[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 133 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8874-H8875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO DEPARTING FLORIDA MEMBERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute 
to four of our Florida colleagues who will depart at the end of this 
109th Congress.
  Clay Shaw, Mike Bilirakis, Jim Davis, and Katherine Harris have all 
served our great state and our great Nation with passion and with 
pride. They have all left their own individual mark on this House as an 
institution, and I know they will be missed by all of our colleagues.

[[Page H8875]]

  Mike Bilirakis was my immediate neighbor as he represents the Ninth 
Congressional District of Florida just to my north. There is no member 
more beloved by his constituents than Mike Bilirakis as they respect 
him as a man of character and integrity.
  Mike was not a member who scheduled press conferences or spoke often 
on the House floor. He did his work behind the scenes and was tenacious 
when seeing matters through to their conclusion. You only need to look 
at his efforts to provide concurrent receipt payments for our Nation's 
veterans who retired from military service with a disability. After 
more than a decade, his legislation was signed into law to solve this 
terrible inequity for so many veterans. Likewise, he fought tirelessly 
for veterans with spinal cord injuries to expand the spinal cord 
treatment unit at the Haley VA Hospital.
  This is how he worked on the many other issues that were of special 
interest to him including health care, Medicare, seniors issues, or 
medical research. He took his work as Chairman of the Veterans Affairs 
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Energy and 
Commerce Subcommittee on Health seriously and spent considerable time 
on the many legislative matters that fell within their jurisdiction.
  Mr. Speaker, Mike Bilirakis is a patriot and statesman and we will 
miss the quiet grace with which he and his wife Evelyn served the 
people of Florida. For me, I will especially miss him as a friend and 
confidant. They are a special couple who I wish all the best in their 
retirement years. And I know it is with great pride that they will 
watch as their son Gus is sworn-in next month to establish a new legacy 
of service in this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I also rise to pay tribute to Clay Shaw, the Chairman of 
our Florida delegation. He has done outstanding work over the past few 
years in keeping the 25 members of our delegation communicating and 
focusing on the needs of our large and growing state.
  Clay also has a distinguished record of legislative success in this 
House. He chaired three Subcommittees of the Ways and Means Committee, 
leaving behind an indelible stamp of success in many divergent areas. 
It was under his chairmanship that we passed and enacted sweeping 
welfare reform. He was a voice of reason as chairman of the Social 
Security Subcommittee as the Congress and our Nation has wrestled with 
the best approach to sure up the financial integrity of the Social 
Security Trust Funds. And in his latest assignment, he has advanced the 
issues of global trade and competitiveness as chairman of the Trade 
Subcommittee.
  He has also been an unquestioned champion for our environment as he 
has been a leader in the restoration of the Everglades, the 
renourishment of Florida's beautiful beaches, and in fighting to 
prevent drilling for oil off Florida's coastline.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition to his legislative successes, Clay is also a 
personal inspiration as he and Emilie have worked together to represent 
our Nation, our state, and the 22nd district of Florida with great 
energy and integrity. Even two battles with lung cancer never slowed 
Clay's drive to serve in this House as he never missed a step.
  Our colleagues from Florida, those who served with him on the Ways 
and Means Committee, and all those who have come to know him over the 
past 26 years will miss Clay and his easygoing yet thoughtful manner.
  Mr. Speaker, Katherine Harris is one of our delegation's most junior 
members but quickly established herself as one of the hardest working 
members of this House. She has devoted her career to public service, 
having been elected to serve Florida as a State Senator, Secretary of 
State, and member of the House for the past four years representing the 
people of the 13th Congressional District.
  Among her many legislative accomplishments in that short period of 
time were bills to create more affordable housing opportunities, to 
provide funding for a veterans cemetery in Sarasota, to restore equity 
in disability payments for veterans, and to spur free trade. Mr. 
Speaker, I want to thank Katherine for her service here and to wish her 
all the best in her future endeavors.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to Jim Davis, my 
colleague from the 11th District of Florida whom I share the City of 
St. Petersburg with and who has proudly represented the people of the 
Tampa Bay area for 10 years.
  From his first days in office, Jim has always kept his focus on 
fiscal responsibility through his work on the Budget Committee. He also 
established himself as a leader on education issues, particularly in 
the recruitment in response to severe shortages in Florida and 
throughout the Nation.
  As much as I will remember Jim for his legislative work, I will 
always remember the care with which he balanced his work here with his 
passion to spend time with his wife Peggy and their sons Peter and 
William. Jim found a way to manage the hectic schedule of the House 
with the need to be with his young sons as they have grown during his 
five terms here.
  Mr. Speaker, the Florida Congressional Delegation has always worked 
well together in the best interests of the people of Florida. We may 
have had differences of opinion on national legislation, but we put 
those differences aside to work on Florida issues. With the departure 
of Clay Shaw, Mike Bilirakis, Katherine Harris, and Jim Davis, we lose 
four Members who have devoted themselves to this House and to our 
State. We will miss their service and their friendship but we will 
continue to carry on their commitment to serve with honor and 
distinction. In closing, I join with all my colleagues who will follow 
me this evening in wishing each of these Members the very best as they 
leave the people's House.

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