[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16] [House] [Pages 22645-22648] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN EDWARD P. BOLAND The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) is recognized for 30 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having this time in order to speak about our great beloved, departed colleague from the State of Massachusetts, Edward Patrick Boland. He served in this institution for 36 years. He was elected in 1952; he served until 1988. He loved this institution, and this institution loved him. He arrived in 1952, with his best pal, Tip O'Neill, another freshman Congressman coming from the eastern part of the State. They were roommates for 24 years here in Washington, really only staying here on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and immediately returning to their home districts after the close of business on Thursdays. And that is how it went in their little apartment over all those years until Tip was elected Speaker and brought Millie down. However, it had been preceded just a couple of years before that by Eddie breaking his long years of bachelorhood and marrying Mary Egan, a marriage that produced four beautiful children that were, without question, the pride and joy of his life. Now, for those that knew Eddie, he still and for always will be thought of as a legislative giant, as someone who motored around on the floor of the House like the Energizer Bunny, moving at the speed of sound from deal to deal to deal to deal as he worked his legislative magic. And whether the Member was Democrat or Republican, Eddie Boland was universally respected. When, in 1977, Tip O'Neill decided that it was necessary to create a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, by definition that job required someone who could keep secrets, someone who could be trusted with the greatest intelligence which our country has, that which protects the national security, the health and well-being of every American, out of the entire institution, Tip selected Eddie Boland to be the first chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Because he was someone that every Member, Democrat and Republican, would trust. And so, without question, as the 20th century's legislative history is written, he will be looked back upon as someone who was the quintessential public servant, elected as a State representative when Roosevelt was President. He served in World War II, was elected and served in Congress in the Korean War, in the Vietnam War, and all the way through to the point where not only was the Reagan era ending but the George Bush, Sr., administration was about to begin. What a legacy that he leaves to this country, to his family. So we in the Massachusetts delegation, without question, will miss him; but we know so too will all of his colleagues, all of his constituents, and all who came to know him in this great country. I would like to turn now to the gentleman who succeeded Eddie in the United States Congress in his seat in Springfield, and, in fact, was Eddie's choice to carry on the political and spiritual legacy that he brought to the Congress from the City of Springfield, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal). Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), who is the dean of the Massachusetts delegation, for organizing this Special Order as we pause in remembrance of my friend and former Congressman, Edward P. Boland. Congressman Boland came here in the midst of the Eisenhower landslide; and he won that first race, I believe, by 5,000 votes. And for 36 years he served here virtually, but with a couple of exceptions, without challenge. What I think is ironic about the Boland legacy, beyond the kindness that he exhibited time and again, was the affection that he held for this old House. He revered his service in this institution, respected it, and believed time and again that this was one of the best jobs that anybody could ever hope to hold. Eddie Boland came from Springfield's Hungry Hill. He was the child of Irish immigrants. For 50 years, 50 years, he was elected. Think of it, at least 25 elections, and at the end of those 25 elections he could say, at retirement, he was undefeated and untied. What a remarkable legacy indeed that was. But there are projects across this country that bear his imprint. Because of his relationship with John Kennedy and the fact that he was on the plane with President Kennedy, or at that time Senator Kennedy, as they returned from Los Angeles after having secured the Democratic nomination in 1960, he was devoted to the Apollo program and, indeed, remained, until his last days, one of its great champions. We recall in this institution his wisdom as it related to the Boland amendment and Nicaragua. He saved this country from a disastrous journey had we proceeded with military support for Nicaragua. Today, Mr. Speaker, with the exception of Cuba, every government in Central and South America is freely elected. His impact on housing programs because of his subcommittee chairmanship at VA-HUD happens to be profound. But there was another side of Congressman Boland, and I think my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), and others in the delegation again hold it in highest regard. Congressman Boland only talked to reporters from the hometown newspaper. In 36 years in this institution, Congressman Boland had one fund-raiser, and really was upset that he had to go to it. He thought that the only allegiance he owed to anyone was to those people back in the Second District of Massachusetts. And here