[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12538-12541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               JAMES H. QUILLEN UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4608) to designate the United States courthouse located at 
220 West Depot Street in Greeneville, Tennessee, as the ``James H. 
Quillen United States Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4608

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse located at 220 West Depot 
     Street in Greeneville, Tennessee, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``James H. Quillen United States 
     Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``James H. Quillen United States 
     Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4608 designates the new courthouse in Greeneville, 
Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States Courthouse. This is a 
good bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins), so that rather than me standing here and 
telling my colleagues about it, the bill's primary sponsor and Mr. 
Quillen's successor to the Congress may do so.
  Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and as the gentleman has pointed out, this bill names our new 
Federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, for Jim Quillen.
  Jim Quillen served in this House of Representatives for 34 years, 
longer than any other Tennesseean has ever served. He was, for many 
years, the ranking member of the Committee on Rules, and at the time of 
his retirement was chairman emeritus of the Committee on Rules.
  Before he came to this Congress, he spent 6 years in the general 
assembly in the State of Tennessee and before that 4 years in the 
United States Navy in World War II.
  Jim Quillen had a total of 44 years of dedicated service to his State 
and to his Nation, and along the way he was able to found several 
successful businesses, the first of which was a newspaper when he was 
19 years of age. He went on to establish real estate, construction and 
insurance businesses that were very successful down through the years.
  Jim Quillen fought hard for many things for the first district of 
Tennessee and for this country. I think his most notable achievement 
was the good work that he did in helping to create a medical school 
under the Teague-Cranston Act at the Veterans Administration Hospital 
in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is now in operation. It bears his name. 
It is the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, and it has been a very 
successful operation for not only the State of Tennessee but for this 
Nation in preparing physicians.
  One of the last projects that Jim Quillen worked on in this House of 
Representatives was this new courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee. Mr. 
Speaker, we outgrew a very beautiful historic old courthouse in 
downtown Greeneville, very near the home of Andrew Johnson, who was our 
17th President. Jim Quillen got appropriations to purchase the land for 
a new courthouse and to design the new courthouse. And since his 
retirement, we have been able to get appropriations to complete that 
courthouse, and it is very near completion.
  Jim Quillen's life and work are a great American success story, Mr. 
Speaker; and I believe that this would be a very fitting tribute to his 
lifetime of hard work for his constituents and the people of this 
country. I am proud of the fact that all nine of the House Members in 
the State of Tennessee, all of the Republicans and all the Democrats, 
are cosponsors of this legislation. I would ask that every Member of 
this House vote favorably for H.R. 4608.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4608 is a bill to designate the Federal Courthouse 
in Greeneville, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States 
Courthouse. Jim Quillen served with distinction his constituents of the 
first district of Tennessee for 35 years and holds the record for 
having the longest continuous service of any Tennessee Member of the 
U.S. House of Representatives.

[[Page 12539]]

