[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23345-23346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MATTHEW J. RYAN VETERINARY HOSPITAL

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition regarding the 
renaming of the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania 
in memory of the former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of 
Representatives, Matthew J. Ryan.
  Matt Ryan, whom I knew for many years, cared deeply for the people of 
Pennsylvania. He loved the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and 
made service his calling. Elected in 1962, he was one of its longest 
serving members and one of its longest serving Speakers, presiding for 
six terms.
  As much as Speaker Ryan loved Pennsylvania, the people of 
Pennsylvania and his colleagues from both parties loved him. Known on 
both sides of the aisle for the fair manner in which he presided over 
the House, Matt was a committed leader, tough debater, parliamentary 
tactician, and Pennsylvania booster. He spoke with great passion, and 
often was praised for his statesmanship, compassion, openness, Irish 
wit, and intelligence.
  Upon his death earlier this year, he became the first person whose 
body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg since Abraham 
Lincoln.
  A true friend of animals--especially his black Labrador, Magic--Matt 
Ryan was very proud of the University of Pennsylvania School of 
Veterinary Medicine. It is in no small part because of his decades of 
support that the school today is one of the finest in the world.
  Founded in 1884, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary 
Medicine was established at the urging of Penn's School of Medicine. It 
was recognized that prevention and control of animal diseases had 
important implications for human health. This is as true today as it 
was then--perhaps even more so--as we face a future in which advances 
in veterinary medicine's ability to understand biological threats will 
be critical in our ability to fight bioterrorism.
  In February 2003, the month before Matt's untimely death, the 
University

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decided to honor his support by renaming the Veterinary Hospital after 
him. Benjamin Franklin is the only other State politician for whom a 
building on the University's campus has been named.
  The renaming ceremony took place on Friday, September 19, 2003, and 
so I ask my colleagues to join me in reflecting on the legacy of 
Speaker Matthew J. Ryan, one of the truest Pennsylvanians and a 
champion of people.

                          ____________________