[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H9962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING RAY LaHOOD AND JERRY WELLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I, too, am honored to be here tonight 
just for 5 minutes to talk about two of my colleagues, two of my 
mentors, two of my friends who helped me as a new Member of Congress. 
They both served seven terms, finishing their seven terms, 14 years. 
One's about 10 years older, one is the same age.
  Both represented--well, Jerry had parts of Cook County, Chicago in 
his first district, but mostly south of I-80 guys, which brings in a 
different dynamic in Illinois politics, which is rural, small town, 
agriculture interests.

                              {time}  2115

  I'd like first to spend time to talk about Jerry and his fight on the 
Ways and Means Committee primarily--most of us know him for eliminating 
the marriage penalty, and that was before Jerry got married. So it was 
no conflict of interest. He wasn't in doing things for himself.
  And since that time not only did he save--I mean the basic debate 
that he made was this. Marriage should not be penalized under the Tax 
Code, and that position he fought hard and long for, and it has 
maintained itself until the loss of the majority here. And that 
marriage penalty is threatened unfortunately by Democratic control of 
Congress, and hopefully, they will make that permanent, and it will be 
a tribute to you, Jerry, if they do that.
  Not only does he have a lovely young bride, a congresswoman, Zury 
Rios Sosa from Guatemala, but a lovely daughter, and I can't even 
pronounce her first name, Marizu Catherine Weller, and Jerry has been 
proud to show these pictures around. We understand why Jerry now has 
chosen a different path in life. He's got a lovely bride, a young 
daughter. This is not a very great profession for families. It's very 
challenging. And no one casts any disappointment on Jerry Weller 
choosing family over a profession here.
  Jerry's been a confidante and friend. Our staffs are very close. My 
chief of staff worked in his first campaign. Jerry has been very 
helpful to me. He knows that. I'm honored to call you a friend, and I 
look forward to working with you for many years to go.
  Ray LaHood. These guys are like two polar opposite-type guys. Ray's 
come up through the political system as a staff director for Leader Bob 
Michel, a State rep himself, a man of the institution. Shocking that he 
would decide to leave because he loves the institution so much. Ray is 
close friends with former Speaker Denny Hastert. He's a guy that you 
always know where Ray stands, and he's not embarrassed to tell you, and 
he's not embarrassed to tell his constituents when they agree with him 
and when they don't.
  Ray has a unique ability to confront those in opposition with him 
forcefully and firmly. Some of those attributes I've tried to take on 
because sometimes you have to confront those who attack your values and 
your position. You've got to attack it front on. You don't want to be 
coy. You just want to tell them what it is you believe and why, and 
that's what Ray has always brought to the table.
  Ray and I have had our own fights, but our friendship and loyalty has 
lasted through the time of our service. He's also finishing his seventh 
term, that means 14 years as a Member of the House, many years with 
Leader Michel, probably 30-plus years in Federal service that he's done 
for this great country.
  A man from Peoria, born, raised there, lives there, went to school 
there, again a southern Illinoisan who tries to balance the interests 
of rural America and agriculture interests with some of the big, 
monumental issues of our time. He proudly represented Caterpillar, 
which the home office is in Peoria, and made sure, as Jerry Weller did, 
the importance of trade to both our agricultural community and 
manufacturing sector, especially Caterpillar.
  These are good friends, mentors to me, mentors when I was doing stuff 
right and mentors when I was probably going off the track and I needed 
some direction to stay focused on the responsibilities as a Member of 
Congress. Jerry was always there to help me do that. Ray definitely 
was, also. I appreciate that.
  We're going to miss them, but they have chosen to pursue other 
pursuits. We want to honor and recognize that, and I want to thank them 
publicly for their service.

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