  Jim was a member of the Committee on Rules and served as ranking 
minority member for many years. He was also chairman of the TVA Caucus 
and a member of the Republican Policy Committee. Jim was also conscious 
of needs of his constituents and worked very hard to secure funding for 
medical facilities in northeast Tennessee and was diligent in his work 
for farmers and veterans.
  Jim Quillen has received numerous awards and honors, including having 
a medical facility named in his honor, Route 181 from Virginia to North 
Carolina is named in his honor, and a Chair of Excellence in Education 
was named for him at East Tennessee State University. It is with great 
pleasure that I support H.R. 4608 that designates the new Federal 
Courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, in Jim's honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), another great Member from 
the Volunteer State, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, 
who is making air traffic cheaper and safer all across the country.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding 
me this time, and I thank him for those very kind words. I also want to 
express my appreciation to the gentleman from the first district of 
Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) for his prime sponsorship of this very 
appropriate legislation naming the new Federal courthouse in 
Greeneville after Congressman James H. ``Jimmy'' Quillen.
  As the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) mentioned and as the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) mentioned, 
Congressman Quillen served the first district of Tennessee for 34 years 
in this House, longer continuous service than any Member of the House 
of Representatives in the history of the State of Tennessee. 
Congressman Quillen was very proud of that, and rightly so.
  He was a very district-oriented, constituent service-type of 
Congressman. In fact, I think he was one of the first Members of this 
body to just routinely fly home each and every weekend. I think it is 
fair to say and proper to note that he probably spent more time at home 
in Tennessee than he did in Washington, D.C., and so he stayed in 
constant contact with his constituents and was always on top of the 
needs of his district.
  As the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) mentioned, probably his 
greatest accomplishment was the medical school at East Tennessee State 
University. There was tremendous opposition to that medical school, 
because some people thought that the State could not support two 
medical schools. But the other medical school is in Memphis, which is 
at the opposite end of the State, Tennessee is a very long State 
across, and that medical school would not have been opened, I do not 
believe, if it had not been for the strong support and determination 
that Congressman Quillen put behind it.
  Congressman Quillen did rise to become the ranking Republican and 
chairman emeritus of the Committee on Rules, and served with great 
distinction on that committee. He also contributed to so many other 
things. There is a highway in his district named after him. I think the 
main building at the Methodist Children's Home is named after 
Congressman Quillen; and this courthouse, as the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) noted, was the last major project that 
Congressman Quillen worked on for his district of many, many projects.
  Congressman Quillen was born into what some people would call 
absolute poverty today, in Gate City, Virginia. He was born into a good 
family but a family of very little money, and one of 10 children. He 
came up surely the hard way. In fact, I would say that people on 
welfare today have much, much more than Congressman Quillen's family 
had. But he started the newspaper that the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Jenkins) mentioned at the age of 19, and then he became one of the 
biggest developers in the city of Kingsport, and then one of the 
leading insurers in that community and one of the most successful 
businessmen in that entire area.
  Then, as the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) noted, he served 
in the Navy for 4 years. He was very proud of that, a very patriotic 
man, very pro-military, and then he served 6 years in the legislature 
and 34 years in this House, for 44 years of public service.
  Most of us will remember that Congressman Quillen always sat in the 
second seat in the second row, right below me here. In fact, many of us 
thought that we should have named that the James H. Quillen seat here 
in the House. I heard that NPR had on the news the other day that there 
were no seats designated in the House except the Speaker's chair and 
one that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) sits in on the 
other side. But everyone knew that that second seat in the second row 
was Congressman Quillen's seat in this House; and he was, I think, very 
proud of that too.

                              {time}  1215

  I am proud of the fact that, for 32 of the 34 years that Congressman 
Quillen spent in this House, he served with a Duncan. He served 12 
terms with my father; and they were very, very close friends. And then 
I had the privilege and honor of serving with Congressman Quillen for 8 
years. During that time, he was my mentor, he was my advisor, he took 
me under his wing.
  I will say this, Mr. Speaker: Congressman James H. Quillen was one of 
the finest and is one the finest men that I have ever known in my 
lifetime. I am proud to support this legislation.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley).
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the District 
of Columbia for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the people of Greeneville, 
Tennessee, for their newly named James H. Quillen Courthouse.
  Now that they will be naming this courthouse after Jimmy Quillen, Mr. 
Speaker, I think that every single building, medical school, and road 
in eastern Tennessee should be named after Jimmy Quillen.
  Mr. Speaker, that is the way it should be.
  I served with Jimmy in the House Committee on Rules for over 21 
years, and I can tell my colleagues from first-hand experience that he 
deserves every accolade that comes his way.
  Jimmy joined the Committee on Rules back in 1965 with another dear 
friend of mine, Claude Pepper, and he served until 1996, at which point 
he became the longest-serving Republican on the House Committee on 
Rules. He also served in Congress longer than any other representative 
from Tennessee, some 34 years.
  Jimmy Quillen rose from a humble background to serve in the Navy in 
World War II. He served the Tennessee State House, where he became the 
minority leader. In 1963, he went on to represent the first district of 
Tennessee in the United States Congress.
  Jimmy believed in old-fashioned, constituent-oriented representation. 
To prove his point, Jimmy even took his office door off its hinges to 
represent his open-door policy, and that open door served as an 
inspiration for many of us who followed him.
  Jimmy was a true Southern gentlemen whose word was his bond. I can 
remember in the 1980's when we were working on the S&L bailout and 
someone proposed eliminating some of the benefits that were promised to 
the people who bought these failing S&L's and Jimmy Quillen stood up 
and fought that amendment tooth and nail, saying, ``a deal is a deal.'' 
And, Mr. Speaker, he was right. But every time after that we would look 
at Jimmy and say, ``a deal is a deal.''
  What was important to Jimmy was comity and good faith above all else. 
He was a distinguished, hard-working, kind member of the Committee on 
Rules and a very worthy adversary.
  Every once in a while, I catch myself looking for Jimmy in the second 
seat in the second row on the House floor.

