[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3555-H3557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHARLES WILSON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4317) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs
outpatient clinic located in Lufkin, Texas, as the ``Charles Wilson
Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4317
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT
CLINIC, LUFKIN, TEXAS.
The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic
located in Lufkin, Texas, shall after the date of the
enactment of this Act be known and designated as the
``Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient
Clinic''. Any reference to such outpatient clinic in any law,
regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the
United States shall be considered to be a reference to the
Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient
Clinic.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller).
(Mr. MILLER of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4317 would name the VA outpatient clinic in the
city of Lufkin, Texas, for our former colleague, the honorable Charles
Wilson of Texas. I did not have the opportunity to know Mr. Wilson
during his time in Congress, but Members who worked with him remember
Charlie Wilson for his steadfast support of our Nation's defense and
intelligence operations.
Mr. Wilson's personal history is as spirited as the Lone Star State
where he was born. Growing up in Lufkin in east Texas, he graduated
from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1956 and
thereafter served honorably in the United States Navy. After serving in
the Texas House of Representatives and the senate, Mr. Wilson was
elected to Congress in 1972. Mr. Wilson represented the second
congressional district of Texas for 12 terms. He retired in 1996 and
has maintained a successful consulting business here in Washington and
in his native Texas.
Over 20 years ago, as a Member of the House Committee on
Appropriations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Mr.
Wilson focused his energy on the plight of the Afghan people, then
under invasion by the old Soviet Union. Mr. Wilson's singular effort to
sustain covert U.S. aid for the rebels in Afghanistan was a crucial
resource for the Afghan people to drive the Soviets out of their
country. Influenced by Mr. Wilson's work in Afghanistan, the U.S. Cold
War operation contributed to the eventual collapse of the USSR. These
events are vividly depicted in the recent book, ``Charlie Wilson's War:
The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History.''
I believe using any definition of the term, Charlie Wilson is an
extraordinary man in foreign affairs and in intelligence matters.
Closer to home, as an advocate for our veterans and our Armed Forces,
who were his constituents in Texas, Mr. Wilson played a key role in
convincing the VA to open an outpatient clinic in his hometown of
Lufkin.
{time} 1515
The clinic can was dedicated in 1991, and it remains an important
provider of health care to veterans in East Texas. I believe that our
colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner), the sponsor of this
bill, will speak in greater detail about our former Member Charles
Wilson.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4317, a bill to rename the
Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Lufkin, Texas, after a fellow
Texan and our fellow Congressman Charles Wilson.
I appreciate the effort of my good friend, the gentleman from Texas
(Congressman Turner), for sponsoring this particular piece of
legislation; and I
[[Page H3556]]
am honored to manage the time today on behalf of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs.
Charlie Wilson has had a remarkable and noteworthy career, and it is
fitting to honor him by naming the VA clinic in Lufkin after him. He
began his career at the prestigious U.S. Naval Academy, and he served
in the Navy from 1956 to 1960. After he left the Navy, he decided to
try his hand at elected office. He did well. He won his first race in
1960 and then got elected again 18 times for various offices.
He began his distinguished career representing the people of East
Texas in the Texas House of Representatives for over 6 years and in the
Texas Senate for an additional 3 terms. As a former member of the Texas
house myself, I know the hard work and dedication required. I know
Charlie Wilson gave it his all.
On November 7, 1972, in the 2nd District of Texas, Charlie Wilson was
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The House has not known
many like him. For 24 years he represented the people of East Texas
often in very colorful and unforgettable ways but always with a
dedication and commitment to his constituents.
His hard work earned him a spot on the Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Defense. He used his position not only to help Texas
and America and also his constituents but to advance the United States'
effort to win the Cold War and defeat the Soviet expansion. Perhaps
most notably Charlie used his influence to secure billions of dollars
to counter the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Without a doubt, his
efforts helped push the Soviets out of Afghanistan and helped end the
eastern bloc communism.
The CIA recognized the special nature of his efforts by making him
the only civilian to receive the CIA's Honored Colleague Award. His
work is now enshrined in a well-known book that may even become a
movie.
While in Congress, Charlie made constituent service a top priority;
and his staff regularly won praise for their hard work on behalf of the
district. As a Korean War veteran, Charlie Wilson was always a strong
advocate of veterans, especially in his district. He brought more
veterans affairs resources to his constituents than ever before.
It is appropriate that we name the VA clinic in Lufkin for him, a
proud Texan, a proud American, an outstanding veteran.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Turner), who is the author of the legislation and also the
ranking minority leader on the Select Committee on Homeland Security.
Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for
yielding. I want to thank all of my colleagues. I want to thank the
distinguished majority leader from Texas for cosponsoring this
legislation with me along with other colleagues from Texas.
This legislation, I think, does something that needs to be done, that
should be done; and I think our former colleague, Congressman Charles
Wilson, could think of nothing that he would rather for this Congress
to do than to put his name on the veterans outpatient clinic in Lufkin,
Texas, which is the largest community in our congressional district.
Charlie Wilson had a distinguished career in this body as well as in
the Texas legislature. He served the public for over 36 years. He
served three terms in the Texas house, three terms in the Texas Senate,
and 12 terms in this body.
