[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E918-E919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN MEMORY OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN G. DOW

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 9, 2003

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to memorialize a distinguished 
former Member of this chamber, Congressman John G. Dow, who represented 
the lower Hudson Valley region of New York in the 89th, 90th and 92nd 
Congresses. Congressman Dow passed away on March 11, just two months 
shy of his ninety-eighth birthday.
   I had the privilege to know Congressman Dow during my early career 
in politics. Others considered him a maverick, but I admired his 
courage, his honesty and his integrity. From his first days as a member 
of this chamber, he distinguished himself by taking principled stands 
on the issues, even though his stances endangered his political future.

[[Page E919]]

   Most famously, he is remembered as one of only seven Members to take 
a stand against the escalation of the Vietnam War, voting to end 
funding for military operations in Vietnam in 1965. In one of the first 
votes he cast in the House he bucked his party and the very popular 
president who had been largely responsible for Dow's election.
   It would not be until many years later that Dow's vote and his 
activism against the Vietnam War would be regarded as prescient. As a 
local editorial writer pointed out some years after the controversial 
vote, ``Dow was a dove from the start, not one who evolved to the point 
of view.''
   No less important was Dow's strong stance against the constitutional 
amendment to prohibit burning the American flag. Dow wisely argued that 
such an amendment would actually amend the Constitution twice--by 
adding a new amendment and by curtailing the freedom of speech and 
expression guaranteed in the First Amendment, that amendment which was 
most prized by our founding fathers. Ultimately, that vote cost him re-
election in 1968, but I cannot imagine a more honorable way to lose 
one's seat in Congress than in defense of the integrity of our 
Constitution.
   During his first two consecutive terms in the House, from 1965 to 
1969, Congressman Dow supported some of the most important legislation 
of his generation. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Civil Rights 
movement, traveling to Jackson, Mississippi and Selma, Alabama to 
appear with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in support of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, and fighting 
for funding for school integration plans. He worked hard for the 
passage of Johnson's Great Society programs, for the establishment of 
rural and community development programs for rural areas, and voted to 
provide minimum wage protection for farm workers. Always, Dow argued 
that the military buildup must not crowd out such critical domestic 
needs.
   When New York voters returned him to the House in the 1970 election, 
his committee assignments allowed him to shift his focus toward foreign 
policy and environmental protection. His record on human rights for 
peoples around the world was without parallel, recommending that 
foreign aid be directed toward ``peaceful objectives . . . and not 
helping other countries carry on war.'' He fought the Nixon 
Administration on bringing the Vietnam conflict to a close, worked to 
increase funding for the Peace Corps, and sought trade restrictions on 
apartheid-era South Africa. Congressman Dow was also instrumental in 
strengthening the Federal Environmental Pesticide Act of 1971, which 
was reported out of the Agriculture Committee riddled with loopholes to 
benefit polluters, and the Federal Water Pollution Amendments of 1972. 
He introduced legislation to establish the Council for Environmental 
Quality, to create a permanent House committee on the environment, and 
to require the federal government to use only recycled paper.
   When Dow lost his bid for re-election in 1972, he did not ease 
gently into retirement. On the contrary, he remained just as active and 
engaged in civic life as during his years in Congress. He ran for 
Congress three more times unsuccessfully, and then devoted his efforts 
to the burgeoning antinuclear movement. Through the early 1980s, he was 
a vocal opponent and stalwart activist opposing the Reagan 
Administration's defense policies. He continued to argue aggressively 
that out of control military spending was hurting the economy and 
denying Americans adequate health care and education.
   Throughout his long and full life, John Dow never failed to be on 
the side of peace, justice and economic opportunity for all. He devoted 
his life to these principles and stuck to them even when it was not 
politically convenient to do so. His moral compass never strayed and 
his compassion for others never wavered. For me, he embodied the 
highest ideals of representation in this body.
   I believe Congressman Dow's former colleague and esteemed veteran of 
this body, the late Congressman Morris Udall (D-Ariz) said it best: 
``Vigorous, kind, candid, honest with himself, his constituents and his 
colleagues--John Dow is a most remarkable man and public service. I am 
proud to be his friend.''

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