[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7385-H7387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOSEPH R. PITTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, what an honor it is to 
join my colleagues this evening in taking a moment to honor my good 
friend and fellow alum from Asbury College, Pennsylvania Congressman 
Joe Pitts.
  My friend, Joe Pitts, has spent his life literally engaged in serving 
those around him. In fact, early in his career, Joe and his wife worked 
as teachers to educate the next generation until he joined the Air 
Force in 1963. He answered the call of duty, serving three tours in 
Vietnam, where he completed 116 combat missions and earned the Air 
Medal with five oakleaf clusters.
  Just a few years after returning home from the war effort, Joe 
continued his service in his State and our Nation as a member of the 
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, spending some 24 years assisting 
his fellow Pennsylvanians.
  In 1997, Joe brought his leadership skills and his servant's heart 
right here to the Halls of Congress, where he has now served for 20 
years.

                              {time}  1915

  In this role and through his service as chairman of the Values Action 
Team, Joe has been a guiding force for bringing our Judeo-Christian 
ethics and moral values to Washington, D.C., and he has literally been 
a champion for the cause of life.
  In Mark, chapter 10, the Lord tells us that those who aspire to 
leadership must be great servants. Further, in Matthew, chapter 7, we 
find that we are recognized by our fruits.
  In other words, you can tell who someone is not merely by what one 
says, but by what one does.
  Joe, I would just say to you, sir, thank you. You have been tested, 
and you have shown yourself approved.
  We are all going to sincerely and deeply--genuinely--miss Joe Pitts.
  I hope, Joe, that as you continue in your next chapter that, in your 
absence here, we may each have a portion of your servant's heart, and 
how blessed this body will be if we do so.
  I just thank the gentleman so much for the opportunity to take a 
moment to say ``thank you'' to this giant of a leader here in Congress 
and how we will deeply miss him.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for his very eloquent 
remarks about our great friend and colleague, the distinguished Joe 
Pitts.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama, Robert 
Aderholt.
  Mr. ADERHOLT. I appreciate the time to come to honor Joe Pitts. 
Congressman Smith, I appreciate your organizing this evening so we 
could thank Joe Pitts for his many years of service to not only this 
Chamber, but also to the public in general.
  Madam Speaker, of course, Joe is retiring after 20 years of service 
to this institution and to the American people. He served, as has been 
said, 24 years in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, Joe Pitts, is a hero for conservatives. He fights daily 
for families, for unborn children, and for persecuted Christians around 
the world.
  I know firsthand about his work for persecuted Christians because one 
of the first overseas trip opportunities that I had as a Member of 
Congress was to travel with Joe Pitts to the country of Egypt to 
advocate on behalf of persecuted Christians. I had the chance to sit 
there with Joe as we both talked about the plight of the Coptic 
Christians in the country of Egypt. We sat across the table from Hosni 
Mubarak, who, at the time, was the President of Egypt, and we let him 
know of the concerns that we had and that the American people had for 
Christians who were treated unfairly for no other reason than because 
of their beliefs and their faith.
  Joe Pitts has been a friend and a colleague since we were first 
elected. He and I were first elected back in 1996. We started here in 
January of 1997. He has worked tirelessly as chairman of the Values 
Action Team since the late 1990s. That was when Newt Gingrich had asked 
him to work on pro-life, pro-family issues. He has been an active, 
leading member of the Pro-Life Caucus, along with Congressman Smith, 
since that time.
  I also had the opportunity to work with Joe on OSCE issues, the 
Organization for Security and Co-operation of Europe. We would meet in 
the parliamentary assembly once a year with other parliamentarians to 
try to work on issues. I can tell you the pro-life issue and trying to 
protect the unborn and the family has been at the forefront of those 
issues with him as well with the OSCE.
  I want to take a minute to thank his staff. Over the years, they have 
worked hand in glove with Congressman Pitts. They have been champions 
for the conservative causes over the last 20 years alone here in the 
House of Representatives, and we will certainly miss working with them 
as they go on to the next chapters of their lives.
  Again, I wish Joe Pitts all the best as he moves on to the next phase 
of his life. I certainly pray that he and his wife, Ginny, will have, 
maybe, a slightly slower pace as they go back to Pennsylvania. I know 
that Joe, in whatever next chapter of life he is involved, will be 
involved in protecting families; he will be protecting the unborn--the 
most vulnerable--and he will be making sure that he does what he feels 
is in the best interest of this country. I wish Joe Pitts and his 
family all the best in the many years to come.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from 
Tennessee, Diane Black.
  Mrs. BLACK. I thank the gentleman for yielding, my good friend, who 
is also very involved in protecting life and families, and I appreciate 
his work in this area as well.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to honor my friend and colleague, Congressman 
Joe Pitts, on his upcoming retirement from the House of 
Representatives.
  As a former teacher, Congressman Pitts spent years investing in the 
next generation of leaders, and as an Air Force captain, with three 
tours of duty in Vietnam, he was on the front lines of protecting the 
freedoms that we talk about in this Chamber every day.
  His service in Congress, now spanning nearly 20 years, will be marked 
by a quiet strength and a steady leadership that always sought 
solutions over attention, and that ran towards answers instead of 
running to the cameras. Congressman Pitts was never the loudest person 
in the room, but oftentimes he may very well have been the wisest.
  As the founder of the Values Action Team, Congressman Pitts created a 
platform to build stronger relationships between value-oriented Members 
of Congress and grassroots organizations that shared those same 
principles. Through his appointment as the chairman of the Energy and 
Commerce Health Subcommittee, Congressman Pitts worked to advance real-
world healthcare solutions that empowered patients, not bureaucrats.
  I will always be most grateful to Congressman Pitts for his fearless, 
unflinching defense of our Nation's unborn. From his own legislation, 
like Protect Life Act, to his invaluable leadership in the fight to 
pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, to his work on the 
Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, Congressman Pitts has been 
a champion for the voiceless and vulnerable at every turn.

