[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 32140-32144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOE SKEEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and to submit statements on my special order.

[[Page 32141]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, this is what is called 
special orders, and it is an opportunity for Members to come to the 
floor of the House and talk about a particular topic, and today it is 
our sad duty to honor a friend and colleague of many in this House. 
Congressman Joe Skeen passed away last night in Roswell, New Mexico, 
after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, and this is an 
opportunity tonight for many of his friends to come to honor him.
  Mr. Speaker, Joe Skeen retired in January of this year after 22 years 
of service in the House, and the 2nd District of New Mexico is now 
represented by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce), my good 
friend, and I yield to the gentleman from southern New Mexico.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico for 
organizing this tribute.
  The Nation has lost a leader, and New Mexico has lost a friend. 
Joseph Richard Skeen was born in Roswell, Chaves County, New Mexico, 
June 30, 1927. He was an Aggie. He attended Texas A&M University and 
graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1950. He served the 
country honorably in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946, and then 
I do not know what happened. I think he saw the light because he joined 
the United States Air Force Reserve and served from 1949 to 1952. But 
the real light that he saw in his life was Mary Helen Jones, whom he 
married November 17, 1945. Their two children, Elisa Livingston, and 
her son, Ross; Mikell Lee Skeen and his wife, the former Gail Edwards, 
their two sons, Clint and Tyler, all deserve our thoughts and our 
prayers.
  He began to serve immediately in positions throughout the State that 
reflected his agriculture desires and his agriculture background. He 
became a member of the New Mexico State Senate in 1960 and served until 
1970. He served as chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party from 
1962 to 1965. In 1980 he was just the second candidate to be elected on 
a write-in vote to the United States House of Representatives. He was 
elected to attend succeeding terms in Congress and did retire January 
3, 2003, at the end of the 107th Congress.
  He was the longest-serving Member from New Mexico to the House of 
Representatives, serving 22 years. Mr. Skeen lost two of the closest 
gubernatorial races that the State of New Mexico has ever seen in 1974 
and again in 1978. Mr. Skeen's seniority, built up by his long tenure 
in the House of Representatives, accounted for his ranking by Roll Call 
Magazine in 2000 as one of the ten most powerful Members in the 435-
Member U.S. House of Representatives.
  Mr. Skeen was the first New Mexico House Member to serve on the House 
Committee on Appropriations and later served as chairman of two of the 
most powerful subcommittees that affect New Mexico, the Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations and the Interior 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. Mr. Skeen was 
influential in the sponsorship, support, and passage of the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant, one of the premier DOE facilities in the Nation 
located in the 2nd District of New Mexico. Mr. Skeen was the primary 
sponsor of many legislative projects benefitting New Mexico State 
University, New Mexico Tech, Holloman Air Force Base, and White Sands 
Missile Range. New Mexico began to recognize its favorite son even 
before today. New Mexico Tech named their library after Joe Skeen. New 
Mexico State University named their new agriculture research building 
after Joe and Mary Skeen. Chaves County named their new administrative 
building after Joe Skeen. The State of New Mexico has named Highway 70 
the Joe Skeen Highway.
  Mr. Skeen was a strong supporter of rural New Mexico and all its 
requirements: roads, schools, medical care, electricity, and water and 
sewage treatment plants. He was impartial when it came to serving the 
people of New Mexico. He served them all. His offices in New Mexico 
provided critical assistance for those people who needed help with 
Social Security, veterans' medical care programs, immigration 
assistance, and a host of other government programs and services.
  Joe fulfilled his ombudsman role eagerly and efficiently with the 
help of his capable and effective staffs in Washington, Roswell, and 
Las Cruces. He was tremendously respected. His friendly demeanor and 
quiet sense of humor seemed to disarm those folks with grudges and 
helped all citizens realize that by working together, we can solve the 
people's problems. Joe used to say, let us talk about what we can agree 
on and work from there.
  Some of the popular quotes in New Mexico from Mr. Skeen were: ``The 
chances of that happening are between slim and none, and slim just left 
town.''
  ``Do not tell me about what you disagree with me on. Tell me where 
you and I agree, and let's work from there.''
  ``Before I leave this earth, I hope the Good Lord gives me the 
opportunity to serve as a member of the majority party in Congress.'' 
That opportunity came to Mr. Skeen.
  About his ranch he said, ``We raise cattle for prestige, and we raise 
sheep for profit.''
  And, finally, ``I will be forever indebted to those actions of those 
many citizens who stood in line until midnight to write my name in the 
congressional ballot. I will never forget and will work hard to make 
sure their views are heard in the House of Representatives.''
  The people of New Mexico will never forget Mr. Skeen. He is a man of 
the people. The people in the 2nd District have expressed their love 
and concern as I traveled the district this year campaigning to replace 
Mr. Skeen. And as I won the office, I realized that no one can replace 
Mr. Skeen. I can simply fill the spot that he was in.
  As I took my place in this national Congress and heard from his many 
friends, I realized that he was just as respected nationally as he was 
in the State. The State has lost a friend. The Nation has lost a 
leader. Joe Skeen was our friend.

