[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.




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