[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H9953-H9961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RALPH REGULA, THE HONORABLE DEBORAH PRYCE AND 
                       THE HONORABLE DAVID HOBSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, tonight we are gathered to pay tribute 
to three of our Members from Ohio who are retiring, and we are going to 
speak about them in order. But, Madam Speaker, this has been a tough 
Congress for the Ohio delegation, the 110th Congress. Last year, our 
long time colleague and friend Paul Gillmor passed away suddenly and 
unexpectedly, and, of course, just a month and a half ago our good 
friend and long time colleague Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed away 
unexpectedly as well.
  The news gets worse for us as we now arise to talk about three of our 
friends who have made the decision to retire: The dean of our 
delegation, Ralph Regula; one of our great cardinals when we were in 
the majority, Dave Hobson, ``Uncle Dave''; and former judge and the 
highest ranking woman in the Republican leadership, Deborah Pryce.
  Before we extol more, I guess our new dean from the other side of the 
aisle, from Toledo, Marcy Kaptur, has asked to spend a couple of 
minutes with us, and I yield to the gentlewoman.
  Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and am very pleased 
to join Congressman LaTourette in paying warm, warm appreciation and 
thank-you's, gratitude, so many memories, to our beautiful colleagues 
Ralph Regula and Deborah Pryce, and I don't know whether Dave Hobson 
would want me to call him beautiful or not, but I guess I can. He has a 
beautiful soul.
  These are moments that are very hard, because all those years come 
crowding in on you. For each one of these wonderful, wonderful Members 
I will at the right time this evening share some personal 
recollections.
  With their eventual departure from here, Ohio will lose over 50 years 
of seniority. That is a staggering figure. And it isn't just the years, 
it is the friendships, the experience, the respect with which each of 
them is held, and the wonderful give-and-take that comes from getting 
to know Members well across the aisle.
  I thank each of them on behalf of the people of our State for the 
major portion of their lives that they have given to this institution 
and for every single success that they have had legislatively here, 
that has helped build a better America and a better Ohio, and I thank 
them for their personal integrity throughout, carrying that torch 
forward for our great Buckeye State.
  There are many others that wish to speak, and I will reserve at this 
time, but I just want to say I thank Ralph for your friendship. I thank 
Mary for hers, for all we have worked on together, including the First 
Ladies' Library, for all of the park systems all over this country, all 
of our great work on Appropriations. Those are memories that I will 
always have.
  To Deborah Pryce, one of the few women from the Ohio delegation 
actually, all the years we have spent here together, and her kindness 
and her strength under leadership pressures here, as well as family 
pressures. She was strong and a survivor, and really a role model for 
us all.
  And certainly to Dave Hobson, who has this uncanny habit of just 
being able to weave in and out down all these aisles in this place, and 
he always seems to know where you are, he finds you in the back in the 
cloakroom or wherever, and all of our great work on Appropriations 
together, and his desire to reach across the aisle and to work with us, 
whether it was defense, whether it was energy, whether it was 
education, health care.
  We are really going to miss you all, each of you. I just thank you 
for being a friend to me while I have been able to serve here. And I 
thank Congressman LaTourette for giving me a moment here to place a few 
words on the Record. I shall remain throughout this hour. Thank you.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentlewoman, reclaiming our time. And as 
I introduce the other Ohio Members and others from perhaps around the 
country to speak about our honorees, I am going to say a couple of 
things about each of them before I hand it off to our colleagues.
  First is the dean of our delegation, Ralph Regula from Navarre, Ohio. 
I know his wife, Mary, is with us this evening and watching on in 
earnest. And if you ever saw a partnership, there is a partnership, 
Ralph and Mary Regula. Of course, Mary is a star in her own right 
because of her work at the First Ladies' Library and all that she has 
done.
  Just two quick things about Congressman Regula. When I was trying to 
figure out whether I wanted to run for Congress in 1994, I came to 
visit Congressman Regula. And if you have been to his office, it is on 
the third floor of the Rayburn Office Building, and it looks like the 
Capitol is actually in his office when you look out his window. I think 
the Congressman saw me sort of admiring the view, and he said, ``Well, 
don't get too excited. It is going to take you about 30 years to get a 
view like this.''
  The second thing that is often forgotten now that we are in the 110th 
Congress, when Congressman Regula was in charge of Interior, he was the 
cardinal on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, there was a 
furious assault by very conservative Republicans elected in 1994 
against the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Humanities and the 
Arts, and Congressman Regula was really put under the gun and told 
that, look, you have got to defund the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting. No more NPR, no more National Endowment for the Arts, no 
more National Endowment For the Humanities.
  Congressman Regula was true, Ralph was true to his Republican 
provisions, but I would dare say that there wouldn't be public funding 
for those entities today if Ralph Regula hadn't stood up as a stalwart 
in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. So anybody listening this evening that 
enjoys Public Broadcasting and thinks that it has a place in our 
American experience, I think needs to thank Congressman Regula.
  I will talk more about Hobson and Pryce in a minute, but it is my 
pleasure to yield to my friend from Columbus, Mr. Tiberi.
  Mr. TIBERI. Madam Speaker, it is with bittersweet sadness that we are 
here today. We thought that earlier this year this would be awhile 
before it came, but it is here before we know it. And it is not really 
an overstatement to say that these three individuals that we are 
honoring tonight have dedicated their lives to public service and 
serving our communities and serving our great State of Ohio, and 
certainly our country, spending so many years on the ground, in fact 70 
years of service to this United States House of Representatives alone.
  Ralph Regula, who served in our military, who served in the Ohio 
House and the Ohio Senate before being elected to this body in 1972, I 
will never forget his service to the Appropriations

[[Page H9954]]

Committee and all the fine work he did for so many people across our 
State and across our Nation and across the spectrum of labor, health, 
human services and education, and his work in Interior.
  And Dave Hobson, ``Uncle Dave'' as we affectionately call him, for 
his years of service to our country, as well to our military and the 
Ohio Senate before coming to the United States House of 
Representatives. His work with respect to our military men and women is 
unparalleled, an advocate, the best advocate for the young men and 
women in uniform here in the United States and those serving abroad and 
his work on the appropriations committees to help them and help so many 
others across our State as well.
  And Deborah, who served as a judge before coming to the United States 
House of Representatives, and her work in our leadership for so many 
years and guiding our party. Her work on children's issues and cancer 
research, again, has been unmatched and will be missed. But I know all 
three will continue serving in so many other different ways.

