[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 22410-22416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN TOM BLILEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, before I get on with the business at hand, I 
would like to make some comments about the hour or so that we have just 
heard of facts that just simply do not bear up under the reality of 
what has happened in Texas in the last few years.
  Since 1995, Texas has led the country in reducing the release of 
disposal of toxic pollution and has led it by 43 million pounds of 
reduction.
  Since 1994, industrial air emissions in Texas have fallen by 11 
percent. The EPA says that that is the fact. Under legislation signed 
by Governor Bush, Texas became the third State in the Nation to require 
pollution reductions and permits from grandfathered utilities, 
utilities that would not have had to meet these new standards. Governor 
Bush said they would have to meet these new standards. Under that plan, 
they will reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by 50 percent and sulfur 
dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2003. Governor Bush has been praised 
for his leadership in requiring air pollution reductions from these 
utilities, and the record is clear on that.
  The Wall Street Journal in September of this year said that no one in 
the Clinton administration has been willing to face this issue 
separately.
  I think what we see happening on the floor is a willingness to 
distort the facts. We see a willingness to talk about an America that 
Americans would not want to see happen in our country in terms of the 
kinds of solutions that have been proposed, but even those solutions, 
the gentleman from California talking to the gentleman from Oregon a 
minute ago, talking about electric cars, said that all this could be 
done today. Well, if it could have been done today, why has it not been 
done for the last 8 years? That was maybe the greatest condemnation of 
the point they were trying to make that was made on the floor today, 
but that is not the purpose of our order here tonight.
  The purpose of the order tonight is to talk about the 5 decades of 
service of the chairman of the Committee on Commerce, the oldest 
committee in the House, a committee that has such jurisdiction that 
approximately half of all the legislation that comes to the

[[Page 22411]]

House comes through the Committee on Commerce, a committee for the last 
6 years that has been chaired by the gentleman from Virginia (Tom 
Bliley).

