[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 29493-29496]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



APPOINTING REVEREND DR. JAMES DAVID FORD AS CHAPLAIN EMERITUS OF HOUSE 
                           OF REPRESENTATIVES

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I call up the resolution, (H. Res. 373) that 
immediately following his resignation as Chaplain of the House of 
Representatives and in recognition of the length of his devoted service 
to the House, Reverend James David Ford be, and he is hereby, appointed 
Chaplain emeritus of the House of Representatives, and ask unanimous 
consent for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Wisconsin?
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I will 
not object, I yield to my good friend the gentleman from Wisconsin to 
explain his resolution.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is offered in appreciation 
and thanks for the 20 years of service to the House, its Members, and 
its employees by our colleague and friend, the Chaplain of the House, 
the Reverend James David Ford; and I urge its adoption.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve my right to object, I 
am very happy to yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker 
Hastert), the Honorable Speaker of the House.
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California 
(Mrs. Capps) for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Dr. Ford and his devoted 
service to this House. He is a man of this House. He is a colleague. He 
is a friend. He is a counselor.
  He has touched the lives of many Members in countless ways. He has 
married us. He has kept marriages together. He has baptized our 
children. He has visited us in the hospital. He has been with our 
families as we bid farewell to our beloved colleagues. And, very 
simply, he has been there when we needed him. He has made us laugh when 
we did not think we could, and he has made us introspective when we 
wanted to look elsewhere.
  For me personally and the entire House, he was there that tragic day 
a

[[Page 29494]]

little over a year ago when a gunman changed our lives in this House 
forever. He was there for the fallen heroes. He was there for their 
families. He was there for those of us who knew them well and whose 
lives were saved by their heroic actions. For that, I will be forever 
grateful.
  Dr. Ford is not allowed to speak on the House floor, and we are not 
about to break that tradition, even for an emeritus chaplain. But I 
think it fitting on this occasion to quote him from his charge to the 
Chaplain Search Committee.

       I have been honored to have served you as Chaplain for 
     nearly 20 years, and I leave with deep appreciation for the 
     vital work of the Congress and the people who serve this 
     place so faithfully. I continue with enthusiastic support for 
     this institution, our democracy, and with a sense of 
     thanksgiving for the opportunities that I have been given.

  Thank you, Dr. Ford, and may God bless you in the years ahead.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
very happy to yield to my colleague the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Bonior).
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just echo the eloquent remarks of our Speaker in 
appreciation for the many years of service by Dr. Ford.
  This institution is in many ways family. It is certainly a community. 
And it gets beyond a community because of the connectiveness that we 
have with each other. In any family and in any community, it takes 
someone with exceptional skills and kindness and goodness to help 
nurture that community.
  Reverend Ford has been absolutely magnificent in that role. As the 
Speaker said, he has married us, he has baptized our children, he has 
counseled us in difficult times, and he has been there for us when we 
have needed him. He is a lovely man with a beautiful family, and we are 
going to miss him deeply.
  Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to, on a personal note, say to Dr. Ford 
how much I appreciate all the good, kind things that he has done for 
me. Dr. Ford married Judy and I. My wife Judy worked for Dr. Ford for a 
number of years.
  And in the spirit of full service chaplainship, if that is such a 
word, Dr. Ford and I happened to be in the hospital on the same day and 
actually happened to have been scheduled for an operation the very same 
hour. And as we were being wheeled out of our rooms down the corridor 
to get on our respective elevators to go down to the operating room, he 
yelled over to me, ``Now, Bonior, this is really what I call full 
service chaplainship.''
  I will always remember that, and I will always take that with me 
through the years, as it was a very relaxing and a memorable comment in 
a very difficult time in my personal life.
  So Dr. Ford, thank you so much. We wish you and Marcy and your family 
all the best in the years to come. Thank you for your service, and 
thank you for your goodness.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve my right to object, I 
am pleased to yield to my colleague the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Shimkus).
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Capps) yielding to me.
  To my friend and colleague, Jim Ford, let it be known that for 18 
years he served as chaplain of West Point, 20 years here in this body.
  As a member of the Chaplain Search Committee, I thought it was 
necessary to go back to the Bible and look at the qualifications. And 
paraphrasing I Timothy 3, Bishops should be blameless, sober, given to 
hospitality, apt to teach, rule at his own house, not a novice, and of 
good report.
  Jim Ford embodies all those principles of I Timothy, with the added 
benefit of a love for his country, his military, this body, and West 
Point.
  Of all the great leaders he has known, and he has known many of 
those, his greatest love has been to his God, his family, this body, 
our armed forces, and West Point.

