[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3490-H3492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE HENRY J. HYDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fortenberry). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to have this opportunity 
to praise an intellectual giant, a true public servant, to honor my 
friend, my colleague, my chairman, Henry Hyde. He has had unparalleled 
leadership skills and that is the way that he steers the House 
International Relations Committee, of which I am a proud member.
  The committee has truly flourished under the chairman's direction in 
ways that it had not previously known. We have turned out significant 
pieces of legislation on a range of issues. Henry Hyde's vision perhaps 
is best summarized by the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who said, 
``All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single 
words: Freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.'' This sentiment 
captures the essence of Henry Hyde and of his style.
  Serving as a subcommittee chair under Chairman Hyde, I have been 
privileged to witness firsthand the insight that has led him to be the 
skilled politician and public servant that he is. Pundits have referred 
to the chairman as a statesman; as a Washington icon; as a doer; as a 
wit; as one of the sharpest legal minds of Capitol Hill; an outspoken 
and articulate debater; a standard bearer for conservative principles, 
causes and beliefs; a Gibraltar of conviction; and an avatar of grace.
  I would like to add a few of my own, Mr. Speaker. From what I have 
seen, Henry's character and in turn his leadership is shaped by his 
multiple roles. He is a man of faith, a Patriot, a humanitarian, a 
friend and a mentor.
  I remember in my freshman term meeting Henry Hyde for the first time. 
Having followed Henry's efforts on behalf of freedom fighters who have 
valiantly fought communism in our hemisphere, to me, Henry Hyde was 
larger than life. As Congressman Steve Chabot said earlier, if 
Hollywood were to cast a statesman, they couldn't find anyone better 
than the impressive and dashing Henry Hyde.
  I quickly learned that that imposing stature that he was nothing of a 
bullying nature in Henry Hyde. On the contrary, the chairman, even in 
his most heated debates in our committee, when he must keep order at 
our hearings, he is a consummate gentleman, able to restore order with 
a fleeting, withering glance that belies the twinkle in his eye.
  How appropriate that Henry represents Illinois, as so many speakers 
have said, the land of Lincoln, for both the chairman and the American 
President are notable for their character, their eloquence, their 
determination.
  Chairman Hyde's political career began 40 years ago as a 
representative in the Illinois legislature, where he served at as that 
body's majority leader from 1971 to 1972.
  In 1974, he was elected to this House, the People's House. Among 
other issues, Henry became identified with the worthy cause of 
defending the unborn, championing his Appropriations Committee's 
amendments that would prohibit the use of Federal funds to pay for 
abortions. These were adopted into law in 1978, and the Hyde Amendment 
has been a great step forward in legislation that favors the sanctity 
of human life.
  In this vein, Henry has also been a supporter of adopting children 
and of assisting poor women to care for their children. He has lent his 
name to legislative initiatives taking tougher steps to hold deadbeat 
dads accountable for unpaid child support.
  Henry Hyde has come to be known as one of the House's great orators. 
His stirring speeches against term limits and against flag burning are 
particularly memorable.
  In 1994, Henry Hyde accepted the gavel of the powerful House 
Judiciary Committee, where he shepherded through the House many 
important pieces of legislation. Among these were the landmarks anti-
terrorism legislation of 1995; enforcing in the U.S. the international 
treaty against war crimes; the church arson law of 1996; a victim 
restitution act; an act limiting death penalty appeals; Megan's Law, 
requiring released sex offenders to report their addresses; and a law 
allowing senior citizen housing to be allocated by age. Also, a law 
banning state taxes on pensions of non-residents; the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995, the authorization of $10 billion for prison 
expansion; protection of intellectual property rights in digital 
recording and biotech patents; the ban on partial-birth abortion; 
product liability; tort reform and so many others.
  Turning to the chairman's leadership style, one of the most salient 
characteristics is his reputation for fairness. Indeed, the Washington 
Post noted in a 1998 article that Henry Hyde ``has managed to maintain 
a reputation for even-handedness, for patience and restraint, a 
remarkable feat for someone known both for his savagely held beliefs 
and for his keen sense of which way the wind blows.''
  Indeed, the ranking member of the International Relations Committee, 
my good friend Tom Lantos of California, cogently addressed our 
chairman's embodiment of frankness and fairness when Tom said, 
``although our opinions on issues have differed from time to time, 
Henry has always been very straightforward with me when he knows we 
might disagree. And once we have made our opinions known and once the 
voting is done, it has never had an adverse effect on our 
relationship.''
  Indeed, one thing we can all agree upon is that Chairman Hyde's 
leadership reflects the values that he places on fairness and his focus 
on getting the job done rather than on mere politicking.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend the gentleman from California, 
Mr. Lungren, who would like to add some statements about our great 
chairman Henry Hyde.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
gentlelady for yielding.
  It has been my privilege during my lifetime to have three heroes 
living at the time that I was able to benefit from their example. They 
are my father, President Ronald Reagan and Henry Hyde.
  As the gentlelady knows, I served in the Congress for 10 years from 
1979 to 1989, where I had the privilege of serving on the Judiciary 
Committee with Henry Hyde all those 10 years. I served on the 
subcommittee dealing with civil rights with him, and if it had not been 
for Henry Hyde we would not have had the extension of the Voting Rights 
Act of the early 1980s.
  We had hearings all around the country. It may sound strange today, 
but at that time there was a question of whether or not that would be 
extended. It was Henry Hyde who going around the country on field 
hearings who finally made a statement that he had seen the parade of 
horribles. He had seen that there was still a need to have this 
extraordinary law extended. Had it not been for Henry Hyde, the Voting 
Rights Act would not have been extended. He has never gotten the credit 
for that.
  Henry Hyde is a gentle man; a large man, but a gentle man; someone 
who can argue on the floor of the House vociferously, but when it is 
over, he goes over and punches you in the arm and tells you a joke; a 
man who has all the dignity you would look for in a statesman; a man 
who has the intellect which we can all admire; a man who, when former 
Governor Cuomo made a well covered speech at the University of Notre 
Dame talking about the responsibility of a Catholic man or a Catholic 
woman in politics, Henry Hyde had a slightly different take. So he 
then, a month later, spoke on the