                              {time}  1845

  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) began his political career, 
as others will talk about in a few minutes, when he was elected to the 
city council in Richmond, Virginia. He served as vice mayor, he served 
as mayor, and then in 1980, 20 years ago, he was elected to the 
Congress. He was elected in 1980.
  He had steered Richmond through some of its greatest challenges as 
the schools were desegregated, despite the unpopularity of the measures 
that were taken at the time. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) 
as the mayor said that ``This job will be done,'' and stepped forward 
and carried the load of seeing that that happened in his city.
  As chairman of the Committee on Commerce, the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Bliley) led the drive to enact mammography quality standards, 
assuring the safety, accuracy, and overall quality of mammogram 
services for women.
  As chairman, he led the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, 
which has unleashed many of the innovative forces and gains in 
efficiency that are driving our economy forward today. He spearheaded 
enactment of securities litigation reform, and a host of other reforms 
that my colleagues will talk about.
  They will also talk about their pride in being able to serve with 
him, a person who served 3 years in the Navy and left the Navy as a 
lieutenant; a person who the National Journal in a front page feature 
called ``Mr. Smooth'' because of the way he gets his job done.
  We will talk about his family: his wonderful wife, Mary Virginia, his 
two children, his grandchildren; about his commitment in his whole 
political career to always be sure that Sunday was reserved for family, 
a commitment that my wife has pointed out to me is something that I 
should emulate, and the absolute dedication of the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Bliley) to preserving that time for church and family.
  He has done a great job. He has made many friends. His leadership 
will be missed on our committee. I do not know how his teammate on the 
tennis court will deal with that, or whether they have made plans about 
their continued competition. But I am glad to yield to the gentleman 
from North Carolina (Mr. Coble).
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for 
yielding to me.
  Before I talk about the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), I want 
to commend the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) for his comments 
regarding the previous hour. Much of that rhetoric was reckless, and it 
was obviously designed to trash George Bush of Texas, and I thank the 
gentleman for responding to that.
  Mr. Speaker, I met the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) primarily 
through tennis. Mr. Speaker, as we know, many Members of Congress or 
most Members of Congress who are involved in recreation do so in golf. 
Hunting and fishing would come next. My friend, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), is a good basketball player in his own 
right.
  I see my friends, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), and we enjoy tennis. I met the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) on the tennis court. What struck 
me initially was his James River-Virginia dialect. My staffers will say 
to me when I leave work in the evening, ``Take Cah,'' meaning to take 
care. That is the way the gentleman from Virginia says it. They emulate 
him almost precisely accurately.
  As Members may know, before he came to the Congress, the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) was an embalmer, a funeral home operator. 
When I first came to the Congress, my mayor back home is an embalmer, a 
funeral home operator, and the gentleman from Virginia knew him as 
mayor.
  He came to me one day and in his James River dialect, he says, ``How 
do you get along with your mayuh?'' I said, ``I get along fine with my 
mayor.'' He said, ``Well, if you have any trouble with him, I will talk 
to him mayor to mayor, gravedigger to gravedigger.''
  I did not have to call him in because my mayor and I did get along 
very well.
  I would be remiss if I did not mention the turf battles that go on up 
here between the prestigious Committee on Commerce members here who 
have flanked me on either end here and the Committee on the Judiciary 
here on which I served. We have had turf battles when the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) was chairman, and when the Republicans 
became the majority party in 1994, I said, ``Finally we will get rid of 
these turf battles.''
  Mr. Speaker, it must be the water they drink over there in the 
Committee on Commerce, because the turf battles would continue. Someone 
said to me, how I would respond to the turf battles. I said, ``Have the 
Committee on Commerce people keep their grubby paws off the Committee 
on the Judiciary issues and it will be resolved.'' But we will hear 
more about that later.
  Mr. Speaker, finally, in closing, I want to say that the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), and the gentleman from Missouri has already 
said it very accurately, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), a 
former Democrat converted to Republican; the gentleman from Virginia, 
mayor; the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman; the gentleman from 
Virginia, Mr. Chairman, and has served very well, following the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), who also served as a very able 
chairman; the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), tennis player; the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), a sailor, and in fact, maybe 
sailor par excellence. I am told his sailing skills have been refined 
to almost a sophisticated element now.
  My staffers refer to him as the distinguished Virginia gentleman. I 
say to him tonight, to the distinguished Virginia gentleman, we will 
miss him here. Best wishes to him and Mary Virginia, the two children, 
and the grandchildren.
  I want to commend my friend, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) 
for having taken out this special order in honor of his chairman and 
our friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley).
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I am certainly grateful to be joined by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble).
  In spite of his totally erroneous perception of what happens in our 
conflict between the two committees, we all know who is truly at fault. 
The gentleman is outnumbered here today in a significant way, Mr. 
Chairman. He is a great friend of our chairman and he appreciates us.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield, I 
see the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) has already gotten into 
the gentleman's head, when the gentleman from Missouri calls my charges 
erroneous.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, in spite of the great accent that the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) after all those years on the 
tennis court has managed to be able to emulate from our great chairman, 
the gentleman from Virginia, I saw a video the other night. I do not 
know that I ever saw a more accurate performance of the chairman than 
that of the great member of our committee, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey). It was an odd combination of a Bostonian 
reserve and southern charm when he had that bow tie on and was talking 
about our chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Markey).
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I over the last 20 years have come to know the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) very well. Yes, we do share several things 
in common. He is Irish Catholic, as am I. Mary Virginia, his wife, is 
Irish Catholic. What are the odds of two Irish Catholics being in 
Richmond? I think it is pretty slight.
  So his good fortune on this planet has obviously been marked by that

[[Page 22412]]

