[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ON THE PASSING OF J. PATRICK ROONEY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 15, 2008

  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn 
of the passing of my friend and mentor, J. Patrick Rooney. Pat Rooney 
was a man who had a head for business and a heart for ``the least of 
these.'' Pat Rooney was an inspiring leader, a good friend and a great 
man.
  In addition to building one of the most successful business careers 
in Indiana, Pat Rooney conceived of and tirelessly promoted reform in 
the areas of education and health care.
  He will always be remembered for having launched the first privately 
funded educational choice program in America, an idea that has been 
replicated in dozens of cities across America to the benefit of tens of 
thousands of underprivileged children.
  He will also be remembered as the father of the Health Savings 
Account, the leading free-market reform to the current crisis of the 
uninsured in America. His unshakeable belief in the ability of the 
individual to make their own health care choices has shaped the 
American health care debate for the past decade.
  I will miss my friend and mentor Pat Rooney on a very personal level. 
His ability to challenge and encourage those of us who knew him well 
was unique among his peers, and I will miss him greatly.
  May God bless the life and memory of J. Patrick Rooney.

                          ____________________