[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 23702] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN ROMAN PUCINSKI ______ HON. HENRY J. HYDE of illinois in the house of representatives Wednesday, October 18, 2000 Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, despite the Vice President's claim to have invented the Internet, a strong case can be made that former Congressman Roman Pucinski (D-Chicago) had a lot to do with this development. A Chicago Sun-Times article from the Casual Friday Column of Friday, October 29, 1999, referred to this interesting fact, and I am pleased to share it with my colleagues. ``Pooch'' May be the Father of Net On October 20, 1969, history was made when the first e-mail was sent on ARPANET, the predecessor of today's Internet. So if you think presidential hopeful Al Gore ``invented'' the Internet, you're sadly mistaken. Another pol can lay claim to inventing the Net. None other than Chicago's own Roman C. Pucinski, 80, the retired Democratic congressman, one-time Chicago alderman and longtime Chicago Sun-Times reporter. Roman's daughter, Aurelia, Cook County Circuit Court clerk, let us know the other day that the elder Pucinski was the real father of the Internet. She shared old press releases and speeches on the subject with Casual Friday. We even saw ``Pooch's'' original notes. On Jan. 17, 1963, Pucinski proposed a national scientific computer network. He chaired the House Education and Labor Committee, which voted a sum ``not to exceed $7,000'' to begin studies on the computer network. Proud daughter Aurelia suggests that Roman proposed National Information System ultimately evolved into today's Internet. Maybe it did. In a speech in 1965, Pucinski said he foresaw scientists having pocket-size TVs that tied in with the world. Shades of Palm Pilots. ``In a matter of seconds, a scientist will be able to communicate and interrogate the world's storehouse of information and reproduce instantly any article or portion he may need,'' Pucinski said. Sounds like Yahoo! And other Web directories and search engines! Back in the days when computer punch cards were symbols of high tech, Pucinski predicted that the computer industry someday would ``stand beside steel, transportation, auto production and building construction as one of this nation's basic industries--holding out great hope for employment not only among the young but also among the old.'' What a master of understatement. Footnote: Chicago booster Pucinski wanted the university-based data center to be based here. If it has unfolded that way, maybe Silicon Prairie would have put the Silicon Valley in its shadow, maybe it still will. Let's win one for the Pooch. ____________________