                              {time}  2015

  I will miss Deborah and Dave on the plane ride to and from Columbus 
every week, all three have been amazing friends. They have been more 
than just friends. They have been teachers, they have been mentors, 
they have been everything you could ask a colleague to be or more. They 
have represented the best of what this body inspires us to do. They 
have represented our State and our country in great ways.
  Thank you all for your guidance, your wisdom, your service and your 
friendship. You set a standard to which those of us who follow hope to 
someday achieve.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentleman very much. Do you want to say 
somebody else before we go to somebody else?
  Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the gentleman very much for yielding.
  In order of seniority, I would like to say to the dean of the 
delegation, Ralph Regula, there are many memories, perhaps not 
legislative, that I take with me relating to your service. One is your 
discussions about your red truck, and you were so happy when you bought 
it.
  Of course, Congressman Regula, being a farmer and I suppose some 
would say an Ohio rancher, you know, men really never grow up. He loved 
that little truck. He drove it in the garage downstairs. It was always 
shiny. He was really proud of it. He used to drive it back to Ohio.
  I remember one time I came down the hallway in the Rayburn Building, 
and he was kind of coming out of his office. I said, Ralph, what's 
wrong, and he had been kicked by a cow over the weekend. I guess he was 
kind of repairing himself there. I thought, well, that's the first 
Member I have met who was kicked by a cow.
  I remember when I first arrived, you and your lovely wife Mary were 
friends with Doug and Betty Applegate. That's when I first got to 
Congress. That was a great moment.
  We used to have those fashion shows wearing U.S.-made clothing which 
has become almost nonexistent, which is another story. But there were 
annual fashion shows, and Mary and Ralph and Betty and Doug would 
welcome us into that. It was really great to do that and to begin to 
focus attention in America on the issue of trade and jobs, which has 
become so much of the challenge that we face today.
  I can remember, in our committee, Ralph holding the gavel of his 
subcommittee and being asked by the Chairs, and then when he was Chair 
himself, calling for the committee to adjourn after various votes had 
been taken and the high regard, right up at the top. I mean, he moved 
all the way up from the last seat all the way up to the first seat on 
that dais, and I always see them there.
  I think from Mary I will remember Mary in Canton with the Mary Todd 
Lincoln gown and hat. I think I will always remember what a great, 
great moment that was, what a great gift to America you have given just 
in that one, in that one place of such historical significance that we 
will keep building forward.
  For Deborah Pryce, I will say I shall always remember her as the, I 
believe, first woman Chair of her caucus, and very few women. I think 
when Deborah got here, there couldn't have been over 30 women in the 
House, maybe, it wasn't very much.
  So for her to ascend and to plow a path for her daughter, and for the 
women of the future, was just so wonderful, and to be able to share 
that moment and to watch that happen, and the great pressure that is 
placed on someone in that position, and how she handled it so ably and 
always with great dispatch.
  I remember her as a new mother and trying to handle motherhood as 
well as that enormous responsibility, and she did it, her great 
dedication to cancer research, pediatric cancer research and the 
contribution she made for all children in this country, and to find 
better answers in that terribly, terribly important area of health 
care. Also, our participation in a prayer group here in the Capitol, 
and the friendships and the camaraderie that came from that, those are 
moments that you never, never forget.
  For Dave Hobson, obviously, you know, he loves this place, he loves 
being a lawmaker. I don't know what he is going to do after this. But, 
energy and water, that was his thing. He traveled all over the country, 
all over the world. He knew every general in the Army Corps of 
Engineers, I think, by first name, and loved helping build things for 
America.
  When I think of armored Humvees, I will always think of Dave Hobson. 
I don't know if any other American will, but I will always associate 
armored Humvees and up-armored Humvees with Dave. His dedication to 
nuclear power, safe nuclear power, no one could have tried harder, 
studied that issue harder and made a difference than Dave Hobson.
  He has that certain sparkle in his eye that former Representative and 
Speaker pro tempore, Barney Coulter, would identify with very, very 
much and for the great work that Dave contributed, not just here, but 
in our State legislature, to help building the Medical College of Ohio 
at Toledo. Our people will always be eternally grateful.
  So to each of them from our side of the aisle, we extend deepest, 
deepest gratitude, and Godspeed in the years ahead. May you be given 
good health. May you have more time to spend with your families, and 
may there be less pressure and more joy in the days ahead. It has been 
a real privilege to serve with each of you.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentlelady, the new dean of our 
delegation or soon to be dean of our delegation from the Democratic 
side for those reflections and thoughts. Before I yield to our next 
Ohioan, Jean Schmidt, from southern Ohio, I want to talk a little bit 
about Dave Hobson.
  I think it's appropriate that Ms. Kaptur talked about she doesn't 
know what Representative Hobson is going to do. A lot of us have been 
getting phone calls from his wife, Caroline, saying please find 
something for him to do so that she doesn't have to spend so much time 
with him.
  Most of us in the delegation call him Uncle Dave. Again, going back 
to 1995, aside from all of the other things that Congressman Hobson had 
to do, Newt Gingrich was the Speaker at the time in the 104th Congress. 
He assigned Congressman Hobson to babysit John Kacich, who was the 
Budget Committee chairman at the time, just to make sure that 
Congressman Kacich, who has a tendency to be a little exuberant, 
controlled that exuberance.

  This Congress, this historic Congress that has the first woman as 
Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi of California, who sort of ribbed 
Congressman Hobson about the fact that every time the Speaker of the 
House goes on a trip, she needs a Republican, obviously, for it to be 
bipartisan. For some reason it is always Congressman Hobson.
  I think that it's appropriate that Ms. Kaptur talked about 
infrastructure. Because even though Dave is from Springfield, Ohio, and 
that's his district, down around the Dayton area and his loves are 
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, so many things, he, like Ralph Regula 
when they were cardinals, took care of all of Ohio.
  If you had a problem, if you had a concern, if you had a need, he 
didn't say I am going to take care of me first. He said I am going to 
take care of Ohio and the country first and many of the things that are 
being built. Just in my

[[Page H9955]]