greatest of all achievements in his life, his marriage to Mary 
Virginia, and the family which they created.
  I know that he in his public life is animated by the values that his 
mother and father instilled in him. I know that he tries every day in 
our committee to ensure that those principles are in fact fulfilled. I 
know that those values are animated by the Jesuit education which he 
was able to obtain at Georgetown University, the same Jesuit education 
which I have.
  As we know, the Jesuits can educate in a way in which liberal 
Democrats and conservative Republicans can both be proud. That is the 
greatness of the Jesuit tradition. I appreciate that.
  If there were two incidents that come to mind when I think of the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), they are these.
  When Richmond was under a desegregation order in the 1970s, it would 
be almost impossible to find a more difficult situation in a more 
difficult State to effectuate the desegregation of a school system.
  If I was going to pick one person who could preside over the delicate 
job of implementing a desegregation order in a southern city, I would 
pick the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), because I am sure that 
then, as we all know now, he is the one person who, with fairness and 
honesty, can deal with all sides in a deliberation. We know that the 
Richmond story turned out to be a success, a model.
  In my own career, I think that while less sensitive, from the 
perspective of the 1990s in this Congress, when history looks back, 
they will say that the most important piece of legislation which passed 
was the 1996 Telecommunications Act. It was not just one piece of 
legislation, it was 20 pieces of legislation in one. It dealt with 
every aspect of telecommunications, computer, Internet, satellite, 
cable, in our country. It rewrote all the laws.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) presided over that in the 
Committee on Commerce on this House floor and in the conference 
committee with the Senate. The bill is not perfect, we all know that. 
Nothing is. But a lot of times when people are doing comparisons, they 
let the perfect be the enemy of the very good. This is a very good 
bill.
  By the year 2000, we have something which stands in testament to the 
success of that bill. We call it today the NASDAQ. The NASDAQ is 
nothing more now than the compilation of all the companies that have 
been the product of that 1996 Telecommunications Act, and the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) stand at the front of the line of those who 
deserve the credit for that becoming a new blueprint for our country.
  The rest of the world has not caught up. It is difficult to change 
laws in a way that creates a competitive climate that allows for any 
entrepreneur or any company to believe that if they can raise the money 
and they have a good idea, that they can successfully compete in a 
modern telecommunications environment.
  That is why we right now are number one looking over our shoulder at 
number two, three, and four in the world in all of these areas. It is 
not that we are number one necessarily in every area, but in totality 
we clearly are the world leader.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) was the principal author of 
that piece of legislation. I stand in admiration for his great 
contribution to the only on that issue. I mention it because it stands 
first among all, but it does not mean that there were not dozens of 
others that we could go down the litany and talk about here this 
evening.
  It is only to serve as an example of the type of historic leadership 
which he has given in his hometown and here in Washington throughout 
his lifetime, and again, as I say, always animated by the values of his 
parents, his wife, Mary Virginia, and the Jesuits.
  As he leaves, this place, having been enriched by his presence, will 
be able to I think congratulate him on a successful career of historic 
proportions, and know that we will not see his like again.
  I thank the gentleman for holding this special order.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for taking the time to 
come tonight. I also mention that we have a number of members of our 
committee and Members of Congress, Members from Virginia, who have left 
for the Record the comments they want to insert in the Record tonight 
from both sides of the aisle, and certainly I am grateful for the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) taking his time to be here.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the 
Committee on Commerce.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for 
reserving this special order.
  I rise to pay special tribute to my friend and colleague and leader 
of our committee, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), our 
chairman.
  There is not a finer committee in the Congress than the Committee on 
Commerce. I wish my colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Coble), was still here for me to rib him, because he knows in fact that 
it is the best committee in the Congress for a lot of reasons: the 
jurisdiction, whether it be health care, trade, commerce, 
telecommunications, you name it, it comes under the authority of our 
committee.
  If we look at the legislation that passes through here in the House 
on a weekly basis, really about one-third to 40 percent of the major 
bills that pass through this Congress originate in the Committee on 
Commerce.
  It is a terrific committee to serve on. We have wonderful Members. We 
have terrific staff, hard-working. We have had a wonderful leader in 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) the last 6 years.

                              {time}  1900

  Mr. Speaker, I was fortunate when I was first placed on the Committee 
on Commerce to serve under then ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Oversight and Investigations, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley). 
He was always fair, and he has always been fair, certainly in his 6 
years as he led this committee in so many ways that will impact all of 
America for many years to come.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) is a straight shooter. Yes, 
we knew when we were in his doghouse, but there was always a way to get 
out. He wanted an answer, he usually had the votes, and if you were 
straight up with him, your reputation stayed honest and strong, and he 
was able and willing to help you on a whole host of issues as 
legislation moved through the Congress.
  I am only sorry tonight that the hour is late. We are all trying to 
get home, back to our districts. Congress will not be in session 
tomorrow. I have had the wonderful opportunity of serving with him also 
on the tennis court, opponent, as well as partner. He plays on the 
court just as hard as he plays in committee. This Congress would be far 
better off to have more gentlemen like the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Bliley).
  There is not a day that he has not been able to go home or he has not 
been able to have his head high in the issues that he helped lead 
knowing he has done the right thing. His impact will be felt not only 
on this body, but across the country for generations to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) for 
reserving this special hour for a really very special guy, a real 
gentleman in every respect of the word. I thank the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Bliley).
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Upton) for all he has done for us taking the time and also for the 
great leadership he has shown on the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations and congratulate him on the legislation that was passed 
this week to deal with a significant problem of public safety that we 
have seen develop over the issues of tires and automobile safety in the 
last few months. I appreciate the gentleman's great leadership on this, 
bringing this bill to the floor