Charlie Wilson is, first and foremost, a soldier. In his very
youngest years he dreamed of being a soldier, and he became a student
of history because he loved to read about battles and about the great
wars. He ended up being admitted to the Naval Academy and served both
at home and abroad in the United States Navy with great distinction.
Charlie Wilson served in this body on the House Committee on
Appropriations, and when he left this body he was the most senior
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing
and Related Programs, and a senior Democrat on the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Defense. He was appointed to the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence in the 100th Congress.
Charlie Wilson became a recognized expert on defense and intelligence
matters. And as the gentleman from Florida mentioned earlier, in the
book ``Charlie's War,'' the story is recounted of Charlie's devotion,
commitment, and his enthusiastic efforts to help kick the Soviets out
of Afghanistan. We all know that that was the last big battle before
the Soviet Union fell, and many credit our efforts against the Soviets
in Afghanistan as leading to the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Charlie Wilson believed in this country. He was a fierce fighter
against the Communist influence that at that time was going around the
world.
Charlie Wilson was recognized for his expertise not only in defense
and intelligence but in the area of international energy policy. He
served on the Energy Conference Committee that is responsible for the
landmark comprehensive National Energy Act of 1978.
Charlie Wilson established the outpatient clinic in Lufkin. It was
something that he really believed in, because in our part of this
country and the rural piney woods of East Texas we have a large number
of patriotic Americans who have served in the United States military.
He knew that our veterans in our part of the State were having to
travel over 100 miles to get to the nearest VA hospital to receive
care. Because Charlie was a veteran, because he believed in standing up
for veterans and he believed that every veteran should be honored for
the service they have given, he fought to establish this outpatient
clinic in Lufkin; and it has served the people of our area very well.
Charlie Wilson worked hard during his career to serve the needs of
all veterans and of all senior citizens, and he had in his office one
of the largest caseloads of veterans work of any Member of Congress. I
have been pleased, in succeeding him, to have carried on that
responsibility of assisting the many veterans in deep East Texas.
Charlie Wilson was a colorful Member of Congress. One did not have to
wonder where Charlie Wilson stood on the issues, and one did not have
to know whether you were getting a straight story or not. Because
whether Charlie was talking about an issue on the floor of the Congress
or talking about something going on in his district or talking about
something in his own personal life, he was always very candid with his
constituents; and for that they reelected him 12 times to this body.
So I am very proud that my colleagues have joined with us in
introducing this resolution honoring Charlie Wilson, and I would invite
all Members to join with us in adopting it.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Lampson), who also has the distinction of representing our
Missing and Exploited Children Caucus and does a tremendous job in that
area.
Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to
have a few seconds to talk about my friend Charlie Wilson.
We knew him at the beginning of his service in the Texas legislature
as Timber Charlie, a tall, lanky, East Texan who, as the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Turner) just said, always spoke as straight and as
straightforward as one human being can.
What a nice gentleman. Many colorful stories obviously can and have
been told about him. The people remembered him and loved him throughout
all of East Texas.
I remember fondly the days he would come to all of those parades we
would have through East Texas. He always had a mule that he saddled up
and rode in the parade, wearing brightly colored clothes and those
suspenders that were always his trademark. A wonderful, caring, human
being.
Charlie Wilson probably taught me more about, and I think many of the
other of his colleagues and those of the House that followed him, about
the job of a Member of Congress providing constituent service. He
prided himself on what he did for the people at home. And it was
interesting a comment that was made in an article not long ago
[[Page H3557]]
when he said that when the day was done, says Charlie, the working
people knew I was on their side. And the blacks knew I was on their
side. It is hard to explain, but there is a tolerance for human frailty
that does not exist outside of East Texas.
Charlie Wilson loved his folks, still does today, and will continue;
and southeast Texas will never, ever forget him. The fact that we are
honoring him there with the naming of this veterans' facility is a
magnificent tribute to a wonderful gentleman.
We wish you well in your retirement, Charlie Wilson. I am glad to
support my colleagues in supporting this legislation.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our
time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a little story that I read
about Charlie Wilson. That was in his first campaign he talks about the
fact that at one time when he came back from the Navy and was going to
be running for office he thought that there was going to be a
discussion about issues regarding taxes. He found out that, and
according to the article, the story was that one of the biggest issues
in East Texas at that time was that they were using dogs to hunt deer
at that time way back in the early 1960s. And they got the impression
that Charlie was against that, and they were extremely angry with him
and upset. So one of the first things he talks about is going to
deliver a speech among 3,000 people and bringing about five or six
hounds with him.
So he was and is a very colorful individual. I take pride in being
the manager for this bill, and I ask for the naming of the VA clinic in
his name and in his honor.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill. I urge
all Members of this body to support H.R. 4317 to name the Lufkin,
Texas, VA clinic the Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs
Outpatient Clinic.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in
support of H.R. 4317.
A fellow Texan, Charlie Wilson was educated at the U.S. Naval Academy
and served overseas as well as at the Pentagon. After retiring from the
Navy in 1960 with the rank of Lieutenant, he returned back to Lufkin
and ran successfully for the Texas Legislature, serving in that
capacity for twelve years.
In 1972, Charlie was elected as the U.S. Representative for the 2nd
Congressional District of Texas and began has distinguished 24-year
career in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Naming the Lufkin VA Clinic in honor of Congressman Wilson would be a
fitting tribute to such a devoted public servant.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4317.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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