district, the Ashtabula River and harbor, he helped to secure $53 
million to help clean up contaminated sediments. That never would have 
happened without Congressman Hobson.
  It's now my pleasure to yield to my good friend and colleague from 
Ohio, Jean Schmidt.
  (Mrs. SCHMIDT asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to three 
retiring Members from Ohio, my friends, Ralph Regula, Dave Hobson and 
Debbie Pryce. The entire State of Ohio owes these three a huge debt of 
gratitude for their hard work on our behalf and the dedication to their 
constituents. But, particularly, I owe each of these colleagues a 
special debt for the help they have given me in the 3 years that I have 
been here.
  Ralph Regula, the dean of our delegation, as a group, we will miss 
your steady hand at the wheel. Over his 18 terms in the House, there is 
not much that Ralph Regula has not seen. His experience and his advice 
have been invaluable, and I appreciate all that he has done for me.
  Dave Hobson, rightfully called Uncle Dave, because he is everyone's 
uncle in this House, has also been a special mentor to me. His Seventh 
District is very close to the eastern part of my district and shares 
many of the same struggles and values. Uncle Dave has been a great 
source of wisdom and advice in steering me towards the best course of 
action for dealing with the issues that face the folks I represent. I 
have appreciated having his counsel and, most importantly, his wisdom 
and his humor.
  Last but not least, Debbie Pryce, my friend. Few in this body can 
relate to what the challenges that any woman, Republican or Democrat 
faces, when they enter Congress. When I first got elected, Debbie took 
me to lunch in Columbus, and we sat down for almost a 3-hour lunch. She 
addressed my concerns and made me feel like I had a friend, not just 
here, but forever. I am going to continue that friendship with Debbie 
because she is a remarkable woman.
  Ohio is a better place for these fine Members, and our State will 
miss them. After they have ridden off into the sunset to embark on new 
and undoubtedly successful endeavors, I know that they will be leaving 
a great legacy behind. God bless them for all they have done for this 
body, Ohio and the United States of America.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentlelady very much.
  Our next speaker is another Ohioan, who is new to us. Before I 
introduce him, as promised, I want to say a couple of things about 
Deborah Pryce. As a couple of us have indicated in this Congress, I 
indicated it was historic because Ms. Pelosi is the first Speaker of 
the House. Deborah Pryce became another ceiling breaker when she became 
the chairman of the Republican conference.
  You may remember that it wasn't a good year, a couple of years, 2005, 
2006, for the Republican party, but somebody who was always cheerful, 
who was always helping Members with whatever their difficulties were, 
whoever was crafting messages and making sure that as we left 
Washington to return to our districts we had the tools necessary to do 
our jobs and communicate what it is we are doing, Deborah Pryce, in 
fact, did that. I am particularly fond of her because her prior life, 
she served as a judge, and my prior life was as a prosecuting attorney. 
She always brought that skill.
  We serve on the Financial Services Committee together and, in the 
crisis that this country is now facing today, with the crisis of 
confidence on Wall Street, and the work that we have to do, Deborah 
Pryce as ranking member is a leader. She will continue to be a leader 
as she, in fact, exits the Congress.
  Jean Schmidt made the observations about the challenges of being a 
woman in the United States Congress. Aside from that, on a personal 
level, I think the time that Representative Pryce has served in the 
Congress have had incredibly high highs, and incredibly low lows. 
Through all of that, she has always performed her job as a 
professional, one, and, two, whenever possible, with a smile on her 
face. If you really want to see a smile on her face, the day that I 
remember her smile being the widest was the day she brought her 
daughter, Mia, to the Financial Services Committee. I think Mia 
actually voted a couple of times on some matters.
  My only complaint about Representative Pryce is a couple of years ago 
there was a fundraiser that she and Representative Tiberi had for me 
down in Columbus, for which we are all grateful for when our friends 
help us. Pat got up and gave this really long-winded introduction and 
made me sound better than I was. Deborah stood up and said, well, Steve 
LaTourette is here, he is a little different, he is a little weird, but 
please welcome him. Even though her observations were correct, it 
wasn't the warmest introduction that I can recall receiving.
  It's now my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to one of our new friends, 
Bob Latta from Ohio.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. LATTA. Well, thank you very much for yielding.
  I appreciate that from my friend from northeastern Ohio. As 
mentioned, I am the newest or, I can say, the least senior or the most 
junior--I'm not sure which is the best term for me--but I am truly 
humbled to be here with you this evening and to be part of this great 
delegation because the Ohio delegation has always been one of those 
great delegations, I believe, in this United States House of 
Representatives, and it has always been really like a family, an 
extended family, for all of the Members who are within it. I know it 
has to be a tough decision for you all to make to leave this body.
  I know my dad served here for 30 years, and I know, when he left 
here, it was a tough decision, but it's a decision you have to make at 
some point in time. When you look at the experience that has already 
been mentioned with Congressman Regula, with Congressman Hobson and 
with Congresswoman Pryce, who have 18, 9 and 8 terms that they've 
served here, that's 70 years of experience; that's 70 years of 
knowledge; that's 70 years of experience not only on this floor but 
also on those committees. That's going to be hard to make up because, 
as people come and as people go, there are so many folks who look to 
those Members who have served here for a good number of years for that 
experience, for what they need to know when they come onto these 
committees or when they come onto the floor.
  One of the things that has already been said is that they have all 
served this House well with great distinction, and I think that one of 
the things, again, that has been mentioned is that they've all been 
great public servants.
  As to one of the things my dad taught me, because he had had 36 years 
of public experience, he said that you always want to remember that you 
want to be a public servant and never a politician. I think that each 
of these three individuals whom we honor here tonight have been great 
public servants.
  What is the difference between a public servant and a politician? It 
is very, very simple, and it was explained to me. Public servants see 
how much they can give of themselves to the people they represent while 
politicians see how much they can take from the people they represent 
for their own benefit.
  Again, I think the people we have here before us this evening all 
epitomize that one great fact, that they've all been great public 
servants. They've worked hard. They've served their districts. They've 
gone home. You know, they make sure that their people back home are 
being taken care of, but at the same time, they recognize the duty they 
have to this great Nation that we all serve.
  As I mentioned, it's truly a tough thing to see these folks go. I 
know that I first met Congressman Regula many, many years ago because 
his office is right around the corner from where my dad's was up on the 
third floor there of the Rayburn. You know, Dad's office was there at 
2309, and I always thought he had quite an impressive office. I know 
when I was in to see Congressman Regula when I was running, I looked 
out there, and I knew it would be a long time coming before I'd get a 
view like that.
  I'm truly blessed and privileged to be here with them tonight. This 
House has

[[Page H9956]]

been made a much better place by you three serving here. You've blessed 
your constituents, and you have a Nation that's very grateful for all 
of the hard work that you've done. I just want to say thank you very 
much for your service.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentleman very much.
  Now, Madam Speaker, we're going to hear from our three retiring 
Members in order of seniority. The first, as I indicated, is Ralph 
Regula, the dean of our delegation. I don't know what we're going to do 
without Ralph around here.
  As he comes to the microphone, I will just tell you that, when I, 
again, was elected in 1994 and I thought I'm a lawyer and that I was a 
prosecutor and that I'd like to be on the Judiciary Committee, Ralph 
put his arm around me and said, ``Son, you're going to the 
transportation committee.'' It was the smartest decision I ever made 
because I saw that the Judiciary Committee had the impeachment of 
President Clinton and all of this nonsense. The transportation 
committee is a bipartisan committee, as the Speaker knows, and to build 
America is not a bad thing.
  It is now my pleasure, as we begin the final 15 minutes allotted to 
us, to yield to the dean of our delegation, Ralph Regula.
  Mr. REGULA. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this tonight. You'll have 
to admit that I have one gift, and that is that I recognize talent. 
That has turned out to be one of the better decisions I made when I got 
Steve LaTourette on Transportation.
  Madam Speaker, the Ohio delegation and this body will be losing two 
outstanding Members at the end of this Congress--David Hobson and 
Deborah Pryce. Both Members have been tireless servants on behalf of 
the people in their districts in our State. I'd like to take this 
opportunity to share some of the legacies they leave behind.
  Dave was elected in 1991 to represent Ohio's Seventh Congressional 
District. He was appointed to the Ethics Committee as a freshman 
lawmaker, and it's obvious that the leader saw an element of fairness 
in the makeup of this gentleman and gave him what was, I think, a very 
tough assignment. I was pleased, again speaking of recognizing talent, 
to help Dave secure a position on the Appropriations Committee during 
his second term.
  Speaker Gingrich made Hobson his personal appointee to the Budget 
Committee in the 104th and in the 105th Congress. In that role, Dave 
served as a member of the House leadership and as a conduit between the 
Speaker and Ohio Republican John Kasich. Knowing these two 
personalities, that was a challenge. John Kasich was chairman of the 
Budget Committee and, as he would say, the architect of the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997.
  As chairman of military construction within Appropriations, Dave led 
the efforts to provide troops and their families with safe, clean and 
modern facilities both here and overseas through housing privatization. 
When you have to depend on a volunteer Army, it becomes very important 
to have good housing because this affects the decision of members as to 
whether they will re-up in the military. Of course, their spouses, who 
are impacted by the housing, always have a great word in as to whether 
or not that happens. So Dave made a real contribution to a volunteer 
military force by taking care of the housing problems.

