[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H3487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING HENRY HYDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and celebrate the 
extraordinary service to the Nation of Representative Henry Hyde of 
Illinois. Many of us consider our election to Congress as a blessing 
and an opportunity to improve the lives of our constituents and our 
fellow Americans, and no one has merited that honor more than this 
esteemed and distinguished gentleman of irrefutable conviction and 
compassion.
  In his more than 30 years as a Member of the House of Representatives 
and as chairman of the Committee on International Relations, 
Congressman Hyde has given the most vulnerable citizens a voice and 
focused our minds on the modern day horrors of child slavery, famine 
and genocide.
  It was in his freshman term that colleagues would first become aware 
of his passionate devotion to the defense of innocent life, all human 
life, and at that time, tax dollars of all Americans were devoted to 
funding nearly 300,000 abortions annually.
  Through the appropriations process, Mr. Hyde introduced an amendment 
to prohibit this practice and the adoption of the Hyde amendment 
forever changed the course of our national discussion about life and 
its protections.
  I have considered my service on the House International Relations 
Committee under Chairman Hyde's stewardship as one of the most 
rewarding and enlightening experiences of my time in Congress. Not 
content to simply fund projects or engage in academic debates about 
geopolitics and Real Politic, our committee has played a critical role 
in shepherding the foreign affairs of the Nation.
  The chairman's leadership has been indispensable as our Nation 
entered a new age of warfare and a time of bolder, more vibrant 
diplomacy.
  A veteran of the committee, Chairman Hyde has been heard in the halls 
of Congress and countless administrations in the crucial interest about 
international arms control, the expansion of NATO, the investigation of 
the Iran-Contra affair and the long-overdue need for reform of the 
United Nations.
  Earlier this year, Chairman Hyde eloquently addressed the challenges 
facing our Nation and the world, ``We are well advanced into an 
unformed era in which new and unfamiliar enemies are gathering forces, 
where a phalanx of aspiring competitors must inevitably constrain and 
focus our options. In a world where the ratios of strength narrow, the 
consequences of miscalculation will become progressively more 
debilitating.''

                              {time}  2015

  The chairman's cogent argument in favor of a robust foreign policy 
has fueled the committee during the 109th Congress. The committee has 
led the way in U.N. reform, holding to account the privileged few of 
the United Nations who turned a blind eye as Saddam Hussein violated 
international law and basic human rights.
  He has called attention to the tragic human drama that began long ago 
and today is simply known as Darfur. And most importantly, Chairman 
Hyde has worked to ensure the voice of this body is heard on matters of 
nuclear proliferation, the untenable policies of terrorist regimes, and 
forged ahead where Americans will stand as the world struggles through 
this uninformed era.
  Throughout his career, Henry Hyde has never failed to heed his own 
counsel nor to lose his way. And the principles of basic rights and 
wrongs have guided his path forward.
  His most important contribution, however, has been as a husband, 
father and grandfather. I am certain it is this job that he has enjoyed 
most.
  In closing, I wish to thank Congressman Henry Hyde for his 
extraordinary leadership, his friendship and his scholarship. We are 
truly a better people as a consequence of his service and for knowing 
him personally.

                          ____________________