[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 130 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H7151-H7153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2130
WAYNE LYMAN MORSE UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2672) to designate the United States courthouse to be
constructed at 8th Avenue and Mill Street in Eugene, Oregon, as the
``Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2672
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF WAYNE LYMAN MORSE UNITED STATES
COURTHOUSE.
The United States courthouse to be constructed at 8th
Avenue and Mill Street in Eugene, Oregon, shall be known and
designated as the ``Wayne Lyman Morse United States
Courthouse''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the United States
courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a
reference to the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Brown of South Carolina). 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 may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2672 designates the United States courthouse to be
constructed at 8th Avenue and Mill Street in Eugene, Oregon, as the
``Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse.''
Born in 1900 in Dane County, Wisconsin, Senator Morse graduated from
the University of Wisconsin in 1924, from the law department at the
University of Minnesota in 1928, and from Columbia University Law
School in 1932. Senator Morse was a professor of law and later dean at
the University of Oregon Law School until his election to the United
States Senate in 1944.
Early in his career, Senator Morse witnessed America's rapid urban
and industrial development; specifically, its effects on the rural
lives of the farmers in his home State of Wisconsin. Influenced by such
progressive change, Senator Morse worked to maintain a balanced
connection between political democracy and the citizens of that
democracy, upholding the belief that this country's true wealth, its
people, would flourish in such an environment. Throughout his career,
Senator Morse held the conviction of ``principle over politics,'' made
evident by his serving as a Republican, an Independent, and as a
Democrat prior to his defeat in the election of 1968.
Senator Morse died while campaigning for a return to the Senate in
1974. The designation of this courthouse is a fitting tribute to a
dedicated public servant.
[[Page H7152]]
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the sponsor of the bill, the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), of our committee. The gentleman
from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) is not known as one of the more retiring
members of our body, and it does not matter whether it is disparate
user fees in the national Forest Service on behalf of his constituents
or this particular piece of legislation. I had the pleasure of being in
the full committee markup on other matters this week, and this bill was
not only a matter of interest to the gentleman, but he fought hard with
the leadership of our committee and received the acclamation of the
leadership of our committee in convincing the leadership of this
Congress to put this piece of legislation on the floor tonight, and it
is his tenacity which I am sure his constituents not only appreciate,
but for which they reward him with consistent reelection.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in support of the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his generous remarks. I would
say that my tenacity and outspoken nature are but a mere shadow of that
of Wayne L. Morse. Actually, the highest compliment that any of my
older constituents who remember Wayne Morse can pay me is to say,
``That reminds me of Wayne Morse. You seem a lot like him.''
There could be virtually no more appropriate time to bring this bill
forward, not only because this month will mark the 100 anniversary of
Wayne Morse's birth; born in Wisconsin in 1900, raised as a populace
progressive and in a tradition that focused on the democratic rights of
the working class and disenfranchised. He first moved to Oregon in 1931
and became a law professor within 9 months. He was dean, and he served
until 1943 and was elected to the United States Senate in 1944. He
served there until 1968. He was often known for lonely stands he took
on a number of issues. He changed from Republican to Independent in
1952 and to a Democrat in 1955.
Now, why I feel this is a particularly important time to do this is
because one of Wayne Morse's most famous moments was his lengthy speech
in opposition and adamant opposition to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution,
one of only two votes in the United States Senate, and one of only two
to oppose that war as unwise, as this House is rushing, and the Senate
is rushing, to rubber stamp an extraordinarily broad grant of power to
the President that eerily echoes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution with
even fewer underpinnings and, in fact, this time, marking a preemptive
war, perhaps unilateral preemptive war by the United States, the first
in our history. I think if Wayne Morse were still with us, even if he
were with us at the age of 100, his voice would be heard loud and clear
expressing concern about that resolution and this new rush to war by
the Congress.
He also was known as one who exercised an extraordinary independence
of judgment on many issues. In fact, there is the Wayne Morse Pledge,
which I have posted in my office. I hope that it will be incorporated
at some appropriate place into the new courthouse. The pledge was: ``I
will exercise an independence of judgment on the basis of facts and
evidence as I find them on each issue. I will weigh the views of my
constituents and my party. But I will cast my vote free of political
pressure and unmoved by threats of loss of political support if I do
not do the bidding of some pressure group.'' If only, if only we had
more Members of Congress like that today, this would be a much
different place and the policies of this country would be very
different.