  Dave became chairman of the Energy and Water Development, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee where he worked with the U.S. 
Corps of Engineers to develop a long-term approach--and we don't have 
enough long-term approaches in this body when it comes to management. 
He kept the corps from entering into costly, open-ended contracts, but 
made sure that it had the funding necessary to complete high-priority 
infrastructure projects.
  Through his subcommittee, he also helped to bring a post-Cold War 
approach to the Department of Energy's management of the nuclear 
weapons complex. An example of this new focus was eliminating funding 
for the ``bunker buster,'' also known as the Robust Nuclear Earth 
Penetrator, a fancy name for a bunker buster. Dave stopped it, and it 
would have been a waste of money.
  Congressman Hobson used his experience as a small businessman to work 
with the communities in Ohio's Seventh District to promote economic 
growth and job creation. Part of his efforts included bringing leaders 
from both the public and private sectors to help attract new 
businesses. Dave has a very good skill in bringing people together, 
which is important when handling the military and which is also 
important when handling the leaders of his community.
  With four military bases in his district--Wright-Pat, Defense Supply 
Center Columbus, Springfield Air National Guard, and Rickenbacker 
International Airport--he worked tirelessly with community leaders and 
base officials to support the missions of each of these bases. It 
included his work to protect Ohio's military bases from the impact of 
the BRAC round of base closures.
  Continuing to work, he began as chairman of the Ohio Senate Health 
Committee. He worked in Congress to preserve the basic values of 
American health care, including access, security, affordability, 
choice, and fairness. I think as one that parents would especially 
appreciate, he supported legislation to ensure fair access to 
immunizations for low-income children and to help small business owners 
and farmers secure better prices on health insurance premiums. I think 
this illustrates that Dave was a Member with a heart, with a caring for 
people, and that's so important in this job. He worked to modernize the 
Medicare program by adding the prescription drug benefit.
  In all of his efforts, both here and in the State, he has a 
reputation for working in a bipartisan way. I think this is reflected 
in the fact that he was very successful in all that he did. I can say a 
lot more about Dave, but again, I think one of the good decisions I 
made as a member of the steering committee was to get both Steve on 
Transportation and Dave on Appropriations. The public of this Nation is 
better served.
  Next is Congresswoman Deborah Pryce. She was elected in 1993 to 
represent Ohio's 15th Congressional District. Throughout her 
distinguished career in the House, Deborah has worked tirelessly in 
support of improving access to health care, especially for children, 
and I know the parents across this Nation are in her debt for all that 
she has done in working on children's health issues.
  She authored the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act 
of 2008 and the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease 
Prevention Act--two very important legislative enactments to help with 
children and to help with health care generally. I know that she has 
been a strong supporter of Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, one 
of the leading children's hospitals in the Nation. In fact, I visited 
there once, and they were bringing in children from all over the 
country to benefit from Children's Hospital, and they didn't know that 
they were in the debt of Deborah Pryce for making that facility be 
there and be the strong leader it is in children's health issues.
  She was also a strong supporter of GME, Graduate Medical Education 
programs for pediatricians. Again, it is so vitally important because 
pediatricians, I think, are a very essential component of the health 
care program because they deal with the early years of a child's life, 
and Deborah was a leader in that effort.
  She was appointed by the Speaker to the House Rules Committee where 
she served from 1995 to 2004 and as chairman of its Subcommittee on 
Legislative and Budget Process. Then she was appointed to the House 
Select Committee on Homeland Security and to the Republican leadership 
health care working group on managed care reform. Deborah has always 
been a leader in health care, and I think that is such an important 
responsibility of the Congress.
  She served as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. The 
committee, of course, is in the hot seat right now. Deborah is not 
there, but I think it illustrates the importance of this committee and 
that she served it so well in both 1993 and 1994 to 2005. She served on 
the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, 
and Technology, and she is currently the ranking Republican member on 
the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government 
Sponsored Enterprises.

[[Page H9957]]

  She was the cofounder and cochair of the House Cancer Caucus where 
she has been an active leader in educating others on this terrible 
disease. Further, Deborah coordinated House Republican strategy and 
served as its chief House spokesperson on the landmark tobacco 
settlement among 40 States and tobacco companies. What a challenge. I 
think a bailout seems simple after that.
  As Ohioans, we are extremely proud that Deborah became the highest 
ranking woman in the House Republican leadership when she chaired the 
House Republican Conference from 2002 to 2006. This required a lot of 
diplomacy, and she gave that program the type of leadership that made 
her very successful in that role. She was the fourth ranking elected 
leader in the House of Representatives. She has had other leadership 
positions, including as vice chairman of the House Republican 
Conference, as secretary of the House Republican Conference, and as 
deputy whip from 1996 to the present.
  Madam Speaker, the Nation has received outstanding service from these 
two great Members from Ohio. We will miss them. We extend our 
appreciation for their work on behalf of the people of Ohio and on 
behalf of the country. We wish them and their families health and 
happiness in the future.
  I just want to say on a personal note that it has been a real joy to 
serve with Dave Hobson and Deborah Pryce. They're the kind of 
individuals who make service in this Congress something that we can all 
point to with pride and with the joy of fellowship in working with them 
and in helping provide leadership under their guidance for the many 
programs that benefit the people of this great Nation. Thank you.