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the 
distinguished majority leader.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman coming down and 
holding this Special Order in memory of Joe Skeen, and I appreciate the 
comments of the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce). That was a very 
wonderfully put eulogy for an incredible man.
  I met Joe Skeen for the first time when I first ran for office in 
1984 in a primary. It was a big primary, a lot of Republicans running. 
Joe Skeen came in on my behalf and really did not know me from Adam. He 
had heard about me. He loved Texas A&M. I think, with all due respect, 
he loved Texas as much as he loved New Mexico, because he loved coming 
to Texas. He came at a particularly tough time in my campaign and just 
wowed the folks in Houston, Texas.
  He wowed them through his incredible wit. He was one of the funniest 
men I knew. In his wit, he always had a point he was trying to make, 
and somebody ought to really write a book, a compilation of Joe Skeen's 
speeches, because they were poignant, they were to the point, but, at 
the same time, they had a wonderful American flavor and an American wit 
that was so Joe Skeen.
  From that day forward, Joe Skeen became a very dear friend of mine, 
as he is a friend to every Member of this House. He never met a person 
he did not like, and he never met a person he did not make a friend out 
of. The man was a stalwart in this House. Whenever you needed 
something, you could always go to Joe Skeen, and he would do everything 
in his power to see that it was accomplished.
  Joe Skeen had the incredible character and integrity and moral 
strength that Members drew from. In his later

[[Page 32142]]