[[Page 22413]]

and having it overwhelmingly adopted here on the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Tauzin), my good friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, a person who is 
knowledgeable in the intricacies of the many things we deal with in the 
Committee on Commerce.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Blunt), for yielding to me. Let me thank the gentleman 
for leading us in this special order.
  Before I begin my contribution to it, I wanted to thank the gentleman 
also for taking a few minutes to respond to the hour that preceded it, 
because America was treated with some incredible, I think, 
manipulations of the truth. The truth of the matter is that in the 
States of Texas and Louisiana, men and women are working every day, not 
only to produce the energy that America needs, but to process it in the 
plants that are required to refine it, make fuel oil for the homes of 
the Northeast, for Massachusetts and for Michigan and for other States 
across the colder regions of our country, to make the gasoline that 
powers our cars and the diesel that powers the trucks that deliver the 
products across this country even in this dot-com age, and to make the 
jet fuel that powers the jets, not only across our country but around 
the world.
  It is States like Texas and Louisiana that are making the 
contributions. I am not sure Americans are aware of it, but the last 
refinery in America was built in my home district in Louisiana 20 years 
ago. We have not had a refinery built since then. In fact, 36 
refineries closed during that period, and America is dependent not only 
on oil and gas more and more from places that are very unstable like 
the Middle East, but more and more on refined products produced in 
other countries.
  When the price goes up in the Northeast and the Members who appeared 
on this floor complain about Texas and Governor Bush and our policy on 
promoting independence in production and supplies for this country, I 
hope they remember that the prices are not set in Texas any more. They 
are being set somewhere in the Middle East and somewhere in councils 
that we do not control.
  Then when short supplies arrive in the wintertime, it could well be 
that we have had an anti-energy policy in this country for the last 
years of this administration that has not, in fact, licensed a new 
refinery for America, and that has shut down areas to production and 
development.
  It ought to be opened up, if we are going to be an independent and 
free and stable economy and if our people are going to be warm in the 
winter and if our cars are going to be powered and our jet planes are 
going to continue to fly. There is another story. I hope one day we get 
to tell it all about why this administration has put this country into 
such jeopardy now as we face another energy crisis; 58 percent 
dependent on foreigners to supply us with the fuel we need.
  And when the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was started in 1975, we were 
a mere 36 percent dependent. Think how much more vulnerable we are 
today with fewer refineries and more foreign oil dependence. That has 
been the story of this administration and why I hope the next 
administration under George Bush will change it.
  But I came tonight to honor the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley). 
I came tonight to join my colleagues on the Committee on Commerce, and 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), my friend from the 
Committee on the Judiciary, to remind this House what a contribution 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) has made to this institution 
and what an incredible personal contribution he has made to this body 
in the person, the man that he is.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Bliley), as my colleagues know, 
has chaired what I consider to be the most important committee in this 
Congress, the Committee on Commerce, formerly the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and hopefully Committee on Energy and Commerce again next 
year is the oldest committee of this House. As my colleagues know 
commerce and interstate commerce was one of the first assignments given 
to the national government when this country was started, and the 
Committee on Commerce represents jurisdiction over the commerce of the 
country, and that includes an incredible array of items, including 
telecommunications, indeed, and transportation and environmental issues 
and health care issues, and issues dealing with such complex 
combinations as to how to make sure our health care system stays 
solvent and how to make sure Medicaid is available to the poor and 
needy of our society, how to make sure that prescription drugs 
hopefully will be available to our seniors.
  It is an incredible mix of jurisdictions as we debate matters as 
complicated as this awful tire recall. And I want to commend the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Upton), my friend who just appeared, for 
his incredible work in finding out what went wrong over these years 
with that horrible mess in auto safety and how expeditiously our 
committee produced a bill for this floor to consider and for the Senate 
to consider, and it is now on the way to the President for his 
signature.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that effort alone tells a story about the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley). The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Bliley) chairs this incredible important committee, and he literally is 
the leader under whom we have worked for these past years to develop, 
not only hearings like we produced on the Firestone tire recall, but 
the legislation that followed it.
  I do not know if my colleagues remember, but there was another recall 
in 1978 with Firestone 500 tires. Following that, there were hearings; 
but there was no legislation. This year, in 3 short weeks, the Congress 
and under the leadership of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) 
and the Committee on Commerce produced the most significant reform of 
tire and auto safety in 30 years.
  And that has been the history of his leadership: telecommunications 
reform, the first rewrite of the Telecommunications Act since 1934; 
financial securities modernization, the first real modernization of our 
Securities Act in years and decades; the Food and Drug Modernization 
Act, to make sure that Americans have safe and quality drugs and 
pharmaceuticals in our country.
  The work he has done in safe drinking water to make sure that 
Americans have good safe water to drink. The last hearing he chaired 
today was on safe water, not only here in America, but the global 
concerns of safe water and the pollution of global water supplies that 
are critical as nations and ethnic groups are fighting now around the 
world over water supplies, and people are dying because of the lack of 
good potable water and clean and healthy sanitary conditions.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) has led those efforts for 
the last 6 years, and he has produced remarkable legislation from our 
committee that has literally broken up the monopolies in this country 
in telecommunications and transportation. He has been a huge, literally 
a ``trustbuster'' in this Nation. He has done more to back off 
unnecessary Federal regulations in many areas of our economy and to 
open it up to consumer choice and competition. That has been the 
history of his tenure as chairman of our Committee on Commerce.
  I want to tell my colleagues something about him personally that my 
colleagues may not know. He spent his 20 years here in Congress also 
dedicated to women and children's issues. The gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Bliley) has been a leader in adoptive services and making sure 
that adoption was a real and viable option for children in America, and 
to make sure not only here in this country but around the world that 
adoption was available to kids and to parents who wanted to love them.
  He has been a stalwart defender of adoptive services all of these 
years and a promoter of that as a means of protecting and preserving 
young life in

