[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8968-H8969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE MICHAEL G. OXLEY UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE 
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. REGULA. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to pay 
tribute to my friend and colleague of the Ohio delegation, Mike Oxley, 
as he concludes 25 years of service to the constituents of Ohio's 
Fourth Congressional District, this House and the people of this 
Nation. Many of Mike's colleagues will be submitting statements today 
or tomorrow to pay tribute to Mike, or during the week. So I will limit 
my remarks in order to allow each of them the opportunity to speak if 
they should so desire.
  Mike has been a member of our Ohio delegation in this House since 
1981. He has served with distinction for these past 25 years. He has 
put in the hard work required to learn the issues that have come before 
him within the committee jurisdictions of both the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee and, most recently, the House Financial Services 
Committee. As chairman of the Financial Services Committee, he is the 
author of the Sarbanes-Oxley

[[Page H8969]]

Act, a historic corporate accountability bill.
  In addition to his commitment to the serious work of this body, 
Mike's friendly, outgoing personality and his love of sports, 
particularly baseball, helped to bring a positive atmosphere both in 
his committee and here in the House. We will miss Mike very much and 
wish him and his wonderful wife, Pat, well in their future pursuits.

       Mike Oxley is completing a twenty-five-year career in the 
     U.S. Congress and a career in public life of over thirty 
     years.
       Mike was born in Findlay, Ohio, on February 11, 1944, to 
     Maxine and Garver Oxley. He attended public schools there 
     through his graduation from Findlay High School. Mike earned 
     his B.A. from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) in 1966, where 
     he was student body president, and his law degree from The 
     Ohio State University College of Law in 1969. He worked on 
     the staffs of U.S. Representative Jackson Betts, Attorney 
     General William B. Saxbe, Lieutenant Governor John W. Brown, 
     and Cleveland Mayor Ralph Perk. After law school graduation, 
     he became a special agent of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation based in Boston and New York, where he met 
     Patricia Pluguez. Mike and Pat were married in November 1971, 
     and are the parents of a son, Chadd. The Oxleys moved to 
     Findlay, where Mike joined his father's law firm: Oxley, 
     Malone, Fitzgerald, and Hollister. He was elected to the Ohio 
     General Assembly in 1972. He represented the 82nd Ohio 
     District until he won a special election in July of 1981 that 
     sent him to Washington to serve in the U.S. House of 
     Representatives.
       In a lifetime of representing his districts in rural and 
     small-town Ohio, Oxley has dedicated himself to promoting the 
     values and policy goals he shares with his constituents: 
     economic prosperity, family, lean government, low taxes, a 
     strong defense and intelligence capability, free trade, 
     competition, and the U.S. as the leader of the free world.
       District Accomplishments:
       Transportation and Economic Development
       Joint Systems Manufacturing Center-Lima
       Ohio Air National Guard 179th Airlift Wing
       Marathon Oil
       University of Findlay Center for Terrorism Preparedness
       River Valley Schools
       Public Safety
       Agriculture
       Health and Environment
       Housing
       Reagan-Bush I Era:
       Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981)
       Tax Reform Act (1986)
       Rebuilding the U.S. Military
       MX Missiles and the Nuclear Freeze
       A Strong Foreign Policy
       Gulf War Resolution (1990)
       Improving Economic Competitiveness
       Curbing Entitlements and Wasteful Government Spending
       Energy and Environment
       Social Security Reform (1983)
       The Republican Majority Era:
       Contract with America
       Protecting America's National Security
       Restoring the National Defense
       Tax Relief and Economic Growth
       Fiscal Responsibility
       Regulatory and Tort Reform
       Open Markets and International Trade
       Welfare Reform
       Health Care
       Moral Values
       Personal Legislative Achievements:
       Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002)
       PATRIOT Act (2001)
       Financial Services Modernization
       Telecommunications Reform
       Trade and Economic Opportunity
       Energy and Environment
       Decency in the Internet Age
       Muhammad Ali Boxing Safety Act
       Public Safety
       Defending American Values
       A Legacy of Leadership Financial Services:
       Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002)
       The Common Cents Stock Pricing Act (1999)
       The Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act (2001)
       PATRIOT Act (2001)
       Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (2002)
       Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (1999)
       Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (2003)
       Check 21 Act (2002)
       Deposit Insurance Modernization (2006)
       American Dream Downpayment Act (2003)
       Mike Oxley's credo has always been ``play hard, but play 
     fair.'' He was guided by that philosophy both in the halls of 
     Congress and on the athletic field. Oxley played in the 
     Congressional Baseball Game for Charity for 16 years, manning 
     every position except pitcher and catcher. He managed the 
     Republican team for the last eight years, compiling a 7-1 
     managerial record and raising more than a half million 
     dollars for charitable causes.

  Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great admiration that I rise 
today to recognize the 25 years of public service that Chairman Oxley 
has bestowed upon this body. He is a dedicated and hard-working public 
servant whose leadership as Chairman of the Financial Services 
Committee has been exemplary. Under Chairman Oxley's leadership, the 
Financial Services Committee enjoyed an unprecedented level of 
collegiality and comity that permitted us all to work together and get 
things done.
  Chairman Oxley has a series of legislative successes few others can 
rival. When investor confidence was at a low, Chairman Oxley restored 
confidence in our financial markets by authoring the landmark Sarbanes-
Oxley Act. This legislation established tough new standards to ensure 
corporate accountability to all American shareholders. In addition 
Chairman Oxley was responsible for the passage of The Fair and Accurate 
Credit Transactions Act, or FACT Act, which gave consumers new identity 
theft protections and also improved credit report accuracy. Chairman 
Oxley also spearheaded efforts to reform our nation's deposit insurance 
system and modernize our check clearing process which brought our 
antiquated systems into the 21st century. These achievements will have 
a positive impact on our financial services system for generations to 
come.
  Aside from his leadership in the House, Mike Oxley has been a true 
mentor and friend. Fortunately, this is not a retirement for Mike Oxley 
but a beginning of a new chapter in his career. I look forward to 
working with him in whatever his future endeavors may be. Although I am 
losing a colleague and fellow Member, Linda and I look forward to many 
years of continued friendship with Mike and his wife Pat.
  Mr. REGULA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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