[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 175 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H12760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOE SKEEN

  (Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to inform 
my colleagues and Members of this House that last evening Congressman 
Joe Skeen of New Mexico passed away from complications associated with 
Parkinson's disease. His funeral will be held on Thursday, December 12, 
at 2 p.m. in Roswell, New Mexico. I know that many Members of this 
House were close personal friends of Joe, enjoyed his company and his 
sense of humor and his deep commitment to this country. After the final 
business of today, there will be a 1-hour special order on the House 
floor to allow Members to honor their friend.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for rising and for 
yielding as well. I had not heard of Joe's passing.
  When I came to the Congress of the United States in 1981, my office 
was two doors from Joe Skeen's. As we all do, we had the opportunity to 
walk down the fifth floor corridor of the Longworth building to vote 
and we talk and get to know one another. And Suzanne, his chief of 
staff, and I became good friends, and Joe became an extraordinarily 
good friend. Joe chaired a subcommittee of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. Speaker, Joe Skeen was one of those Members who added greatly to 
the comity of this body. He had deep convictions, but he also had a 
deep respect for those with whom he served. Joe Skeen will be missed by 
New Mexico, by his family, but he will also be missed by this House and 
by the American people. At a time when the relations between the 
parties is not what really it ought to be in this House, and perhaps in 
this country, Joe Skeen was one of those who demonstrated that 
differences on policy did not need to be accompanied by enmity between 
the Members of this House. He will be sorely missed. And I thank the 
gentlewoman for giving me this opportunity to say how loved Joe Skeen 
was by all who knew him.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to make a comment. I served 
with Joe Skeen on the Interior Subcommittee of the Committee on 
Appropriations. He was our chairman, did an outstanding job. We worked 
together on a very bipartisan basis. And even though he was struggling 
somewhat, he was there every day, worked hard, did a great job on the 
Interior bill. Every member of the committee on both sides of the 
aisle, all the staff, loved Joe Skeen because he was such a decent warm 
human being, and he will be missed. But his work will be remembered, 
and he did a lot of great things for our country as chairman of the 
Interior Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. We will miss 
Joe Skeen.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico.
  MR. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, the tenor here of the Members, 
I think, is very appropriate to the man that Joe Skeen was. And I had 
the opportunity, as the gentlewoman knows, to serve with him here for 
the 5 years that he was here, and I always felt that he was a good 
friend. He was very serious about New Mexico. And whenever I had any 
question about New Mexico issues or any other issues, for that matter, 
he was somebody that I could go to the other side of the aisle and sit 
down with and talk with and visit with. So it is with great sadness, I 
think, that all New Mexicans feel his passing away. And I think all 
Members of Congress that have served here with him know that he was of 
the old school. He cared very much about bipartisanship. He cared about 
this institution. He was somebody that, I think many years hence, we 
will remember him and regret his passing.
  So I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and look forward to 
participating with her later in the day in the special order.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New 
Mexico for his comments. Again, there will be an opportunity for 
Members to remember Joe and his contributions to this House and to this 
Nation later on this afternoon.

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