years, when he got that dreadful Parkinson's disease, he was in here on 
the floor suffering from that disease and still doing his job to the 
very last minute. And it shows.
  The man was committed to his constituency in New Mexico. He loved the 
people of New Mexico, and I had a great time in going out and 
campaigning for Joe Skeen, because you could see his real love for the 
land, for the ranchers and farmers, for New Mexico. He really had a 
strong, strong feeling for the people that he served, and he had a 
servant's heart.
  He was a man that we will sorely miss, and we have already missed him 
this year. Joe Skeen is one of those very special characters that very 
seldom come through this House, that has enriched the House, has 
enriched this Nation. He is a true, true leader that will be sorely 
missed.
  So to Mary and his family we give all our sympathy, and hope they 
will understand how much we miss him and the legacy that he has left by 
serving in this House. We greatly appreciate the service and character 
of the man Joe Skeen.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis), a dear friend of Joe Skeen over the years, the 
chairman of the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, 
who served alongside Joe as one of the other cardinals.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
New Mexico, who has put together this time, and the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce), Joe's colleague and friend from their own district 
in beautiful downtown New Mexico.
  It is a sad moment for me to come and attempt in a few moments to 
share with the family and friends of Joe the impact he has had on my 
life, the Congress of the United States, and, indeed, upon, I think, 
people way beyond his wonderful State.
  Joe was a giant, great man who cared so much for the work of public 
affairs that it took every bit of his being to impact those issues that 
were so important to his people; a phenomenal guy who I came to know 
early upon his career by way of introduction from a mutual friend, 
Kevin Billings, who said, ``Jerry, you have got to meet this guy, 
because he is a guy who ought to be on your Committee on 
Appropriations,'' a committee that I love. From that moment on, as Joe 
and I began to get to know each other, many of us worked to see that he 
early on took a spot on that committee.
  During his service there, as has been said, both first as a member, 
but, beyond that, as chairman of the subcommittee that deals with 
agriculture, so important to his State, the Subcommittee on Interior, 
Joe demonstrated his unusual capability to mix the demands and needs of 
his own people with those requirements of members of his subcommittee, 
as well as the needs and priorities of the country.
  He is going to be sorely missed by his wife, Mary, and his son and 
daughter. I want them to know that he will be missed just as much, 
every bit as much, by the people who work in this House.
  Shortly after I met Joe, I became enamored of his sense of humor. 
While we all know of him as a great man, we also know of his immense 
capability. When you would have a tendency to take yourself perhaps a 
bit too seriously, by a kind of twist of a word, a sleight of hand 
almost, his sense of humor would bring you back to the real world, 
where we can find solution by way of compromise in this House, for, no 
doubt about it, when we finally get our best work done, it is work that 
is done with men and women challenging each other, measuring the pros 
and cons that lead to solution, and compromise is absolutely a 
requirement.
  I remember when Joe first came to me, we were talking about a couple 
of his problems and discussing the fact that when he was first involved 
in politics, there were not too many Republicans available in his 
territory in New Mexico. He kind of smiled when he told me they held 
their meetings in a telephone booth. In the old days in San Bernardino 
County in California, many a person suggested to me that if I really 
wanted to be in politics, I had better find a party other than the 
Republican Party, for similarly we had a telephone booth that did not 
have very much room in it.
  Joe demonstrated clearly that he was going to make a difference in 
his State and his party in his State. It has been suggested by Steve 
and others that he ran those very, very close races and almost became 
Governor of the State of New Mexico. Well, what guy is good enough to 
go about getting elected to the United States Congress by way of write-
in vote? To say the least, it is tough enough to get elected, but to 
have enough people care about you and know of your leadership skills to 
actually drive hard enough to get people to write your name in to be 
successful in races that are so intensely sought after?
  Joe reminds me in many, many ways of his sense of humor by the 
dealings we had on another venture. We used to kid each other about 
Mexican food, because, you know, frankly I think those people, citizens 
of Mexican descent in our country, who are of the best lines come from 
beautiful downtown California, and he thought in turn that our food 
could not begin to compare in terms of Mexican food with that of New 
Mexico. So we challenged each other about that, first lightly, and he 
talked about his tamales early on and I was talking about enchiladas 
and tacos, et cetera. I just could not believe the tacos they produced 
in Washington, DC.
  But in this challenge, we began to invite friends, first it was just 
our two staffs together, and then we would get people down the hall, 
and the program became a regular annual event called ``Tamales on the 
Terrace.''
  The family of Joe Skeen goes beyond just the family we have mentioned 
here. The family also involves Selma Sierra, who was the person who was 
in charge of helping us put together Tamales on the Terrace. The 
terrace, by the way, is just outside the back door of my office, and it 
looks at the Capitol and a couple of other buildings.
  The last time we held this gathering, we had to turn people away. 
There were 300 or 400 people there the last 2 or 3 years. The last 
event was a very, very special event indeed, because we were especially 
attempting to pay tribute to Joe Skeen as he was getting prepared to 
leave the Congress.
  Suzanne Eisold, his administrative assistant, was a person who my 
wife, who helps me run my own office, has worked very closely with, for 
she helped put wheels on both of our operations. To be successful in 
this business you need help; and, without any doubt, he had that extra 
special quality of attracting the best of people around him to make 
sure that the best of work was done on behalf of his own people and the 
causes he was concerned with.
  It has been said that appropriators are the people around here who 
must get their work done, because, without it, government cannot 
continue; and often times controversy stops many a bill around here.
  Well, Joe was one of those workhorses who was able to get the 
toughest of business done in the appropriations process. His bills went 
to the President's desk and successfully had a huge impact upon the 
future of America's public lands by way of interior, and certainly had 
a fantastic impact upon prioritizing the way our appropriation dollars 
impact farmers, not just in New Mexico, but also in the country.
  There is a great building in Sacramento that reminds me of the last 
trip I took to New Mexico to be with Joe. This great Federal building 
in Sacramento has on the face of it a statement to be remembered by 
those who think about Joe forever. It says, ``Bring me men to match my 
mountains.'' That last trip that took me to Joe's hometown was for the 
dedication of a Federal building there, and I would hope that the 
people of New Mexico, whenever they go and look at that Federal 
building or have business there, will remember just how great this man 
was.
  If we, indeed, have had a Will Rogers of modern days, Joe Skeen of 
New Mexico is that Will Rogers; and indeed he is

