[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 3835-3836] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO STEVE VOSSMEYER ______ HON. KAREN McCARTHY of missouri HON. RICHARD A. GEPHARDT of missouri in the house of representatives Thursday, March 15, 2001 Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my esteemed colleague from Missouri's 3rd District, the Democratic Leader, Mr. Gephardt, to honor a loyal friend, devoted father, remarkable public servant, and esteemed political and civic leader whose love of life will live on in the memory of all those lives he touched. Steve Vossmeyer died march 9, just five days before his 57th birthday. Citizens of the City of St. Louis, his beloved Central West End neighborhood, and the Great State of Missouri mourn his passing. Steve loved the law and he loved people. He was a popular political figure who used his wit and humor to cajole and prevail upon others to accept his point of view. He was a force to be reckoned with because he researched the situation thoroughly, asked tough questions of opponents, and loved to galvanize those of like mind around a challenge then execute a winning strategy. His love of sports, particularly Cardinals baseball, was legendary and shared enthusiastically with family and friends. An invitation to partake of Steve's culinary skills was a treasured occasion that brought the best minds together around his table and provoked conversations which extended well into the night. Mr. Vossmeyer served the United States Senate as the legislative Assistant to Missouri Senator Thomas F. Eagleton from 1969 to 1972. Steve accompanied Senator Eagleton and two other Senators on a fact finding mission to Vietnam in 1970. His interrogation of military personnel after their ``canned'' presentations uncovered significant admissions that the war was not going as well as public pronouncements had indicated. In response he drafted major portions of the War Powers Act. His strongly held beliefs in the democratic process motivated him to serve as an election observer for the first democratically conducted elections in Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism. Mr. Vossmeyer was elected a Missouri State Representative of the 86th District in 1972, and held that office for ten years. His first election was one of the biggest upsets in the state. He ran against a well known labor union official who outspent him by a margin of more than 4 to 1. His campaign utilized innovative techniques and new technology not previously employed in Missouri elections. At the close of each session, he prepared a comprehensive newsletter on the successes and failures, and those newsletters were quickly imitated almost verbatim--with his approval--by legislative colleagues of both parties. Steve was aided in these elections and constituent communications by Sandy Rothschild, a close friend from Washington University undergraduate days. During his tenure in the Missouri House he championed a number of measures that benefited women. He sponsored several measures to protect rape victims from spurious attacks by defense attorneys and to balance the playing field for both sides in domestic relations disputes. He sponsored public records reforms and legislation to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. He helped numerous women in their campaigns for public office. This list includes State Representative Sue Shear, Lt. Governor Harriet Woods and Dee Joyce Hayes, his former wife, whom he helped a decade after their divorce in her successful effort to become St. Louis Circuit Attorney. As Chairman of the House Governmental Review Committee, Steve reformed many of the antiquated and ineffective procedures used by State agencies and modernized the State's mental health laws. Steve served the City of St. Louis as a Member of the Board of Electors. This body examined a series of problems confronting the St. Louis region, recommending various reforms. In the St. Louis community he remained a political activist fighting for good government and preservation of historic neighborhoods. His opinion on a broad range of issues was sought by numerous federal, state, and local officials, including former Missouri Congressmen Jack Buechner and Alan Wheat, as well as the sponsors of this Congressional Record Statement. He was always very generous with his time and consistently demonstrated concern for issues of public interest. Steve practice law in St. Louis full time with the firm he co-founded in 1979, Newburger and Vossmeyer. His principal partner was David Newburger, whom he met while Mr. Newburger taught law at Washington University. His primary area of practice was civil litigation and domestic relations. Steve has a son, Robert Stephen Vossmeyer, and a daughter, Rebecca