent times occurred during his tenure 
as Senate Majority Leader: assassination of one President and the 
resignation of another; the assassinations of a civil rights activist 
and a presidential hopeful; student and political unrest; Vietnam and 
Watergate.
  He was at the helm when the Civil rights Act and the Voting Rights 
Act became laws. He also led the Senate to pass sweeping legislation on 
health, education, and anti-poverty programs.
  Senator Mansfield was going to retire from public life when he 
decided to leave the Senate in 1976. However, President Jimmy Carter 
urged Senator Mansfield to remain in public service as our Ambassador 
to Japan, which he agreed to do--and served with distinction.
  Mike Mansfield was so successful and so well respected at home and in 
Japan, that President Reagan prevailed upon him to remain in the post 
throughout the Reagan presidency. Mike Mansfield managed to impress the 
Japanese as well; so much so, in fact, that when he returned to the 
U.S. after eleven years as Ambassador, the Japanese Ambassador to this 
country said Mansfield ``could have run for prime minister and won.''
  He was also Montana's ``favorite son'' for a very good reason. He was 
revered in his home State, and highly respected by his colleagues in 
the Congress. He was known as a terrific teacher, a great leader, and a 
wonderful human beng. He was devoted to Maureen, his wife of 68 years, 
and to their daughter, Anne.
  His humble and straightforward characteristics made him equally at 
home in either royal courts or the local coffee shops in rural Montana. 
His word and his integrity were without question and his reputation as 
a ``straight shooter'' was well deserved. He combined keen intellect 
with good judgment to produce astonishing wisdom. His toughest 
assignment came during the Vietnam years. Although he personally 
opposed the war, he felt obliged as majority leader, to carry the 
President's message to the Senate.
  In many ways the federal building and courthouse in Butte, Montana, 
accurately reflect who Mike Mansfield was--it is a wonderful, solidly 
built, grandly situated building, open to the public and dedicated to 
public service. It is strong without being intimidating; it provides 
justice and comfort to all who enter.
  Mr. Speaker, Mike Mansfield was a modest man, but a giant in American 
politics. To have a federal building and U.S. courthouse bear his name 
is an honor he earned, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support 
this bill.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3282.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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