[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 175 (Wednesday, December 11, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7669-H7670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING AMORY HOUGHTON, JR.

  (Mr. UPTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to honor Amo Houghton for his 16 years of service on the board of 
directors of The Faith & Politics Institute.
  Amo, my good friend and our former colleague, a tireless advocate for 
civil rights, is stepping down as cochair of the board of Faith & 
Politics, just this week. He and our esteemed colleague, Congressman 
John Lewis, started the bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights 
Pilgrimage to Alabama, which in March of next year will celebrate its 
14th year. This important trip brings to life the values The Faith & 
Politics Institute is determined to instill, as it indeed shows the 
attendees how to ``rise above narrow partisanship and respond to the 
quiet call of conscience.''
  My wife, Amey, and I traveled to Selma on this pilgrimage, and we 
feel that it was one of the most moving and humbling experiences of our 
lives.
  Amo was also responsible for organizing a Faith & Politics 
congressional visit to South Africa, which resulted in a relationship 
that has lasted for over a decade and is still strong. As said by the 
great Nelson Mandela:


[[Page H7670]]


       A good head and a good heart are always a formidable 
     combination.

  My friend Amo Houghton is a formidable force.
  Although The Faith & Politics Institute will miss his spirit and 
wisdom that he brought to the board of directors, his legacy and 
inspiration will always live on, as the Honorable Amory Houghton, Jr.'s 
status is now elevated to cochair emeritus for life.

                          ____________________