[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 91 (Thursday, June 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6175-H6178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING CONGRESSMAN WILEY MAYNE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the privilege to be 
recognized here on the floor of the House of Representatives and to 
have the privilege to make some remarks tonight about the life of a 
former colleague for some of the Members here in Congress and one of 
the real stars in the Sioux City area that I have the privilege to 
represent today, and that is the life of former Congressman Wiley Mayne 
who passed away a little over a week ago at St. Luke's Hospital in 
Sioux City, Iowa.
  Late Congressman Mayne represented the 6th Congressional District of 
Iowa for 8 years here in this Congress. That was during a time when 
this country experienced great turmoil. He came from Sioux City and 
represented much of the northwest Iowa area. He was elected to Congress 
in 1966 and was sworn in here on this floor in 1967 and served until 
the early days of 1975.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, the '60s and the '70s were tumultuous years 
for America. But despite the challenges before him, Congressman Mayne 
accepted an appointment to the Judiciary Committee. Serving on the 
Judiciary Committee, I appreciate what that means. Only a few years 
later, he participated in that panel's hearings on the impeachment of 
President Nixon. That was in the wake of the Watergate break-ins but 
actually before the Nation heard the tapes that confirmed what actually 
happened. For his service to America during this tense time, he will be 
long remembered; and to a significant extent it defined his political 
career.
  Tonight, we are here to celebrate a man whose service and 
accomplishments went well beyond the work of any congressional 
committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I have much to say about the gentleman whom I have had 
the great privilege to represent, former Congressman Wiley Mayne.

                              {time}  1915

  But I inherited that representation from the gentleman next to me, 
who also represented the Sioux City area for, I believe, 8 years prior 
to my privilege to represent them, and that's the gentleman to my left, 
Congressman Latham, who now represents the north central regions of 
Iowa, and I would at this time yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
Latham).
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank very much Congressman King for the 
time.
  It is very difficult for me to talk about someone that I admired so 
much as Wiley Mayne, the idea of him having passed this earth. Wiley 
was born back in 1917. He passed away on May 27 of this year. He was 
born in a little town of Sanborn up in O'Brien County, and what a great 
area up there, a lot of the good Dutch men, and grew up, went to school 
there.
  And you think about someone coming from Sanborn, Iowa, then going off 
to Harvard to college, and he got his bachelor of science degree, 
continued studying law at Harvard, came back to Iowa and finished his 
law degree at the Iowa Law School.
  In 1941, he joined the FBI and had his career there. And then, during 
the Second World War, from 1941 to 1943, he served in the United States 
Navy and escorted destroyers through the Mediterranean, the Atlantic 
Ocean, the Pacific and served his Nation extraordinarily well at that 
time.
  He came back to Sioux City, practiced law for a couple decades, then 
became the president of the Iowa Bar Association and obviously was so 
admired and respected by his peers to have an honor bestowed on him 
like that.
  Like the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) said, Congressman Mayne was 
elected to this Congress in 1966 in the 90th Congress, served in that 
Congress and the three following Congresses and served his people 
extraordinarily well. He was someone who was dedicated to his 
constituents, someone that cared all the time about his constituents.
  And you talk to people who were around him at that time, and that's 
the thing that you will hear over and over, was his concern, his great 
job of representing his constituents. In my mind, in this job, that is 
our highest calling is to try and represent to the best of our 
abilities the people that we are honored to serve in this great body.

[[Page H6176]]