[[Page H3491]]

campus of the University of Notre Dame and gave his version.
  It was one of the most compelling speeches I have ever heard, telling 
that someone can be a man of faith and a man of the House, a man or 
woman of faith or a man or woman of the House.
  He was so eloquent in the way he argued. There was in this House a 
stillness that came upon this floor when Henry Hyde would get up to 
speak. Democrat and Republican and independent alike would stand at 
attention or sit at attention when Henry Hyde came and spoke. It was a 
capstone of the argument to see Henry Hyde present himself.
  I am pleased that at one time I was able to have Henry Hyde in my 
home community to speak to people on the very, very important issue of 
life. He always did it with a forthrightness, with a concern for the 
sensitivity of the subject, but always, always so grounded in the 
principles.
  One time I asked Henry about whether he ever got tired of dealing 
with the life issue. He said, ``You know, sometimes I do. You get all 
this criticism, you get all of this attention that you don't want.'' 
And he said then, ``But as you get older, you think of that day in the 
future where, if hopefully you get to heaven, all those unborn children 
are there to greet you to say thank you for what you have done.''
  That is Henry Hyde. It is from the heart. It is from the head, 
because he has got a great intellect, but it is from the heart, because 
he truly believes it.
  If there is one person that I admire most in this House, if there is 
one person who is the embodiment of all that is good in this House, if 
there is one person that compelled me to return to the Congress, it is 
Henry Hyde; a friend, a statesman, a leader, a man of courage, someone 
who has fought his whole life for what is good and right about America, 
and someone I am happy to call a friend; but, more than that, someone I 
am happy to call a leader in this House, who has stood for everything 
great about this country.
  This is a man who has dedicated himself to this country; a man who 
dedicated himself to his family; a man who dedicated himself to the 
principles that we all espouse. But he lived those principles as much 
as anybody I have ever met. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Those are 
principles that he lives and stands on every day of his life.
  One has to admire the chairman's measured judgment on foreign policy 
terrain as well, as when he noted with respect to the fall of Soviet 
communism, he said, ``There has been a palpable feeling that the Cold 
War is over, and there are no serious threats with the Russian bear 
comatose. But as I like to say, the forest is full of dangerous snakes. 
There is a very important need for the United States to recognize that 
no one will rescue us. We have to be self-sufficient to really 
survive.''
  Truly, Henry's vision of the importance of this self-sufficiency is 
emblematic of his approach to foreign policy.
  The chairman's wisdom encourages us to be vigilant, as when he 
expressed that with regard to China, ``The United States should be 
mindful that China was one of the world's most powerful nations for 
several thousands of years, and its relative weakness over the last two 
centuries is an historic anomaly that is coming to an end.''
  The chairman too has no illusions about U.S. Latin America policy. 
Henry backs a strong American initiative to extend free trade between 
the United States and democratic nations in the hemisphere as a way of 
generating economic growth and creating jobs.

