[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H5587-H5590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE REVEREND JERRY FALWELL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the memory of my 
constituent and my friend, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
  Last week, the city of Lynchburg, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and 
the entire country lost one of our dearest sons in the passing of Rev. 
Falwell. Today Dr. Falwell was laid to rest. I am sad that business 
here in Washington kept many of us from being able to attend today's 
services, but since we were unable to attend, we have joined here 
tonight to pay homage to this great leader.
  Dr. Falwell's legacy is one that will not soon be forgotten. He was a 
man whose strong faith and vision were unshakable. He lived his life 
trying to strengthen the moral fabric of our great Nation.
  In his crusade to strengthen family values, he was a frequent visitor 
to Washington, DC, he led many people to the Nation's Capital to demand 
that leaders here strengthen our country's moral foundation.
  Jerry lived his life guided by a strong set of values and an 
unshakable moral compass. He lived by example, embodying the Bible's 
greatest commandments. He followed the words of Matthew 22 in his daily 
life: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 
and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And 
the second is like it: Love your neighbors as yourself.
  Anyone who ever met Jerry Falwell knew that he took this commandment 
seriously and chartered his life by it.
  One thing is for sure. Whether one was viewed as a friend or foe of 
Jerry Falwell, he loved them all. This love for the neighbor extended 
to everyone, even those who wouldn't expect it. I had many times heard 
Rev. Falwell say, ``Love the sinner, hate the sin.'' This was more than 
just a catch phrase. It was a way of life.
  Many people have heard of the infamous Supreme Court battle between 
Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt. But what few people didn't realize is 
that Falwell and Flynt actually became friends. I know Jerry did not 
approve of Mr. Flynt's business, but he separated his thoughts about 
the man from Flynt's activities.

                              {time}  1730

  To most people, Jerry Falwell is a national figure. But I also know 
him as a local guy who was always giving back to his community. He was 
a local preacher who worked to serve his congregation and the 
community. He started his church over 50 years ago in an old bottling 
factory. That small congregation has grown from 35 to the over-22,000 
current members of Thomas Road Baptist Church.
  Dr. Falwell, through his church, set in place many ministries to aid 
the community. In 1959, he established the Elim Home to help men 
dealing with chemical addictions. This home has transformed the lives 
of hundreds of men and remains a place to free men of their addictions.
  Additionally, Dr. Falwell helped found the Liberty Godparent 
Foundation. The foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life 
for unwed mothers and provide a hopeful future for unborn children. The 
foundation maintains Liberty Godparent Maternity Home, which offers a 
safe haven for unwed mothers, and Family Services Adoption Agency, 
which helps place unwanted children in safe and stable homes. The reach 
of the church has touched many thousands and extends past central 
Virginia and across the United States.
  The list of Jerry Falwell's many ministries and accomplishments is 
nearly endless. However, many people asked him of what accomplishment 
he was most proud. Without hesitation he would say, Liberty University. 
