[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING LATE REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAM NATCHER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON LEWIS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2004

  Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay public 
tribute to a remarkable man of this House, the late William Huston 
Natcher, on the occasion of The Kentucky Museum and Library's opening 
of the William H. Natcher Political Collection, a compilation of 
artifacts from his storied life and career.
  Congressman Natcher served in this body, preceding me as 
representative of the Second District of Kentucky, from August l, 1953 
until his death on March 29, 1994, having cast an astonishing 18,401 
consecutive votes, a record most historians believe will never be 
matched. Through the years, he earned a reputation as an exceptionally 
hardworking and honest public servant, becoming one of the most highly-
respected and influential members of congress in recent memory.
  As years passed and his congressional seniority increased, Natcher 
received several important committee appointments, namely within the 
powerful House Appropriations Committee. From 1961 to 1979, he chaired 
the Appropriations District of Columbia subcommittee, exercising 
control over spending in the Nation's capital. He later moved on to 
chair the subcommittee on labor, health and human services, influencing 
major legislation to advance education and promote public welfare 
throughout the 1980's. He was elected Chairman of the full House 
Appropriations Committee in 1992, a position he held until his death in 
1994.
  Congressman Natcher became a legend not only for his effectiveness as 
a legislator but for his uncompromising dedication to the 
responsibilities of public service. Not only did he cast an unbroken 
chain of roll call votes over a 41-year career, he also exercised a 
sincere reverence for the opinions of his constituents, personally 
reading and responding to his own mail. Though he attained a position 
of national influence, he maintained a modest, responsible lifestyle, 
never accepting political contributions, driving himself to and from 
work in his aged Chevrolet. He was a model citizen-legislator worthy of 
an honored place in our Nation's history.
  After several years of processing, the William H. Natcher Political 
Collection will open to the public Friday, October 1, 2004, at the 
Kentucky Library and Museum on the campus of Western Kentucky 
University. The collection will display volumes of correspondences, 
photographs, awards and memorabilia, accumulated throughout Congressman 
Natcher's distinguished life and career.
  I would like to extend the collective gratitude of the U.S. House of 
Representatives to the Natcher Family and Western Kentucky University 
for assembling a collection that will allow future generations to 
appreciate and learn from Congressman Natcher's exceptional life.

                          ____________________