                              {time}  2045

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, I thank the Dean of our delegation. 
And after that set of remarks, you know why this will be a hole in our 
delegation and for the country that we're not going to be able to 
replace.
  Our next retiring Member has been described in a lot of different 
ways already, but there isn't an energy and or a water project across 
the country that doesn't have Dave Hobson's imprint on it. Never his 
name, because that wasn't what he was about. He was about making sure 
that we had the best infrastructure in the country when it came to 
energy and water.
  And Congressman Regula again spoke of the fact that Newt Gingrich put 
Uncle Dave in charge of watching John Kasich, and I reflected on why 
that was. And I think it's because Congressman Hobson never gets upset; 
he's always placid. He's always calm. He never raises his voice. And 
what better influence could we have in dealing with Chairman Kasich.
  It's now my pleasure to yield to Congressman Hobson.
  Mr. HOBSON. I want to pay tribute to my colleagues and my friends, 
Ralph Regula and Deborah Pryce.
  To be honest, it's a little surreal standing here doing this because 
I'm joining them in retirement at the end of this term, but I'd like to 
take a few moments to talk about both of them.
  Ralph and Mary showed up in Urbana, Ohio when I was running for 
Congress. And I pulled up in my pickup truck. I had one too. It was 
burgundy, it wasn't red. That was my campaign color. With a big sign, 
Hobson for Congress.
  And Ralph's walking down the street, and I never met Ralph or Mary 
before. And Ralph says, I've been reading about you; and I think we're 
going to get along just fine. And he was right. We did.
  And I came to Congress and I got elected. And I came down here and 
John Boehner wanted to be on the Ag Committee, and I wanted to be on 
the Ag Committee. And we got in a little tussle about that. And Ralph 
says, hey, if he wants it that bad, let him have it. You could never do 
enough for them, and you can never get off the committee. And by the 
way, there's a transportation bill coming up this year and he said, I 
think I can get you on that Transportation Committee. And you're going 
to get a lot of stuff for Ohio. And I did. I got everything that the 
Governor asked for. And I got a bike trail I didn't really want in the 
beginning, but Mr. Oberstar liked bike trails, and I showed up for him 
on some meetings, and suddenly I got almost as much money for bike 
trails as I did for highways. And I really wanted the highways, but the 
bike trails turned out to be a great thing.
  Then Ralph came to me later on. And this is the way Ralph is, and 
this why our delegation over the years has been such a good delegation, 
because when he went into the Committee on Committees, he worked to 
place us all around within the committees so that Ohio had a voice when 
legislation was being done, whether it be on the authorizing committee 
or the Appropriations Committee. Ralph had us covered so that our State 
benefited and our people grew on those committees to points where, at 
one time, I don't know how many committee chairman we had when we were 
in the majority, but we had quite a number and we had the 
Appropriations Committee covered. We were the only State that had two 
cardinals when we were on the Appropriations Committee when we were in 
the majority. That was due to Ralph because Ralph came to me and he 
said, would you like to be on the Appropriations Committee? I didn't 
ask him. He came to me and he said, would you like to do this? And he 
was sharing, and that's the way Ralph Regula was. He shared. Ralph 
Regula shared the whole time he was here, and even today, about what 
we're all about, of doing good for this country.
  He's been a mentor to all of us in the delegation. He's been a great 
friend to Ohio, and he's done a lot of really neat things for Ohio and 
the country.
  One of the things we've both done together and it's actually, some 
money was put in, most of you didn't see it, but it got in there in the 
CR to take care of the Everglades, because Ralph Regula is probably the 
father of most of the restoration in the Everglades. And I've helped 
him do that when I became chairman of energy and water. And the 
Everglades we have looked at is not a treasure for Florida, or not even 
a national treasure, it's an international treasure, and we've saved it 
for our grandchildren and their children if we could get the things 
done that we need to do.
  He's also worked very hard for things, not just in his district that 
he felt were good for Ohio, such as the Cleveland Clinic, NASA Glenn, 
the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He's done great things with the 
parks all over the country. He's done great things with research, 
education. He's just been an outstanding Member for many, many years of 
this Congress. I consider he and Mary true dear friends.
  Mary is also very giving. You've heard the good work she's done. But 
also she was a mentor to my wife when we came. She got my wife into the 
chairs to become head of the congressional club, all the spouse groups 
of both the House and the Senate. She got my wife into the chairs, and 
my wife became president of that, just as Mary had done many years 
before. Didn't have to do that, but it was their way of sharing and 
caring for people from Ohio. And we both, my wife Carolyn and myself 
really appreciate their friendship over the years.
  Something that Ralph and Deborah and myself have all worked on 
together is this GME for children's hospitals across the country. Our 
delegation, when John was here, John became a convert to that, Kasich 
when he was here because he had a personal situation in his family, and 
we all worked on that. We all worked on a number of hospital issues.
  And going back to Ralph, I can remember once when I was in the 
Speaker's office, I was working on durable medical equipment, and the 
Speaker finally said to me, shut up, Hobson. You got a billion dollars. 
Shut up. Get it down. And Ralph said, Dave, you'd better be quiet and 
we'd better move on. So we did move on.
  But Deborah, Pat and myself have represented Central Ohio, and 
Deborah's made a real difference for Central Ohio. And we've all worked 
together on a number of projects for the community. The Rickenbacker 
International Intermodal facility is going to create 20,000 new jobs 
over the next 2 decades. That wouldn't have been done without Deborah's 
hard work with all of us to try to get this done.
  The VA clinic in Central Ohio, again a product that we've all three 
worked on. We had hearings in Columbus on the VA Clinic. All of our 
districts were impacted by it. Fortunately, it turned out to be in my 
district, but we all

[[Page H9958]]

