[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H8924-H8925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO MR. ARMEY

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, before we get to the majority 
leader being recognized, this is his final night on the job. I wanted 
to pay tribute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) and his 
contribution to this House just in the short time I have been here.
  First elected in 1984, an article in the Texas Observer called him 
one of the Texas 6-packs that year, 6 new Republican Members that had 
been elected and the consensus was these Members are never going to 
amount to anything,

[[Page H8925]]

if you read the article. But the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) has 
made a tremendous difference in this House, with the crowning 
achievement I think just this week with the Homeland Security 
legislation which he worked so long on, arbitrating between committees 
of jurisdiction, negotiating with the Senate, moving a bill that was 
considered dead just a week ago, bringing life to it, and bringing it 
to a very successful conclusion here in the House and sending it to the 
Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman for this most important 
piece of legislation that I think is going to change the course of this 
Nation for a long time.
  He has also been active in passing the Government Performance Results 
Act. This is an act that not every Member understands, but it tries to 
hold Federal agencies accountable for performance and results, and with 
this administration we are starting to see some of those results come 
in as we exercise legislative oversight over the executive branch.
  We think of BRACs and the base closing commissions, something that 
this body has struggled with for a generation and could not work out 
because of the political wheeling and dealing it went through. This has 
saved billions of dollars in the defense budget. We have been able to 
transfer those dollars into other defense items and into domestic 
purposes, and this was Mr. Armey's idea, though not even on the 
committee of jurisdiction, that he brought forward to this body, 
because a good idea will win any day. You do not have to be strong and 
powerful and in a leadership position to get it through. This was done 
early in his career.
  The Contract With America, something that I signed as a candidate in 
1984, was the brainchild of Mr. Armey, something that came through this 
body. Much of that legislation became law, everything from welfare 
reform, unfunded mandates and a number of areas, balancing the budget, 
as a part of that Contract With America. Dick Armey was the author of 
that and the leader of that as we moved it through the 104th Congress.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) is a native of Cando, North 
Dakota with a doctorate in economics. Many of us do not realize that he 
ran in and completed six marathons. I also want to congratulate him for 
just over the last few weeks having lost over 40 pounds, getting down 
to that marathon weight again. Maybe perhaps we will see him do some 
others.
  Dick, I wish you the best in your retirement. You have made a lasting 
contribution to this country. You have set a high standard for your 
success here, and Mr. Majority Leader, it has been my great privilege 
to serve with you.
  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.
  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to add my words as well to a 
brief tribute to our majority leader. We would not be a majority if it 
was not for Dick Armey. There are many people who know that. 
Unfortunately, there are too many people who do not know that. His work 
and his labor oftentimes is done behind the scenes and oftentimes I 
think many people, many people are allowed to take the credit because 
of his work. I think it was Ronald Reagan that said that if you are 
willing to share the credit, you can get anything done in Washington, 
or something like that, and Dick Armey has always been willing to share 
the credit, to allow somebody to move up, to be elevated, to get their 
work done, to facilitate a dream on their behalf. His famous phrase or 
his motto has always been ``Freedom works,'' and it does work. America 
works because freedom works, and America is better off because of the 
freedom that Dick Armey has come to fight for in the Congress of the 
United States.
  This is a terrible way to end at 2:30 in the morning, because there 
were so many things done at 2:30 in the afternoon to be proud of, but 
you can be proud of all of the things that you have done from the 
moment you came here to the moment that you depart, and I think 
probably the one thing that I will always know is that you will always 
be there as a friend, not only to me, but to all of us. That is what I 
will know the most and that is what I will remember the most, is your 
friendship and the pat on the back and sometimes the kick in the 
drawers, and we all need that from time to time. That is what friends 
are for. I hope that friendship will continue with all of us.
  We wish you Godspeed and we also wish Susan and your family Godspeed, 
because we know there are great things ahead, because freedom does work 
and you will ensure that freedom continues to work in America, no 
matter what ventures you undertake. So Godspeed, friend. Thank you so 
much for your service. We love you.

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