This university, located in my congressional district in Lynchburg, 
started as a small Baptist college. Today it has grown exponentially 
and serves over 10,000 students. Washington, DC is filled with Liberty 
University alumni. I have been pleased to have many Liberty University 
alumni serve in my office as staff and interns. In fact, L.U. alumni 
are all over Capitol Hill. I have heard them talk fondly of the 
education they received at Liberty, and they refer to themselves warmly 
as ``Jerry's kids.''
  I have frequently been on the campus of Liberty, and they are, in 
fact, Jerry's kids. He loved those kids as his own. Rev. Falwell was 
very involved and engaged in university life. He always had time for 
the students. He was also a fixture at school events. Jerry was 
especially proud of L.U. athletics and he would, with the students, 
cheer the Flames on to victory. I have even heard stories of Jerry 
crowd surfing at basketball games. Students would transport him from 
the bottom of the stands to the top.
  There is no doubt that Liberty and the alumni that it produces will 
live on as Jerry Falwell's lasting legacy. These alumni carry with them 
the strong values and morals that were reinforced through their 
education at Liberty. The university and its alumni will remain a 
living testimony of the work and vision of Jerry Falwell.
  You cannot talk about Rev. Falwell without also talking about the 
town that he loved, the city of Lynchburg. Jerry, though a national 
figure, never left his home in central Virginia. He led his spiritual 
network out of his offices in Lynchburg. The city of Lynchburg greatly 
benefited from Rev. Falwell's work. As Falwell's ministries, and 
especially Liberty University flourished, so did the city. The impact 
that Jerry had on Lynchburg's economy and culture is undeniable.
  When word of Jerry's death came, the city of Lynchburg seemed to take 
a collective gasp and was filled with shock and sorrow. The loss of 
Rev. Falwell was a huge loss for Lynchburg. And today I tell the 
citizens of Lynchburg that the Nation mourns with you.
  When I heard of the passing of my good friend, Jerry Falwell, I was 
deeply saddened. My wife, Mary Ellen, and I had the pleasure of knowing 
Dr. Falwell for many years. He was a good man and made an undeniable 
impression on many lives. Two hours after his death was confirmed, an 
impromptu memorial service brought a standing room only crowd to Thomas 
Road Baptist Church, a church that holds 6,000 people. Since then, 
thousands have shown up to pay their respects, and thousands showed up 
today for his funeral.
  While many people mourn the death of Rev. Falwell, no one experiences 
this loss harder than Jerry's family. Jerry was a devoted family man. 
He was dedicated to his bride and partner of 49 years, Macel. Together 
they raised three children. Jerry, Jr., Jonathan and Jeannie, who I 
have no doubt will build on the great legacy that their father leaves 
behind. Nothing can compare to the deep personal loss that they are 
experiencing, and our thoughts and prayers and hearts are with them.
  After hearing the sad news of Jerry's death, I was able to call and 
offer my condolences to Macel. She shared with me how Jerry spent his 
last day. I don't think she would mind me sharing with you what 
happened, as I feel it fully embodies the man that Jerry was.
  The night before he passed away, Macel and Jerry went out to dinner. 
As they talked to their waitress, Jerry found out that she attended the 
local community college. When he asked the young lady why she didn't go 
to Liberty University, she told him that she had applied and been 
accepted, but as a private school, it was too expensive. Jerry told her 
that he would find a way

