[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 113 (Wednesday, September 13, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H6433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN MEMORY OF FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN CLAIR BURGENER

  (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I inform the 
House of the passing of our former colleague, the gentleman from 
California, Clair Burgener. He was an amazing individual, and I have a 
load of articles here that have been written about him over the past 
several days.
  I think the San Diego Union-Tribune put it extraordinarily well when 
it said: ``Burgener earned a reputation for honesty and modesty in a 
three-decade career that began in San Diego city politics and ended in 
the hallways of the Nation's Capitol.''
  As we look at this time of partisan divide here, former nine-term 
Democratic Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin said, ``He was a wonderful 
colleague. He and I were on different levels as far as our voting went, 
but we didn't try to hold back or fool each other.''
  And Herb Klein, the retired editor in chief of Copley Newspapers and 
director of communications for President Nixon, recalled a man of 
unbending ethics: ``Clair Burgener was the epitome of a great American 
Congressman. He was honest and ethical, a strong leader dedicated to 
his community. He was a wonderful friend whose warmth never waned.''
  Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers go to Clair's wife, Marvia. We 
thank him for his extraordinary service to the United States of 
America.

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