  Like Congressman King said, Congressman Mayne had the committee 
assignments, both Judiciary and obviously with the Watergate 
investigation and his service on that panel, then also served on the Ag 
Committee, very, very important to the Iowa interests, and served 
extremely well.
  The thing I will always remember about Wiley, though, is his deep 
love and devotion to his wife, Betty. And they were a couple. You'd 
have the pleasure of meeting up with them at a lot of Republican events 
and around, but they rarely missed anything, were always so much part 
of the community.
  And Wiley served on the Sioux City Orchestra Board for years and 
years, I think was president for 20 years, but so involved in the 
community.
  But his love for Betty, who he unfortunately lost back in 2001, was 
devastating to Wiley, and was such a model of a couple who cared for 
each other, cared for their community, and certainly, most importantly 
to them were their children.
  Martha Smith, who is their oldest daughter, lives in Colorado now. 
Wiley, Jr., also I believe lives in Colorado, and their youngest, John, 
who's a very good, personal friend of mine, who has been such a great 
help to me personally and to so many people throughout the Sioux City 
area, but their love for their family, for their grandchildren, for 
their community was something that was an example for everyone to see 
and their dedication to their grandchildren especially.
  It is very, very difficult to think about Wiley not being around. I 
think back when I first ran for Congress back in 1994, and to go over 
to Sioux City, where I wasn't really familiar with all that many people 
at that time, but I had the real pleasure and honor to get acquainted 
with Wiley and John and Betty at that time and to seek their support 
and which they gave me. And I would not be successful here today if it 
were not for the advice, counsel and support that they gave me. Wiley 
was just a wonderful, wonderful person.
  When you think about people who always are thinking beyond 
themselves, who act on behalf of other people, who are truly concerned 
about what this country stands for, what their community is about, how 
they can better the world that they live in for their children and for 
their grandchildren, Wiley Mayne was one of those people, and he will 
be dearly missed by so many people throughout Siouxland for so long.
  And certainly, I want to extend my personal condolences to the entire 
Mayne family, all the children, the grandchildren, all the friends that 
mourn his loss, as certainly I do, and I know Congressman King does, 
also.
  But he was an example to me. I went through the predicament, the 
situation with the impeachment process for President Clinton, and the 
first person that I called for counsel was Wiley Mayne because he had 
been through it. And I think people misrepresented what his real 
position was because he was betrayed by President Nixon, but to get his 
counsel, to get his insight, to get his thoughts, someone who was so 
smart and so normal, who could talk in real terms, who could relay not 
only the facts but the emotions, the feeling, the real sentiment about 
what this was all about and the long-term, historical part of what was 
happening.
  I just want to tell Congressman King, I appreciate the chance to 
visit a little bit about Wiley, but I'm going to miss him personally. 
And again, I just extend my most sincere condolences to his entire 
family.
  And the best thing we can do for Wiley is to celebrate him, celebrate 
his life, celebrate the positive things that he did and celebrate the 
legacy that he has left for the folks in Sioux City, for Siouxland and 
the State of Iowa and for this entire country.
  And I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
Latham) for contributing his time to this cause, and then for me it is 
a privilege, also.
  I wonder, if Wiley were here today, what he would say about Tom 
Latham actually being the first Republican Congressman to represent 
Sioux City who had not been educated at Harvard since 1966. I would 
imagine he would have a couple remarks to make about that had he given 
it any thought. I'm going to be interested to hear what the family 
might have to say about that as well.
  It is one of the things that is the distinction as the second 
Republican who isn't Harvard-educated, but there has been a certain 
trend that's there. And I think one of the consistent themes that you 
hear and one of those certainly that I reflect in my experience in time 
with Congressman Wiley Mayne was the fact that he was a consummate 
gentleman, and I can see him sitting there at those events with that 
smile on his face. He enjoyed sometimes just watching, listening to 
speakers, watching people, meeting people, being part of it, didn't 
have to be in the center of the action, but enjoyed being where there 
was activity and people. And there was a certain glow about him, and 
the consummate gentleman portion of that was a portion that I always 
recall.
  And my last memories are sitting in his conference room there in the 
attorney's office with his son, John, and talking politics, talking 
current events, talking all kinds of things but never with a sense of 
what was high stress or high intensity. If my approach to things gets 
to be a little bit herky jerky, his was always smooth and well-thought 
out, with a course in mind.
  And one of the comments that I've heard that's consistently come up 
has been, if you find yourself on opposite sides with Wiley Mayne, you 
still end up being his friend in the end, and that's an Iowa 
characteristic perhaps. I'd like to think it is, but it's a 
characteristic that certainly Congressman Wiley Mayne carried with him 
throughout his life and his service here.
  I've had a number of Members come to me today that have served with 
Wiley in this Congress, and some have asked the opportunity to revise 
and extend their remarks, and we'll see more of this Congressional 
Record unfold as we commemorate the life of Congressman Wiley Mayne.
  And so what I would like to do, if the gentleman is ready, is simply 
be in a position to wrap up my thoughts at the conclusion of this 
period of time. In order to do that, I'd be very happy to yield to the 
other gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Braley), who is more of a new arrival 
here to this Congress.
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa.
  It's my honor to be here to honor the life and memory of Wiley Mayne. 
I did not have the good fortune of meeting Wiley, but I did know his 
son John very well. And if children are a reflection of their parents, 
then he certainly was a wonderful person.
  And actually, I'm here for many reasons. One of them is, Wiley and I 
had many things in common. Wiley was an elder in a Presbyterian church 
in Sioux City, and I was an elder in a Presbyterian church in Waterloo.
  He was a past president of the Iowa State Bar Association from 1963 
to 1964, had a distinguished service in the U.S. Naval Reserves serving 
on destroyer escort duty in World War II.
  But I think one of the things that Congressman King mentioned that 
Congressman Latham and I and all of the other Members of the Iowa 
delegation feel so strongly about is that Wiley was the type of person 
who really exemplified what we feel are Iowa values. He was somebody 
who believed that representing his constituents did not require him to 
tear down someone else or their constituents.
  He was an incredibly handsome man, if any of you have seen pictures 
of him. His dedication to his family was evident from the way that he 
lived his life.
  When I had the opportunity to work with his son, John, on some cases 
up in the Sioux City area, we spent a lot of time talking about his 
father and the work he did in the House of Representatives and how 
proud he was to serve the constituents of northwest Iowa. And I know 
that his constituents remember him and remember that he also 
exemplified what it means to take tough votes based upon your 
conscience and your convictions and sometimes having to pay the price 
for that.
  So I was very, very honored to be asked to come tonight and to speak 
on behalf of Representative Mayne. He will be missed by his family, his 
friends and his many constituents that he served in the northwest Iowa 
Sixth

