[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 41 (Tuesday, April 4, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN REMEMBRANCE OF GERARD FRANCIS SCHIAPPA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 4, 2006

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Gerard 
Francis Schiappa, director of federal relations for Turner Construction 
and former administrative assistant to Congressman Louis C. Wyman, who 
died of cancer March 17, in his home in Potomac Falls. Gerry was 67 
years old.
  Gerry, who had a 50-year career in government affairs, also was 
special counsel to former Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf 
II from 1975 to 1976 during the Ford Administration. He began his 
career as an elevator operator and mailroom clerk in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. After serving in the Army, Mr. Schiappa returned to 
the House, where he served on the staffs of Representatives Arch A. 
Moore (R-W.Va.), Joe Skubitz (R-Kan.), William C. Cramer (R-Fla.) and 
finally Louis C. Wyman (R-N.H.).
  As Congressman Wyman's Chief of Staff, Gerry had a reputation on 
Capitol Hill as a brilliant political tactician who knew how to get 
things done. His counsel to Congressman Wyman, who served on the House 
Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations, helped save the Portsmouth 
Naval Shipyard from closure in the early 1970s. He served as a 
principal coordinator for Congressman Wyman's U.S. Senate campaign 
against John Durkin, a Democrat, in a 1975 runoff election, which is 
known as the closest Senate race in U.S. history.
  Gerry left public service in 1978 to join the Panax Corp. as its Vice 
President of Public Affairs. He founded a lobbying firm, the Capital 
Group, in 1981 and served as its president and chief executive until 
1996. In 1997, he became managing partner of Middendorf & Associates.
  Gerry was born the third of 10 children in Scranton, Pa. He grew up 
in Mount Rainier, graduated from Northwestern High School in 
Hyattsville and attended Capitol Page School in Washington. He also 
attended Emerson Preparatory School and the University of Maryland.
  He served on the executive finance committee of the 1981 and 1985 
Presidential Inaugural Committees, and President Ronald Reagan's 1981 
Presidential Transition Office for Intelligence Operations. He also 
served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the 
Educational Film Center and Prevision Corp. He was also a member of the 
Washington Performing Arts Society, ALS Association of Washington, 
Great Falls Citizens Association, Defense Forum Foundation and the 
Reagan Alumni Association.
  Of all his accomplishments, Gerry was most proud of being a mentor to 
countless young men and women eager to begin their professional 
careers. John Dean, former White House counsel, wrote in his 
autobiography that Gerry helped him get his first job in government. 
Gerry is survived by his wife of 41 years, Jane Thompson Schiappa of 
Potomac Falls; two children, Brien Schiappa-Dunn and John Schiappa, 
both of Potomac Falls; a brother; eight sisters; and one granddaughter.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Gerard Schiappa on the floor 
of the House today.




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