  I thank Congressman Pitts for his service, for his friendship, for 
his guidance. I wish him and his wife, Ginny, and his beautiful family 
all the best in the next chapter of their lives.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentlewoman very much for those 
very, very eloquent remarks.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois, Randy 
Hultgren.
  Mr. HULTGREN. I thank my very good friend, Chris Smith, for doing 
this.
  Madam Speaker, it is such a privilege to serve in this amazing place. 
Some of us have the opportunity--really, the blessing--to be able to 
meet our heroes. Some of us have the greater blessing of being able to 
actually not only get to meet them, but to work with our heroes; and 
those very special few get to

[[Page H7386]]

become friends with our heroes. That is the feeling I have with Joe 
Pitts.
  Joe Pitts is truly a mentor to me, a hero to me, someone who has 
served so well in every step of his lifetime. I am here to honor him 
tonight, to thank him for his service, and to let him know that we are 
forever grateful.
  Joe Pitts is known for many things. Clearly, he is a man of faith. 
Faith is such a part of his life--his love for God, his love for Jesus 
Christ. His passion for serving Him influences everything he does. I 
also love Joe Pitts' commitment and love for his family. Joe and his 
wife have had a long tradition--for many years--of having grandkids 
camp, where they will have grandkids--no parents allowed--come and be 
with them for a week. They will take special trips, do special 
training, raise up the grandkids to love God, to love this Nation, and 
to share the values that are so important to Joe and his family.
  I am also so grateful for his service here in this Congress. Joe has 
been faithful over his years. He was tapped early on to be the leader 
of the Values Action Team so as to recognize that our values are so 
important. We need champions every single day to be looking out and to 
be making sure that we are passing legislation that reflects our 
values--the values of our Founders, the values of so many who have led 
throughout our Nation--and to be making sure that we are going in the 
right direction as we go forward. Joe has been faithful there as well--
a champion for life, a champion for the persecuted, especially for the 
religious persecuted around the world. He has been fighting for them, 
stepping up for them, making sure that their voices are heard. Fighting 
for the unborn is something that is a passion--a big part--of Joe's 
life as well.
  I am forever grateful to have had the privilege not only to meet Joe 
Pitts, to get to know Joe Pitts, but to say that Joe is a friend of 
mine.
  Joe, thank you for your service to America. Thank you for your love 
for your God and for your family. Thank you for all that you have done 
to make America this wonderful place and for leaving not only a 
heritage, but such a rich challenge as we go forward to protect the 
wonderful values that we enjoy. We appreciate you. God bless you, Joe, 
and God bless America.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman from Illinois.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. I thank Mr. Smith. I really appreciate his efforts in 
honoring Joe Pitts here tonight and all of the gentleman's efforts over 
the many years in sticking up for the values that really are important; 
so I thank the gentleman for that.
  Madam Speaker, indeed, it is a night to recognize our leader of the 
Values Action Team, Mr. Joe Pitts, and all of his dedication to these 
important causes for our values, which are the things that, I like to 
say, are going to be remembered long past all the other stuff we do--
the fiscal-related things and some other things--that nobody will 
remember. I like to think they will remember that we stood up for the 
things that were truly important to families, to the things that endure 
over time; so being able to join in tonight in recognizing our friend 
from Pennsylvania is a privilege for me as it was to be able--and it 
is--to work with Joe.
  Over the few short years I have been in the House, I have gotten to 
know what he is about, and I respect him greatly as a man of faith and 
courage in standing against the tide that is pretty unpopular these 
days, a lot of times, in this era of political correctness where what 
is up is down and what is down is up. He stood in there on some very 
difficult issues--on life, on basic liberties, on moral conscience, and 
even on religious conscience. He joined in on some issues from crazy 
California sometimes, where I come from, in helping to fight a battle 
there that would allow people to have religious freedom and freedom of 
conscience. Again, I think a cornerstone of the founding of this 
country has been lost a lot of times here, in recent reinterpretations, 
as to what I think true, traditional values are.
  He has given that voice to the unborn. He stood side by side with the 
Little Sisters of the Poor in their direct fight for religious liberty. 
He defended the conscience of Americans who should never be forced to 
finance something that goes against one of the very principles our 
Nation was founded on--life--with their religious convictions.
  Joe Pitts, when it comes down to protecting conservative values in 
our government or outside of it, there was no issue too small, too 
insignificant, or anything that he would shy away from. Indeed, he 
inspires us to be bold, to stand up for those who can't always speak 
for themselves or who have been beaten down by political correctness to 
even be able to speak for themselves. We need these conservative 
values. We need visions like Joe Pitts has always exhibited. To have 
been able to have worked beside him these years I have been here in the 
House, it has been a privilege, and I appreciate his work and his 
courage in being fearless against a tide that sometimes I can't 
understand.