[[Page H6177]]

District with distinction during the 1960s and 1970s, and I'm very, 
very grateful to Congressman King for inviting me here to share those 
thoughts.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Well, I thank Mr. Braley, and in reclaiming my 
time, I appreciate you coming to the floor tonight to enter your 
remarks into this Record and to voice your sentiments about Wiley 
Mayne. I didn't realize that you had a relationship that had connected 
across the State over to Sioux City and with John and with Wiley.
  And I'm always pleased to find out that sometimes we think that it's 
a small world, but in fact, I think it's a big neighborhood.
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. It is a big neighborhood, and Iowa is a large 
State geographically but small in many ways, and that's why it's so 
nice when these things come around full circle.
  And I know that his family will miss him. I know they were very, very 
proud of his many accomplishments, and I just want them to know that my 
thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.
  And we certainly are proud to be here tonight to honor this great 
Iowan.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank very much Mr. Braley, and I'd like to 
reflect upon some of the things that have been written and said about 
Wiley Mayne, former Congressman, and most recently passed away 
Congressman Wiley Mayne. These are just some blogs that were posted in 
the paper.
  And I would reflect that, when you've been out of public life since 
the first days of 1975, and 33 years pretty much, that's a lot of time 
that's passed. And it's more than just a generation, and it approaches 
a second generation. And many of the people that live in the Sioux City 
area were not there and maybe were not born yet when Wiley Mayne was 
our Congressman.
  I remember those days, though, when he was, and I remember his image 
he had in our household. And we spoke reverently of Wiley Mayne for the 
positions of character that he took, and we watched him go through the 
agonizing period of time during the Watergate break-ins and the period 
of time that was very tumultuous.