                              {time}  2045

  He said, ``A lot of the problems in our hemisphere could be addressed 
if not solved by free trade. There is so much we have in common. I 
think a common wealth of the Americas would help everyone. But it will 
take real leadership and a bit of luck''.
  Regarding policy for the region over which my subcommittee, the 
Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee has had jurisdiction, 
Chairman Hyde's no-nonsense convictions, blended with his foreign 
policy expertise and his political leadership led him to the conclusion 
that on September 11, he said, ``Our enemies have no aim except 
destruction. Nothing to offer but a forced march to a bleak and dismal 
path. Theirs is a world without light''.
  And he said, ``We are now in a war, a war that is directed at America 
and the civilized world. It is that simple,'' he said. ``We have to 
lead the world to oppose terrorism as a weapon against civilization, so 
this is a war for civilization. No country should harbor terrorists and 
we have tolerated countries that have tolerated terrorists. This must 
change''.
  He continued by saying, ``The massive, obscene destruction of human 
life we saw in New York and Washington should show us all that 
terrorism cannot be tolerated. It has to be wiped off the map''.
  And it is not just our committee, or not just even our Nation that 
benefits from the leadership of Henry Hyde, but the world is the 
greater for the existence and the leadership of someone of the caliber, 
of the passion, of the conviction of Henry Hyde.
  The chairman's dedication to diverting the United Nations from its 
course of scandal, of corruption, of secrecy, and instead toward 
accountability, toward transparency and effectiveness, culminated in 
the passage by this House last summer of the Henry Hyde United Nations 
Reform Act of 2005.
  This reform measure with teeth urged that the U.S. should impose its 
leverage to motivate the U.N. which has to this point been reluctant to 
consider substantive reform on its own through withholding of U.S. 
assess dues.
  Henry Hyde's AIDS funding legislation has also been a landmark piece 
of legislation. This measure authorizes $1.3 billion annually to fight 
this horrible disease, which Henry Hyde has said, ``It is not just the 
deepest, darkest Africa we are dealing with, it is Brazil, it is the 
Caribbean, it is Russia, it is here in the United States, it is 
everyone in the world. As this pandemic spreads, we must do what we can 
do''.
  This body is truly fortunate to have had in its midst an individual 
who leads through knowledge gained. He has gained it in institutions of 
higher learning such as Loyola, Duke and Georgetown. He has gained it 
on the playing field, as when Chairman Hyde played basketball for the 
Hoyas, or in combat theatres with the U.S. Navy stationed in the 
Philippines, in the South Pacific, in New Guinea; or through the wise 
use of his gavel as majority leader, as chair of the Judiciary 
Committee, and now as chair of our International Relations Committee.
  On his website, Henry Hyde puts his 32 years of service as a U.S. 
Congressman in context by noting that during his time in office, we 
have persevered through many conflicts, including the Cold War, the 
Communist takeover in Nicaragua and in Grenada, the invasion of Kuwait, 
the removal of Noriega from Panama, genocide in Bosnia, bombing of the 
World Trade Center and the Pentagon, invasion of Afghanistan, invasion 
of Iraq, and the present defense of our Nation against Islamic 
insurgents and terrorists.
  That is a lot of conflicts, and for that matter, 32 years means 
almost infinite constituent letters, town hall meetings, legislative 
victories, press interviews, but most of all, in the course of these 32 
years, Henry Hyde has shared his passion, and his blood, sweat and 
tears with the American people.
  I want to express any sincere gratitude to Henry Hyde not just for 
being a great legislator, a leader in wit, but also for being an 
inspiration to us all. You have touched our lives in ways that we could 
never truly express. And we are all the better for having had the 
privilege of serving alongside you.
  Mr. Speaker, with that I would like to yield to my good friend on the 
International Relations Committee, Mr. Fortenberry.
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) who chairs the 
International Relations Subcommittee for Middle East and Central Asia 
Affairs on which I serve, for organizing this time to honor an 
extraordinary legislator, an extraordinary statesman, Mr. Henry Hyde.
  It is a rare privilege in the course of a lifetime to know someone 
who possesses equal portions of wisdom, intellectual brilliance, robust 
humor, and