[[Page 32143]]

the mountain of a man who has come from New Mexico.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to my colleague from northern New 
Mexico (Mr. Udall).
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, both my wife, Jill, and I were saddened to learn about 
Joe's death. Joe Skeen served New Mexico with distinction and 
dedication. During the 4 years we served together in Congress, I found 
Joe to be a true gentleman and statesman.
  One of the stories that I like to tell about Joe Skeen was how he got 
here. He was only the third Member of the House in the history of this 
House to be elected by a write-in vote.
  My wife was the Deputy Attorney General, and she was assigned to 
represent the State of New Mexico and the Secretary of State in the 
legal case that determined that he had to be a write-in. There was only 
a Democrat on the ballot. He was beloved by New Mexicans, and my wife 
and I were in the court that day when there was a ruling.
  Representative Skeen understood that she had a job to do. He 
respected that. He never held it against us. He was always a gentleman. 
He had a great sense of humor; and he knew, because he was so loved in 
the State, that whether he got on the ballot or not, he was going to 
get elected, which in fact he did.
  One of the things I respected about him the most was his 
bipartisanship; and I think every Member of Congress, Democrat and 
Republican, every Member of this House, loved him for that. He loved 
this institution. He had a great sense of humor. He did not take this 
place where we do the serious business of the country too seriously, 
and he would always have a good story or a quip.
  I just want to say to Mary, the children and the rest of the family 
that all of us in the House of Representatives that served with him 
loved him very much, and we send Mary and his family our heart-felt 
condolences.
  Jill and I were saddened to learn about Joe's death. Joe Skeen served 
New Mexico with distinction and dedication. During the 4 years we 
served together in Congress, I found Joe to be a true gentleman and 
statesman.
  It is difficult to capture with words the impact and significance 
that Joe has meant, not only to New Mexicans, but to the citizens of 
the United States and the institution of the Congress as well. During 
his tenure as New Mexico's longest serving U.S. House Member, he built 
a dedicated and talented staff on Capitol Hill. He was renowned for his 
tireless work on behalf of agrarian interests. Although he didn't get 
the credit he deserved, he also helped steer millions of Federal 
dollars to our State.
  I was proud to work with Joe on legislation that helped return 
mineral rights to Acoma Pueblo. That bill, now Federal law, was easily 
steered through Congress by Joe's knowledge of the legislative process. 
While we were ultimately not as successful as we would have liked, we 
also fought together to change the dairy sections of the 2002 farm bill 
that were unfair to our State's strong milk and cheese industry. 
Through it all, I enjoyed working with him every step of the way.
  Throughout his years of service, he was a model of integrity and 
truth. The way he approached his job is the way every elected official 
should--as a highly principled individual who stuck to his beliefs. He 
walked his talk. While we didn't agree on everything, he always did 
what he believed in his heart to be true, and he always worked in a 
bipartisan way to accomplish important work.
  His good will and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him. 
We send our sympathy to his family and friends.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from 
northern New Mexico.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us are going to miss Joe Skeen. All of us have 
our Joe Skeen stories and things that make us chuckle when we are 
walking around this place remembering him.
  Joe was a sheep rancher. He has a ranch between Ruidoso and Roswell 
in the Hondo River Valley, which is a long way from just about 
everywhere. In fact, his ranch is 17 miles from pavement in the rural 
part of New Mexico.

