[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 130 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H7148-H7150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JOE SKEEN FEDERAL BUILDING
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5427) to designate the Federal building located at Fifth and
Richardson Avenues in Roswell, New Mexico, as the ``Joe Skeen Federal
Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5427
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 located at Fifth and Richardson
Avenues in Roswell, New Mexico, shall be known and designated
as the ``Joe Skeen Federal Building''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to
the ``Joe Skeen Federal Building''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2003.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5427 designates the Federal building in Roswell,
New Mexico, as the Joe Skeen Federal Building. After 22 years of
distinguished service in this body, our colleague from New Mexico, Joe
Skeen, is retiring.
I want to recognize the hard work of the bill's sponsor, the
gentlewoman from New Mexico's first district (Mrs. Wilson), in bringing
this measure to the floor with the support of over 200 co-sponsors.
Congressman Skeen was born in Roswell, New Mexico. We will spare him
from saying the year of his birth since he is still with us in this
body. He served in the United States Navy for a 1-year enlistment and
later in the United States Air Force Reserves from 1949 until 1952.
Congressman Skeen graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in
agricultural engineering. After graduation, he worked as a soil and
water engineer for the Zuni and Ramah Navajo Indians. He later
purchased the family sheep ranch.
Congressman Skeen was first elected to public office in 1960 when he
served in the New Mexico State Senate until 1970. For the last 6 years
of his time in the State Senate he served as a minority leader. In 1980
Congressman Skeen was elected to serve New Mexico's second district in
the United States House of Representatives. He was first elected as a
write-in candidate and served for 11 succeeding Congresses.
While serving in the House, Joe was known and is known for his
commitment to property rights, balancing the
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Federal budget, and increased tax relief. He may have been the most
influential as chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies of the
Committee on Appropriations, enhancing the agriculture viability in New
Mexico and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior dealing with
natural resources and public land use.
This is an appropriate building designation to a dedicated public
servant, and I want to congratulate Congressman Skeen on such an
admirable and distinguished career and wish him all the best and great
happiness as he returns to his family and the family ranch.
I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation.
H.R. 5427 is a bill to designate the federal building in Roswell New
Mexico as the Joe Skeen Federal Building.
Joe Skeen was born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1927. As a young man he
served a one-year enlistment in the Navy and served in the Air Force
Reserve between 1949 and 1952. In 1950 he graduated from Texas A&M
University.
Joe Skeen was elected to Congress in 1980 as a write in candidate in
the general election. He was only the third person in the Nation's
history to win a U.S. House set through this type of effort. Over the
past two decades he has served the people of the 2nd district in New
Mexico with distinction and devotion.
As Congressman he focused his energy and interests on agriculture,
national defense, and public land management. In 1985 he became a
member of the House Appropriations Committee, and in 1995 he became
chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on Agriculture. At the
beginning of the 107th Congress he was named a chair of the Interior
subcommittee.
One of Congressman Skeen's major legislative accomplishments was to
ensure the opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant--the Nations'
first repository for defense related waste. Concerned about the
public's health and safety, and the environment Joe Skeen working
tirelessly to address storage of federal waste.
Joe Skeen has supported legislation to maintain the viability of the
agriculture industry. He also has been a leader in supporting
legislative initiatives on the balanced budget, crime, education, and
military spending. He is an unapologetic advocate of local control,
insisting that citizens make their own determination, and not let
legislative systems do it.
Congressman Skeen is well respected on both sides of the aisle. He is
an earnest and capable legislator, a worthy advisory, and a true
gentleman, devoted to his family, and dedicated to his constituents.
His good will and humor will be missed by all his colleagues.
It is fitting and proper to honor Joe Skeen's life in public service
with the designation of the federal building in Roswell New Mexico as
the Joe Skeen Federal Building.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Udall).
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor and
privilege to have the opportunity to speak today in support of H.R.
5427, the Joe Skeen Federal Building Designation Act. The honor of
speaking in support of this bill, however, pales in comparison to the
honor of having the opportunity to serve as a Member of Congress with
Joe.
{time} 2115
It is difficult to capture with words the impact and significance
that Joe has meant, not only to New Mexicans, but to the citizens of
the United States and the institution of the U.S. Congress as well. It
is no secret that he has been an incredibly effective legislator on
behalf of his constituents and that he has been an incredible asset to
his party and the entire Congress.
No doubt my colleagues will list many of his legislative
accomplishments and accolades he has earned during his remarkable life.
The list is impressive. But these are but a small part of the fabric of
Joe's character.
Throughout his years of service, he has been a model of integrity and
truth. He always done what he believed in his heart to be true, and he
has always worked in a bipartisan way to accomplish important work.
During a time of increasing cynicism towards politics and politicians
by the media and the electorate, Joe Skeen is a man who exemplifies
what is good and what is right in our political system.
Joe, thank you for your service to New Mexico and to our country,
but, most of all, thank you for your friendship. You will be sorely
missed by all.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as
she may consume to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), the
bill's author.
Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it is really an honor to be
here this evening to share some time with the House and to explain why
we are naming a building in Roswell, New Mexico, after a guy named Joe
Skeen.