is an even more compelling statistic, given the modern nature of Congress. Congressman Boland held one press conference in 36 years to announce he was retiring; and he did it on Hungry Hill, where 36 years before he had announced he was running, without a press conference at that time. It is remarkable that his legacy could have been as pervasive as it was, given the fact that by nature he was fairly shy and really did not care for the limelight and did not care for the national attention that his years in Congress and the Boland amendment and the housing programs that he championed brought him as they were put in front of the American people. It is the honor of a lifetime to have known him. I attended one day this remarkable Christmas luncheon that he had every year after he retired, which many of the people that had elected him State representative 50 years before all attended faithfully. At one of those luncheons, the fellow he defeated, I believe in 1934, for State representative from Hungry Hill, was there. And when asked why he was there, he simply pointed out that a half century before Eddie Boland had retired him from public life. And with that graciousness Boland simply smiled and laughed, and they had a wonderful moment of friendship and harmony again. I am struck by that service, I am struck by the legacy, but I would like to take all of the young Members that have come to this Congress during the last 2 years and say to them: you [[Page 22646]] should understand the reverence that Eddie Boland held for service in this institution. He really believed that this was one of the great arbiters of fairness in American life. He really believed that this institution was courageous and visionary in the manner in which it proceeded. But not only did he feel strongly about this institution, he was a believer in the Federal Government of the United States. I am going to close on this note, because while people understood him and his legacy and the programs he championed, one of the footnotes that occurred in his obituary that few people ever knew, because he never called attention to it, Eddie Boland marched in Selma, Alabama, to bring about an end to much of the unfairness that had been institutionalized in American life. He was patriotic, he was kind, he was impeccably decent. He has a wonderful wife in Mary Egan, and to hear his son's remarkable testimony to his father at the funeral, his son Edward, his daughter Martha, daughter Kathleen, and son Michael. What a great family. And I would be remiss as I close if I did not mention one of the great eulogies that I have ever heard that came from former judge and my friend, Daniel M. Keyes, who was Eddie Boland's friend for 70 years. We will miss him in this institution; we miss him in Massachusetts. A great friend was Congressman Eddie Boland. Mr. MARKEY. Let me now yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), whose congressional district abuts the district of the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) and then Congressman Boland, so he knew him very well. Mr. OLVER. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I am very pleased to be able to join my colleagues, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), from the second district, and the successor to Edward P. Boland, and the dean of our delegation, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), from the eastern part of the State. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life and work of Congressman Edward Boland, who represented the Second Congressional District of Massachusetts for nearly 4 decades. Let me start by giving my deepest sympathy to Mary Boland and the Boland children for their loss of a husband and a father. I first met Congressman Eddie Boland in 1968. He had already served more than 15 years and was a force in the Congress. I, by contrast, was making my first run for political office as a Massachusetts State representative in a district that partly overlapped Eddie Boland's Second Congressional District. {time} 1815 My first and most lasting impression of Ed Boland was his booming voice. He was speaking at an event in Granby, and I was certain that he could be heard all of the way to South Hadley. Over time I learned that Congressman Ed Boland was not just heard, but attention was paid when he spoke. He was heard all the way down the hall to the Senate. He was heard by Presidents at the White House. He was even heard at the Pentagon. This modest man with a towering voice commanded towering respect here in Washington, and he was a towering presence in the political life of western Massachusetts. Eddie Boland provides even now a model for Members of this House of Representatives to follow. Eddie Boland was known equally for his ability to tackle the most complex issues of the day, and his willingness to show simple kindness to anyone around him who needed his help. He rose to national prominence on a number of issues, particularly his authorship of the Boland amendments restricting U.S. involvement in the conflict in Nicaragua. Yet the people of the Second Congressional District remained his foremost concern throughout his long and distinguished career. When Eddie Boland passed away last week, everyone in the Pioneer Valley lost a friend. On behalf of the people of the First Congressional District, I rise to say ``thank you'' one last time to Congressman Edward Boland for his work and his service. Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for participating in this special order, and now I yield to the minority whip designee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who knew Ed Boland well. Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman for calling this special order and congratulate him. I congratulate because this is a wonderful occasion when we in the House who served with Ed Boland can come together and talk about him and the wonderful contribution he made to our country. I felt a special responsibility to come to the floor, not only because it was a privilege to serve with Eddie, but also as the senior Democrat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I know full well what his great contribution was to our country. The gentleman referenced that in his remarks very beautifully, and I want to speak to that for a bit. I do so bringing some of the appreciation from the staff of the Intelligence Committee, as well as many Members who have served on that committee over time. We serve in the Edward P. Boland Room in the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. For over 50 years, 36 in this House, Eddie Boland represented the people of western Massachusetts with uncommon dedication and effectiveness. He believed deeply in the capacity of government to be a positive force in people's lives and in the duty of those in government to do everything within their power to ensure that result. It has been said that he treated his constituents the same way as he treated his friends. That explains not only his success at the polls, but the high regard with which he was held. His career was a testament to the fact that politics, when practiced by people of great skill and commitment, is both an art and a high calling. Eddie served with distinction on the Committee on Appropriations, and was the committee's second most senior Democrat for many years. He was a long-time chairman of what was then the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs and Independent Agencies, now known as VA-HUD. I doubt that there are many communities in the United States who have not benefited from his programs that he promoted on the subcommittee. Veterans hospitals and clinics, projects to improve the quality of air and water, affordable housing for the poor, the elderly and disabled, efforts to reinvigorate the Nation's cities and to explore the universe of which we are a part, were among the activities made national priorities by the appropriations measures he crafted. It is impossible to calculate all of the ways in which those programs made fuller and more secure the lives of the people of our country. Had Eddie Boland's service been measured only by his work on the Committee on Appropriations, it would have been deemed highly successful. As has been mentioned by the distinguished dean of the Massachusetts delegation earlier, in 1977 Speaker Tip O'Neill asked Eddie to be the first chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Tip's reasoning was simple. The leader of that committee would have to be someone people could trust, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) said, someone who could keep a secret. Eddie Boland's integrity was unassailable. The committee's reputation for keeping secret matters secret is due in large part to the standard established during the 8 years he served as chairman. That is an incredibly long time to be chairman of the Committee on Intelligence. Although not one to seek fame, he did not shrink from taking on a popular President in a most public way when the U.S. intelligence agencies unwisely, in his judgment, became involved in a civil war in Nicaragua. Later when questions arose as to whether laws restricting the activities of those agencies had been violated, he was among the small number of Members of the House selected to determine the truth. Even in the highly charged atmosphere that surrounded that investigation, when legislation bearing his name was central to the inquiry, he [[Page 22647]] was not interested in publicity, but sought only to do the job entrusted to him by the House. Despite his many accomplishments in Washington, Eddie took his greatest joy and was most proud of his family back home in Springfield. His wife, Mary, and their children, Martha, Edward, Jr., Kathleen, and Michael were the focus of his life, each though he started late in life to acquire that magnificent and beautiful family. Many of us saw him with his family at the funeral of Congressman Joe Moakley, another esteemed Member of this Congress, and it gave us a chance to say hello to Eddie, and little did we know that it would be good-bye. But we reported to our colleagues in the House that Eddie was still as sharp as a tack and enjoying his beautiful family. Our condolences go out to Mary and the children. That is why he left here, to spend more time with his family at a very important time in their lives. His devotion to them says as much about the man he was as does his distinguished service in the Congress. Mr. Speaker, although I only served for a short time with Eddie Boland, I directly followed him onto the Committee on Appropriations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, so I know well how well-respected he was by his colleagues and by the people in the executive branch. He was one of the quiet, hard-working Members so essential to the conduct of the business of the House. His service enriched the Nation, and will always be a source of great pride for his family. Anyone who served with him will always treasure the privilege of calling him ``colleague.'' Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for allowing me to participate in this special order. Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for participating. One of the great things about Eddie Boland was that he lived such a long life. He passed away at 90. The gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) is now one of the few Members who served with him because he left 13 years ago. I yield to the gentleman from California. Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for holding this special order so we can pay tribute to Eddie Boland. I want to mention a small episode. There was a time when many of us were involved in trying to end the violence in Latin America, in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and elsewhere. It was a struggle that was consuming those individuals and those countries. It was an uphill struggle. Finally, justice came, and in the case of El Salvador, a democratic government has been established and a series of elections have been held; but that was not the history of the region and that country at the time when I served in this Congress with Mr. Boland. I always thought that the reason that justice came to Central America in large part was because the generals in El Salvador made a huge mistake and the intelligence community in this country made a huge mistake. The generals in El Salvador made a huge mistake in lying to Joe Moakley about their involvement in the killing of the Jesuits at the university. From that day forward, because he recognized the lie when it was uttered, and I was with him on the trip to Latin America to investigate that, Mr. Moakley recognized that lie the minute it was presented on that military base by those generals. He pursued it along with our now-colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for many, many months until that lie unraveled and we realized the incredible role that the Government of El Salvador played in the murder of those Jesuits and its military. Eddie Boland, while he did not agree with us necessarily on the policy in Latin America or what some of us were trying to achieve, believed that the laws of the land were the laws of the land. When he later found out the involvement of the intelligence agency in Latin America and when it became clear that they were fudging the laws, we passed the Boland amendment that made it very clear that having Eddie Boland stand before this Congress and support the Boland amendment and having this Congress pass the Boland amendment as he did in his role as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee changed the dynamics and changed people's attitude to what was taking place in Central America and the deep involvement of this country in really horrific events and abuses of human rights in those countries. Mr. Speaker, I think we owe him a great debt of gratitude because he insisted that people not play fast and loose with the laws of this country, that this country not be involved in the abuse of human rights of the people in El Salvador; and we all should thank him very much and remember him for that important role that he played on behalf of humanity who, without Eddie Boland, would not have had a champion of that stature to bring about that kind of change. I thank Eddie Boland for his service to this country. Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi.) Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I just want to mention that we serve, those of us on the Intelligence Committee, serve in the Edward P. Boland Room upstairs, and while Members have the opportunity to come to the floor to express their condolences as well as their commendations of Mr. Boland, I want to extend the condolences also of the staff of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, especially Mike Sheehy, the Democratic counsel to the staff, who served Mr. Boland so very well for so many years, and mourns his death, and knows more about his contributions than many. I thank the gentleman for allowing me that further remark. Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) very much. When a younger Member is advocating for an idea, you look around the institution to find somebody who everybody respects who as we say in the Catholic Church, would place their imprimatur, their blessing, on the idea. As the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) knows, when Mr. Boland put his blessing in terms of what our relationship should be with the Government of Nicaragua, at that point people could disagree with Eddie Boland, but they knew they would be wrong because he would never take anything other than the most honest position. Let me conclude the special order by recognizing the only other member with the exception of myself who served in the Massachusetts congressional delegation with Eddie Boland, the Congressman from the city of Newton, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank). Mr. FRANK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) for taking this special order to give us a chance to express our sympathy to Mary Boland and their children, and express our admiration for a man who really had an extraordinary, distinguished legislative career. I am a great follower of parliamentary and legislative history. It is something that I read to relax, reading about the British parliament and other parliamentary bodies. I do not think it is sufficiently appreciated what an important role a leading institutionalist plays in making democracy function. Among other things, that is what Eddie Boland exemplified. {time} 1830 He was an elected official, a man who came up through the political ranks, was always deeply rooted in the community from which he came, who was always in constant touch at all levels with the people he