                              {time}  1900

  In a lot of ways, Joe was a man of the West, a gentleman. He loved 
New Mexico, loved its rural way of life, and fought in this body for 
those ways of life to be protected. He opposed grazing fee increases 
and defended property rights and water rights. And even while he served 
here in the Congress and got accustomed to wearing soft-soled shoes on 
these granite floors instead of his preferred cowboy boots, he 
continued to ride and work the ranch with Mary and the kids and just 
one hired hand.
  I can remember times here when they were doing State of the Union, 
and Joe always sat in the same place in this House. Whenever you needed 
to find Joe Skeen, you always knew where he would sit, in the back row 
in the far right, over in the corner. He was there, no matter what. And 
during the State of the Union one year, I heard a big ``yippee'' and a 
whistle from the back right corner of this room, and everyone in the 
whole room knew it was Joe Skeen. There is probably only one guy who 
can whistle and ``yippee'' like that, and who had the guts to do it on 
the floor of the House of Representatives during the State of the 
Union.
  Joe Skeen said what he thought, and he said it in a direct way, and 
he stuck by his guns. He kept his word. He was a gentleman of the West.
  When I was elected, I came here in a special election, and I had only 
17 hours between when they counted the last votes and when I was on an 
airplane to fly here to Washington with my family. I did not even know 
where my predecessor's office was or how to get a key. There was a 
reception after the swearing in here on the House floor in Joe Skeen's 
Agriculture appropriations room. I was completely lost and somebody 
helped me find this reception, and my vote card was not even cool from 
the laminating machine when those bells went off. Not only did I not 
know what I was supposed to do, I had no idea where I was or where I 
was supposed to go or how to get there. And Joe Skeen said, ``Come on, 
gal, you are coming with me.'' And for the next 5 years of my service 
here, so many times I was with him.
  In 1960 when Joe Skeen started out in the State Senate, I was not 
even born, but he took responsibility for the stewardship of the next 
generation of young legislators from New Mexico.
  Joe Skeen was a physical man. He was a rancher and a flyer and a 
cowboy, and that made it particularly hard for his friends and staff 
and family to see the ravages of Parkinson's in his later years.
  There is a statue here in the House. It is in the hallway between 
this new modern Chamber that we use today and the old House. It is a 
statue of Will Rogers. Will Rogers was a man who understood the 
American spirit, a man who loved his country deeply, a man with a 
tremendous dry sense of humor that caused us to understand ourselves so 
much better. Joe Skeen was a lot like Will Rogers, and whenever I walk 
by that statue, I will always think of Joe.
  Humor is a bridge between people over the things that divide us, and 
Joe Skeen had so much of it. I once walked up to him on the floor of 
this House and I said to him, my son was 5 years old at the time, and I 
said, Joe, my son Joshua thinks he wants to be a farmer, and Joe said, 
well, you send him to me, I will knock some sense into him. There is no 
money in it. And we had a good laugh. Everyone in this body has had a 
good laugh with Joe Skeen.
  Our thoughts and prayers go out tonight to Mary, to his children, the 
many staff members who have worked with him over the years, and to the 
wonderful people of New Mexico who were served so well by him.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remember my friend and former 
colleague, Congressman Joe Skeen, who passed away recently in his home 
State of New Mexico.
  Mr. Skeen was truly a giant in New Mexico politics, serving 22 years 
and entering the class just before mine. His is a great story of a 
rancher who won his first term through a write-in campaign and 
continued to win the next 10 terms.
  I will remember Joe's work, especially on Parkinson's disease. He and 
I worked together as co-chairs of the Congressional Working Group on 
Parkinson's Disease. Although we differed on many issues, Joe and I 
agreed on