Joe Skeen was born in Roswell, New Mexico, and he is a rancher. Most
of us around here know that, because when he was the chair of the
Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, he never let
us forget it. It was not just a ranch, it was a sheep ranch, and Joe
managed to put up photographs of New Mexico around the appropriations
subcommittee room of sheep everywhere so no one would forget this was
an appropriations subcommittee that was chaired by a sheep rancher.
He purchased his family ranching operation from his grandmother, and
it is currently being run by Joe and his wife, Mary, and his son, Mike.
He also has a daughter, Lisa, and three grandsons.
You really cannot think of Joe without also thinking of Mary. She is
an absolute stalwart; a wonderful woman, one of those western women of
strength who radiates warmth and friendship; the kind of woman who
walks into a room and just lights up the place and lights up Joe's eyes
too. You can see that still in their relationship, having been married
these many years.
Joe is also known quite a bit for his sense of humor around here. In
fact, Tom, I think probably only Mo Udall exceeds him in his
appreciation for the importance of humor in public life. It is kind of
a dry, western sense of humor.
He talks about being the minority leader of the State Senate in New
Mexico. People introduce him that way as a proud accomplishment, and he
always points out to them that at the time he was the minority leader
they had their caucus meetings in the phone booth because there were so
few Republicans in the State Senate. Then he began to build the
Republican Party, and the representation of Republicans in the State
Senate followed him.
He was first elected to the House of Representatives as a write-in
candidate in 1980. It was very unusual. In fact, he was only the third
person in American history to ever be elected to this body as a write-
in candidate. It was an extraordinary effort and an unusual time. I
remember Mary telling me on that night, election night in 1980, when
they got the reports in from the precincts, that it was 11 o'clock at
night. The polls had already been closed since 7, but people were still
waiting in line. They knew then that they were going to win. It was an
unusual moment in American history, participated in by a very unusual
and wonderful man.
Joe has been an effective leader in and an outstanding Representative
for New Mexico's Second District for over 20 years. During his time,
Joe has shown his commitment to public service and to his constituents.
His staff, many of whom have been with him for 22 years, talk about
when he used to work in that Federal Building down in Roswell, and he
would go out to take a little break and he would not be back for half
an hour, an hour or more. He had found some constituent to chat with,
some constituent that needed help with a Social Security check or
veterans benefits. That was the kind of guy that Joe was as a public
servant.
During his tenure here, he has had a powerful influence in this
Congress. He has served 17 years on the Committee on Appropriations. He
has been a champion of States' rights and the idea that decisions made
closest to the people are those that are best.
He is also known around here for his sense of humor. Whenever anyone
walks into his office from New Mexico, he asks about the weather. He
asks
[[Page H7150]]
whether it has rained yet. Usually, of course, the answer is no, since
we do not get much rain, and Joe always says, with that perfect timing
that I cannot even begin to imitate, ``You know, there are 12-year-olds
in New Mexico that have never even seen rain.'' His staff is very
familiar with that story, but every constituent gets a big laugh out of
Joe Skeen and his appreciation for the western sense of humor.
After 11 terms in the United States Congress, Joe has decided to
return to his ranch, a place that he describes as being ``at the center
of my upbringing and which shaped my character and its principles.'' He
leaves behind a proud tradition of public service, in which he has been
a positive influence on many people's lives, including mine.
One of Joe's actions when he first took office in 1981 was to
introduce legislation to name the Federal Building in Las Cruces after
the man he replaced, Congressman Harold Runnels. I believe it is
appropriate 22 years later to return the favor.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
indicate that I want to congratulate the gentlewoman from New Mexico
(Mrs. Wilson) for not only introducing this legislation, but also for
that moving testimony to a fine individual who served this institution
well. I want to thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his
kind words, and urge passage of the bill.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5427, a bill to
designate the federal building in Roswell, New Mexico as the ``Joe
Skeen Federal Building''. Congressman Skeen has ably represented the
citizens of the 2nd district of New Mexico for 22 years. He was first
elected to Congress in 1980 as a write-in candidate, becoming only the
3rd person to be elected to Congress in this manner. With his most
recent reelection in 2000, he became New Mexico's longest serving
member of the United States Congress.
Throughout his career, Joe Skeen has fought consistently for local
land management, for the rights of miners and farmers, and the ranching
industry. He has also been a champion of popular federal nutrition
programs such as food stamps and school lunches, and he has labored
tirelessly to obtain defense funds for New Mexico's defense industry.
Congressman Skeen's long career in this Body is perhaps most
distinguished by his service on the Appropriations Committee. In 1995,
he was appointed as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Agriculture, a position he held until the end of the 106th Congress. At
the beginning of this Congress, Congressman Skeen was appointed as
Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior.
Joe Skeen's voting record is truly impressive. In 2001, as he has
done in years past, Congressman Skeen voted in 100 percent of the votes
called on the House floor. But Joe Skeen will be remembered not only
for his notable voting record, but also his good humor, loyalty, and
his sense of decency. Both sides of the aisle will miss the gentleman
from New Mexico when he retires at the end of this Congress.
H.R. 5427 designates the federal building in Roswell, New Mexico, in
honor of Congressman Joe Skeen. It is a fitting tribute to a long and
distinguished career, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Brown of South Carolina). 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. 5427.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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