[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 65 (Friday, May 2, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING CHARLES W. JOHNSON III FOR HIS FIFTY YEARS OF SERVICE

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                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 2, 2014

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Charles W. Johnson 
III for his 50 years of service to the House of Representatives.
  Charles W. Johnson III was appointed as an Assistant Parliamentarian 
by Speaker John W. McCormack on May 20, 1964. After a 30-year 
apprenticeship, Charlie was appointed Parliamentarian of the House on 
September 16, 1994 and served in that role until 2004. He has served as 
a consultant to the Office of the Parliamentarian from 2004 to the 
present.
  Following his tenure as Parliamentarian, Charlie has devoted his 
considerable talents to scholarship--working on the precedents of the 
House and comparative parliamentary procedure. In 2010, Charlie and his 
British counterpart, Sir William McKay, authored a comprehensive 
examination of the U.S. House and the British House of Commons. That 
book entitled ``Parliament and Congress'' analyzes the constitutional 
background and procedural history of the legislative bodies of the 
United States and the United Kingdom. Charlie's editorial contributions 
are now represented in over 45 separate parliamentary works. In the 
most recent volume of the House precedents that bear his name, 
Charlie's commentary chronicled procedural changes under seven 
successive Speakers of the House.
  Charlie's expertise is recognized far beyond the halls of Congress.
  He has the unique distinction of testifying before three U.S. 
congressional committees, a U.S. federal district court, and a joint 
committee of the British Parliament. In 2011, Charlie was the first 
witness called by the prosecution in the perjury trial of star pitcher 
Roger Clemens. In 1999 and 2013, he gave evidence on parliamentary 
privilege to the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege of the 
British Parliament.
  Charlie's long-term commitment to international parliamentary 
exchanges was a driving force behind the creation of the House Office 
of lnterparliamentary Affairs in 2003. He has spent considerable time 
assisting emerging democracies through work with the House Democracy 
Partnership. His early efforts with the HDP in Kenya in 2006 were a 
model for legislative strengthening efforts that now encompass 16 
partner countries.
  I want to thank Charlie for his exemplary service to the institution 
over his long and distinguished tenure.

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