worked to make sure that's a reality for the veterans of Central Ohio, 
so that they can get health care in a better situation in their local 
community.
  We worked on the Defense Supply Center during the BRAC, which most of 
the people, it's in my district, but most of the people live in Pat and 
Deborah's district. And again, we worked as a unit, the three of us 
worked together. We were partners in this. When she ran for leadership, 
we were partners to help her get into leadership and be the highest 
ranking female ever in the Republican delegation, and frankly, in this 
Congress, until Speaker Pelosi was elected. And that's a real tribute 
to Deborah and her leadership, but also to our delegation, who all 
worked together to make sure that Deborah got there.
  And another place she's been just a tireless advocate on behalf of 
the Ohio State University and Columbus Children's Hospital. We have 
great programs in both places that are attributed to Deborah and her 
hard work. At Children's Hospital in Columbus there's a number of 
programs there. We just did an autism program that will be great for 
children with autism, which is afflicting so many young children in our 
region, and it's going to be working with the Children's Hospital in 
Columbus, and also with Wright Patterson Air Force base and Children's 
Hospital in Dayton. And I've had a number of people call and thank 
Deborah and us for putting this together.
  And Ohio State, she's been the premier leader for all the stuff 
that's happened at Ohio State University, which is her alma mater. And 
she's been tireless in fighting for better quality education, but also 
in getting the facilities and the programs there to make sure that Ohio 
State is a premier, leading institution in our region. And frankly, it 
has moved up, under her tenure, to be, moved up dramatically in the 
research that it does for this country while Deborah has been 
representing that facility.
  And that's even true that Pat Tiberi played the trumpet. But you must 
have played the whole band because we got a lot more stuff there since 
you've been here working on this.
  I think probably in addition to her leadership here of our caucus and 
working on the health care things that she's done, there's a bill that 
passed that I think is probably the crowning glory she might share with 
you of her being here and that was the bill that was named for her 
daughter, Caroline, and one that dramatically increases funding for 
pediatric cancer research, and it was signed into law this year. That's 
a lasting tribute and it's making a great difference in the lives of so 
many families touched by pediatric cancer.
  These are two great Members that I've had the privilege of serving 
with here.
  In closing, I'd like to say I've really enjoyed serving with them, 
but I've really enjoyed serving in Congress. It's been an honor for all 
of us, I'm sure, to have been here to work with our colleagues. And I 
know when you look on TV you say oh, you watch this floor sometimes and 
you say, all they do is bicker amongst themselves. Well, you see it 
here, but you don't see the great work that goes on behind the scenes 
where Members get together and work together, talk together and get the 
country's work done. And I think it's unfortunate that the public 
doesn't understand the great friendships that are here across the aisle 
and within delegations as we do our work in furthering the work of this 
country on behalf of all the citizens of this country.
  So I knew it was time for me to leave. I didn't know Ralph or 
Deborah, where they were going to be at the point, but I made up my 
decision. We each made up our own decisions. And I knew that it was 
time to move on. But I've got to tell you, it's been a pleasure to work 
with everyone in this Congress, and especially our delegation, both 
Democrats and Republicans. We have not had the rancor between Democrats 
and Republicans.
  And I'm really saddened tonight when we do this, not for us, but 
there's two people who are not here that were dear friends of mine, 
Paul Gillmor. I wouldn't be here if Paul Gillmor hadn't gotten me 
appointed to the State Senate. And Stephanie Tubbs Jones became one of 
my best friends. We traveled all over the world looking at military 
bases together. And she would, if I flew to Cleveland to see my 
daughter and we were on the same plane, I didn't have a car there, she 
would drive me to my daughter's house and take me there, and we became 
true friends. I took she and her husband on their 25th wedding 
anniversary. She wanted to go on a codel, and I said I'll give you the 
best party that you can ever have if you'll go on this trip and get 
Mervyn to go with us. And those were the days when you could do that. 
We had a great party for them. And she was a wonderful Member of this 
Congress.
  You know, maybe there were some things in the political realm that we 
all disagreed with. But as people, we all cared about each other, and 
that's what's important.
  So thank you for your service tonight, all of us together, and thank 
you, Steve, for giving me the time to speak.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fellow Ohioan and a 
great American, Congressman Ralph Regula of Ohio. Ralph was elected to 
represent the 16th Congressional District in 1972 and has served in 
this body since he was first sworn in as a Member in January 1973. He 
is the longest serving Member of Congress from Ohio in our State's 
history with unbroken service totaling 36 years, and he will be 
retiring at the conclusion of this session.
  In his second term, Ralph was appointed to the House Appropriations 
Committee, an unusual act at that time, as Members had historically 
served multiple terms before being appointed to the prestigious 
committee. Over the course of more than three decades of service on the 
committee, Congressman Regula has made his mark in many areas, and I 
would like to highlight some of them this evening.
  First, after having served on the Interior Appropriations 
Subcommittee since 1975, Ralph became its Chairman in 1995 and served 
in that capacity for 6 years. As chairman his accomplishments are too 
many to mention here, but I want to address a few of the groundbreaking 
changes he made that will have lasting benefits well into the future.
  Chairman Regula focused on making critical changes to ensure that the 
most important issues and problems were addressed by the agencies in 
the Interior bill. Much of what he accomplished didn't make headlines. 
He insisted on an emphasis on ``taking care of what we have,'' and made 
tremendous strides in reducing the backlog of maintenance projects on 
Federal lands, in Indian schools and hospitals and in cultural 
institutions like the Smithsonian Institution.
  He instituted a pilot recreation fee program whereby the National 
Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forests and Bureau of Land Management charged 
users of those resources modest fees. The fees were then available for 
making necessary improvements for the benefit of the visitors to those 
lands. This concept of recreation fees had many naysayers, but Ralph 
persisted and worked for years to show the merits of the program. He 
was right, and as of today, nearly $2 billion has been paid in 
recreation fees, and those fees have resulted in tremendous 
improvements in visitor services in our National Parks, Forests and 
other Federal lands.
  He was a critical leader on the cleanup of the Everglades in Florida. 
He insisted that restoration of natural resources should be the primary 
focus of the program and that the Department of the Interior have a 
seat at the table to ensure that decisions on water distribution and 
development were not made separately from, and without consideration 
of, natural resource restoration needs.
  As Chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, he identified management 
shortfalls in the agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction and 
helped agencies help themselves by addressing management improvements. 
For example, he oversaw the complete overhaul of the National Park 
Service construction program. The program lacked a national priority 
setting process, and its list of construction needs included many 
projects that were unrelated to construction projects. Chairman Regula 
made sure that the entire program was changed to incorporate meaningful 
measurement criteria for identifying and prioritizing projects and that 
the management structure was streamlined to ensure that the emphasis 
was on getting the job done rather than designing grand concepts to 
justify a bloated bureaucracy.
  Congressman Regula has had a tremendous impact on energy research and 
development. He fought for a balanced national energy strategy. He 
focused limited Federal funds on improving the efficiency and 
cleanliness of fossil fuels at the same time as we pursued renewable 
and alternative energy sources. He conducted extensive oversight on 
what we had gotten for the billions of dollars

[[Page H9959]]

invested in energy research since the establishment of the Department 
of Energy. He continued and expanded critical research on natural gas 
infrastructure improvements, oil field productivity improvements, 
developing fuel cells for electric power generation and transportation 
applications, and decreasing emissions from coal-fired power plants. He 
recognized that Federal energy research only works when we have a joint 
government/industry effort and that most major energy breakthroughs 
have come from industrial research efforts and from small entrepreneurs 
in the private sector.
  Ralph, a farmer himself, was the moving force behind the 
establishment of the Children's Farm at the National Zoo. He worked 
tirelessly for several years to bring this exhibit to fruition. It 
provides a ``hands on'' experience for young children to see what life 
on a dairy farm is like and has become one of the most popular exhibits 
at the zoo.
  Congressman Regula continuously demonstrated his strong commitment to 
doing the right thing for both the Government agencies in the Interior 
bill and for the American taxpayer. He made sure that the Federal land 
management agencies made tremendous strides in improving those lands, 
in reducing their maintenance backlogs, and instituting management 
improvements. He made sure that energy and mineral development on 
Federal lands was expanded responsibly and in an environmentally sound 
manner. He made sure that essential science programs--dealing with 
critical issues such as satellite imagery, earthquakes. volcanoes, the 
biological sciences, landslides and mapping--in the United States 
Geological Survey were maintained. He made sure that priority school, 
hospital and clinic construction for Native Americans were addressed in 
annual appropriations bills.
  Republican term limits in the House required Ralph to give up his 
chairmanship of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Subcommittee in 2000. At the request of then-Chairman Bill Young, 
Regula took the reigns of the Labor, Health and Human Services, 
Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee beginning in 2001 and held 
the position for a full 6 years until 2006.
  Regula took the chairmanship, having never served on the subcommittee 
as a rank and file member, but with a good staff and as a quick study, 
he masterfully managed a bill with the largest domestic spending level 
in the Federal Government and with many of the most divisive policy 
issues.
  George W. Bush had just been elected President and had come to 
Washington with a major domestic policy objective--the improvment and 
accountability of our Nation's education system on behalf of our 
children. During that first year, Regula held hearings on the 
administration's budget request for the three cabinet departments and 
nearly 500 programs funded in the bilI, putting together a balanced, 
bi-partisan bill. At the same time, Congress' education commit1ees were 
drafting and negotiating the provisions of the No Child Left Behind 
Act, NCLB.
  While endorsing increased accountability and standards for students 
being included in the new NCLB, Regula, himself a former teacher and 
principal, knew that the keys to improving student achievement were the 
teacher and the principal. He provided the necessary funding increases 
for Title I, Federal funding for the disadvantaged under the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Act, and continued 
support for School Improvement and Innovative Education grants to help 
local schools address these new accountability and school improvement 
standards. Further, he focused targeted funding to improve teacher 
training and performance within the provisions of the No Child Left 
Behind Act through programs such as Math and Science Partnerships and 
the Comprehensive School Reform program.
  His motto became, ``We need a good teacher in every classroom in this 
county.'' With this motto Regula knew that a well prepared and well-
trained teacher would indeed lead to improved student achievement.
  Additionally, he provided funding for innovative demonstration 
programs to improve teacher education, training and performance which 
are today infusing our Nation's classrooms with teachers from a host of 
diverse educational and work backgrounds. These programs include Teach 
for America, now the largest recruiter of college graduates which 
brings graduates from our Nation's top colleges into our most 
challenging schools for a 2 year service commitment and Troops to 
Teachers which provides financial assistance to those retiring from the 
military to transition into our Nations classrooms. The Teacher 
Incentive Fund is being adopted by key school districts around the 
country to incentivize teachers to teach in the most challenging 
districts and schools.
  When Regula took the helm of the subcommittee, it was the beginning 
of year 3 of a 5-year commitment to doubling the funding for biomedical 
research through the National Institutes of Health, NIH. Our country's 
biomedical research efforts--supported by NIH and carried out in 
universities and institutes throughout the country--are premier in the 
world. Over time, however, the increasing costs of conducting research 
began to erode the ability of researchers to compete for limited grant 
dollars, resulting in fewer grants and an increasingly difficult 
climate for attracting young scientists into health research. The 
doubling effort received bipartisan support from both Congress and the 
new administration, and, despite very tight subcommittee allocations, 
Regula oversaw the completion of the 5-year doubling effort that 
brought the NIH research effort from $13 billion to $26 billion 
annually. Today, this number stands at more than $29 billion in annual 
health research funding to improve the lives of all Americans.