represented, and who took to Washington their mandate and built on it. He was at the same time their Representative and someone who transcended what might be the narrowing aspects of being a Representative. As previous speakers have said, he confounded some stereotypes. He was not by his manner, by his political background, by his general place in the world of the political culture the kind of man who people would have expected [[Page 22648]] to have been leading an assault on a Presidential foreign policy. We have a tradition of deferring to Presidents in foreign policy, indeed excessively, it seems to me, in many cases because legitimate differences ought to be articulated. Eddie Boland, as the gentleman from Massachusetts and the gentleman from California just said, did a great deal to legitimize the notion that in a democratic society, elected officials had not only the right but the duty to speak out if they thought the President was pursuing gravely mistaken foreign policies. The fact that Ed Boland did that and did that with his dignity and with his respect for this institution and with all of the cultural attributes that he brought to the job really did, as the gentleman said, give it the imprimatur, or did give it a legitimacy. What that meant was this. It meant we could argue it on the merits. Too often when we are dealing with an issue like this, there is a whole set of deferences, a whole set of attitudes that interfere. Ed Boland's stature in this institution was justifiably of sufficient weight so that when he spoke on that issue, he overcame those deferences and we got to the merits, and he did a great service. He was also, of course, defending the prerogatives of the elected legislature against the executive, and in that also he was carrying on in the tradition of great parliamentarians. Finally, as someone who has been concerned with housing policy since I got here, I want to acknowledge his great leadership as subcommittee Chair in terms of recognizing the obligation of this very wealthy country to do something about the housing needs of the people. We look back now to the days of Ed Boland's chairmanship of the appropriations subcommittee dealing with HUD as golden days when we in fact did far more to meet vital social needs than we are doing today, unfortunately. And there are a lot of reasons for that. But Ed Boland's committed and passionate advocacy, and you can be passionate without making a lot of noise, you can be passionate by having an unstinting, unyielding determination to do the right thing; and that is what he had. As my friend from Massachusetts has said, he and I are the last two Members who served with Ed Boland and know just what integrity he brought to this job and just to what extent he exemplified what an elected representative of the people ought to be in a functioning democracy. I thank the gentleman for giving me the opportunity to say this. Mr. MARKEY. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts, and I thank all of the Members who have participated in this Special Order. We will keep this part of the Record open so that any other Members who wish to do so may enter their own statement. Eddie Boland's career ended the way it began. He worked tirelessly in order to make the world a better place. I am proud to have known him. I am proud to have worked with him. I am proud to have served with him in this institution that he loved so much. I am proud to have called him my friend. His service to this country will never be forgotten. Our condolences to his wife, Mary, and his children. May Eddie Boland rest in peace. Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of public service and passing of Congressman Edward ``Eddie'' P. Boland. Congressman Boland was a humble statesman who moved legislative mountains and earned the respect of his colleagues with a polite manner and solemn regard for this body. He received his education from Springfield's Bay Path Institute and Boston College Law School. The son of an Irish immigrant railroad worker, he would later establish himself as a community leader. Boland began his life of public service at the age of twenty-three when elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Later, he was elected as the Hampden County register of deeds. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army to fight tyranny in the Pacific theater of World War II and was promoted to captain. In 1952, Eddie Boland won election to Massachusetts' second congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his 36 years in the House, Congressman Boland became the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and of the VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. Developing the necessary trust between his committee and the intelligence community and an acceptance of the need for Congressional oversight were hallmarks of his Chairmanship. Furthermore he was a steadfast advocate for individual's privacy rights and providing informative but discreet intelligence information to the public. Among this most notable legislative achievements was passage of the Boland amendments which restricted the use of U.S. funds by Nicaragua's Contra rebels and lay at the heart of the ``Iran-Contra'' scandal. Although Congressman Boland rose to become a figure of national prominence, he never lost sight of his modest beginnings in the Hungry Hill district of Springfield, Massachusetts. Congressman Edward P. Boland is survived by his wife Mary Egan, and four children. His legacy to our nation is a model of leadership born from quiet dignity and integrity. ____________________