                              {time}  1015

  Like General MacArthur, I think Chaplain Ford's final words will be 
these: ``But in the evening of my memory, I come back to West Point. 
Always there echoes and reechoes: duty, honor, country. Today marks my 
final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the 
river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the corps and the corps 
and the corps.''
  I bid you farewell, Chaplain Ford. The House, the corps, and this 
great Nation bid you a fond farewell.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, I 
want to welcome this opportunity for myself to say a few words about 
our dear friend, Chaplain Jim Ford.
  I will not of course object to this resolution. I support this 
resolution with a full heart. I commend the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Petri) for offering it.
  Mr. Speaker, this House is a remarkable institution. It is the 
People's House. We, the 435 Members, represent different geographical 
areas. We have starkly different ideologies. We have different 
political agendas. Often our debates are heated, even rancorous. But if 
there is one person among us who truly represents goodness and decency 
and humanity in this place, it is our chaplain. For two decades, Jim 
Ford has been a powerful voice for unity, compassion, and love in this 
place. In his service to the House, Chaplain Ford has truly served the 
American people.
  Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, I have been honored to serve 
on the Speaker's search committee to find a new chaplain. This process 
has reminded me yet again of the incredible skills that Jim Ford has 
brought to this job. He has infused this House with spiritual strength 
in times of triumph and in times of tragedy. He has spent countless 
thousands of hours providing pastoral care to Members and staff who 
desperately needed his guidance. He has taught us to respect and 
nurture the diversity of our own religious faiths and in so doing has 
reminded us that one of our Nation's greatest strengths is our 
religious pluralism. He has carefully avoided entering our legislative 
debates and has remained a truly nonpartisan adviser and mentor to the 
entire House. And through it all, Jim has always shown such warmth and 
wit. His jokes, the good ones and the terrible ones, are a fixture on 
this floor.
  Mr. Speaker, my late husband, Walter, was so proud to have served in 
this House with Jim Ford, a fellow Lutheran, a fellow Swede, and a 
fellow graduate of the Augustana Seminary. He loved Jim Ford very much. 
I will never forget what the chaplain said at Walter's memorial 
service. Quoting Martin Luther, Jim said: ``Send your good men into the 
ministry, but send your best men into politics.'' Our chaplain is both. 
He is a good man and he is one of the best of men. He has walked the 
delicate yet vital line between faith and government with unparalleled 
skill and devotion.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the resolution to appoint Jim Ford Chaplain 
Emeritus of the House; and I hope and pray that he will be working with 
us and serving the American people for decades to come.
  Now it is my pleasure to yield to my colleague from New York.
  Mr. McNULTY. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Jim Ford is 
Swedish? I thought he was an Irish monsignor.
  Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that when I first came here in 
1988 and met Jim Ford, I thought he looked like an Irish monsignor so I 
referred to him as monsignor. Little did I know that for years before I 
came to the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill also called him 
monsignor. So over the past 11 years, I have carried on that tradition. 
But whatever the title, we are all very grateful to you, Dr. Ford, for 
your advice and counsel and friendship through the years.
  We thank you for Marcy and your great family and the tremendous 
support they have also been to us. I particularly thank you for the 
service of your son Peter who has protected me in Sudan and Kuwait and 
various hot spots around the world. I think if we sum it all up, we 
could use the words of scripture to describe your service here

[[Page 29495]]