                              {time}  1930

  We were in the middle of Vietnam War. We had the Watergate break-in. 
It's interesting that Marilyn and I were married on the same day of the 
Watergate break-ins, as was Governor Branstad on June 17, 1972. That's 
how we remember that.
  Wiley Mayne was my Congressman then. We had great reverence for him 
and great respect for his integrity. But the reflection back on that, 
that many years, to inspire someone to go to the keyboard and type some 
words in to post on a blog that may not be read, but they will be, 
because I think it's important for me to put this into the Record.
  Here is one from Mr. Joel Greer, and it's published May 29. ``Wiley 
Mayne is one of the last of the fine, older generation of gentleman 
lawyers that have made Iowa a good place to practice law. By the end of 
the case he had against me, we were friends. I loved travelling to 
depositions with him because he had so much worldly experience but was 
so humble. He gave good counsel to clients. He comported himself well 
as our Congressman. He was the consummate volunteer as President of the 
State Bar Association. I am pleased to have known him, and I thank his 
family for sharing him.''
  I second those sentiments.
  From Mr. Ronald Scott, same day. ``It was a pleasure to have met 
Congressman Mayne. He was a friend of my father, Harold Scott; and I 
met the Congressman when I had my first trip to Washington, D.C., in 
1968. I deeply appreciated the time Congressman Mayne spent with our 
family. I remember him as a true gentleman and an excellent 
representative.''
  Think of that, from 1968 until a little over a week ago, to have made 
that kind of an impression on a visit here, that that would cause 
Ronald Scott to go to the keyboard and put those words in on the 
passing of Congressman Wiley Mayne.
  Here is a gentleman I do know, Mr. Keith Uhl, who happens to be an 
attorney. ``As a member of Ben Reifel's (R-SD) staff in Washington 
D.C., '68-'72 we worked closely Congressman Mayne in Iowa and South 
Dakota. Wiley was always pleasant, cooperative and effective. His 
spirit continues thru his efforts for many. As growing up in Mapleton, 
Iowa, then the western Iowa communities appreciated his fine 
representation. God Bless. Keith Uhl, Des Moines & Mapleton, Iowa.''
  Those are some of the sentiments that have come out about Wiley 
Mayne. I have a series of things that have been repeated by Members who 
have come here to speak about Congressman Wiley Mayne.
  But as I look across his record, I can't help but reflect that his 
expertise went beyond being a congressman, of course. He went on to 
also being President of the Iowa State Bar Association, where he served 
with distinction; and he was also a trumpet player in college. I 
noticed in one with of the obituaries that I read that not only was he 
successful there, but he was also successful in debate, which would be 
a natural thing.
  I would have liked to have had the opportunity to have debated with 
him on opposite sides to see how he actually comported himself when I 
get a little wound up. I expect that he would have still applied his 
gentle nature and his keen intellect and his insightfulness to probably 
calm me down a little bit, and I would not have wanted to be in a 
position where I hoped to prevail in that particular debate.
  But his roots going back into Sanborn, Iowa, where he was born and 
raised and graduated from high school there in 1934. He actually won 
the Iowa State oratory and the trumpet competitions as a senior in high 
school. He went on then to Harvard, and he became chairman of the 
Kirkland House, and he was order of his class there in 1938. That's 
some pretty tough competition, I would say.
  Just 3 years later, he graduated from the Iowa law school and 
received one of the highest bar exam scores in the 1941 Iowa bar exam 
test. Now we can look back on his life and see a great leap in maturity 
for a young man, even as well educated as Wiley Mayne.
  In fact, we can look back and see his life shifted greatly to a life-
long commitment to public service, especially at the tumultuous times 
that I mentioned earlier. But from 1941 until 1943, Congressman Mayne 
was a Special Agent with the FBI, assigned here in Washington D.C., 
also Los Angeles and San Francisco.
  Then he heard the call to serve our Nation's military; and during the 
thick of the fighting during World War II, he entered into the U.S. 
Naval Reserve as a lieutenant with the Judge Advocate General in the 
Navy. From 1943 to 1946, he served aboard a destroyer escort, the USS 
Stockdale, in the north Atlantic, which was a difficult place, but also 
the Mediterranean and the Pacific, another difficult place to be.
  Upon returning to the States, he began practicing law in Sioux City; 
and from 1946 until 1964 he practiced law in Sioux City during some of 
that time. And 1963 was the year that he served as President of the 
Iowa State Bar Association and then also as a member of the House of 
Delegates of the American Bar Association from 1966 until 1968.