President Truman, who once actually offered to make Wayne Morse
Attorney General said, ``Wayne Morse is one of the great dissenters,
and we need dissenters, not only in the Senate, we ought to have them
in the House. We should have them in the legislatures of various
States. Many of the great things we have were voted down by the
majority and finally had to be adopted for the benefit and welfare of
the people. You may not agree with Senator Morse, you do not have to
agree with him when he is right, but what he advocates usually becomes
what the people want.''
And then finally, when Senator Morse left the Republican Party, he
told a reporter from the Detroit Free Press, ``I sometimes wonder if I
am going at all this too hard, but then I think of all of the men and
women who wish there was just one politician in Washington who would
speak his mind and cast his vote honestly and freely, with only his
conscience to guide him. Maybe it's a bit brash to assume that I am
that man, but believe me, I am trying to be.''
That was Wayne Morse, and that is something I try to be every day in
representing the district from which he was elected to the United
States Senate.
So with that, Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the House would
unanimously endorse the naming of the new Federal courthouse in Eugene,
Oregon. I believe there could be no more appropriate honor in the
memory of Wayne Morse on the 100 anniversary of his birth.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time
and again congratulate the gentleman from Oregon for not only his
legislation, but for his floor statement. I urge passage of the bill.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2672, a bill to
honor the former Senator from Oregon, Wayne L. Morse by designating the
new courthouse in Eugene Oregon in his honor.
From 1931 until 1944, Senator Morse served as the dean and professor
of law at the University of Oregon at Eugene. In 1944, he was elected
to his first term in the United States Senate as a Republican Senator.
He was reelected in 1950. In 1956, Senator Morse ran for election to
the Senate as a Democrat. He won that election and was again reelected
in 1962.
Senator Morse lost his bid for a fifth term when he was defeated in
1968. However, by 1974 he had won the Democratic Senate nomination and
was actively engaged in campaigning when he died in Portland, Oregon,
in July of that year.
Senator Morse was known as a gifted and principled lawmaker and a
dedicated public servant. His tireless advocacy of the rights of
organized labor and the collective bargaining process, and his
unshakeable belief in the rule of law contributed to Senator Morse
being called the ``conscience of the Senate''. He championed equal
access to education and was an outspoken defender of the Constitution's
system of checks and balances.
Senator Morse's political philosophy was simply to promote the
welfare of the American people. To use his own words: ``If you want to
understand my political philosophy, here's the basic tenet--I think the
job of a U.S. Senator is to seek to translate into legislation values
that promote the welfare of people Because the keystone of the
Constitution is the general welfare clause and the wealth of America is
its people, not in materialism''.
Senator Morse broke with the Republican Party in the 1950's when he
led the filibuster against the Taft-Hartley bill, which threatened to
erase nearly every fundamental employment right he had secured while on
the War Labor Board. In the years preceding the Vietnam War, Senator
Morse fiercely opposed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. He declared that
Article I of the Constitution would be violated if Congress surrendered
to the President its Constitutional authority to declare war.
Throughout the War he took great issue when the Johnson Administration
and its handling of the war.
Senator Morse had the courage to speak and vote his convictions
during one of the most tumultuous times in our Nation's history. He
knew his opinions would be controversial and that they could, and
ultimately did, cost him his seat in the U.S. Senate. But Wayne Morse
had the strength to look beyond politics and do what he believed to be
in the best interest of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, the consideration of H.R. 2672 is particularly timely.
As we begin debate tomorrow on a resolution that would authorize the
President of the United States to use military force against Iraq, I
hope that we could all follow the example of Wayne Morse and have the
courage to speak our minds--whatever our particular beliefs--and that
this Body will engage in a open and honest debate that will ultimately
determine the best course for the American people.
H.R. 2672 is a fitting tribute to a true public servant. I thank the
Gentleman from Oregon, Mr. DeFazio, for introducing this legislation,
and I urge all Members to support it.
Mr. TOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, 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.
[[Page H7153]]
LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R.
2672.
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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