[[Page H5588]]

for her to attend Liberty. The next morning, the morning he passed 
away, Rev. Falwell lived up to his word and found scholarship money for 
the young waitress. It was perhaps one of the last things he did before 
collapsing in his office.
  This last act of charity and giving is a perfect example of the man 
that Jerry Falwell was. Right up till the end of his life, he was 
working to change lives.
  There are many other stories like this one out there of how this 
extraordinary man touched and changed ordinary lives. Rev. Jerry 
Falwell was a loving and caring man. He led his life guided by strong 
convictions. He left an unquestionable impression on our country.
  I will greatly miss my friend. I pray for his family and his 
congregation, and I join the Nation in mourning this great spiritual 
leader.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks).
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, sometimes when a man affects the 
world as much as Jerry Falwell does, there are all kinds of things that 
are said, both by those who remember him in different ways, and I, 
today, would like to just point out some basics about Jerry Falwell. I 
had the privilege of knowing him many years ago, and sometimes I wonder 
how many of us are in this place because Jerry Falwell lived and did 
what he did.
  But just to recap some of the basics, Mr. Speaker, Jerry Falwell was 
born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Helen and Carey Hezekiah Falwell. He 
married the former Macel Pate on April 12, 1958. He had two sons, 
Jerry, Jr., Jonathan, and one daughter, Jeannie.
  The church that Jerry Falwell first started was in an abandoned 
bottling plant in 1956, and it grew into a ministry giant that includes 
the 22,000-member Thomas Road Baptist Church, the Old Time Gospel Hour 
carried on television stations across the Nation, and the nearly 8,000-
student Liberty University founded in Lynchburg in 1971.
  He built Christian elementary schools. He built homes for unwed 
mothers and a home for alcoholics. Through these venues, Jerry's legacy 
lives on in the lives of thousands of young adults whom he called 
champions for Christ. And they were American patriots in his heart as 
well.
  Jerry Falwell launched the Moral Majority in 1979, and its purpose 
was to transform a politically sleeping Christian evangelical universe 
into a force to transform and preserve the very soul of America. It 
grew into a 6.5-million-member organization and raised nearly $70 
million, as it supported conservative candidates and campaigned to 
protect innocent human life, to work against the debasing of life and 
pornography and to fight for the religious freedom of students to pray 
in schools.
  After a decade of catalyzing a wave of conservatism that culminated 
in the election and the reelection of one Ronald Reagan, Jerry 
disbanded the Moral Majority, saying, ``Our mission is accomplished.''
  Today, Mr. Speaker, approximately one of every four American voters 
is a Christian evangelical; and one in four American citizens, those 
that were the ones that Jerry helped awaken.
  Not so long ago he said, what we've worked on for nearly 30 years 
ago, to mobilize people of faith and value in this country, and what 
we've done in those years is coming to a culmination.
  The Pew Research Institute, a senior fellow there, John Green, to 
paraphrase him, he said, Falwell changed the way that evangelicals 
think about their political responsibility.
  But it was one of Jerry's friends and colleagues, I think, Mr. 
Speaker, that put it the very best. His name was Chuck Baldwin. He 
spoke the following words in tribute, which I think sum up the legacy 
of Jerry Falwell. He said, ``America has lost a seasoned patriot. 
Thomas Road Baptist Church has lost a faithful and dedicated pastor. 
Liberty University has lost a visionary chancellor. The Church of 
Christ, collectively, has lost a dynamic preacher of the gospel. The 
Falwell family has lost a loving husband and father. And thousands of 
people, such as me, have lost a hero, mentor and friend. No matter what 
his enemies say, America is a better place because of Jerry Falwell. 
And those of us who were privileged to personally know him will never 
forget him.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to add to those words. But just in the way 
that I could, I would simply say this, that Jerry Falwell was a man who 
loved God, who loved his country, who loved his family and who loved 
humanity. And more than we all realize, we are very blessed that he 
came our way. And now that he has stepped over the threshold of 
eternity, he has found a welcome place. He has looked into the eyes of 
his Saviour and heard those eternal words of victory, ``Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant.''
  Mr. GOODLATTE. I thank the gentleman for his very kind and thoughtful 
words.
  And now I'd like to turn to the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman 
Goode. Virgil Goode and I have the honor of representing central 
Virginia and share many of the members of Thomas Road Baptist Church. I 
have the City of Lynchburg and part of Bedford County and Amherst 
County in my district, and Virgil has Appomattox County and Campbell 
County and the remainder of Bedford. And we've both had the opportunity 
to work with Reverend Falwell on many, many occasions. And it's my 
pleasure to yield now to the gentleman for his words.
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Roanoke 
for arranging this special order. I rise tonight to pay homage to Dr. 
Jerry Falwell, whose funeral and visitation drew tens of thousands to 
Lynchburg, Virginia, this past weekend and today.
  Jerry Falwell was a native of Lynchburg, which is next to the Fifth 
District, which I have the honor of representing. A devout Christian, 
Dr. Falwell began his first church 51 years ago, with 35 parishioners. 
In 3 years the congregation had grown to 800. During part of this 
period, Dr. Falwell ran buses throughout this region and south to the 
North Carolina line to bring persons to services.
  Today, Thomas Road Baptist Church welcomes thousands to its sanctuary 
and all related services. The services and activities offered by Thomas 
Road are important to citizens of Lynchburg and to many nearby 
counties, including Campbell and Bedford and Appomattox, which are in 
the Fifth District. His broadcast ministry has touched millions all 
around the globe.
  Dr. Falwell remarked in an interview 2 years ago that his mission 
remained the same, to train young champions for Christ. That training 
has extended well beyond the church.
  Having an equally important impact on this area of Central Virginia 
is Liberty University. It is the product of Dr. Falwell's decision to 
launch Liberty Baptist College in 1971. This school has grown into a 
major university with an enrollment in excess of 10,000.

