[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RON PACKARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Packard) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a response, but there 
is one or two others that would like to say a word.
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. PACKARD. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McKeon) would also be pleased to be recognized before 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Packard) speaks. If the gentleman 
would be willing to yield to him for 5 minutes, I will ask then for a 
5-minute special order myself and yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Packard).
  Mr. PACKARD. That will be fine.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, this has been a very enjoyable evening. I 
think there have been many great things said about a very great man.
  Years ago, in 1982, my father-in-law, in one of his visits, said that 
he had been asked to help a great man in his Congressional District to 
run a write-in campaign for Congress. That man was Ron Packard.
  Whenever my father-in-law would visit, he would tell us stories of 
what they were doing and how they were preparing for the campaign. I 
knew not much about the Congress and knew nothing about running a 
campaign for Congress, and so I was not as impressed as I should have 
been.
  Now, having run a campaign and been elected to Congress, I know that 
it is impossible to win on a write-in. I wish my father-in-law were 
still alive, and I could tell him how great a job I think he did in 
helping elect such a great man as Ron Packard to Congress.
  Ron is in stature shorter than I am, but he is a man that I always 
look up to. There have been a couple of stories told about how tight he 
is with a penny or a dime. I think that if one knew his background one 
would understand why the story told about how he was raised with 16 
brothers and sisters and how every penny, every dime counted I think is 
really important. It is reflected in one story that I have heard Ron 
tell that I think shows how important money was to him and to his 
family as they were growing up.
  His family had a .22 and a shotgun, and it was very expensive for 
them. It was hard for them to buy ammunition. But he tells of a story 
one time that he and his brother went out hunting ducks, and they had 
to wait till the ducks got in a line because they had to get as many as 
they could with one shot.
  The one brother shot as many as he could when they got in line with 
the .22. Then, as the rest of the ducks took off, the second brother 
shot with the shotgun. Then they went around and gathered up all the 
ducks. They got 23 with one .22 shell and one shotgun shell.
  The meat was important. The feathers were important for their pillows 
and their quilts. They used every bit of those 23 ducks. Life was not 
easy for them in Meridian, Idaho. But they did great things with their 
lives.
  We have heard lots of stories about Ron and his family. I know some 
of his brothers. I know what great people they are. There are so many 
things that we can learn from this great man.
  He and I are from the same faith, and we believe the words of a 
prophet that lived many years ago that said, ``whatever you achieve 
outside the home is not as important as what you achieve within the 
home.'' Ron has done a great thing both within and without the home, 
but he has never forgotten his family.
  Now, as he retires, he is going back to live in San Diego by other 
members of his family. We will miss him here but know that he will 
continue to do great things as he has throughout his life.

                              {time}  2030

  I am very fortunate to call this great man a friend.

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