[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 60 (Saturday, April 12, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF PHIL BURTON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 11, 2003

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, as the Dean of the California Delegation and 
someone who was honored to serve in Congress with Phil Burton, I wanted 
to join with my colleagues in celebrating the life of this remarkable 
man.
  When I hear the name Phil Burton what comes to mind is the memory of 
an elemental force of nature. The fact that we reflect today on this 
man of the House twenty years after his death reaffirms this sense. It 
reminds me of black holes as astronomers describe them. While they 
can't be seen, they exert an awesome attractive force.
  Phil once yelled at me, ``If I'm shouting at you, it means I love 
you!'' To be on the receiving end of such tough love was not always 
pleasant, but it was effective. And, it explains, in part, why Phil was 
a legislator's legislator.
  One of his biographers describes him as ``one of the most effective 
and forceful congressmen ever to pass through [these congressional] 
halls.'' She adds that, ``His force would be missed by those who shared 
his views after he was gone.'' That is very true. But what is also true 
is that his force is still felt by those of us who were lucky enough to 
know and serve with him.
  I learned much from Phil Burton and continue to use those lessons 
today.

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