                              {time}  1745

  And projections are its distance-learning programs may reach 25,000 
students in a few years. It offers 71 majors and specializations and 
boasts a growing law school. Liberty University is a significant 
contributor to the economy of Lynchburg and the surrounding area.
  And while Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University may be 
considered the pillars of a legacy that will endure for generations, an 
equally important contribution was Dr. Falwell's determined spirit and 
unrelenting belief that Christians should stand forth proudly and be 
integral parts of all of American life.
  To that end he urged all to be involved politically and to press 
those who would seek elective office to subscribe to strong moral 
principles as the guiding light of this Nation. Today we hear the 
candidates for national office professing their faith and its 
importance in their lives. This is due, in no small measure, to the 
trail blazed by Dr. Jerry Falwell.
  To thousands in central Virginia, he was simply known as Jerry, and 
those individuals will sadly miss their friend, pastor, and mentor.
  To his wife, Macel; and his children, Jerry Jr., Jonathan, and 
Jeanie; and to all in the Falwell family, my heartfelt sympathies are 
extended, and may God bless them during this time of sorrow.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  And it is now my pleasure to yield to another representative from 
Virginia, Congressman Eric Cantor, the chief deputy whip from the 
Richmond area, who I knew not too long ago stopped

[[Page H5589]]

off in Lynchburg and had the opportunity to spend some time with 
Reverend Falwell.
  I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my friend from 
Virginia, for yielding.
  I, too, rise this evening to pay tribute to a fellow Virginian and a 
great leader in America's conservative movement.
  Dr. Jerry Falwell made his mark as an outspoken, passionate advocate 
for conservative causes. More than any other 20th century Virginian, 
Jerry Falwell's passion and convictions sparked a new generation of 
grassroots activism.
  Recently, as my friend from the Sixth District noted, I visited with 
Dr. Falwell in his office on the campus of his beloved Liberty 
University. During that visit, I gleaned a little more and had gained a 
little more insight into this impressive public figure.
  Jerry Falwell, a man of faith, was a pastor who loved his 
congregation. He was chancellor of a growing university, a place that 
began just as a vision, but one that he built into a thriving reality 
that has become a major educational and economic force in Virginia.
  Jerry Falwell was a husband, father, and grandfather who actively 
engaged in the affairs of this Nation because he, like all of us, 
wanted to leave behind a country better, more hopeful, and filled with 
greater opportunity than even the one he inherited from his parents.
  The people of the Commonwealth of Virginia have lost a son and the 
American people a true patriot.
  To his family, I extend my deepest sympathy during this time of 
sorrow.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words.
  We will be joined shortly by another speaker, but before we are, let 
me tell a little bit more about Dr. Falwell.
  At the age of 22, having just graduated from college in June of 1956, 
Jerry Falwell returned to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, and 
started Thomas Road Baptist Church with just 35 members. The offering 
that first Sunday totaled $135. Falwell often said about that first 
collection, ``We thought we had conquered the world.'' Today Thomas 
Road has over 22,000 members, and the total annual revenues of all of 
the Jerry Falwell ministries total over $200 million.
  Within weeks of founding his new church in 1956, Falwell began the 
Old-Time Gospel Hour, a daily local radio ministry and a weekly local 
television ministry. Nearly five decades later, this Old-Time Gospel 
Hour is now seen and heard in every American home and on every 
continent except Antarctica. Through the years, over 3 million persons 
have communicated to the Falwell ministries that they have received 
Christ as Lord and Savior as a result of this radio and television 
ministry.
  In 1967, Falwell implemented his vision to build a Christian 
educational system for evangelical youth. He began with the creation of 
Lynchburg Christian Academy, a Christ-centered, academically excellent, 
fully accredited Christian day school providing kindergarten, 
elementary, and high school. In 1971, Liberty University was founded. 
Today, over 21,500 students from 50 States and 80 nations attend this 
accredited liberal arts Christian university. Falwell's dream has 
become a reality. A preschool child can now enter the school system at 
age 3 and, 20 or more years later, leave the same campus with a Ph.D., 
without ever sitting in a classroom where the teacher was not a 
Christian.
  Falwell is also publisher of the National Liberty Journal, a monthly 
newspaper which is read by over 200,000 pastors and Christian workers; 
and the Falwell Confidential, a weekly e-mail newsletter to over 
500,000 pastors and Christian activists.
  In June of 1979, Falwell organized the Moral Majority, a conservative 
political lobbying movement, which the press soon dubbed the 
``Religious Right.'' During the first 2 years of its existence, the 
Moral Majority attracted over 100,000 pastors, priests, and rabbis and 
nearly 7 million religious conservatives who mobilized as a pro-life, 
pro-family, pro-Israel, and pro-strong-national-defense organization. 
The Moral Majority supported California Governor Ronald Reagan as their 
candidate for President in 1980, registered millions of new voters, and 
set about to inform and activate a sleeping giant: 80 million Americans 
committed to faith, family, and moral values.
  With the impetus of the newly organized Moral Majority, millions of 
people of faith voted for the first time in 1980 and helped Ronald 
Reagan be elected President, and many conservative Congressmen and 
Senators.