[[Page H3492]]

great humility. I consider it a tremendous honor to serve on the House 
International Relations Committee under the Chairmanship of such a man, 
Representative Henry Hyde.
  Since 1975, the people of Illinois' Sixth District have enriched the 
United States by their wise choice for a Member of Congress.
  During his long and distinguished tenure in the House, Chairman Hyde 
has provided decisive leadership at pivotal moments in the recent 
history of U.S. foreign policy and on many issues of principle which 
determined the character of our great Nation.
  In particular, I would like to honor his commitment to protect the 
lives of vulnerable persons, particularly the unborn in the United 
States and throughout the world.
  Also I would like to thank Mr. Hyde for his sage counsel nurtured 
through years of experience and tempered by some of the most grueling 
episodes of the 20th century. As a member of the Greatest Generation, 
he served his country in the United States Navy during World War II, 
and knows firsthand the sacrifice that it took to prevail in that 
struggle against the enemies of freedom and human dignity.
  While we face different challenges today, they require no less 
vision, commitment, and perseverance. As a careful student of history, 
Chairman Hyde cautioned us in a recent speech that he entitled, the 
Perils of the Golden Theory. He reminds us of the need to tread 
carefully as we seek to promote our ideas in a world where the values 
we cherish may often be considered alien and are subject to frequent 
unrelenting assaults.
  As we look to the remainder of this session and consider the 
opportunities and challenges before us, I am grateful that we will 
continue to benefit from the leadership of Chairman Hyde.
  Just this week, Mr. Speaker, I asked the chairman if he would do me a 
favor and meet with a group of college students interested in 
international diplomacy. Despite the rigors of his calendar, he 
enthusiastically agreed, and this small act of generosity alone speaks 
volumes about the nature and character of our chairman.
  His ability to command the respect of both Democrats and Republicans 
remains an invaluable asset to this Congress. I am confident that his 
legacy will continue to inform and inspire many generations of Members 
to come.
  I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for giving his 
insight.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure for Republican and Democrat 
Members alike to have served and to continue to serve under the 
tutelage of Henry Hyde. He has tackled all of the big issues. Tomorrow, 
as a matter of fact, in our International Relations Committee, we will 
be debating Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, he is not afraid to tackle those big, controversial 
issues. And that has been part of his character. He has taken on the 
issues. He has done it in a very fair, impartial way. And that is why 
in the coming months, because we still have Henry Hyde around for a 
long, long time, you will be seeing my good friend, Mr. Lantos, on the 
other side leading a series of special orders honoring a great 
statesman, the great leader, our chairman, Henry Hyde.

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