[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               SPECIAL ORDER ON THE HONORABLE JOHN KASICH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 26, 2000

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my good 
fried, John Kasich.
  Mr. Speaker, when I was first elected to Congress in 1995, I joined 
an amazing group of men an women who made up the Ohio delegation. We 
had John Boehner and Deborah Pryce in Leadership; Ralph Regula and Dave 
Hobson on Appropriations; Mike Oxley in Commerce; Rob Portman on Ways 
and Means; the venerable Lou Stokes as Dean of our delegation; the very 
capable Tony Hall, Paul Gillmor, Marcy Kaptur, Sherrod Brown, Jim 
Traficant and Tom Sawyer and, or course, John Kasich as Budget 
Committee chairman.
  I think all of us--no matter what our party affiliation--have come to 
truly respect  John Kasich for his Herculean effort to pass genuine 
welfare reform, and to reach a balanced budget agreement for the first 
time in a generation. I remember when I first came here I was a bit 
taken back by  John's intensity. He had such genuine enthusiasm for 
Congress, and it was a bit out of the ordinary. John kinda reminds me 
of that Will Farrell character on ``Saturday Night Live''--the Spartan 
cheerleader--just bouncing off the walls with team spirit.
  There is something inherently appealing about John Kasich's tenacity 
and enthusiasm, his Midwestern sensibility, and his irrepressible zest 
for life. People trust him, respect him, and they know they're getting 
the real thing. It's been said that all you really need to know about 
John Kasich is that even his ex-wife's mother votes for him. We should 
all be so popular.
  John leaves an important legacy in the House: He proved that you can 
work in a bipartisan fashion, maintain friendships on both sides of the 
aisle, retain the respect of your peers, and still achieve very big 
things. The House needs more folks like John Kasich who care so 
passionately, and refuse to give up.
  John Kasich stood his ground and truly changed the way Washington 
operates. I came here at a time when we spent recklessly and never gave 
much thought to the future, and now we've ushered in a new era of 
making government live within its means. Our children are going to 
inherit a federal government that is more fiscally responsible and more 
responsive, and no small thanks is due to John Kasich.
  I'm proud to have served with him, and for the opportunity to have 
had the last six years to witness him up close. I will miss his loud 
ties, his manic energy, how he often seemed less than serious but was 
always taken seriously, and how--despite being a Republican--he always 
got to hang around with cool people, like Bono (Bah-no) from U2.
  I also will miss hearing John speak on the House floor. He always 
commanded attention. In fact, I've always thought that when John Kasich 
took to the floor to speak about anything, he was sort of like road 
kill--you just couldn't look away. Folks are drawn to his plain but 
spirited manner and his refreshing candor.
  Mr. Speaker, most state delegations could never fill the oratory void 
left after the departure of a John Kasich. Of course Ohio is a little 
different from most states. We've been blessed with an abundance of 
fine orators who command the public's attention. I just hope that in 
the 107th Congress my good friend, Jim Traficant, will step up to the 
plate and shed that terrible shyness he has around the C-SPAN cameras.
  John Kasich, I thank you for your service to our country, to our fine 
state of Ohio, and for your years of friendship and guidance. Ohio is 
losing a great legislator, but I know our state and country have not 
heard the last of you.




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