[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E63]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING FORMER REPRESENTATIVE JAMES T. KOLBE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DARRELL ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 27, 2023

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the life and public 
service exemplified by former Congressman James Thomas Kolbe.
  With deep sadness, we mourn the loss of Congressman Jim Kolbe, who 
passed away on December 3, 2022 after a dedicated career of service to 
the Congress, his community, and his beloved Arizona.
  A teenage Senate Page, Kolbe graduated from Northwestern University 
with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1965 and received a 
master's degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1967. 
He entered the Navy that year and served in combat duty on gunboats in 
the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War for which he was awarded the 
Congressional Medal for Valor. After working as a Special Assistant to 
the Governor of Illinois, in 1976 he was elected to the first of his 3 
terms as a member of the Arizona State Senate. 1984 saw his first 
election to the House of Representatives and Arizona's Fifth 
Congressional District. He represented his constituents with true 
distinction, a creative and conscientious legislator who consistently 
reached across the aisle and worked closely with colleagues across the 
political spectrum. A fierce champion of free trade and free markets, 
Pima County and Southern Arizona could always count on Jim Kolbe.
  I extend sincere condolences to his spouse, Hector Alfonso, his 
family, and loved ones. I am grateful to have served with a public 
servant and public leader like Jim Kolbe. He will be missed.

                          ____________________