[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         GOODBYE TO COLLEAGUES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor four of my 
distinguished colleagues and to pay tribute to their dedicated work on 
behalf of the people of New York.
  I have been honored throughout my time in Congress to call Sherwood 
Boehlert, Major Owens, John Sweeney and Sue Kelly my colleagues and my 
friends, and their hard work and passion will be sorely missed by our 
great institution.
  Sherry Boehlert has been fighting for the people of the Mohawk Valley 
and Central New York since 1964, first as chief of staff to Congressman 
Alexander Pirnie and his successor Donald Mitchell and, for the last 24 
years, as the representative of the 24th Congressional District of New 
York. Sherry has been a staunch advocate for environmental and science 
priorities including the space program, protection of the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge, and research into global warming and 
cyberterror issues, and he has fought on the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee to secure New York's fair share of Federal 
funds.
  Sherry Boehlert epitomizes what a Member of Congress should strive to 
be--an independent, bipartisan consensus builder with loyalty not to 
outside interest groups or to party leadership, but to the constituents 
who sent him to Congress for over two decades.
  New York and the U.S. Congress have benefited for nearly as long from 
the service of Major Owens. Since succeeding the late Shirley Chisholm 
in 1982, Major Owens has successfully fought in Congress for increased 
educational opportunities, a higher minimum wage, equal opportunity for 
those with disabilities, and aid for historical black colleges. Major's 
voice will be missed, but his New York colleagues will remember him as 
we carry forward these important initiatives.
  It has also been my privilege to work with John Sweeney since his 
election to the House in 1998. As my colleague on the Appropriations 
Committee, as my co-chair of the Hudson River Caucus and as a leading 
voice for a risk-based approach to distribute Homeland Security funds, 
John Sweeney has proven himself not only dedicated to the people of his 
district, but to all the citizens of New York.
  We will miss Mr. Sweeney's lively spirit and the passion and 
expertise he displayed throughout his tenure.
  The New York delegation also wishes our colleague Sue Kelly well as 
she leaves the U.S. Congress. Through her roles on the Small Business 
and Financial Services Committees, Sue Kelly has successfully pushed to 
increase small business access to capital. As the chair of the 
Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, she has paid careful 
attention to the efforts of law enforcement to crack down on terrorist 
financing and money laundering.
  Sue and I have stood united on many issues affecting our region, 
including Hudson River preservation activities and the proposed shift 
in services away from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Montrose Campus of 
the VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System which serves veterans in both of 
our districts.
  Mr. Speaker, while Sherry, Major, John and Sue may not know yet what 
the future holds for them, there are two things I know for sure--the 
people of New York will miss them, and the House of Representatives is 
better for their service.
  I wish them all success and happiness in the days and years to come 
and am thankful for the opportunity to work with them and call them my 
friends.

                          ____________________