[[Page 22414]]

America and around the world. And he has been a real champion for 
mammography services to make sure, in fact, that mammograms were 
available to poor people, and that women could, in fact, get the 
benefits of health care and early warnings of breast cancer and other 
diseases. He has been a champion of women health issues. I am not sure 
if Members really know of his extraordinary service in this area.
  Lest we forget, for 20 years he has served on NATO's parliamentary 
assembly, the assembly of NATO countries, the parliamentarians who try 
to keep the strength and the unity and the bonds that have held NATO 
together and been important not only in winning but preserving world 
peace. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) now serves as president 
of that body and will serve through the month of November until his 
retirement from the Congress. But he leaves us as we end this session 
to go back to Richmond, Virginia, a place where his career started, 
where he began serving the people of America on the city council and 
later on as mayor.
  The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) talked about his 
incredible service to our Nation and to Richmond during those awful 
days when our Nation was coming to grips with the horror and the 
history of segregation and bigotry in our country. He came to grips 
with it and dealt with it in a humane and positive and effective way 
that was a model for other country communities across America. I hope 
we remember him and his service for that great effort.
  Finally, I want to talk about the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Bliley) the man, the father, the grandfather, the husband, the man who 
has always been the gentle man from Virginia.
  We get into some awful fights around here. We get into some bitter 
arguments sometime, and we forget to remind ourselves that all of us 
come here representing people back home, and all of us come here with a 
mandate to speak for those people back home. We sometimes forget our 
own humanity. We forget to remember to treat each other as human beings 
and as gentlemen and ladies in this body; and incivility sometimes 
reigns, but it never reigns under the leadership of the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Bliley) on the Committee on Commerce.
  The gentleman reminded us all to be gentlemen and ladies. He reminded 
us all to differ and to argue and disagree but to do so agreeably, and 
to remember we all have indeed a special honor to be in this body 
representing this great Nation, and that honor means that we ought to 
respect one another as much as we respect this institution.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) was truly a man of the 
House, a man this Nation can be proud of, a man our Committee on 
Commerce is certainly proud of and a leader and a chairman we are going 
to miss a great deal. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), on 
behalf of all the Members of the Committee on Commerce we miss you, bon 
voyage, happy sailing, great tennis games. And remember the gentleman 
from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) still can be beat. There is a way to do 
it. Come around and we will have some great games together and some 
great times.
  To the gentleman and your family, we want to wish the gentleman the 
best in retirement and the best that our Nation has to offer, a true 
servant of the American people, the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman 
Bliley).
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Tauzin) for joining this special order and all he does to make our 
committee work, the way it works under the leadership of the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley). Mr. Speaker, three Virginians decided to 
leave the Congress this year, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), 
his good friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bateman), who last 
month we stood here on the floor in memorial remarks about the 
gentleman, we remembered his life and his great service, and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Pickett), who left a statement today, 
planned to be here today, but because of what appears to be the 
