[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H10941-H10942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE DAVID E. BONIOR, MEMBER OF CONGRESS

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, we have people here who make a very major 
contribution. There are partisan differences in this body, too many to 
my judgment, but when a person here is retiring from an important post 
and still going to make some contributions here, no doubt, I think he 
ought to be recognized for the extraordinary public service that he has 
provided here.
  I admire Dave Bonior for the kind of person he is as well as for his 
effectiveness. I was thinking just yesterday, if I might say to the 
gentleman from Michigan, about you and the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. 
Evans, because to your credit some years ago, you helped Mr. Cavanaugh 
and I, two Nebraskans, deauthorize the O'Neill project, which made it 
possible for us to subsequently declare the Niobrara River as a scenic 
river. It is the most appreciated ecological feature in the State of 
Nebraska by its citizens today.
  So we actually owe you a debt of gratitude in Nebraska. You stepped 
up and helped John Cavanaugh and this Member at that time, along with 
Mr. Evans. I want to commend you for your public service, but also 
thank you, as a Nebraskan, for what you did to preserve part of our 
natural heritage.
  I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I was watching C-
Span and I heard all these fine words about David Bonior. I thought, 
``My God, something has happened. He's dead. What a shame.''
  I came down here, he looks very good and the only thing that is 
happening to him is, he is going to be governor of the great State of 
Michigan and certainly while it is our loss, it is Michigan's gain.
  In this institution, given all of the political and economic and 
financial pressures that are on all the Members, it is very difficult 
to hold out a moral compass, to be very sure that the values that you 
are fighting for are what you believe. It is doubly difficult to do 
that year after year. The first year you could do it and the second 
year, but after many years, it becomes harder and harder to do.
  I think on virtually every issue affecting the lives of working 
people, whether it is helping people join unions and fight for their 
dignity there, whether it is developing a sane trade policy which 
protects the needs of American workers or raising the minimum wage or 
affordable housing or all the things that millions and millions of 
working families need, year after year, right up here, at this podium, 
Dave Bonior has been leading the fight. We are very proud of him, not 
just because

[[Page H10942]]

he is a good politician; because of the strong sense of morality and 
values that motivate him.
  David, you have been an inspiration to all of us. My wife says that 
you are her second favorite Congressman. I am not sure who the first 
one is, to tell you the truth, but we are going to miss you very much 
and the people of Michigan are very lucky to have you.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maine.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, like the gentleman from Vermont, I was in my 
office watching C-Span. I looked at all these bright faces down here in 
the front rows, David Bonior's staff and David sitting down here, as 
well, and I could see him so I knew he was not gone; but I did want to 
come over and say a few things about Dave Bonior.
  First of all, David, I just want to thank you for all you have done 
for me. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate having been part of the 
whip organization and having the chance to work with Members here on 
the floor to make sure that the right thing gets done on particular 
pieces of legislation.
  For those who do not know all the details, the whip organization is 
really a way of bringing information to other Members so that they are 
voting with good information and not necessarily bad information, that 
they have complete information. David has done this job extraordinarily 
well for many years.
  But beyond that, I have to say, this is a city, not alone in the 
country, but this is a city where people's faces can turn and their 
votes can turn to those who have money and to those who have power. But 
not with David Bonior. Because David Bonior in the House of 
Representatives has been what I think the Founding Fathers expected of 
a Representative, that he would represent all of the people all of the 
time and not be diverted by special interests. I cannot think of anyone 
in this Congress who has consistently day after day after day, in a 
long legislative career, kept the people in his district right in the 
forefront of his mind. He has not forgotten them ever in terms of what 
he does here and what we do here.

                              {time}  1230

  So I think it is a remarkable career and he is a remarkable human 
being.
  As I have gotten to know David over the last 5 years here, several 
things have struck me. One is that he treats everyone the same, which 
is, as I said, not common in this place, and that he is receptive to 
information and to people from all walks of life.
  But the other thing I have noticed is you know where David Bonior 
comes from. He comes from Michigan, and in many respects my image of 
Michigan is shaped by you, David, because I know how important working 
men and women who have had to join unions in order to get ahead, to 
have decent wages and decent benefits, have been to your State. Yet I 
know your State has such incredible diversity, with aspects of the new 
economy as well, with the service economy, as well as the manufacturing 
economy, and you seem to have somehow captured all of those threads.
  I know from your remarks before the Democratic Caucus yesterday that 
you also have appreciation for the outdoors. I come from Maine, and 
this is real important to me. But I know how much you have walked 
around the State, how much time you spend on your own, getting away 
from this hurly-burly, in order to renew yourself so that you can do 
the best thing, day-to-day, for the people who sent you here to the 
House and who I believe will send you to the Governor's mansion in 
Michigan.
  I cannot help but think that, to me, you have always been someone who 
has Michigan in his bones, Michigan in his blood, and Michigan in his 
dreams, and I know that you will be a fabulous governor for the people 
of Michigan. Thank you very much.
  (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to speak out of order for 5 
minutes.)

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