  At the end of all of this, I think some of the most rewarding words 
and the ones that we can try and express here tonight--but that will be 
expressed in a bigger place--is: well done, good and faithful servant.
  God bless Joe Pitts. Again, we thank him for his service on the 
Values Action Team and for all he has stood for, and I am proud to be 
able to stand beside him.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend from California for 
his very, very fine remarks.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, as there are a number of 
Members who would like to submit, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to insert extraneous materials on the topic of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, it is hard to imagine a 
Congress without the incomparable Joe Pitts--a remarkable and highly 
accomplished lawmaker, a distinguished statesman, a man of principle 
and bedrock moral conviction and a Christian, who faithfully seeks to 
do God's will on Earth as it is in Heaven no matter the cost, no matter 
the sacrifice, no matter the hardship.

                              {time}  1930

  As I think some of my colleagues know--particularly those who know 
him well--Joe was born in Kentucky into a family of strong Christian 
faith, a faith that has been passed on to his own three children; 
Carol, Karen, and Daniel.
  Joe's father was an Army chaplain during World War II, serving in the 
South Pacific after the war. The elder Pitts returned to the 
Philippines with his wife and children to serve as a missionary in a 
war-ravaged country. It was there that Joe saw the after effects of 
war; and that so profoundly affected him, he developed a heart there 
for human rights and a commitment to a strong national defense.
  After high school, Joe attended Asbury College in Kentucky, as my 
friend and colleague earlier pointed out. He met Virginia--Ginny, as we 
know her--a wonderful lady. My wife Marie and I and Joe and Ginny have 
traveled and have been together many times. She is just a wonderful 
wife of a half a century. Again, they not only have three children but 
a number of grandchildren as well.
  Joe taught math, science, English, and physical education, as well as 
coached basketball. He served 5\1/2\ years in the United States Air 
Force, including three tours in Vietnam. He was the EW officer, 
electronic warfare officer, on a B-52 and completed 116 combat missions 
and earned the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters.
  Here in Washington, Joe has worked hard helping political prisoners, 
including people like Saeed Abedini and other Christian and non-
Christian--Jewish and other religious and political prisoners around 
the world.
  He has been tenacious in promoting prayer breakfasts all around the 
world so that members of parliaments and congresses from many countries 
would know the blessings of fellowship and prayer and being in touch 
with God.
  He even traveled to Mongolia for the first prayer breakfast in the 
late 1990s.