cowardly attack on our ship, the U.S.S. Cole, went back to his 
district, where that ship is based, to be with the families of the 
sailors who were on that destroyer as it was attacked in a terrorist 
manner today.
  And my colleagues know, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bateman), and the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Pickett) all have served with the NATO parliament. And as the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) just mentioned, a group that the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) was chosen to be the president of 
this year, the president of the parliament organization of all of the 
NATO countries, maybe that in and of itself should suggest the esteem 
that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) has held not only here on 
the floor of the Congress, not only here in the halls of the Congress, 
not only here in the Nation's capital, but in the capitals of our 
allies, in Europe, as he is now leading that organization, and will 
continue to lead it until the November meeting of parliamentarians from 
the NATO countries, and has brought honor to the United States in the 
way that he has led that group of parliamentarians.
  Here are just a few of the accomplishments during the watch of the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) while on the Committee on 
Commerce, if I can mention them: the telecommunications reform, 
financial services modernization, FDA reform, modernizing securities 
law, securities litigation reform, the Safe Drinking Water Act, 
Internet tax freedom, Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act, the Child 
On-line Protection Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Improving the 
Food Quality Act, the Open Market Reorganization for the Betterment of 
International Telecommunications Act, also known as ORBIT, the Balanced 
Budget Act, Medicare part B and Medicaid and Kids Care were refined and 
improved through the work of the Committee on Commerce, the necessary 
improvements on our efforts to balance the budget and the effects that 
it had on Medicare.

                              {time}  1915

  Legislation that, maybe, made a difference for availability of 
mammography. Biomaterials Access Assurance Act, the Health Insurance 
Act, the Health Insurance Portability Act, the Assistive Suicide 
Restriction Act, the Nursing Home Resident Protection Amendments, the 
Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act, the list goes on, the 
Wireless Communication and Public Safety Act, the Wireless Privacy 
Enhancement Act, the Chemical Safety Information Act, the Clean Air Act 
and its amendments, the Animal Drug Availability Act, the Electronic 
Signature Act.
  The breadth of what the Committee on Commerce deals with as well as 
the accomplishments in these many areas I think create a sense of just 
how big a job the job of the chairman of the Committee on Commerce is, 
and the accomplishments suggest how well that job has been done.
  Another area I want to mention as we draw to conclusion here is the 
chairman's efforts on behalf of adoption. The Blileys' children, Tom 
and Mary Virginia's children were adopted. He is a leader on adoption 
issues in the House of Representatives. He testifies before other 
committees. He testified just this year before the Committee on Ways 
and Means and in favor of adoption legislation.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) said ``I have been 
blessed'', and when he gave his testimony, ``I have been blessed by my 
experiences with adoption. So now I am doing what I can to help 
thousands of innocent children find a mom and a dad.'' He added that 
mom and dad are the greatest titles in the world.
  He led efforts to increase adoption counseling and to make the 
adoption tax credit permanent, and increased the cap for that tax 
credit from $5,000 to $10,000.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) is a man who has cared about 
the issues we deal with. He has cared about the jurisdiction of his 
committee, the efforts that that committee needed to make to see that 
the United States was at the forefront in commerce, the efforts that we 
need to see

