[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 29 (Friday, February 20, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH M. GAYDOS, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 20, 2015

  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
pay tribute to Joseph Matthew Gaydos, Sr., a member of this body for 
twelve terms and a tireless advocate for working Americans. He passed 
away on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. He was 88 years old.
  Born July 3, 1926, Mr. Gaydos was the youngest of seven children. His 
parents, Helen (Elena) Megella and Joann (John) Gajdosh, (later changed 
to Gaydos) emigrated from Hungary and first settled in Greene County, 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Gaydos was born in Braddock, but grew up in Glassport 
where he attended Glassport High School before joining the Navy during 
World War II.
  After returning from the war, he attended Duquesne University and 
then the University of Notre Dame Law School. Following his graduation 
in 1951, he served as general counsel to the United Mineworkers Union 
District 5. He also served as Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania 
and Assistant Solicitor of Allegheny County before entering politics.
  Mr. Gaydos served briefly as a state senator for the 45th District 
from 1967 to 1968 before being elected to fill the seat left vacant by 
the death of U.S. Representative Elmer Holland. He was sworn in as a 
Member of Congress on November 5, 1968; he was the first Slovak-
American to serve in Congress. He subsequently served nearly 25 years 
as the Representative for Pennsylvania's former 20th District.
  In Congress, Mr. Gaydos was a strong supporter of the steel industry 
and a dedicated advocate for his constituents. He founded the 
Congressional Steel Caucus in the early 1970's, and he was one of the 
first to alert the public to the consequences of subsidized foreign 
steel being dumped on the American market. Through the Congressional 
Steel Caucus, Mr. Gaydos encouraged members ``to strengthen trade law 
enforcement from unfairly subsidized and dumped steel imports,'' United 
Steel Workers spokesman Gary Hubbard said to the Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review. ``He sponsored bills for job safety in industrial workplaces 
and the coal mines.''
  In addition, Congressman Gaydos played an important part in drafting 
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which protects 
workers' pensions.
  Shortly after retiring, Mr. Gaydos joined his son's law firm in 1992 
and the name changed to ``Gaydos, Gaydos & Associates''. Mr. Gaydos 
remained with the firm handling Governmental Relations until 1994 when 
he retired for the second and final time.
  In a recent interview, Joseph Gaydos, Jr. described his father as a 
humble, hardworking man who had a pragmatic attitude and took the 
concerns of his constituents very seriously.
  ``He was never somebody who needed to drive a big car and have the 
fanciest of things,'' Joseph Gaydos, Jr. said. ``He was a regular 
fellow who told us to always remember where we came from.''
  Mr. Gaydos was a proponent of actions over words, his son said. 
``Don't tell me what you're going to do,'' Joseph Gaydos, Jr. recalled 
him saying often. ``Show me what you've done.''
  Mr. Gaydos strived to live up to his own advice and often quoted ``A 
Politician's Prayer,'' a poem his wife wrote early in his career:

     So as a public servant / I pray to God above
     For guidance and humility / and a little bit of love.
     And after my life's ended / and I lay down to rest
     I'll know I can truly say / I've done my very best.

  Mr. Gaydos' friends, family and constituents can all attest to the 
fact that he did indeed do his very best. Joe Gaydos was a dedicated, 
hardworking public servant who spent his life championing the interests 
of working men and women. We could use more men and women like him in 
public life today.
  Joe Gaydos was a good man. I was proud to know him, and I want to 
extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends on their loss.

                          ____________________