[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E396-E397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN HONOR OF TILLIE FOWLER, FORMER MEMBER OF CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend 
and former colleague Representative Tillie Fowler.
  Tillie, who was sometimes called the ``Steel Magnolia,'' represented 
her district in Florida from 1992 until 2000 and was a champion for the 
issues important to her constituents. As a member of the House Armed 
Services Committee, she fought to keep military bases in her 
congressional district. During her tenure on the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, she investigated the inadequacies in 
the country's preparedness for a domestic terrorist attack and was able 
to identify many of the shortcomings that contributed to our lack of 
preparedness on September 11, 2001. She also served as vice chairwoman 
of the House Republican Conference and was the fifth-highest member of 
the House leadership when she left Congress.
  In 1997, she served on a congressional task force created to 
investigate the incidences of sexual harassment and abuse in the U.S. 
military, an issue on which she and I worked closely together. Two 
years ago, she was appointed by Secretary Rumsfeld to lead a

[[Page E397]]

seven-member panel created by Congress to review sexual misconduct 
allegations at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The panel's findings 
detailed much that we already knew including a failure of leadership 
and command and a lack of support for the victim. I strongly believe 
that we owe much of the progress we are now making on this issue to the 
efforts made by Tillie Fowler during the past ten years.
  Tillie is survived by her husband Buck and her two daughters Tillie 
and Elizabeth. I join with my colleagues in expressing my deepest 
condolences. Tillie will certainly be missed.

                          ____________________