[[Page 12540]]

He is sorely missed here in the Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to have served with Jimmy Quillen and 
even a greater honor to call him my friend.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the people of Greeneville on 
their newly named courthouse.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Bryant).
  Mr. BRYANT. Mr. Speaker, as I was sitting here listening to our good 
friend from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) talk about some of the years 
involved here, I was thinking back to 1965 and how long ago that has 
been, and I was thinking that it has been so long that the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) was just finishing shooting jump shots in 
Union City back in those days. That was a long time. I think they were 
set shots back in those days. I know there were peach baskets up there. 
It has been a while.
  I do want to thank my other colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Jenkins), for sponsoring this bill, introducing this legislation, 
which, as has been said, does designate the Federal courthouse there in 
Greeneville, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen United States 
Courthouse.
  I had an opportunity recently to go to Greeneville. I used to live 
there as a child myself. I do not have a lot of recollection about it, 
but I was able to go about the town and to not only visit the current 
courthouse there but also to see the newly constructed courthouse in 
progress. It certainly is going to be a wonderful facility there, and I 
know will be well used; and in that it carries Congress Quillen's name, 
I think it certainly has a distinctive honor.
  There are a lot of things up in east Tennessee already named for 
Congressman Quillen, the medical school and highways and things, and 
certainly all well-deserved.
  I, among others and many that have been in this body, have been 
privileged to serve with Mr. Quillen. There was an overlap when I came 
up in 1994 of about one or two terms there. And, as has been pointed 
out, I very quickly learned about the chair on the second row and not 
to sit there. Although, we did tend to gather around him and seek his 
wisdom and judgment that he always possessed.
  Many of my colleagues do recall him as a Member who dedicated his 
entire career up here, as well as his life so far, and he is still very 
active back in east Tennessee today, but he dedicated his life to the 
pursuit of hard work and honesty and, particularly, love of family.
  Going back just a minute, I know that the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Duncan) has talked a great deal about Mr. Quillen's background, 
but I wanted to share a couple of things that, as I went back and 
studied about Mr. Quillen, I was just tremendously impressed by those 
folks who served in World War II and the book that has been written 
about the greatest generation and the folks that saved the world and 
came back and built the economy and built America into the country it 
is today. Mr. Quillen was certainly a part of that great generation.
  Back in 1942, he served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Antietam as an 
ensign; and after serving honorably his country, there he was 
discharged as a lieutenant in 1946 after the war. Although he was 
offered an opportunity to go to West Point and become an officer there 
and go through the Academy, he declined this in order to return to 
Tennessee and to his civilian life.
  In 1954, he was persuaded to enter a race for the Tennessee State 
Legislature and was elected into the position that he held until 1962. 
And during his service in Tennessee in Nashville, he served as the 
minority leader and was nominated for the Speaker of the House.
  In 1962, Mr. Quillen went on to be victorious in a race for the seat 
in this very House of Representatives. As a Member of Congress, Mr. 
Quillen quickly developed a reputation as a man dedicated to 
constituent services. All of us that serve in this body can really 
appreciate that and can look at people like Mr. Quillen and the job 
that he did representing the people in the first district of Tennessee 
that he came to represent up here, as well as taking care of their 
needs back in the district, and certainly envy that record.
  In fact, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) said, on 
election night when he was first elected into this body, his supporters 
took the hinges off the campaign office to signify his promise that he 
was always going to be available to the people that he represented.
  In 1965, he became a member of the House Committee on Rules and 
served as the ranking member for the committee for many years. He later 
served as Chairman Emeritus, an honor that is the first for any Member 
of Congress.
  In addition to his service as chair and vice chairman of several 
committees, he holds the record for the longest continuous service by 
any Tennessee Member of the United States House of Representatives.
  Over the years, he has received numerous awards and honors in 
recognition of his years of service to his constituents and to his 
State. On January 3, 1997, he retired in his position from the House of 
Representatives.
  I am proud to have served with Mr. Quillen, and I am proud to 
cosponsor this bill. I urge its adoption. I urge my colleagues to adopt 
this bill.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Clement).
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the 
time. I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) for 
introducing this legislation to designate the U.S. Federal Courthouse 
Building in Greeneville, Tennessee, after a great man, James H. 
Quillen.
  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity, like others did here, to serve 
with Mr. Quillen. Not only was he a friend of mine, but he was also a 
close personal friend of my late father, Frank G. Clement, who served 
as governor of Tennessee. While my father was serving as governor, 
Jimmy served in the Tennessee State Legislature, where their mutual 
friendship and admiration for one another blossomed.
  Jimmy Quillen was a man of his word, he was a man of tremendous 
integrity, and he was a true patriot. There are a lot of 
accomplishments by his name, including those that have already been 
mentioned by my Tennessee colleagues and those also that knew him and 
loved him and admired him and respected him from across the country.
  Among his list of accomplishments, also, he served in the U.S. Navy. 
And, no doubt, he was a savvy businessman, but he was a true public 
servant. He entered the political arena in 1955, serving in the 
Tennessee State House of Representatives.
  In 1962, he was elected to serve in the 88th Congress and served 
honorably from January 3, 1963, to January 3, 1997. Jimmy was the kind 
of Member that brought people together. He worked for the greater good 
and always did what was in the best interest of the people of 
Tennessee, Democrats and Republicans alike. This great House misses 
Jimmy Quillen and misses his leadership. He was a role model and still 
today is one of the greatest statesmen that Tennessee has ever 
produced.
  One thing I do remember about him, and I think all of my colleagues 
would remember this, as well, is that handshake. Now, when he put that 
hand out there and grabbed their hand, he would drag them about halfway 
across the room. I remember that because he did that to me and did that 
to many others. I do not know how many people's arms he pulled out of 
socket, but I will tell my colleagues one thing, it got their attention 
and the next time they shook hands with Mr. Quillen they were ready for 
him so he would not do it to them.
  It is with great enthusiasm that I support this legislation, H.R. 
4608, and encourage my other colleagues in the U.S. House of 
Representatives to support this meaningful legislation.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as 
he may consume to the gentleman from