  While Federal funding for training of physicians and specialists is 
provided nearly exclusively through Medicare, Federal training for 
pediatricians and pediatric specialists had been virtually non-existent 
when Congressman Regula took the chairmanship. He understood 
immediately, though, that the most important years in one's life are 
the early years and, without a well-trained pediatric workforce, we are 
not investing wisely in our Nation's children. Therefore, Regula 
ensured that Federal dollars were in place every year to assist in 
training these critical physicians at children's hospitals throughout 
the U.S. After completing their training, these physicians and 
specialists are now caring for and treating children across the 
country, not just where children's hospitals are located. Today, Regula 
remains one of this Congress' most vocal advocates of Children's 
Graduate Medical Education funding.
  While many in national politics and health policy continue to wring 
their hands about the number of people in our country without health 
insurance, Regula saw the value of community health centers in 
providing healthcare to the uninsured and under-insured. During his 
tenure as Chairman, funding for these centers rose from $1.2 billion to 
nearly $2 billion. Today more than 4,000 service delivery sites exist 
throughout the U.S., providing primary healthcare to over 15 million 
people.
  During Regula's tenure, health policy experts became increasingly 
concerned about our Nation's ability to cope with newly emerging 
infectious diseases, especially as we watched how quickly disease could 
travel across the globe with the example of SARS. Further, in the wake 
of the September 11 tragedy and the anthrax attacks, these same experts 
called our attention to our vulnerability to biological hazards. 
Working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Ralph provided the key 
funding to step up the resources of the CDC to protect the Nation and 
prepare it for possible intentional biological threats against our 
population. Similarly, with the rise and spread of avian influenza, 
Ralph's subcommittee appropriated new funding to help the Nation, as 
well as at-risk countries in the developing world, improve the ability 
to detect, prevent, and control a potential pandemic flu strain. Today, 
pandemic preparedness and response plans are in place at the national, 
State, and local levels of Government, and research and development is 
ongoing on both a pandemic flu vaccine and new antiviral medicines.
  Income support and healthcare payments to the elderly and disabled 
through the Social Security and Medicare programs are funded through 
mandatory spending; however, it is the Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee that provides the 
critical administrative funding to ensure that benefit payments are 
processed efficiently and in a timely manner. While Congressman Regula 
knew that ensuring adequate staffing to these critical agencies would 
never be a top media story or even a leading policy topic, he 
understood that Americans' dependence on these services required his 
good management of these agencies and financial support to ensure their 
efficient operation. Following enactment of the Medicare Part D 
prescription drug benefit program, Ralph saw to it that the agencies 
had the financial support necessary to carry out the new program.

  Finally, very outspoken in his belief that education is the key to 
our Nation's future in the global economy, Ralph also understood that 
educational growth is more comprehensive than a traditional classroom. 
As a result, he is still a leading spokesman for the One Stop Centers 
funded through the Department of Labor. These community-driven centers 
assist workers at all points in their working lives with training to 
improve their skills or to develop them in new business areas. Their 
training programs come through community colleges, technical schools 
and other accredited programs. Throughout his tenure as chairman, 
Congressman Regula supported these centers with both Federal funding 
through his subcommittee and through his regular stump speeches about 
the terrific partnerships these One Stops can have with the businesses 
and

[[Page H9960]]

employees in their communities, thus ensuring the continued economic 
well-being of these communities.
  Ralph's impacts throughout his district and the State of Ohio are too 
many to name here. Suffice it to say that the residents of our State 
enjoy benefits of a premier national park in the Cuyahoga Valley 
National Park, improved healthcare institutions, schools, higher 
education institutions, including medical schools, highway 
infrastructure and the arts as a result of his work in this body.
  Throughout these 36 years of service in the House, Ralph Regula has 
remained a serious legislator with an open mind and a kind demeanor. He 
has worked effectively and professionally among his colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to ensure that the work of our Nation gets done. He 
has exemplified the words of Ronald Reagan when he said that ``there is 
no end to what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the 
credit.''
  This Congress will greatly miss the steady hand, judgment and 
leadership of Congressman Ralph Regula. We wish him all the best as he 
leaves the Congress. I am sure that he and his lovely and talented wife 
Mary will continue to do great things on behalf of Ohio and the Nation. 
Ralph, I know your colleagues here, the thousands of folks at the 
Departments of the Interior, Labor, Health and Human Services, 
Education and the countless independent agencies funded in those two 
bills, and, most importantly, the American people will not forget all 
you have accomplished and the impacts that your work has had in 
improving our lives.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank you, Dave, very much.
  And before we recognize our last retiring Member, we've been joined 
by another new member of the Ohio delegation. And I want to express my 
appreciation and apologize to Congressman Manzullo and the Illinois 
delegation. We were supposed to split this hour 50/50, so anybody 
tuning in at home and wondering where the Illini delegation celebration 
is, we're going to talk, use our last few minutes; and then in the next 
hour stay tuned because Congressman Manzullo and the Illini bunch will 
come marching out on to the field.
  And just to Congressman Hobson, I don't know if Congresswoman Pryce 
wants the record to reflect that she played the entire Ohio State band. 
I think perhaps had played all the instruments in the Ohio State band 
would be a better way of turning it.
  It's now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to one of our new Members, Jim 
Jordan.
  Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I'll be 
real brief. I appreciate you putting this together. And I just wanted 
to say congratulations and thank you to our three retirees for all your 
years of outstanding public service. And you know, I've only had the 
privilege of serving with these three individuals for 20 months, but 
each of them, in their own way have been helpful to me. Friendship is 
there, and I appreciate that.
  And I really appreciate Congressman Hobson, who used to be my 
congressman, used to have Champaign County for several years. But his 
help in so many ways, in particular, navigating the defense 
appropriations process has been extremely helpful.
  So congratulations; my best to each and every one of you. And thank 
you again for what you've done for the Buckeye State and for our 
country.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. The last retiring Member we have from Ohio is 
certainly not least, and we've talked about her service on the 
Financial Services Committee.
  Madam Speaker, when I joined the committee, I think we had six 
Ohioans on the committee, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Paul Gillmor, who's 
passed, Bob Ney, who is not with us anymore, Pat Tiberi, he's now been 
promoted, Mike Oxley was the chairman, and Congresswoman Pryce who of 
course is, I think, the third or fourth ranking Republican on the 
committee. And now, with all these retirements and passings, I'm the 
only one going into the next Congress if I'm lucky enough to be re-
elected.