[[Page H7387]]

Joe leads an ambassadors' prayer breakfast fellowship at the Cedars, 
right nearby in northern Virginia. I have had the privilege to join him 
for those breakfasts on occasions. It is a time for ambassadors to get 
together from all over the world--different regions meeting at 
different times, sometimes many from many regions--to break bread, to 
talk about the Scriptures with some emphasis on policy but mostly about 
how God does minister to us, how forgiving He is, and how all of us are 
in need of reconciliation. And Joe Pitts is there leading that 
fellowship and has been doing it for decades.
  Joe has been a leader in the fight against ongoing human rights 
abuses in Western Sahara and elsewhere. He is co-chair of the Lantos 
Human Rights Commission. And in Congress, of course, we know he has 
served in a number of key leadership positions, including his current 
position as chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, obviously working on so many important issues on 
diseases and disabilities. Top officials from the healthcare system 
present themselves before his committee for his review and oversight. 
He has been a problem-solver--he and his staff, working across the 
aisle to try to find solutions to these often vexing issues of health 
care.
  On the greatest human rights issue of our time--protecting unborn 
babies and their mothers from the violence of abortion--Joe Pitts has 
not only saved countless precious lives and fostered reconciliation and 
hope for post-abortive women, but he has also been an extraordinary 
inspiration to all of us in Congress.
  The way he comports himself. He never gets angry. He deals with the 
issue in a way that reaches out to people who may have a different view 
in the hopes that they will see the wisdom of protecting the innocent 
and most vulnerable.
  Joe has been a leader on every pro-life congressional policy--bills, 
amendments, administrative actions--since he won his seat in Congress 
in 1996. We are grateful for his powerful voice and vote on ending the 
hideous method called partial birth abortion; enacting multiple annual 
abortion funding bans; proscribing sex selection abortion, which is the 
ultimate violation of women's rights to say: you are susceptible to 
killing because you happen to be female; protecting pain-capable unborn 
children as well as born-alive infants; and enforcing the conscience 
rights of pro-life Americans has been remarkable. His leadership has 
been remarkable.
  Had the Senate adopted the House-passed Pitts-Stupak amendment, 
ObamaCare, with all of its egregious flaws, would have at least been 
abortion-free.
  Joe Pitts has been the greatest friend and ally of persons with 
disabilities, including his robust defense of Terri Schiavo.
  His service in the Pennsylvania General Assembly from 1973-1997, 
including his chairmanship of the powerful Appropriations Committee, to 
which he was elected by his peers, was filled with accomplishments, 
including his bold leadership in enacting the Abortion Control Act.
  Someday future generations will look back on America's culture of 
death and wonder how and why a seemingly enlightened society, so 
blessed with civil rights protections, wealth, educational 
opportunities, information, medical breakthroughs, a free press, and a 
strong and diverse faith community could have allowed 60 million unborn 
children to be killed by abortion.
  When the day comes and legal protections for the weak and the most 
vulnerable are restored, I believe future generations of Americans will 
remember and celebrate the tenacious heroes, the human rights heroes of 
today, people like Henry Hyde, compassionate women like Mother Teresa, 
and Joe Pitts, who persevered, prayed, and worked tenaciously on behalf 
of the least of these.
  St. Francis once famously said: Always preach the gospel, and when 
necessary, use words.
  By his example, by his perpetual radiating of Christ--just look at 
his eyes; there is kindness and compassion and empathy in Joe Pitts' 
eyes--he has inspired all of us to strive to do His will on Earth, as 
it is in Heaven. And it is a distinct privilege and honor to be known 
as one of Joe Pitts' friends.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Madam Speaker, Joe Pitts is a man whose faith and 
values, I believe, animate him to protect life in all its stages. 
Through his decades of service both in the military and public office--
and as a dedicated husband and dad--Congressman Joe Pitts has nurtured, 
protected, and preserved the lives of others.
  First, as a young married man and a public school teacher, he 
nurtured the intellectual life of his students.
  Then, so that he could better support his wife and children, he 
signed up for Officer Training School.
  As an Air Force Captain, he did three tours in Vietnam over a five 
and a half year period, completing 116 combat missions throughout that 
time, and earning an Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters. Once again, 
Joe risked his own life to protect the lives of others.
  After retiring from military service, Joe returned to teaching, and 
in 1972, he commenced his 24-year tenure as a PA State Representative, 
where he was known for being a key advocate of the 1990 Abortion 
Control Act.
  In 1997, Joe became a member of Congress, and understanding that from 
the family springs new life, he was asked to chair the pro-family 
Values Action Team.
  Throughout his service at the state and federal level, he has worked 
to improve the lives of others by exercising fiscal responsibility. As 
a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he fougtht to improve 
our military readiness, so that our service members can better protect 
American lives.
  I know that each of us here today honoring Joe feel that he has 
touched our lives, both as a colleague and as a friend. He has touched 
the lives of countless others through his service.
  I wish him all the best in the years to come, and, after decades of 
serving the lives of others, that he enjoys time with his family, 
especially his grandchildren.

                          ____________________