in the House of Representatives over the past 20 years: ``Well done, 
good and faithful servant.''
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
happy now to yield to my colleague from Georgia.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this resolution. When I first came 
here 13 years ago as a Member of Congress from the State of Georgia and 
met the Reverend Dr. James Ford, I wanted to refer to Dr. Ford not as 
Dr. Ford or Reverend Ford but, like my colleague from New York, I 
wanted to call him Father Ford. For this man, this good and wise 
spiritual leader, is a blessing not just to this body but to our Nation 
and to all of her citizens.
  For 20 years, the Reverend Dr. James David Ford has started our 
session with the most important motion each day, a motion to the 
Congress and all Americans to pray and give thanks. Reverend Ford also 
reminds Congress every day that it is through faith, hope, and love 
that we serve. Through his selfless counseling and pastoral services to 
all Members and staff and his spiritual service as a new pastor in 1958 
at the Lutheran Church in Ivanhoe, Minnesota, Reverend Dr. Ford, you 
have personified the very best that public service has to offer.
  I will miss you, Dr. Ford. We have traveled many roads together. We 
traveled together to a free and unified South Africa. You kept us calm. 
You prayed with us. We had good food together. We shared some good 
times together, but we shared some very high and lofty moments 
together. We traveled to Selma, Alabama. We have crossed many racial 
and religious bridges together. In the journey down the road less 
traveled together, my friend has made all of the difference to me and 
to many that you continue to touch and inspire each day.
  Dr. Ford, God bless you. May God keep you, your lovely wife, and your 
five children. We are going to miss you. But we will never ever forget 
you. Reverend Dr. Ford, my brother, and my friend, thank you for being 
you. Godspeed.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Chaplain Jim Ford is a good man. In God's 
eyes, he is undoubtedly a great man. Humble of personality but proud of 
faith and strong of intellect and spirit, he has given us all an 
example of how life should and can be lived. Gandhi said that your life 
is your message and Jim Ford's service is his statement of faith. We 
thank you, Jim, for what you have meant to all of us individually and 
collectively as an institution.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
happy to yield now to my colleague from Minnesota.
  Mr. SABO. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. If one could object 
to this resolution and it meant that our friend Jim Ford stayed 
chaplain, I would; but I gather that is not an option, so I will not 
object. It is a great privilege to rise in support of this resolution.
  In 1979, I came to Congress, and I noticed that there was a new 
chaplain; and I read his bio and I discovered that he had a background 
in my district, Minneapolis. I had not heard of him. He had served out 
in Ivanhoe, Minnesota, in western Minnesota, and then had gone on to 
West Point. I needed to find out some things about him. He was a full-
blooded Norwegian, it was tough to forgive him for being a Swede, but 
we gradually overcame that. I heard all these things today about this 
great intellect, but I found out other things about this gentleman. 
This person of great intelligence went off a ski jump in my district 
backwards. He survived. He went on. He has lived life to its fullest, 
sailing across the ocean in a small boat with one other person. I 
discovered last night they ended up in the middle of a cyclone. Again, 
that great caution that is evident in his life. He has served us well. 
He has lived life to its fullest. I have no idea what he has in mind 
after he leaves us. He has been flying one of these little planes that 
sounds sort of crazy to me. I do not know what he is going to do. He 
drives cross-country with his son on a motorcycle. What adventures he 
has planned we will find out in the years ahead. He has been a great 
friend to all of us. He has made an incredible contribution to this 
institution. We wish him and his family and his wife, Marcy, the best. 
You made life in this place that so many times is filled with pressures 
and so hectic better for all of us and we thank you.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
pleased to yield to my colleague from New York.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. This is a sad 
morning for me, because all the years that I have been in Congress, 
Reverend Dr. Ford has been here. Every morning he sort of gently nudges 
us to remind us of what we are here for and to whom we will eventually 
report. I hope that his prayers before this House will be published, 
because they were extraordinary pieces of work. Again it showed his 
intellect and his deep caring.
  I have a personal story I need to relate about Dr. Ford. We all know 
how he was there for us whenever we needed him. But I asked him for 
something extraordinarily special, and he was there when I needed him. 
My youngest daughter graduated from American University. When she was 
getting married to our great surprise she decided she wanted to be 
married here in Washington, which caused us no end of grief because we 
could not find anybody who was willing to do the service. So we got the 
loan of a church and Dr. Ford very graciously said, ``Of course I will 
do that.'' The way he said it to me is something I will never forget. 
He said, ``Getting married is a wonderful thing. No one should be 
troubled by who is going to perform the ceremony.'' He did it with such 
wonderful charm and grace again that every word that he said that day 
at that ceremony is clear in my mind. So my family is grateful to Dr. 
Ford.
  All of us in this House are losing a true friend and champion. 
Wherever he goes, I hope that he will still gently remind us in some 
way of why we are here and to whom we report. Thank you for your 
constancy and for your friendship and for your wonderful guidance which 
we will miss dreadfully. Thank you, Dr. Ford.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
pleased now to yield to my colleague from Ohio.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  I did not plan to say a few words. We all love Dr. Ford, but I am 
worried for him. As the gentleman from Minnesota talked about, that 
just is not a one-man plane; that is a small plane with a lawn mower 
engine. He puts on his helmet, looks like he is right out of Buck 
Rogers, gets on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, revs it up so you could 
hear those exhausts, and passes people up speeding down the road.

