[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H3436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF BILLY FRANK, JR.

  (Mr. HECK of Washington asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning quite suddenly 
Billy Frank, Jr., passed away.
  Billy was chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. He was 
our region's foremost advocate for restoration of Indian fishing treaty 
rights, a dream he lived to realize. He was our region's foremost 
advocate for clean water for salmon.
  So powerful was his advocacy, his charisma, his personality, his 
moral authority, that no fewer than two books have been written about 
him, and he was the recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian 
Award.
  They say a person dies twice: the first time, and the second time 
when they stop telling stories about him. Billy Frank is going to live 
forever. There are no words I can share, however, more powerful than 
his own. So, thanks to my friend Martha Kongsgaard who provided me with 
Billy's words recently, I share those now with you:

       I don't believe in magic, Billy once said. I believe in the 
     Sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the 
     owls, the hawks flying, the river running, and the wind 
     talking. Their measurements, they tell us how healthy things 
     are, how healthy we are, because we and they are the same. 
     That is what I believe in.
       Those who learn to listen to the world that sustains them 
     can hear the message brought forth by the salmon.

  Thank you, dear friend, Billy. You shall forever be missed and 
forever remembered.

                          ____________________