  He was also chairman of the Grievance Commission of the Iowa Supreme 
Court and Commissioner of Uniform State Laws. He has a long history in 
working to help support our laws and our community.
  But, again, at a time of turmoil, Congressman Mayne was elected to 
the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 to represent northwest Iowa. 
There he served for 8 years as Congressman of Iowa's 6th Congressional 
District.
  But as a member of the Judiciary, and we haven't mentioned yet the 
Agriculture Committee, and it's interesting that I have the privilege 
to serve on both the Judiciary Committee and on the House Agriculture 
Committee. To some degree, I have the duty and the responsibility, 
however heavy and difficult the load, of carrying on some of 
Congressman Mayne's legacy in both of those locations.
  It has been inspiring to me to be able to serve on the Judiciary and 
on the Agriculture Committee. It's odd that a nonlawyer like myself 
could serve on the Judiciary Committee, but it's also not odd at all 
that a lawyer from Sioux City would serve western Iowa, northwest Iowa, 
in the United States Congress and serve on the House Agriculture 
Committee, because, of course, of Iowa being one of the leading 
agriculture States.

[[Page H6178]]

  We grew up with agriculture all around us. It doesn't matter whether 
you are a lawyer or a pastor or a bulldozer operator, you are going to 
know something about agriculture. You cannot escape it if you grow up 
in the State of Iowa, especially if you are born and raised in Sanborn, 
Iowa. But I have the great privilege of serving on the two committees 
that Wiley Mayne served on.
  But he also served as a delegate to the Food and Agriculture 
Organization in Rome in 1973, and it was during Congressman Mayne's 
final term in the Judiciary Committee in which he served where they 
investigated a break-in at the office of the Democratic National 
Committee at the Watergate Hotel. He was one of 10 Republicans that 
served on the Judiciary Committee that voted not to impeach President 
Nixon.
  But shortly after that the Watergate tapes were revealed. Congressman 
Mayne stated that, as that evidence came out, he didn't have enough 
evidence at the time that he voted to vote for impeachment of President 
Nixon, but after the tapes came out, it became, the preponderance of 
evidence, that Mr. Mayne announced he would have voted differently if 
that information had been available to him at the time.
  That's an intellectually honest way for one to conduct themselves in 
this Congress. The integrity that he held through that is part of the 
legacy that's here and part of our obligation to uphold. I don't 
believe that history has judged him as well as he deserves on that 
issue, and he was straight up all the time in our family and household 
as we discussed this issue. We judged him as a man of character, a man 
who called them as he saw them, a man who felt the obligations to serve 
his country and did so and gave us a straight answer each and every 
time.
  But the hindsight was superior to the foresight, and that will always 
be the case in the real world. But sometimes history is not forgiving; 
and I think, though, that the legacy that Wiley Mayne has left here has 
overcome any of those senses, because we know he did what he believed 
was right at a time that what did he know and when did he know it might 
be the question he would pose if he were here today to ask it. I think 
he acted appropriately and honorably on the information he knew when he 
knew it. The record will show that. History should judge that, and we 
need to honor his effort in that fashion.
  In recapping this, I want to express my sense of sympathy to the 
family of Congressman Wiley Mayne, to his two sons and daughter and 
their children, the grandchildren that are part also of his legacy. I 
want to express that sympathy and that appreciation for having known 
him and having the privilege to have been able to call him a friend and 
a supporter and an adviser. But I think I am more the beneficiary of 
having been his constituent than I was of any other component.
  He served me as one of his constituents and a resident in northwest 
Iowa during those years, and he inspired my family and the people 
around me. He helped lead us through some very difficult times. He was 
a steady hand at the throttle when we needed a steady hand.
  When the time came for him to leave this Congress, he left this 
Congress graciously, gracefully, with honor and dignity and integrity. 
He left a legacy of those adjectives, and his family remembers it well.
  The Siouxland area remembers him well. We can't say enough good about 
a man who made this kind of contribution and had an extraordinarily 
good life, a long life, for the most part a healthy life with a good 
family and good friends.
  He very much enjoyed his time here in this Congress and his time as a 
retired Member of Congress, but a very active member of the Siouxland 
community who will long remember Wiley Mayne. We will regret losing 
him, but celebrate his life and extend our sympathies to his family.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________