[[Page 12541]]

Tennessee (Mr. Hilleary), another member of the Tennessee delegation 
who represents many points of interest in Tennessee, but my most 
favorite, Lynchburg.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I do represent a lot of interesting places in Tennessee, 
as we have talked about several times. But Mr. Quillen, who we are 
honoring here today, represents, I think, one of the most beautiful 
areas in the whole country.
  I am proud to cosponsor this piece of legislation. I think it has 
been an honor for me to have at least 2 years to serve in this House 
with Mr. Quillen. As has been said, he served longer than any other 
Member in the history of the State of Tennessee in this House, 34 
years.
  The thing about him that I think I find the most interesting is that 
he was a role model for us as being a Member of Congress, and we 
learned a lot from him. He did not care for partisan politics one bit. 
He always put his district and his constituents first, without 
question. I think that those who have come on after Mr. Quillen's 
tenure really did not get that advantage of being able to kind of learn 
the ropes under his tutelage.
  The thing that I find very impressive about him, as well, is that he 
is the stereotypical American dream in the sense that he was very much 
and is a self-made man. He was born into a pretty poor family in 1916 
with 10 children, very little money; and he was, as one of my 
colleagues said, part of that greatest generation that Tom Brokaw talks 
about. He did join the U.S. Navy during World War II.
  He is a family man. He married his lovely wife, Cecile in 1952; and 
through sickness as in health, as the vows go, he has stood by her all 
those many years.
  I recently got married, 3 weeks ago almost to the day, 3 weeks ago 
Saturday, and I can only hope to follow in the footsteps of the model 
that he showed all of us as far as being a loving husband.

