[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8681-H8682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HENRY J. HYDE ROOM
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1087) designating Room H-139 of the
Capitol as the ``Henry J. Hyde Room''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 1087
Resolved, That--
(1) Room H-139 of the Capitol shall be known and designated
as the ``Henry J. Hyde Room''; and
(2) this resolution shall take effect on the day following
the date on which Henry J. Hyde is no longer serving as a
Member of the House of Representatives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1087 designates room H-139 of the
United States Capitol as the Henry J. Hyde Room. This designation will
become effective January 3, 2007. It is an honor to speak today on this
resolution, which is a tribute to one of the finest Members of this
Chamber, Congressman Henry Hyde.
Congressman Hyde has served this country well. In 1942, he enlisted
in the U.S. Navy, serving in combat in the Philippines. When he
retired, he held the rank of commander. He attended Loyola School of
Law in 1949 and was a successful attorney in Illinois. He became a
State legislator in 1966 and was eventually elected to be the majority
leader of the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1975, he was
elected to this Chamber by the good people of the Sixth District of
Illinois and has served them well over the past 32 years.
Congressman Hyde has been a true champion and hero during his time in
Congress. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee and International
Relations Committee, Congressman Hyde has authored ground-breaking and
effective legislation and has pushed for the promotion of democracy
around the world.
Over the past 32 years, Congressman Hyde has served in this building
with honor, respect, and prestige. It is only fitting that we name H-
139 in his honor as a lasting tribute to his accomplishments and his
steadfast dedication to his constituents and the American people.
I support this legislation and encourage all my colleagues to do the
same.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Hunter).
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I was just walking out when I heard the
gentleman mention the great Henry Hyde of Illinois, and I just wanted
to add my words as a guy who watched him in monumental debates that
affected this Nation and the world over the last 26 years.
{time} 1045
Henry Hyde has been a giant in the House of Representatives and in
America, and I want to thank the gentleman.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H. Res. 1087 to designate room H-139 in the
Capitol as the Henry J. Hyde Room. Congressman Hyde is widely respected
and regarded on both sides of the aisle as an effective leader and able
legislator. He has served with distinction for more than three decades,
working to improve the lives of senior citizens, veterans and families
of all sizes. He has focused on job creation and better education for
all, better housing for senior citizens, and the needs of special
education students.
During his tenure as the chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, he focused his work on terrorism and, in
particular, biological and chemical weapons threats. Congressman Hyde
also served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 1995 to
2001.
It is fitting and proper to honor the distinguished career of Henry
Hyde with this designation. I support the resolution and urge my
colleagues to also support this resolution today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would also like to add to my first statement a little bit of litany
of Mr. Hyde. He was my neighbor right next door to 2111 in the Rayburn
Building. He was always good for a conversation but, most of all, good
advice. He also has been one that has protected, or at least protected
the unborn, and he has been to my State numerous times and has spoken
eloquently and with forcefulness about their need to be protected.
He has been a friend of this body because he brought dignity, as I
mentioned before, and the prestige of a gentleman but, more than that,
a very intellectual individual that understood the issues.
So I am extremely proud today to support this legislation. I hope all
my colleagues understand that we are losing a good colleague. Some of
my colleagues that have left prior to this were not recognized by
naming a room. It is just a small token of appreciation to someone who
brought the needed, I think, gentlemanness to this body.
So it is with great honor that I support this legislation again.
[[Page H8682]]
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo).
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise also to support H. Res. 1087.
I join my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, in recognizing the distinguished
service of our retiring colleague, Mr. Hyde of Illinois. It has been a
privilege to serve with him in this body. He has established himself as
an effective and dedicated public servant over the course of nearly 40
years in public service and 16 terms in Congress.
He is a gifted public speaker and one of the House's skilled orators.
His leadership as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the
House International Relations Committee has evidenced his skills as a
legislator and his commitment to strengthen the principles of our great
country, the United States of America. We will miss him, but we will
recall the ideals and the principles for which he stands and his
graciousness.
So, Mr. Speaker, I find it very fitting that we designate a room in
the Capitol in his honor. This room will remind us of his work and his
service in this institution.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield whatever time he may
consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).
(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and rise in
strong support of H. Res. 1087.
As this Congress draws to a close, this legislation that I had the
privilege of authoring is a source of great personal satisfaction to
me, and I cannot help but feel a sense of privilege about being able to
have played a part in bringing this important honor to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, as this session of Congress draws to a close, so draws
to a close the storied career of a lion of the House of
Representatives, Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois.
