[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14256]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WELCOMING FATHER PHILLIP KAIM

  (Mr. HASTERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, today the House opened with a prayer from 
our guest chaplain, Father Phil Kaim. Father Kaim is a newly ordained 
priest in the Rockford diocese in the State of Illinois. Father Kaim is 
also a close personal friend of mine and a former member of my staff.
  When Phil worked in my office, I always admired his clarity of 
vision, his strong conviction, and his compassion for those around him. 
Phil had a knack for politics. He worked for me for almost 10 years.
  He served in my office as my district director and was my eyes and 
ears back home in Illinois. Phil was very good at his job, but I guess 
he decided he had a higher calling. Six years ago he made a decision to 
become a priest, and after the election of November of 1998 he left my 
employment, packed his bags and moved to Rome to study at the North 
American College to become a Roman Catholic priest.
  On May 17 of this year he was ordained. He will return to Rome later 
this year to continue his studies.
  Father Kaim, thank you for your prayer today and good luck to what I 
know will be a bright future.

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