                              {time}  1030

  I am concerned about him with all this free time.
  So I think we all better say a collective prayer for a man whose 
collective prayers have helped an awful lot of us. Godspeed.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, while I am pleased to join our colleagues in 
saluting Jim Ford on the occasion of his impending retirement, this is 
a bittersweet responsibility for me.
  For one thing, Rev. Jim Ford is a former constituent of mine, having 
lived in our beautiful 20th Congressional District of New York 
throughout his 18 years as Cadet Chaplain at the U.S. Military Academy 
at West Point. This has afforded Jim and I with a reference point for 
many hours of pleasurable reminisces about the majestic Hudson River 
and its magnificent valley.
  Chaplain Ford has married and buried more Generals than any of us 
have met throughout our careers.
  I also had the honor to share with Jim and his good spouse, Marcie, 
travel on many of our overseas fact finding missions. Jim made a 
positive contribution to our works, always being ready with 
compassionate guidance, spiritual advice, and old fashioned common 
sense.

[[Page 29496]]

  When Jim was first proposed for the role of House Chaplain back in 
1979, he was one of the few nominees for that position ever to be 
nominated by both the Republican and the Democratic caucuses. This bi-
partisan support and admiration has continued throughout Jim's twenty 
year tenure as our Chaplain.
  Those of us who have come to love Jim especially admire his zest for 
life, which he manifests through action rather than words. His 
legendary skill as a skier, his devotion to flying lighter than air 
aircraft, and his entire philosophy of living life to the fullest has 
long inspired us all.
  Jim became Chaplain at a time when longer sessions and more work 
hours placed a strain on the family life of many of us in this chamber. 
He was always ready to lend any of us a helping hand and sound advice. 
I believe that Jim is the only person I have ever known who has been 
addressed as ``Reverend,'' as ``Father'', and as ``Rabbi'' by Members 
of this body and our staffs.
  Jim Ford, in fact is the first House Chaplain to devote himself full 
time to that position. This in itself is indicative of what a unique 
individual we are losing, and how his shoes will be so difficult to 
fill.
  Chaplain Ford has been more than a clergyman, and far more than our 
House Chaplain. He has been a friend and confidant to many of us, and 
while we extend our best wishes and good health to Jim and Marcie upon 
this new venture in his life, we want him to know he will be sorely 
missed.
  Accordingly, I am pleased to join my colleagues in support of H. Con. 
Res. 373, appointing Jim Ford as House Chaplain Emeritus.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, for the past 20 years, the House of 
Representatives has been well-served by our dedicated and beloved 
chaplain, the Reverend Dr. James Ford.
  Seven days a week, year after year, Jim Ford has represented the 
absolute best in service to God and Country.
  Much priase has deservedly been heaped upon Jim Ford as he marks his 
well-deserved retirement. Jim's many distinguished years of service 
(19) to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and his earlier years 
at Ivanhoe Lutheran Church in Minnesota are well-known and well-
documented.
  What isn't so well-known are his very early years in Minnesota and 
his legendary escapade as a young ski-jumper at Theodore Wirth Park in 
Minneapolis. Let the record reflect that our own beloved chaplain, Dr. 
Jim Ford, still holds the record jump at the Theodore Wirth Ski-Jump--
backward! That's right. When he was a very young Swede and a student at 
Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis, Jim Ford defied the laws 
of gravity and common sense and survived a backward jump on this 
notoriously steep ski slope and lived to tell about it!
  They still talk proudly about their prominent alumnus at Edison High 
School in Northeast Minneapolis and at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. 
Peter, Minnesota, where Jim starred in the classroom and the athletic 
field.
  ``You can take Jim Ford from Minnesota, but you can't take Minnesota 
from Jim Ford,'' was how his Gustavus classmate, the Rev. Bill 
Albertson put it recently. Some of you remember my good friend, Bill 
Albertson, who served as a Guest Chaplain here several years ago.
  Jim, on behalf of all Minnesotans, I salute you and thank you for 
your many ears of service. Thank you for being there in good times and 
hard times, in times of joy and sorrow. Thank you for your prayers, 
counsel, great wit and unparalleled ability to put things into 
perspective.
  Thank you for caring so deeply about our families, our friends and 
our constituents.
  Thank you for bringing Democrats, Republicans and Independents 
together under God. Thank you for bringing even the Swedes and 
Norwegians together!
  May God bless you and Marcie always, just as your work here in the 
House has blessed us.
  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I've always thought of the great religious 
leaders over the ages to be strong men of substance with a hearty voice 
and good spirit. This of course perfectly describes our Chaplain, Jim 
Ford--a strong man, a kind man, an effective man. He comes to us from a 
long line of great religious leaders. We're goig to miss him sorely.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time for allowing us to 
celebrate the life of our Chaplain, Jim Ford, and I withdraw my 
reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 373

       Resolved, That immediately following his resignation as 
     Chaplain of the House of Representatives and in recognition 
     of the length of his devoted service to the House, Reverend 
     James David Ford be, and he is hereby, appointed Chaplain 
     emeritus of the House of Representatives.

  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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