As the chairman of several major committees at the center of repeated
national controversies, Henry Hyde, as Members on both sides of the
aisle have already said today and know, has been a paragon of dignity,
civility, and commitment to principle, and I would add that he has been
a lion of the right to life, and this Chamber will miss his roar.
I offer this legislation before us today to name H-139 in the United
States Capitol after this storied legislator. It is an act we sometimes
do in this body to honor a figure whose public service indicates a
significant benchmark or milestone in the history of the House of
Representatives, and the career of Henry Hyde certainly speaks for
itself.
He is the holder of no fewer than eight honorary degrees from eight
separate colleges and universities, in addition to his B.S. from
Georgetown and J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law in
Chicago.
His service in the Navy took him to Lingayen Gulf, an extension of
the South China Sea. Upon returning home, he was elected to the
Illinois House of Representatives in 1966 and then to this body, the
United States House of Representatives, in 1974 where he has served
with great distinction.
Throughout his career, whether it was closed-door White House
briefings or high-level meetings with diplomats, Henry Hyde has played
a vital role in our Nation's security and in defining America's place
in the world, and as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he has held
fair hearings and respected the constitutional rule of law ordained by
our Founding Fathers.
But Mr. Speaker, it is the Hyde amendment itself for which the
gentleman of Illinois will perhaps be best remembered. He eloquently
remarked on this floor on one occasion, ``I look for the common thread
in slavery, the Holocaust and abortion. To me, the common thread is
dehumanizing people.''
The first Hyde amendment passed in 1976 banning abortions financed by
Medicaid and has remained in force ever since. An argument can be made
that it is the most important piece of legislation this Congress has
considered in the past 50 years, and that would be an argument that I
endorse.
Henry Hyde's respect for life extends to his support of other
legislation, including sponsorship of legislation to expand the number
of women eligible for pregnancy benefits.
Mr. Speaker, quite simply, when I think of Henry Hyde's career and
the classic speeches he has given in this Chamber, I cannot help but
think of the poem ``Ulysses'' by his favorite poet, Alfred Lord
Tennyson. Mr. Hyde once quoted this poem to me verbatim as we sat in
this Chamber between votes, and I think it applies to his service and
his retirement and his dedication today.
Tennyson wrote:
``Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.''
Such was the career of this rare leader and the gentleman from
Illinois. May God bless his golden years and may God bless all the
deliberations that will take place in the Henry Hyde Room in the United
States Capitol for generations to come.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.
Res. 1087, designating Room H-139 of the Capitol as the ``Henry J. Hyde
Room.'' I believe that this high honor is a fitting tribute to my
friend and colleague for his 32 years of distinguished service in
Congress.
Mr. Hyde is truly an institution in the Halls of Congress. His
character, his wisdom, and his eloquence will long serve as an
inspiration to those who will grace the Halls of Congress in the
future. Through his leadership on the House Committee on International
Relations, his guidance on the House Committee on the Judiciary, and
his selfless dedication to the people of the 6th District of Illinois,
Mr. Hyde has proven to be a true statesman, easily worthy of the honor
this legislation would bestow on him.
In my experience working with Chairman Hyde on the International
Relations Committee, he has proven himself time and again to be a
strong leader. On many of the most pressing international issues of our
time, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, North
Korea's nuclear ambitions, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, our
Nation's ongoing relations with China, and the pending nuclear
agreement with India, Chairman Hyde has been the voice and the
conscience of the American people.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Mr. Hyde has focused on improving
the lives of children, working families, seniors, and military
veterans. Examples of his service in his home district include public
works projects to provide flood control and clean drinking water, new
housing developments for senior citizens and children with special
needs, and grants to provide new equipment for the local fire and
police departments.
A military veteran himself, Mr. Hyde has long championed the cause of
today's military veterans. Mr. Hyde served in the U.S. Navy in the
South Pacific, New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II and
continued to serve in the U.S. Naval Reserve until 1968, retiring at
the rank of commander. Earlier this year I was privileged to travel to
American Samoa with Chairman Hyde where he recognized and acknowledged
the military service and sacrifices of our Samoan soldiers in the
global war on terror.
Chairman Hyde is my dear friend and a cherished colleague. He is
highly regarded by members from both sides of the aisle for his
leadership and integrity. I support H. Res. 1087 and I encourage my
fellow members in Congress to support this resolution recognizing the
invaluable contribution of Mr. Hyde to this great Nation.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time,
and I yield back my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1087.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the
resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________