  Since 1979, about 30 percent of the American electorate has been 
identified by media polls as the ``Religious Right.'' Most recent major 
media surveys have acknowledged that these ``faith and values'' voters 
reelected George W. Bush in November 2004.
  Though perhaps better known outside Lynchburg for political activism, 
Jerry Falwell's personal schedule confirms his passion for being a 
pastor and a Christian educator. He often states that his heartbeat is 
for training young people for every walk of life.
  Falwell and his wife of 49 years Macel have three grown children and 
eight grandchildren.
  While we continue to await for our next speaker, let me read from a 
report in the Lynchburg News & Advance from last Tuesday:
  ``Jerry Falwell was born in 1933 in Lynchburg and lived here all his 
life. He married Macel Pate of Lynchburg in 1958. They had three 
children: Jerry Falwell, Jr., an attorney who represents the Falwell 
ministries and is vice chancellor of Liberty University; Jeannie 
Falwell Savas, a Richmond surgeon; and Jonathan Falwell, the executive 
pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church.
  ``Falwell founded Thomas Road in 1956 in an old soft drink bottling 
plant after graduating from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, 
Missouri. That same year he started his weekly television broadcast, 
the Old-Time Gospel Hour.
  ``The church moved into a 3,200-seat sanctuary on Thomas Road in the 
Fort Hill area in 1970, with services broadcast around the world. 
Falwell founded Liberty University, then known as Lynchburg Baptist 
College, in 1971. He always hoped the school would be one of his 
lasting legacies.
  ``He started the Moral Majority, Incorporated, in 1979, conducting `I 
love America' rallies at 44 State capitals.
  ``The rise of the Moral Majority coincided with the Reagan 
Presidency, and Falwell rose to national prominence as well.''
  Falwell and his ministries faced many challenges through the years.
  ``In the late 1990s, Falwell reemerged on the national stage in a 
flurry of television appearances,'' a series of changes to his 
ministries, ``but Falwell gave up campaigning for politicians as he did 
for President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. `I don't plan ever to get 
back into the Moral Majority-type work,' he said in a 1998 interview. 
`What I did I did because I felt led to do it then, and I'm glad I did 
it . . . My thing now is a nonpartisan Biblical approach to moral and 
social issues.' ''
  Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the Republican whip, 
the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt). I am very pleased to have his 
presence as we commemorate the life of Reverend Jerry Falwell.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I thank the gentleman also for putting this time together today so 
that we could talk about the incredible, remarkable life of Rev. Jerry 
Falwell, a man who never apologized for his spiritual beliefs, who 
never wavered in his commitment to furthering the dialogue of faith and 
family in America.
  Jerry Falwell was a native son of Virginia, the senior pastor of one 
of its most prominent and well-attended churches, and the founder of a 
Christian college in Lynchburg that started its enrollment with 154 
students in 1971 and today has over 20,000 students.
  Along the way, Rev. Falwell honed his leadership skills and pursued 
his academic study. In Springfield, Missouri, the town I live in now 
and I am pleased to represent it in Congress, he transferred there as a 
sophomore to Baptist Bible College. He later graduated from that school 
in 1956 with a degree in theology.
  And the first time I met Rev. Falwell was when he returned to 
Springfield. I was a county official at the time, and I had begun to 
watch him on television. And unlike so many other