Sarah Vossmeyer. ``Becca'' is the child of his current marriage with M. Celeste Vossmeyer. He loved his children dearly. They were with him during his last days, as were friends mentioned herein joined by Richard Callow, Betty Neill, and Paul Steinmann. We include an article from the Sunday, March 11 edition of ``The St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' where a number of his friends reflect with Jo Mannies on their memories of Steve. Mr. Speaker, please join us in sending condolences to Steve's family in their time of grief. We will honor him by gathering March 19th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the courtyard at Bar Italia in his neighborhood per his wishes that friends celebrate his life. In Marc Connelly's profound 1930 play, The Green Pastures, has characters suffer as they fight to save their families and countryside from oppressors. They discover God's love through suffering. We are glad that Steve's suffering is over and he has found God's love. We doubt that he will ever stop fighting the good fight. [[Page 3836]] Ex-State Representative Steve Vossmeyer, Prominent Figure in Democratic Politics, Dies at 56 (By Jo Mannies) Former state Rep. Steve Vossmeyer, a St. Louis lawyer prominent in Democratic politics and local civic affairs, died Saturday of cancer at his home in the Central West End. He was 56. His close friends included some of the state's top political figures, including former Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton, for whom Mr. Vossmeyer worked in the late 1960s and early '70s; former Rep. Jack Buechner, a Republican who practiced law with Mr. Vossmeyer for several years; and Rep. Karen McCarthy, D-Kansas City, an old ally in the state Legislature. ``He was involved in politics because of his abiding belief in the people and service to the people,'' said his friend and law partner, David Newburger. Allies said that during his years in the Missouri House, from 1972-83, Mr. Vossmeyer played a key role in reforming Missouri's mental health laws and in changing the state's rape laws so that they treated married women equitably. ``He was one of the state's first feminists,'' McCarthy said Saturday. Friends said Mr. Vossmeyer's sense of humor was a key reason why he was such a popular political figure. ``He used his wit the way Old West gunfighters used their pistols,'' said political consultant Richard Callow, a close friend. Mr. Vossmeyer was born March 14, 1944, in St. Louis. His political involvement began early. After graduating with a bachelor's degree from Washington University, he studied international affairs at George Washington University in Washington. In 1968, Mr. Vossmeyer joined then-Lt. Gov. Eagleton's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Following Eagleton's election, Mr. Vossmeyer joined Eagleton's congressional staff. ``Steve Vossmeyer was exceedingly bright . . . . He put in more hours per day than anyone else involved in the campaign,'' Eagleton recalled. ``He was strongly against the Vietnam War. He simply couldn't believe the misinformation being put out by the Defense Department. He went with me on a trip to Vietnam in the early '70s. After we'd get the canned briefings by the generals and colonels he'd cross-examine them and turn up facts they'd left out.'' Mr. Vossmeyer's friends said he was most proud of his involvement in Eagleton's successful effort to win congressional passage of the War Powers Act, which requires presidents to obtain congressional approval when waging war. Mr. Vossmeyer returned to St. Louis to run for the Legislature in 1972. McCarthy said he was part of an alliance on women's issues that included the late Rep. Sue Shear and then-state Sen. Harriett Woods. `He was one to galvanize those of like minds around an issue,' McCarthy said. While serving in the state House, he also attended Washington University's School of Law, where he received his degree. In 1979, he co-founded the local law firm Newburger & Vossmeyer. ``I have never known a lawyer more dedicated and devoted to his clients,'' Newburger said. After leaving the Legislature, Mr. Vossmeyer remained a political activist. A Democratic panel nominated him in 1985 to take over as chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, but an internal dispute scuttled that plan. In the early 1990s, Mr. Vossmeyer was involved in a now-defunct city- county effort called the Board of Electors, charged with tackling regional issues. Among survivors are his wife, Mary Celeste Vossmeyer; a son, Robert Stephen Vossmeyer; and a daughter, Rebecca Sarah Vossmeyer, all of St. Louis. The funeral will be private. A memorial service will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. March 19 at Bar Italia, 4656 Maryland Avenue. ____________________