[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 2 (Friday, January 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H85-H86]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ROBERT T. STAFFORD WHITE ROCKS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

  Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration 
of the Senate bill (S. 159) to redesignate the White Rocks National 
Recreation Area in the State of Vermont as the ``Robert T. Stafford 
White Rocks

[[Page H86]]

National Recreational Area,'' and ask for its immediate consideration 
in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Andrews). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Vermont?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                 S. 159

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ROBERT T. STAFFORD WHITE ROCKS NATIONAL RECREATION 
                   AREA.

       (a) Redesignation.--The White Rocks National Recreation 
     Area in the State of Vermont, as established by section 202 
     of the Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 460nn-1), is 
     redesignated as the ``Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National 
     Recreation Area''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     recreation area referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed 
     to be a reference to the Robert T. Stafford White Rocks 
     National Recreation Area.

  Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed emotions that I 
stand here on my first full day as a Member of Congress to say good bye 
to a great Vermont statesman. Senator Bob Stafford passed away last 
December at the age of 93. I feel a deep sense of pride to have the 
first Bill I introduce be one that honors Bob Stafford's commitment to 
Vermont by redesignating the White Rocks National Recreation Area as 
the ``Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area''.
  Senator Stafford was born in Rutland in 1913. He had a long and 
distinguished career as a civil servant to the state, serving the state 
for nearly 30 years first as Governor, Representative, and Senator. 
Robert Stafford was a man who knew Vermont, and understood how to best 
serve Vermonters.
  It was through his many public service positions around the state 
that he learned the importance of moderation and bipartisanship. He 
served as Rutland County State's attorney, as Deputy State Attorney 
General, and then as State Attorney General. In the late 1950's he was 
elected Lieutenant Governor, and in 1959 he became Governor.
  In 1960, Bob Stafford was elected to Vermont's sole seat in the U.S. 
House of Representatives. He won five successive re-elections. In 
September 1971, he resigned his House seat to accept appointment to the 
U.S. Senate following the death of Senator Winston Prouty. After 
winning a special election in 1972, he proceeded to represent Vermont 
in the Senate for the next 17 years.
  When he came to Washington, a member of the Republican Party, he 
formed many close relationships with members of both parties. Senator 
Stafford was able to be effective because of his reliance on moderation 
and compromise. He was a leader among his peers, and became an advocate 
for issues that were close to him and to Vermont. Affordable education 
and his dedication to the environment became his most important issues. 
The Stafford Student Loan program has made higher education more 
accessible for millions of Americans.
  While his achievements in the areas of education and federal disaster 
relief were very important, it is the legacy he has left behind for the 
work he did in protecting the environment that he was most proud of. 
Bob Stafford shared Vermonters' belief that we have a moral obligation 
to leave for our children a cleaner environment than the one we 
inherited. He was a leader and visionary who helped shape and 
strengthen some of our Nation's most critical environmental laws for 
over two decades. Serving as Chairman of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee from 1981-1986, he led the charge to expand and 
strengthen the Superfund toxic waste cleanup law in the mid 1980's.
  Please join me today in honoring the tremendous life and service of 
Senator Bob Stafford. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, 
and pass the Congress by unanimous consent.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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