[[Page 32144]]

the importance of working to eradicate this disease. We have both been 
personally affected by it.
  I am glad that Joe was able to spend time with his family on his 
beloved ranch after serving a long and distinguished career. He will be 
missed by us on both sides of the aisle for his candor and hard work on 
issues of importance to New Mexicans and all Americans.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time and 
commemorate the life of former New Mexico Representative Joe Skeen. Joe 
lost his battle with Parkinson's disease on Sunday at the age of 76, 
and I would like to send my deepest condolences to his wife and family.
  Joe was elected into the halls of Congress in 1980 as a write-in 
candidate. He served 11 terms which was more than any other New Mexico 
Member of Congress has ever served. He was chairman of the Interior and 
Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, and 
accomplished much during his tenure for New Mexico and our great 
Nation. I had the honor of working with Joe for a long time, and know 
of his love for the open lands of the western U.S.
  As a Member of Congress, I honor Joe and mourn his passing, but also 
celebrate his life and his achievements.
  Joe will forever be missed in the House of Representatives, in his 
great State of New Mexico and in this country, which he loved so much.
  Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Speaker, it is with heavy heart I submit the 
following statement. Chairman Joe Skeen, our former colleague form the 
State of New Mexico, passed away on Sunday evening due to complications 
from Parkinson's disease.
  Chairman Joseph ``Joe'' Richard Skeen was born in Roswell, Chaves 
County, NM, June 30, 1927, and graduated from O'Dea High School in 
Seattle, WA, in 1944. He went on to receive a B.S. from Texas A&M 
University in 1950. After fulfilling a commitment to the United States 
Navy and spending time in the United States Air Force Reserve, Joe 
turned his sights to public service and the causes of the rural 
residents of the State of New Mexico. Joe served his State as a member 
of the New Mexico State Senate, chairman of the New Mexico Republican 
Party, and as a delegate to both the New Mexico and National Republican 
conventions numerous times from 1962 to 1970. In 1980 Joe was elected 
to the 97th Congress as a write-in candidate, only the third in 
history. Chairman Skeen served longer than any other New Mexican in the 
House of Representatives, from 1981 to 2000. He was also the first New 
Mexican to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, and served with 
distinction as the chairman of both the Agriculture and Interior 
Subcommittees.
  A great family, a fine State, and a grateful Nation all lost a 
wonderful champion, colleague and friend on Sunday. Joe will be missed 
often and I hope that we who continue in his place, may carry on the 
tradition of caring and service, which Chairman Skeen truly 
exemplified.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in fond memories 
of our friend and colleague, Joe Skeen, easily one of the most even-
handed, honest, fair legislators elected to the House of 
Representatives.
  Joe was only a little more senior than me, but his route here was 
considerably more entertaining than most of ours. Joe was elected as a 
write-in candidate over another write-in candidate and the nephew of 
the sitting governor. He made history, becoming the third Member ever 
to win election to Congress without being on a ballot.
  For the next 22 years, Joe served with us in Congress, making 
excellent representation for his home district in New Mexico the 
standard of his service. He chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Agriculture and Rural Development. Those he represented in New Mexico 
could have had no better steward in Congress.
  He was tireless in representing the needs of ranchers and farmers in 
his role as an appropriations cardinal.
  Joe was my friend, and he was my neighbor on the third floor of 
Rayburn where we would often visit in each other's office.
  He spoke Spanish, and he spoke the all-important language of 
bipartisanship. Joe Skeen was the best example of how a member of this 
House should comport themselves in any circumstance. He did more than 
just talk the talk, he walked the walk on bipartisanship, an art often 
lost in the House of Representatives today.
  He was a pragmatist, and he was a guy who really enjoyed life, 
teasing colleagues and playing practical jokes. He was truly a 
gentleman, and he made our work here in the halls of Congress more 
pleasant when he was involved.
  I join my colleagues here in the House in offering our collective and 
individual sympathies to Joe's wife Mary and their two children. The 
House has been a poorer place for Joe's absence. He was a great 
legislator and an exceptional man.

                          ____________________