[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 151 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE DOUG APPLEGATE

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 27, 2021

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fine 
gentleman who was not just a former colleague, but also a fellow 
Buckeye, and a dear friend.
  Congressman Doug Applegate of Steubenville, Ohio, served nine terms 
in the House from 1977 until 1994. Sadly, Doug passed away on August 7 
at the age of 93.
  For nearly two decades, Representative Applegate ably and honorably 
represented eastern Ohio's 18th Congressional District. He and his 
beloved wife Betty were indefatigable in their fierce advocacy for 
their constituents. Doug was particularly gifted in his representation 
of his industrial and mining region and his advocacy for the 
steelworkers, coal miners, and veterans who called their shared 
Appalachian region ``home.'' I can recall travelling to Steubenville 
and viewing the industry that propelled its economy atop the Ohio river 
33 miles from Pittsburgh.
  Doug served as a Member and then chair of the Veterans Affairs 
Subcommittee on Compensation, Veterans, and Insurance. He never stopped 
championing their cause. Representative Applegate was responsible for 
passing a $150 a month benefit increase for World War I pensioners and 
their spouses.
  He also fought for raises in disability and other allowances and 
benefits that improved the quality of life for our heroic members in 
uniform.
  When I was first elected to Congress and achieved appointment to the 
House Veterans Affairs Committee, I remember the poignant debate about 
Agent Orange and why Vietnam veterans should receive medical 
eligibility at the Department of Veterans Affairs for diagnosis and 
treatment of illnesses, including soft tissue cancers, they were 
developing due to exposure to Agent Orange. Long debate occurred in the 
Committee at that time as to who then this was possibly afflicting 
because irrefutable scientific studies had not been completed at that 
point in time. Doug Applegate turned the debate to positive support of 
Vietnam veterans self-examining themselves to determine their medical 
conditions by saying ``There is a difference between what is 
scientifically provable and morally right.'' From that point onward, 
the VA covered Agent Orange diagnostic tests and treatments for Agent 
Orange. Doug Applegate never yielded when it came to America's veterans 
and he stood his ground.
  Toward the end of his career, he was instrumental in ensuring 
Veterans Affairs became a department-level agency--allowing our heroes 
to receive the attention and care they deserve.
  I also vividly remember his scorching denunciation of unfair trade 
policies, such as when he introduced legislation in 1986 to punish 
countries skirting steel import rules and harming American workers. He 
was a fighter for the working pension and the middle class. I miss his 
passion in these chambers.
  As his tenure drew to a close, Representative Applegate was praised 
by his colleagues and constituents for his work to secure hundreds of 
millions of dollars in federal funds for Ohio, and the diligence he 
displayed in serving the residents of the 18th District.
  While many today did not have the privilege of working alongside 
Representative Doug Applegate, he provides a model for us all to follow 
on behalf of the people of Ohio. I thank him for his honorable and 
faithful service, and offer my deepest condolences to his family, loved 
ones, and the constituents to whom he dedicated his best years. May the 
angels carry him close to his beloved Betty.

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