                              {time}  2100

  And so I'm kind of sad that they all left me, but I will always 
cherish serving with them, and it is my pleasure to recognize the 
gentlelady, Ms. Pryce.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And Steve, I 
don't know that--I just can't believe that I said at a fundraiser that 
you were a little different and you were a little bit weird. But it's 
true. And I thank you for yielding me this time.
  You know, there has been no greater honor than anyone could ever 
enjoy than to serve in the company and then leave with the members of 
the Ohio delegation. Both Republicans and Democrats alike, it has been 
an honor and a joy.
  Ralph Regula and Dave Hobson were mentors, they were colleagues, and 
they were the best friends a gal could ever have. They really have been 
wonderful to me.
  When I first arrived here straight off the Municipal Court bench, I 
was a very green Member of Congress; and I was all new to this boys' 
world, and it's a lonely place for a woman. But my delegation was very 
kind and very welcoming to me and made it a place that I felt 
comfortable and at home and in which I thrived.
  And these two gentlemen, which we honor tonight, were a very huge 
part of that.
  Let me say first about Ralph--and you can't say ``Ralph'' without 
saying ``Mary.'' They are the true congressional couple. And the Ohio 
delegation never--well, they didn't always get along like we do today. 
And because of the leadership of our dean, Ralph Regula, our delegation 
came together for the entire time that I have served here to be 
effective, to be efficient, to be very good for Ohio, but also to be 
very friendly to one another.
  And Ralph led that. He nurtured us. He did everything that he could 
possibly do from the initial days when I got here and he was on 
committees and gave me a committee I didn't necessarily want and didn't 
necessarily understand. But it was, first of all, good for Ohio, and 
second of all, good for Deborah Pryce.
  So I will always thank you, Ralph, for your consideration and in 
placing all of us where we needed to be for the good of Ohio.
  And Mary in the balcony. Mary, you are an original feminist, and I 
love you for that. An original feminist with the First Ladies Library. 
You advanced the cause of women with no strings attached, and that is 
no small thing, Mary Regula. Thank you.
  You know, Ralph, I didn't stay long enough to get the view that you 
have, but I will always remember you and Mary for your kindness, for 
your nurturing, and for the good will that you taught me that makes 
this job a joy.
  And then to Uncle Dave and his wonderful wife Carolyn.
  You know what patience that woman has. But Carolyn is a joy to us 
because she gives us David.
  David taught me so many things, and you know, I will always see Dave 
Hobson with a cell phone on his ear. I can't picture Dave without a 
cell phone on his ear. But not only--he's always in communication with 
someone. He's always making the deal, he's always making things happen, 
and he's making things happen for all of us in Ohio.
  But one important thing that Dave Hobson taught me, and he continues 
to try to teach the world, and that is that ``earmark'' is not a dirty 
word. And the good things that these two cardinals, Dave Hobson and 
Ralph Regula, did through the earmark process for the State of Ohio 
will continue to make our State strong and important in the general 
scheme of things throughout history.
  Earmark is not a dirty word as long as they are good earmarks. And 
these two gentlemen always made sure that they were.
  And one more thing about Dave. He always had my back. And he still 
does. Thank you.
  Gentlemen, thank you both for so many things. This is a hard job for 
me to leave because of the joys, of the companions that I made here, 
the relationships, and the true camaraderie that could make this a 
great place, and it should make this a great place if we just rely on 
that more.
  So thank you, Mr. Hobson. Thank you, Mr. Regula.
  You know, Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings I might just have to 
head to the airport to get my fix of all of the politics because I'm 
really going to miss those moments we spend together, the private 
publicness that we've lived in all of these years together.
  Thank you, Mr. LaTourette.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Thank you, Deborah.


                             General Leave

  Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5

[[Page H9961]]

legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Hirono). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I think I have about 1 minute left, and I'm not going 
to insult Mr. Manzullo by giving him a minute to talk about his 
retiring. So he's come up with some parliamentary scheme to make it all 
work and honor Mr. LaHood and Mr. Weller, who are both classmates of 
mine, who are retiring.
  But I think, Madam Speaker, from this last hour, which we didn't know 
it would take an hour, but we should have expected it would have taken 
an hour for each of our retirees, we are richer for having served with 
Ralph Regula, David Hobson, and Deborah Pryce; and we in the 
institution will be poorer with their retirement, but we will always 
remember the gifts that they have given us; and it shall be our 
challenge, both Republicans and Democrats as Members of the United 
States Congress, to stand on their shoulders and follow in the example 
that they've set for us.
  I thank you, Madam Speaker.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor my good 
friend Deborah Pryce whose service to Ohio and her nation has been 
exemplary.
  I first came to know Deborah when I was active in a Task Force to 
elect more Republican women to Congress. Her spirit and enthusiasm 
impressed me then and it was no surprise to watch her quickly become a 
leader among her colleagues. In 2002 she was elected House Republican 
Conference Chair, a position I once held, where she articulated the 
party's message and helped craft the Republican agenda. In this 
capacity, Deborah became the highest ranking Republican woman in 
history.
  I am particularly touched by the work Deborah has done to fight 
cancer. After losing her beloved daughter Caroline to this disease, 
Deborah co-founded Hope Street Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated 
to increasing funding and awareness of pediatric cancer. Knowing 
Deborah like I do, she will tirelessly continue her fight against this 
dreadful disease.
  I wish her well as she returns home. Congress' loss will be her 
family's gain.
  Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to honor my good friend and fellow 
appropriator Dave Hobson of Ohio.
  I've had the pleasure of serving alongside Dave as we have fought to 
make sure our military has the resources it needs to defend our 
interests around the world. Dave's commitment to ensuring the brave men 
and women of our armed forces receive the pay, benefits, housing, and 
quality health care they deserve is second to none.
  Dave made constituent service a priority during his time in office. 
He has long sponsored monthly ``Open Doors'' meetings in his district 
so his constituents could directly share their concerns with him.
  During his time on the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Dave visited 
Northern California on behalf of our colleague John Doolittle. Dave 
brought to our attention the urgent matter of levees and flood control. 
His expertise on this issue has been critical as California has worked 
to address this serious problem.
  Retirement is something to be celebrated and enjoyed. It is not the 
end of a career, but rather the beginning of a new life adventure. I 
send my friend Dave my best wishes in all his future endeavors.
  Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to honor Ralph Regula, the second-
longest currently serving Republican member of the U.S. House and a man 
I am honored to call a friend.
  I thank Ralph for his years of service. He has inspired a legacy that 
demonstrates the true character and compass on of his Ohio district. 
During his many years on the Appropriations Committee, Ralph has done 
magnificent work on many subcommittees, particularly the Labor, Health, 
Human Services and Education budget, which is the largest discretionary 
domestic account. He focused on strengthening our education system to 
meet the demands of a rapidly changing global marketplace, making 
health care accessible to all, ensuring that the U.S. remains at the 
cutting edge of medical research, and retaining workforce training 
programs that provide people an avenue to seek gainful employment.
  He has been an example of the very best of the Appropriations 
Committee and has been a Member that colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle could turn to. While I will miss seeing him in the halls of this 
great institution, I know he will be happy at hone on his farm in Ohio 
with his wife Mary and their four grandchildren.

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