[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13] [House] [Pages 18927-18929] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THOMAS S. FOLEY UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND WALTER F. HORAN PLAZA Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 211) to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at West 920 Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington, as the ``Thomas S. Foley Federal Building and United States Courthouse'', and the plaza at the south entrance of such building and courthouse as the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza'', as amended. The Clerk read as follows: H.R. 211 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF COURTHOUSE. (a) Designation.--The Federal building and United States courthouse located at 920 West Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington, shall be known and designated as the ``Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse''. (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Federal building and United States courthouse referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse''. SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF PLAZA. (a) Designation.--The plaza located at the south entrance of the Federal building and United States courthouse referred to in section 1(a) shall be known and designated as the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza''. (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the plaza referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble). Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 211, as amended, introduced by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt), honors two former Members of this body, former Speaker Tom Foley and Congressman Walter Horan. The amendment simply corrects the address and properly designates the facility as a United States courthouse, which the building is typically referred to as in Spokane. This legislation will designate the United States courthouse and courthouse plaza in Spokane, Washington, as the ``Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse and Walter F. Horan Plaza''. This designation is a most deserving one. Ambassador Foley served in the Congress from January 1965 until December 1994. As most of the Members here are well aware, Ambassador Foley was our 49th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Prior to his election as Speaker, Ambassador Foley was the majority leader, majority whip, chair of the Democratic Caucus and chairman of the Committee on Agriculture. Before being elected to the Congress, Ambassador Foley was special counsel to the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He also served as deputy prosecuting attorney in Spokane and assistant attorney general for the State of Washington. After leaving this body, former Speaker Foley continues to distinguish himself in public service as the United States Ambassador to Japan. Naming the courthouse in Ambassador Foley's hometown is a reminder of his dedication and hard work in public service. The plaza entrance to the courthouse will be designated as the ``Walter F. Horan Plaza''. This will be a reminder to all that are entering the courthouse through the main plaza of the many accomplishments by former Congressman Horan for his eastern Washington district. If there ever was an example of the American dream, it is Walter Horan. He was born in a log cabin on the banks of the Wenatchee River in 1898. After attending the Wenatchee public schools, he was graduated from Washington State College in 1925. Prior to that, he entered World War I, serving for 2 years in the United States Navy as a gunner's mate third class. Upon graduation, he returned to his apple farm in Wenatchee, Washington where he engaged in fruit growing, packing, storing and shipping until he was elected to the 78th Congress in 1942. He went on to serve in the next 10 succeeding Congresses and rose to third in seniority on the Committee on Appropriations. He always gave close attention to agriculture and the conservation community. Former Congressman Horan passed away in 1966. Naming the Plaza on his behalf is a fitting designation. This is a fitting tribute, Mr. Speaker, to two former Members of this body. I support the bill and urge my colleagues to join in support. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Also, I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) for introducing this bill and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) for bringing this bill to the floor in such a timely manner. I rise in strong support of H.R. 211, a bill to designate the Federal building and courthouse located at 920 West Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington as the Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse, and the plaza located at the south entrance as the Walter F. Horan Plaza. [[Page 18928]] Mr. Speaker, as a new Member from Washington State, I know that we come here with big shoes to fill. We had Scoop Jackson, Warren Magnuson, and we had Speaker of the House Tom Foley. Tom Foley had an outstanding and distinguished public career and it is a career that continues to this day. As we all know, for 30 years he ably represented the Fifth Congressional District in Washington. During that time he served as the majority leader, the majority whip, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and was, of course, the 49th Speaker of the House. Mr. Foley continues to serve today as our country's Ambassador to Japan. During his time in Congress, Tom Foley's top legislative priorities included increasing the minimum wage, revising clean air standards and parental leave and child care measures. Tom was a Washington native. He was born in Spokane in 1929. He attended local school, graduated from Gonzaga High School and went on to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. He later graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1957. Tom Foley's legacy is lasting and his reputation for fairness, for dignity and for openness is a model for all Members to follow. He is well respected, affable and a conciliatory person. Speaker Foley served to help make Congress the best forum for democracy in the entire world. It is with great pride that I support this bill. Mr. Speaker, as was mentioned, H.R. 211 also honors Walt F. Horan by designating the plaza at the south entrance to the building as the Walter F. Horan Plaza. As was mentioned earlier, Mr. Horan served his country in the House of Representatives for 22 years, from 1943 to 1965. He was proud of the fact, it was mentioned, that he was born in a log cabin on the banks of the Wenatchee River, truly a pioneer in our State and a pioneer in this legislative body. He attended local public schools. After graduating high school, he served in World War I as a gunner's mate third class. In 1925 he graduated from Washington State College in Pullman. Walter Horan served with dignity and diligence for over 20 years. It is fitting and proper to honor him with this designation. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 211. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. SHUSTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I did not have the privilege of knowing Congressman Horan. I support this legislation strongly. But I did have the privilege and do have the privilege of knowing Ambassador Foley, of knowing him as a colleague, of knowing him as the distinguished Speaker of this House, of knowing him as the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, and I felt I had to be here today to express my enormous admiration for this distinguished American. {time} 1645 He as a Speaker, a Democratic Speaker, but a Speaker of the Whole House, was always very, very fair. This distinguished American treated those of us in the minority, when indeed Republicans in the minority, with fairness, with consideration. In fact, one of my Democratic friends some years ago when Speaker Foley was indeed in the Chair leaned over with a smile on his face and whispered to me, ``You know, one of the things, perhaps the only thing, that is wrong with Tom Foley is sometimes he is too bipartisan.'' Well, of course the Speaker is the Speaker of the Whole House, and he was fulfilling his duties and his obligations, and he was fulfilling them with dignity, with intelligence and in the best tradition of the great speakers of this august body. Mr. Speaker, I certainly therefore want to very strongly support this legislation today as a tribute particularly to Ambassador Foley, and I want to note that indeed it is a Republican Member of Congress, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) who has been the prime mover of this legislation, and I think that is very fitting because I believe it sends the very clear message that we on this side of the aisle have the same respect and love and affection for Speaker Foley that our good friends on the other side of the aisle certainly have indicated. So I urge the passage of this legislation, and I trust and hope it will be unanimous. Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no more requests for time at this point, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt), the sponsor of the bill. Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) for the time and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) for their kind remarks. I am proud to be the sponsor of this legislation along with the other 8 members of the Washington State congressional delegation to name the Federal Court House in Spokane, Washington, my hometown, the Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse and the plaza in front of that courthouse as the Walter F. Horan Plaza. As the successor to Tom Foley, I came to know him very well in the 1994 elections, and I must say, as difficult as elections can be, the one that occurred in 1994 in my judgment and I think in the judgment of many other people was one that was carried on with great dignity and discussion and debate of the issues and the leadership that was proper for the future for our Fifth Congressional District. I won that election with mixed emotions frankly. I felt terrible for my predecessor who had served for 30 very long years and dignified years and years filled with great service, and I felt sorry that he ended his service with an election like that which occurred in 1994, but at the same time I was pleased to be able to represent the Fifth Congressional District and go forward in the years ahead, wanting to have good representation for the entire east side of the State of Washington. So it was bitter sweet in many respects, but my respect for Mr. Foley certainly is not bitter sweet. It is undying, it is unyielding, it is constant, because I have had him as my representative before I came to public life for 30 years and Mr. Horan for the prior 22 years, virtually my entire adult life until I was elected in 1994. So I have known these two men and watched them represent eastern Washington and the State of Washington's interests with great dignity, with certainly unquestionable respect for the institution of Congress and respect for the people of eastern Washington. During law school I happened to serve as a law clerk in the Spokane County Superior Court, and my prime judge for whom I was assigned was William F. Williams, a very close friend of Foley who was later a Supreme Court Justice in our State. But I also served as a law clerk for Thomas S. Foley's father, Judge Ralph Foley. So Tom, the former Speaker, comes to this institution with a very distinguished background, a distinguished family. His mother and father were very highly recognized and respected in eastern Washington, as was Thomas S. Foley. He served, as was stated here, for 30 years representing our district as Speaker of the House, as majority leader, as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, a chairmanship that was vitally important to eastern Washington and the agricultural community that exists there even to this day. I saw Mr. Foley in Japan earlier this spring, and in characteristic conduct he conducted himself and has conducted himself as a representative of the United States of America in Japan with great respect and dignity, just as he did here in this House for so many years. I just want the people of eastern Washington, the people of this country, to know that in designating this courthouse in the name sake of Tom Foley and Walt Horan we are paying tribute and respect to their work for all of us [[Page 18929]] in eastern Washington and in our State of Washington, our beloved State of Washington. So it was with pleasure that all of the members of our delegation signed onto this bill that I introduced, most notably Democrats and Republicans alike who had worked with Mr. Foley and Mr. Horan in some respects and have enormous respect for those two men. So I thank the House for considering this bill, I urge that it be adopted unanimously and that the respect and dignity that is due Mr. Horan and Mr. Foley will continue under the name sake of the Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse and the Walt F. Horan Plaza. Mr. COBLE. I have no further requests for time, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 211, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 920 West Riverside Avenue in Spokane, Washington, as the `Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse', and the plaza at the south entrance of such building and courthouse as the `Walter F. Horan Plaza'.'' A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________