                              {time}  1230

  He was in the State House for 8 years. He has basically spent his 
entire life in service to others and in service to his State and Nation 
and this country. I think it is very appropriate that we honor him in 
this way. The James H. Quillen, Jimmy Quillen United States Courthouse 
in Greeneville will be just yet another structure in the first district 
that is named after Mr. Quillen.
  We cannot go around a bend in that lovely First Congressional 
District without seeing a school or a highway or a building, something 
that was an accomplishment of Mr. Quillen's while he was in Congress, 
named in honor of him; and I think that is very appropriate.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Quillen used to sit right there, the second seat 
over here from the aisleway in the second row. I often bring groups in 
here at night, and I say this was Mr. Quillen's seat; and even though 
we do not have assigned seats in this House, some of the Members who 
have been here for a while, as we all know, sort of pick one seat as 
their seat, and that is where they always sit, and out of respect for 
them and their tenure and their service, we do not sit there. Except 
for my first time I was in here, I made the mistake of sitting there 
and with that big yank of a handshake, he popped me up and sat down in 
it.
  We have no problem with that, because we revered and respected Mr. 
Quillen so much. That seat, as far as I am concerned, will always be 
Mr. Quillen's seat, no matter who else sits there while I am here in 
this House. I am honored to be a part of this legislation. I certainly 
ask everybody to get behind this in an enthusiastic way, and I was 
proud to serve with Mr. Jimmy Quillen.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Tanner).
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate and endorse what my 
friends from Tennessee have had to say about Mr. Jimmy Quillen. I want 
to thank my friend, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins), for 
introducing this resolution. I came to the Tennessee Assembly in 1976; 
and for the longest time, it seems Mr. Quillen and I were the 
graduates, I guess we might say, of the Tennessee General Assembly. The 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) also served there.
  Mr. Quillen not only was the king of East Tennessee, as we used to 
call him, I live over in West Tennessee and his service to our State 
transcended the First Congressional District. I live in the Eighth 
Congressional District, and Mr. Quillen journeys over there to one of 
the premier political events in the springtime every year, down in 
Covington, Tennessee, the Oney Naifeh political dinner and his service 
to our State is appreciated, not only by those citizens in the first 
district in East Tennessee, but it was appreciated throughout, across 
the width and breadth of Tennessee.
  Many, many mutual friends from Joe Bewley, who was in the legislature 
and lives in Greeneville, to many others, Ralph Cole and others I have 
known through the years and all from up there in the first district had 
the same love and respect for Mr. Quillen that those of us who got to 
know him from other parts of the State developed.
  Mr. Speaker, he truly has given a very large measure of his life to 
the service of others, and it is with a great deal of pleasure and 
pride that I think that almost every Member from the Tennessee 
delegation, Democratic and Republican alike, has been down here this 
morning to say a kind word for Mr. Jimmy Quillen and I would add with 
great appreciation for the opportunity, my thanks and my endorsement of 
this process.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to 
close.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Quillen was a friend of mine, and I 
can remember he and another dear friend, Walter Jones, sitting down 
with me on occasion, giving me sound advice to sit down and shut up. As 
a member of the Committee on Rules, he helped me bring to the floor 
many amendments that many people did not have a shot.
  I just wanted to chime in and say, if there is any distinguishing 
element to his great career, he was fair. He treated everyone fairly, 
and he was always a consummate gentleman. So I think the naming of this 
courthouse in his honor is absolutely fitting, because he was a great 
American. I appreciated the times that he and I were able to speak, and 
he imparted much of that wisdom to me, as he did to other Members at 
that time who were young and just coming on; and his advice to shut up 
probably was the best I ever got. Mr. Quillen, God bless you and the 
family.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I urge its passage, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4608.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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