[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 25238]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JOHN PORTER

  (Mr. OBEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of the 
House a matter that relates to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) 
if I could ask the House's attention for just a moment.
  Mr. Speaker, despite the exchange that just took place, I wanted to 
take a moment to simply observe to the House that the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Porter) will soon be leaving. I do not know when we will 
have another chance to say this. I understand that he will have 
difficulty being here tomorrow because of a death in the family.
  But I wanted to take this opportunity to say that I have served with 
him for many years on the Committee on Appropriations. All of us has 
served many years with him in this House. Regardless of the differences 
on issues that we have, he has graced this House with his presence. He 
has been an honorable adversary as well as a valuable ally on many 
occasions. I think he has personified the way that we would like to see 
all Members of the House conduct himself or herself.
  On behalf of this gentleman, I simply want to say to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Porter) that we will miss him. We know that whatever 
he does after he leaves this puzzle factory will be rewarding and 
constructive.
  The gentleman has had a long history of concern, especially for 
issues of medical research and human rights and many others. I for one 
simply want to wish him all the luck in the world and to say, despite 
the many disagreements we are about to have over the next 2 or 3 days, 
that it has been a privilege to serve with him. I think I speak for 
every Member of the House in saying that.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. Surely, I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to thank the gentleman 
from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for the comments that he just made about the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter), our friend and colleague. I want 
to associate myself with those remarks.
  The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) has been an outstanding 
Member of this House and has made a big difference in a lot of areas. 
He has a wealth of knowledge on the issues that he has responsibility 
for. He is a very distinguished gentleman. His word has always been his 
bond.
  I would say that there are many people who will have the advantage of 
life saving techniques and medical discoveries because of the work that 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) has done to expedite and move 
along medical research in many, many areas.
  I want the gentleman to know that I will miss him, that he and I do 
not have as many differences as he and the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) have, but it is a real pleasure to be working with him. I 
will certainly miss the gentleman from Illinois when he leaves here.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I will be delighted to yield to the gentleman 
from Illinois.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, let me just take a minute to say that I have 
now served in this body for 21 years and 20 years on the Committee on 
Appropriations. I have loved every single minute of it. There is 
nothing that can compare with service in this institution.
  I have had a highly educated, highly informed, caring constituency to 
represent. It has been a joy to represent them here in Washington.
  To be able to become involved in issues that I think are important 
for the future of our country and to attempt to reflect them in our 
values as a government has meant everything to me.
  It has been a source of tremendous pleasure to work with people that 
I respect. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Young) are people that I respect tremendously, 
highly. People who fight for the things they believe in but do so in a 
way that brings credit to this institution.
  Yes, we disagree and we fight, but it has been a true pleasure to 
work with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) as my chairman, to 
work with him prior to his becoming chairman. He is a man that I have 
always looked up to and been able to rely on. And to work on the 
opposite side of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), both on the 
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and on 
the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related 
Programs. We have fought, I think, very cleanly. I certainly have a 
huge respect, admiration and friendship for the gentleman from 
Wisconsin as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I leave this body with a great deal of sadness because, 
while I may not miss the kind of days we are having right now, I will 
miss very much the men and women that I have been so privileged to work 
with over all these years. It is a great privilege and an honor to be a 
Member of this body.
  I feel that I have done my very best to try to represent the things 
that I believe in very deeply. It has been a joy to work with the 
people in this Chamber all these years. I thank my colleagues very 
much.

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