[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 24153-24154]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    TRIBUTE TO HON. TILLIE K. FOWLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Thurman) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. THURMAN. Madam Speaker, I too rise today to pay tribute to an 
extraordinary woman and someone I call a friend, the Honorable Tillie 
K. Fowler.
  Representative Fowler is a dynamic and compassionate leader, who I am 
sorry to say is retiring this year from Congress after 8 years of 
dedicated service to the people of Florida.
  As the daughter of an esteemed and respected member of the Georgia 
legislature, Mrs. Fowler grew up with a commitment to public service. 
Certainly, in the Fowler family, you could say the apple does not fall 
far from the tree.
  After serving as a White House aide during the Nixon administrations, 
the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler) moved to Jacksonville, 
Florida, to start a political career of her own. From 1985 to 1992, she 
served on the Jacksonville City Council with distinction. During that 
period, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler) became the council's 
first woman president.
  Her experience in Jacksonville prepared her to seek higher office by 
shaping her into an innovative and effective leader.
  After being elected to Congress in 1992, Representative Fowler 
secured appointments on both the House Committee on Armed Services and 
on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She also earned 
the esteemed title of Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, making 
her the

[[Page 24154]]

highest ranking woman in the Congress and the first Floridian to hold a 
position in the elected majority leadership. She also serves as the 
deputy majority whip.
  Representative Fowler has continually and successfully worked in a 
bipartisan way to improve the quality of life for Floridians. I have 
had the privilege of working closely with Representative Fowler on 
several key bills for the State of Florida. I will always greatly 
appreciate Representative Fowler's willingness to build bipartisan 
coalitions for the betterment of our State.
  A primary example of her ability to foster bipartisan consensus in 
the House evolves around our State's great need to develop alternative 
water sources. Together, Representative Fowler and I authored an 
alternative water source development bill that overwhelmingly passed 
the House this session.
  The measure would provide a 5-year Federal grant program to fund 
water projects designed to meet Florida's growing demands for water 
through planning and advanced technology.
  I am pleased to say that Congresswoman Fowler is among the many 
members of the Florida congressional delegation who are committed to 
improving and securing Florida's water supply for generations to come. 
This is an issue of great concern to Florida, where a booming 
population threatens to strain existing drinking water resources.
  I have always admired Tillie's foresight in addressing this potential 
future problem by reusing and reclaiming alternative water sources. 
This is the best way to prevent a drinking water crisis from occurring 
in the State. Her help in furthering this legislation promises to one 
day benefit all in Florida's communities.
  I have been further impressed by Congresswoman Fowler's efforts to 
improve Florida's highways and to expand access to mass transit. In 
1998, Congresswoman Fowler, through her position on the House Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure, was able to secure millions of 
dollars in additional Federal funding for Florida's transportation 
needs. Her hard work and commitment to passing these bills underscores 
once again her dedication to the people of Florida.
  Tillie Fowler is also an advocate for maintaining our country's 
strong national defense. In that role, she has worked to improve the 
lives of our men and women in uniform and our Nation's veterans.
  Among her many accomplishments, she was instrumental in the passage 
of expanded health care benefits for military retirees, which were 
included in the U.S. Department of Defense Conference Report. This 
shows her true commitment to honoring our Nation's promise to its 
veterans and military retirees.
  I would also like to take the time to commend Congresswoman Fowler 
for her work to promote the humanities. As a past chairwoman of the 
Florida Humanities Council, she brought her appreciation for preserving 
culture with her to Washington.
  In recognition of her contributions, Representative Fowler was 
awarded this year the Distinguished Service Award by the National 
Humanities Alliance.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in paying tribute to the Honorable 
Tillie K. Fowler, a woman of integrity, perseverance, and honor.

                              {time}  2115

  We are so grateful for her devoted service to the people of Florida. 
I wish her well in the years ahead and I hope she will continue to stay 
active in the community. After all, Florida needs dedicated public 
servants like Tillie Fowler, whose legacy will live on in the many 
lives she has touched.

                          ____________________