[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 104 (Monday, July 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    A TRIBUTE TO M. POPE BARROW, JR., FOR 40 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE

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                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 13, 2009

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute 
to an extraordinary individual, M. Pope Barrow, Jr., who is leaving the 
House after 40 extraordinary years of public service. It is the rare 
individual who commits himself to such selfless work and Pope has done 
so with great distinction.
  Pope Barrow was appointed to the Office of Legislative Counsel of the 
House in 1968 and has served under eight successive Speakers. During 
this time, he has served as the Legislative Counsel for 12 years and 
Deputy Legislative Counsel for 4 years. Over the years, he has been 
involved in drafting practically every major piece of energy and 
environmental legislation passed by the House of Representatives. As a 
result, he has been instrumental in the creation of the Clean Air Act, 
the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and omnibus 
energy bills too numerous to mention.
  Pope has worked extensively on legislation addressing public land 
law, mining law, as well as measures focused on parks, trails, and wild 
and scenic rivers. He also played a major role in writing the National 
Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, which was sheperded through the House 
by Phil Burton and the Alaska Lands Act working with Mo Udall and John 
Seiberling. Pope also played a major role in drafting the California 
Desert Protection Act, which created the Death Valley National Park, 
Joshua Tree National Park, and the East Mojave Preserve in my own 
congressional district.
  It's worth noting that at a time of increased partisanship in the 
House, Pope Barrow has provided a consistently steady hand in 
maintaining the professional, non-partisan nature of the Office of the 
Legislative Counsel. It is also my understanding that he has literally 
transformed the Office of the Legislative Counsel through personnel 
additions and technological innovations to meet the incredible 
increased demands placed upon the office.
  Beyond his professional legislative work, Pope is an avid outdoorsman 
who has literally kayaked and sailed the world. I am told that he has 
kayaked rivers in Chile, Canada, Alaska, California, Washington, Idaho, 
West Virginia, New York, Maine, Tennessee, North Carolina, 
Pennsylvania, and many other locations, including hundreds of times 
running Great Falls in Virginia. He has also sailed the entire East 
Coast up to Nova Scotia and down to Key West, the San Juan Islands, San 
Francisco Bay, the Bahamas and Virgin Islands, the Windward Islands, 
the Leeward Islands, from St. Martin to Bermuda, off the coast of 
Croatia and Italy, and across the Atlantic Ocean from Martinique to 
Portugal. It is reported that these sailing adventures were not 
entirely without incident. During one such adventure in the 1970s Pope 
and his dad lost one boat at sea off the coast of Florida and floated 
to shore in a bad storm. He has apparently been paying more attention 
to marine weather forecasts since that time.
  Most importantly, Madam Speaker, Pope Barrow is a gentleman who 
dearly loves his three children and genuinely cares about the people 
with whom he works and the institution of Congress that he has called 
home over the last 40 years. Over the years, he has been a mentor to 
many and an inspiration to all of us who have had the pleasure of 
working with him. I ask that you join me and our colleagues in 
recognizing Pope for his commitment to meeting the needs of Members and 
staff and for his tireless service to the House. We all wish him calm 
seas and a steady breeze at his back as he begins the next chapter in 
his life.

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