[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 32218-32219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE LEGACY OF CONGRESSMAN DANIEL J. FLOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late 
Congressman Dan Flood as his legacy is honored today, November 25, 
2003, at King's College in Wilkes-Barre. The occasion will celebrate 
the Congressman's 100th Birthday, 10 years after his passing.

[[Page 32219]]

  Although it has been over 2 decades since he has served in the House 
of Representatives, Congressman Dan Flood's record of accomplishments 
and the legacy he left are still alive and well. Congressman Flood and 
I worked on several legislative initiatives together. Spearheading the 
effort to shape the recovery package for Northeastern Pennsylvania 
following the floods left in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes stands 
out as an example of Congressman Flood's responsiveness to the district 
he loved.
  Mr. Speaker, I insert in my remarks at this point the complete text 
of a story printed in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice on the legacy of 
Dan Flood.

                            Legendary Legacy

       It has been 23 years since he left Washington and nine 
     years since his death in 1994.
       Congressman Daniel J. Flood became a legend in his own time 
     while in office, and remained a much-respected popular figure 
     for 14 years after.
       The fact that old friends, public officials, and news media 
     will gather at King's College on Tuesday to observe his 100th 
     birthday is yet another indication of just how much his long 
     life of service to the country and his region meant.
       Much of the Flood years by way of public papers and 
     memorabilia are housed at King's College, through an 
     agreement Flood set up in 1964 with Mary Barrett, longtime 
     college librarian.
       In the Flood collection room are tens of thousands of 
     pieces of correspondence, hundreds of photographs, awards, 
     plaques, and seals of the office he held and the departments 
     of government with which he dealt for so many years.
       It is traditional in assessing the Congressman's career 
     that consideration comes on two levels--the federal 
     government in Washington and the 11th Congressional District 
     in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
       Until 1966, he represented Luzeme County. But after the 
     Supreme Court's famous ``one man, one-vote'' decision, the 
     state's congressional districts were realigned.
       Flood's territory expanded to include Carbon and Columbia 
     counties. In 1972, as part of the decennial reapportionment, 
     Montour and Sullivan counties were added.
       Flood's lasting legacy on the national scene usually 
     centers on his three decades of policy to keep the Panama 
     Canal in U.S. control, the unending crusade to promote the so 
     called captive nations of eastern Europe which were under 
     Soviet domination, and his powers as a member of the House 
     Appropriations Committee.
       Flood secured membership on the funding panel in 1949, and 
     kept it throughout the end of his congressional service on 
     January 31, 1980. His senior role on the Defense 
     appropriations subcommittee, where he served for nearly 30 
     years, was significant in such areas as funding new weapons 
     systems, supporting the Vietnam War and keeping the Tobyhanna 
     Army Depot in business.
       In fact, it was his strong relations with the most senior 
     Department of Defense military and civilian commanders that 
     enabled him to gain permanent legend status for his role in 
     the recovery of the Agnes disaster in 1972. The effort was 
     led from his emergency headquarters at the Naval Reserve 
     Center in Avoca.
       In 1966, after less than three years of service on the 
     appropriations subcommittee for Labor, Health, Education and 
     Welfare, election defeat for two colleagues and the 
     unexpected death of the panel's chairman thrust Flood into 
     the chairmanship of what quickly became an awesome 
     assignment.
       Flood handled it well--for the country and his district. 
     President Lyndon B. Johnson called for the creation of the 
     Great Society, a program unprecedented in scope of social, 
     educational, and vocational opportunities, in which several 
     million Americans benefited. The assignment for funding 
     policy for the entire program fell upon Chairman Flood and 
     his subcommittee. During the 14 years of his chairmanship, 
     the National Institute of Health budget increased six-fold, 
     research for cancer intensified new federal programs for 
     educational development sprung up, and many national health 
     and research centers were created.
       Also, for the first time, the government offered support 
     for psychiatric training, practical nursing and specialized 
     education.
       It was his clout in the appropriations process that had 
     much to do with his successful leadership in the enactment of 
     the 1969 legislation which created the Black Lung program for 
     first retired coal miners, and later secured benefits for 
     their widows.
       By the time of his retirement a decade later, his 
     constituents alone received several hundred million dollars 
     of benefits.
       The powerful subcommittee assignment brought a multitude of 
     benefits for the folks back home.
       Funds were obtained to help construct the new library at 
     King's College. The first family practice medicine program 
     between Wilkes University and Hahnemann University in 
     Philadelphia was inaugurated. Students could now take many of 
     their medical school classes on the Wilkes University campus.
       The first federally funded rural health center on Route 940 
     in White Haven opened, with others in the area soon to 
     follow. The regional mental health center, headquartered in 
     Nanticoke, was the first of its kind in the country. Marywood 
     University's School of Social Work gained national 
     recognition because of its network of services funded by 
     Washington.
       Beyond the realm of the Washington scene and significant 
     projects for his district, it was another legend, that of 
     individual constituent service, for which Flood perhaps 
     became best known.
       There was, it seemed, no aspect of human need in which the 
     government could not play a part and that Flood did not 
     deliver assistance.
       Flood's long public career brought many types of 
     recognition. There were 13 honorary degrees, the top national 
     awards of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart 
     Association, the Disabled American Veterans, the Cystic 
     Fibrosis Foundation and hundred more.
       The lasting tribute that the congressman treasured most, 
     however, was the naming of Daniel J. Flood Elementary School 
     in the north end of Wilkes-Barre in his honor. The school is 
     located just a few blocks from the simple, family home where 
     his devoted wife, Catherine, resides to this day.
       The ceremony in Flood's honor will be held Tuesday at 1:30 
     p.m. in the King's College chapel at North Franklin and 
     Jackson streets.

  Mr. Speaker, Daniel Flood's wife, Catherine, who will be present at 
the ceremony today, was indeed a partner in the Congressman's career 
and family. His loyal staffers and allies such as Michael Clark, John 
McKeown and Councilman Jim McCarthy, serve as a tribute to how Dan 
Flood conducted himself as a Congressman.
  My Colleagues, Congressman Flood serves as a model of responsiveness 
to the people he represented and I feel fortunate to have had the 
opportunity to work with him over the years. He is indeed a legend.

                          ____________________