[[Page 22415]]

that Medicare works properly, the efforts that we need to make to see 
that we have safety in transportation and in commerce, that we have 
security over the Internet and in the changes in telecommunications.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Bliley) has done a tremendous 
job, a job that people in this Congress will remember and talk about 
for a long time. While people all over America may not talk about the 
legislation that has been passed for a long time, they will benefit 
from the legislation that has been passed and the leadership that has 
been shown for years to come, for decades to come, as we enter this new 
century, a century with limitless opportunity and a century that really 
defies the old definition of what was possible.
  The Committee on Commerce under the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Bliley) has been at the forefront of making it possible for us to be 
the incredibly competitive society that we are in America today.
  Mr. Speaker, it would be easy to overlook many of the accomplishments 
in this life and career. I am glad we had a chance to share some of 
those tonight. Others will be shared in the official Record of the 
proceedings today. But I am glad that we were able to be here, Members 
of the Committee on Commerce, the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Chairman Coble), and others who have submitted their remarks from many 
committees and from both parties, both parties here on the floor 
tonight, remembering the great work, the great leadership of the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley).
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, It would be easy to overlook many of the 
accomplishments of his life and career--I'd like to share some of the 
highlights of a lifetime of accomplishment. Tom Bliley represents the 
Seventh Congressional District of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the 
United States House of Representatives. The Seventh District includes 
the western part of the City of Richmond as well as sections of 
Albemarle, Chesterfield, and Henrico Counties; it includes all of 
Culpeper, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, Louisa, Madison, Orange, and 
Powhatan Counties.
  Tom Bliley began his political career in 1968 when he was first 
elected to the City Council of Richmond, Virginia. He served as Vice-
Mayor from 1968 to 1970, and then as Mayor from 1970 to 1977. He was 
first elected to Congress in 1980 and has been elected to each 
succeeding Congress. As a former President of Joseph W. Bliley Funeral 
Homes, he gained important business experience that has shaped his 
attitude towards problems facing small business owners.
  In Washington, Mr. Bliley is serving his third term as Chairman of 
the House Committee on Commerce, the oldest committee in the House. As 
Chairman, he is an ex officio member of the five Commerce Committee 
subcommittees: Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection; 
Finance and Hazardous Materials; Health and Environment; Energy and 
Power; and Oversight and Investigation.
  As Mr. Bliley plans the committee agenda and schedule hearings and 
legislation for the 106th Congress, he follows the same, time-tested 
principles that have made his committee one of the most constructive 
and successful in Congress: Promoting free and fair markets, standing 
up for consumer choice and common sense safeguards for our health and 
the environment, keeping an eye on the federal bureaucracy.
  In the 105th Congress, Mr. Bliley was instrumental in the enactment 
of the Food and Drug Administration and Modernization Act. New 
treatments will be available sooner for the seriously ill while 
expanding access to safe and effective drugs, devices, and food because 
of Mr. Bliley's efforts. Electronic commerce is the newest, fastest 
growing form of interstate and foreign commerce. Mr. Bliley was a 
leader in the enactment of a new law setting a three-year moratorium on 
certain taxes for Internet access or consumer purchases made via the 
Internet.
  Mr. Bliley also led the drive to enact the Mammography Quality 
Standards Act of 1998. This legislation will assure the safety, 
accuracy, and overall quality of mammography services for women. This 
bill will help save lives by ensuring for the first time that all 
patients are directly notified of their mammogram results in terms they 
can understand.
  In the 104th Congress, Mr. Bliley broke up bigger monopolies than 
President Theodore Roosevelt. He tore up more federal regulations over 
American businesses than President Reagan. Mr. Bliley led passage of 
the Telecommunications Act and opened a trillion-dollar a year industry 
to fair, free, and open trade. He gave Americans peace-of-mind about 
the chemicals in the foods we eat, and about the purity of the water we 
drink when he successfully led bipartisan efforts to enact Food Safety 
and Safe Drinking Water legislation into law.
  Mr. Bliley also spearheaded enactment of Securities Litigation 
Reform, part of the ``Contract with America.'' When President Clinton 
vetoed that measure, Mr. Bliley led the House in the first--and only--
successful veto override of the Clinton Presidency. Under Mr. Bliley's 
leadership, the most comprehensive overhaul of the nation's securities 