[[Page H5590]]

television pastors, watching Rev. Falwell was like you were right there 
in the church service because it was a church service. And I remember 
the growth of the church as you could watch it on that late Sunday 
night broadcast that I happened to watch on Sunday evening. I remember 
when they started moving the church, they had a song that was something 
like ``I Want That Mountain,'' the site on which Rev. Falwell and the 
church had decided they wanted to grow the church and eventually the 
school. And watching his incredible faith and what he was doing, his 
unflagging determination to spread the Gospel, his ability to use the 
communication tools available to him in ways that others hadn't, but in 
ways that his growing congregation were totally comfortable with, in 
ways, in fact, that didn't compete with what he was doing every Sunday 
morning and every Sunday night at the Thomas Road Baptist Church.

                              {time}  1800

  He left Missouri in the mid-1950s with a renewed commitment to the 
power of ideas, ideas about the importance of spirituality and public 
life, ideas that promoted the family, ideas about the protection of 
human life at all stages of development. And for 50 years, for half a 
century, his mission was a mission of defending those ideas.
  It would give rise to a movement of citizen activists in evangelical 
Christianity that, frankly, for the previous 50 years in many ways had 
been intentionally removing itself from the civic and political 
process, with a focus on what was going to happen after we were here, 
rather than also being focused on the world we live in. He never lost 
sight of his mission.
  He was a man of purpose, not a man of things, it appeared to me. 
Whenever he applied that purpose to improve the conditions of the world 
around him, it made a difference. The time and energy he devoted to his 
once small college, in fact, once just his idea of a college, became 
one of our larger universities. It's a great example.
  The church he started, the Thomas Road Baptist Church, which he 
started in 1956 in a bottling plant with a congregation of 35 people, 
now is a church of nearly 25,000 members. But his achievements weren't 
only building a church and building a school, he was deeply concerned 
about the moral direction of this country, and worked hard to ensure 
that people of faith were part of the national dialogue, part of a way 
of changing who we were for the better.
  His lifelong pursuit of truth was not a casual affair nor was his 
commitment to a way of life and learning that acknowledged the lessons 
of the past and applied those experiences to building a better future.
  Earlier this afternoon, parishioners of the Thomas Road Baptist 
Church and people from all over the country and all over the world 
gathered in Lynchburg to pay a final tribute to their pastor, their 
friend, a leader that they respected.
  Tonight, I would like to join my good friend, Mr. Goodlatte, and 
others and use this opportunity to pay my final respects to a person 
who clearly was a leader. He was a teacher, he was a father and a 
husband, and above all other things, he was an untiring messenger of 
the good news and the eternal hope of our Lord.
  I want to thank my friend for organizing this time tonight and for 
giving me the time to join you.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Well, I thank the whip for joining us in this special 
tribute to Reverend Jerry Falwell.
  I must tell you that the mountain you refer to, which is Chandler 
Mountain in Lynchburg, was acquired by Liberty University. You can see 
the university growing up the sides of that mountain now. In fact, they 
now have a big ``LU'' planted in trees near the top of the mountain.
  Jerry Falwell climbed many mountains, and he leaves behind a legacy 
not only of building an outstanding educational organization and an 
outstanding church, but more importantly, he leaves behind the people 
who make that church and that university strong and growing, led by his 
children, who will carry on his legacy and reach out to many, many more 
throughout our country and throughout the world.
  I close this special order with a moment of silence, acknowledging 
the life and work of my constituent and my friend, the late Rev. Jerry 
Falwell.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

                          ____________________