[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN HONOR OF PHILLIP BURTON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2003

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, twenty years ago today, our Nation lost a 
fierce and fearless leader--Phillip Burton, a great Member of Congress 
from San Francisco.
  Sometimes profound, often profane, but always passionate, Phillip 
Burton was a voice for workers, the poor, the elderly, the disabled and 
a protector of the environment. He turned up the volume of those who 
could only whisper for help.
  Through his work, the world has been endowed with a lasting legacy of 
gifts--the giant Redwoods, benefits for black lung sufferers, better 
wages for workers, and better healthcare for the elderly and the 
disabled.
  Phil Burton believed deeply in the integrity of this institution and 
its democratic principles of disagreement and debate. One of his first 
areas of interest was the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities and 
its destructive use of this House to undermine the principles for which 
it stood. He worked successfully to abolish the Committee.
  Expanding on the openness and fairness he desired for the House of 
Representatives, he worked to ensure meaningful reforms in the House so 
that junior Members were given early opportunities to share more 
equally in the workings of the committees.
  Phil Burton was a legislative master, creating new park lands and 
protecting lands throughout the country--literally ``from California to 
the New York island; from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream 
waters.'' The Washington Post ran the headline about his work: ``Sun 
Never Sets on Burton Empire.''
  In 1978, Phil Burton championed the most sweeping environmental 
legislation ever to pass the Congress, tripling the National Trails 
System, doubling the Wild and Scenic Rivers System and more than 
doubling the wilderness in national parks. He and the chairman of the 
Interior Committee, Mo Udall, worked together to protect 100 million 
acres of land in Alaska, the largest in the nation. Mo Udall's classic 
description of Phil says it all: ``He unscrewed the inscrutable.'' He 
preserved America's natural wonders.
  Among Phil's great successes was creation of the nation's first two 
urban national parks--the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San 
Francisco and Gateway National Recreation Area in New York. The Golden 
Gate National Recreation Area has become an emerald greenbelt 
stretching north and south of San Francisco along the Pacific coast.
  The jewel at its center is the Presidio. Phil Burton, with one 
sentence, made it possible for the Presidio to exist as a national 
park. Years later, Congress created a permanent management entity, the 
Presidio Trust, to ensure that the Presidio would be preserved in 
perpetuity as Phil intended.
  The ``empire'' stretched beyond our continental lands to the 
Territories where Phil sought to bring fairness, cultural harmony and 
the American Dream to island populations. And he brought them 
representation in Congress. Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, who staffed 
the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs chaired by Phil Burton, is a Member 
of Congress today because of legislation authored by Phil to ensure 
representation to the people of America's distant lands.
  Phil's mastery extended beyond the legislative arena, and his true 
artistry was displayed when it came to redistricting. One press account 
described it as ``Phil Burton's contribution to modern art.'' For 
almost three decades, he painted the political landscape of 
Californians in the House from his palette.
  Always central to Phil's success was a strong sense of 
bipartisanship, which he considered essential. This was evident in his 
efforts to preserve lands in districts where they formed an economic 
spine for local communities. By providing worker benefits and working 
with Republicans and Democrats, success was possible that benefited not 
only the short-term existence of a community, but the longer-term 
preservation of the environment. In all of his work, he put the public 
interest above self-interest, including the self-interests of those who 
preferred to realize financial gain.
  Phil Burton's career took a detour on the road to become Speaker. 
When Phil lost the race for Majority Leader, Speaker Tip O'Neill said, 
``I never saw a person take defeat so gracefully . . .'' He may have 
lost the personal battle for Majority Leader, but he was victorious in 
his broad war to ensure social justice and human dignity for all 
people.
  Phil Burton worked every day of his life to protect this planet, its 
people and this place where we govern. He was not a man of shallow 
interest, but a man of deep and abiding commitment to democratic 
principles.
  In his short life, he brought our nation a legacy of accomplishment 
that will outlast our lifetimes and those of our grandchildren. As 
enduring and tangible as the monuments he left to us will be our 
abiding commitment to the principles he held in his heart. Years from 
now, these generations will not know his name, but they will experience 
his monumental achievements.
  Phil Burton stands as tall as a giant among us and as lasting as the 
great Redwoods.




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