laws in more than 60 years was achieved upon enactment of the Capital 
Markets legislation.
  Since his first election to Congress, Mr. Bliley has been recognized 
by many organizations for his work. He has served in various roles with 
the NATO Parliamentary Assembly--from November 1994-October 1998, he 
was Chairman of the Economic Committee, in November 1998, he became one 
of the four Vice Presidents; and, with the resignation of its President 
in May 2000, Mr. Bliley became the Acting President and will serve in 
this capacity until November 2000. His commitment to balancing the 
federal budget has earned him the National Watchdog of the Treasury's 
``Golden Bulldog Award'' every year since 1981. He has been named a 
``Guardian of Small Business'' by the National Federation of 
Independent Business. The Louisville Courier Journal called him ``the 
most powerful Virginian since Harry Byrd'' and the National Journal, in 
a front page feature, called him ``Mr. Smooth.''
  Mr. Bliley has served on a number of boards and commissions 
including: National League of Cities; Children's Hospital; and, 
Metropolitan Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Bliley is a member of 
the Richmond Rotary Club and he currently serves on the Virginia 
Biotechnology Research Park Authority. In 1996, Mr. Bliley was named to 
the Board of Governors of the Virginia Home for Boys.
  Born in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Mr. Bliley is a lifelong 
resident of the Richmond area. He earned his B.A. in History from 
Georgetown University and immediately following served three years in 
the United States Navy rising to the rank of Lieutenant. He has 
recently received honorary doctorate degrees from Georgetown 
University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Christopher Newport 
College, Belmont Abbey College and University of Richmond. Mr. Bliley 
received the Beta Gamma Sigma Leadership Award from the University of 
Richmond's Robins School of Business.
  Mr. Bliley is married to the former Mary Virginia Kelley and is the 
father of two, Thomas J. Bliley III and Mary Vaughan (Bliley) Davies. 
The Blileys have two granddaughters, Jenny and Kathy Davies and two 
grandsons, Thomas J. Bliley IV and Shawn Bliley.
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, we come together today to honor my 
distinguished colleague and friend, Chairman Tom Bliley. I have had the 
pleasure of working with Tom during my entire career in the U.S. House 
of Representatives. As dean of the Virginia delegation, I have come to 
know him as a gentleman and a tireless servant to the people of the 
seventh district of Virginia and the nation as a whole.
  As Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Tom oversaw the 
passage of the landmark Telecommunications Act, which opened up the 
industry to free and open competition. During his tenure, he has 
striven to support common sense safety standards, to reduce the 
regulatory burden on our nation's small businesses, and to overhaul the 
nation's securities laws.
  I have traveled with Tom many times over the years to attend NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly sessions. Tom has served a number of roles in 
the Assembly since 1994; currently, he is serving as the Acting 
President. His dedication to maintaining a strong trans-Atlantic 
relationship and strong support for the NATO alliance will leave its 
mark for years to come.
  With his retirement, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation will 
lose one of its most dedicated and conscientious servants. As a fellow 
``rag boater,'' I want to wish Tom and his wife, Mary Virginia, the 
best for the years to come.
  Mr. SISISKY. Mr. Speaker, what can I say about Tom Bliley that has 
not already been said?
  He has been an effective Member of Congress, looking out for our 
national interests as chairman of the House Commerce Committee.
  He has effectively represented his constituents in Virginia's seventh 
district--as well as the rest of the commonwealth.

[[Page 22416]]

  But he's been around longer than that--serving as mayor, vice-mayor, 
and as a member of the city council of Richmond.
  Prior to that, Tom's business background and experience gave him 
special insight about the problems and challenges faced by small 
business.
  Obviously, that background and experience is similar to mine.
  But that is not the only thing that endears Tom Bliley to me.
  I can truly say, ``I knew him when.''
  He has been a friend for so many years that I'm not sure I even like 
to think about how long it's been.
  As I look back on all the things he's done, I realized I first knew 
him when he was mayor of Richmond.
  That was 30 years ago. Then he was elected to Congress in 1980.
  I was elected just a couple of years later.
  And I can assure you: One of the most rewarding parts of this job has 
been serving and working with Tom.
  We've worked on issues ranging from those that impacted Virginia to 
those that impacted NATO.
  For a couple of young men from Richmond, I'd say we've come a long 
way.
  But Tom's greatest strength, and I hope one I share, is he never 
forgot where he came from.
  Serving the people at home was his strong point, equaled only by 
being such a great Virginia gentleman.
  I am honored that he is my friend.

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