[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H5618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO HON. TONY HALL

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am very honored to join with my 
colleagues here this afternoon as we pay tribute to Tony Hall.
  Mr. Speaker, in my opinion Tony Hall is not only a great Congressman, 
he is a great man. As all of my colleagues in this Chamber know, he has 
long been a leader on human rights issues, on hunger issues in this 
Congress.
  I first got to know Tony Hall when I was a staffer for the late 
Congressman Joe Moakley, and I recall when I worked for Congressman 
Moakley receiving Dear Colleagues from Congressman Hall on the issue of 
East Timor. Tony Hall was the first voice to speak out on behalf of the 
people of East Timor. He was a courageous voice in condemning the 
atrocities that were inflicted on the people of East Timor by the 
Indonesian military. He organized letters, he organized protests, he 
organized press conferences, and he fought very hard to help those 
people secure independence in East Timor. I believe very strongly that 
the independence that East Timor has ultimately achieved in large part 
and the support that the United States provided that independence 
movement in large part is due to the efforts of Tony Hall.
  He also, and I have been very proud to work with him on this issue, 
has been a great leader in helping us with the global food for 
education initiative, the so-called George McGovern-Bob Dole Global 
Food for Education Initiative. Tony Hall knows that hunger in this 
world is essentially a political condition and hunger amongst children 
is immoral. We need to do something about it.
  We have the ability to do something about it. He has steadfastly 
challenged this Congress and this country to do more to alleviate 
hunger around the world. I am particularly proud to have him as an ally 
on this effort because this whole effort is about making sure that 
every child in the world gets at least one nutritious meal a day in a 
school setting.
  He knows that children who are hungry cannot learn. He also knows 
that when you introduce a meal in a school setting, more children 
actually go to school. And so he is committed not only to eliminating 
hunger amongst children, but to universal education, for all children. 
He knows that that is how we create a more tolerant, a less violent, a 
better world for all of us.
  While he is well known for a lot of his international efforts, he has 
also been a champion to fight hunger and homelessness right here in the 
United States. We all recall his vigils and his walks with homeless 
people throughout this city. I remember one evening when he launched a 
hunger fast to try to get us to do more in this Congress to help the 
homeless and to help those who were hungry. He has been the conscience 
of this Congress.
  I want to just say that I cannot think of anybody more qualified to 
go on to become the United States Ambassador to the U.N. Food and 
Agriculture Organization in Rome than Tony Hall. It is a job that my 
friend and my teacher, my mentor, George McGovern, had for many years. 
I think Tony Hall will be excellent in that position and will use that 
international forum to not only compel the United States, but to compel 
the rest of the world to do more on these issues. I am honored to 
follow him on the Rules Committee where he served with such distinction 
for many years.
  We will miss Tony's passion and resolute commitment. I hope that 
Congress does not forget the hungry of the world when he is no longer 
here to speak out on their behalf. He has done incredible things here 
in the United States Congress, and I expect that he will do incredible 
things in his new position. I thank him very much for his service and 
his friendship.

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