[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3784-3785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES W. NORWOOD, JR., OF 
                                GEORGIA

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 79, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 79) relative to the death of 
     Representative Charles W. Norwood, Jr., of Georgia.
       Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
     and deep regret the announcement of the death of the 
     Honorable Charles W. Norwood, Jr., late a Representative from 
     the State of Georgia.
       Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions 
     to the House of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy 
     thereof tot he family of the deceased.
       Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns or recesses today, 
     it stand adjourned or recessed as a further mark of respect 
     to the memory of the deceased Representative.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 79) was agreed to.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Chambliss and I, from Georgia, be recognized for a few minutes to pay 
tribute to Representative Norwood.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, first of all, I thank Leader Reid and 
Leader McConnell for bringing this resolution forward in a very timely 
fashion. We learned during the lunch hour today that Representative 
Charlie Norwood of Georgia passed away, a victim of cancer.
  Charlie had been fighting valiantly that disease for over 3 years, 
having a lung transplant, and, unfortunately--after the transplant's 
success for a year and Charlie doing well--cancer occurred in one lung 
and then transferred to his liver.
  His wife Gloria has been an absolutely wonderful human being, seeing 
to it that Charlie continued to do his work in the House of 
Representatives, even though suffering greatly from the effects of the 
cancer that reoccurred.
  Charlie Norwood was elected in 1994 and was a classmate and fellow 
representative with many of us here--Senator Coburn, Senator Graham, 
Senator Lincoln, Senator Chambliss, and myself.
  On behalf of all of us who have had the chance to serve with Charlie 
Norwood, we today pay tribute to his life, the great accomplishments he 
made on behalf of his district, and his untiring effort to bring about 
quality, affordable health care within the reach of every single 
American.
  He will be remembered for many things: his tenacity, his great sense 
of humor, his commitment to his district, and to his people. But from a 
political standpoint and a service standpoint, he will be remembered 
for Norwood-Dingell, the legislation that laid the groundwork for 
reforms in health care that even go on at this day.
  So as a Member of the Senate from Georgia, as a personal friend of 
Charlie Norwood and his beautiful wife Gloria, and as one who is so 
thankful for the contributions he made to my State, to me as an 
individual, and to this body, I pay tribute to Charlie Norwood, pass on 
the sympathy and the condolences of my family to his wife Gloria and 
his many friends.
  And again, I repeat my thanks to Senator McConnell and Senator Reid 
for their timely recognition of the passing of Charlie Norwood.
  It is my pleasure now to, with unanimous consent, recognize Senator 
Chambliss from Georgia.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. McCaskill). The Senator from Georgia is 
recognized.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Georgia for those very generous and kind words about our mutual friend.
  I rise today to pay tribute to a guy who has been a great inspiration 
not just for the last 3 years when he has so bravely fought the deadly 
disease that ultimately got him--cancer--but Charlie Norwood and I were 
elected to Congress together in 1994.
  Charlie was one of those individuals who came to Congress for the 
right reason; that is, to make this country a better place for our 
generation as well as for future generations to live.
  Charlie worked every single day to make sure he could personally do 
everything he could as a Member of the House of Representatives to make 
this country better.
  Charlie grew up a Valdosta Wildcat. Now, to people in this body that 
may not mean a whole lot, but to anybody who lives in our great State, 
growing up a Valdosta Wildcat and playing for the Wildcat football team 
is a very special asset.
  Valdosta is a very unique town down in my part of the State, down in 
the very southern part of our State. The football lore of Valdosta is 
second to no other community in the country.
  Charlie loved his Valdosta Wildcats. He and I used to sit on the 
floor of the House every now and then, particularly during football 
season, and talk about his days of growing up. My hometown of Moultrie 
is the biggest football rival of Valdosta.
  Charlie loved life. He loved things like football. He also loved his 
family. He was the proud husband of Gloria Norwood, who is one more 
great lady, and he had two sons and several grandchildren.
  Charlie used to take his grandchildren to Atlanta every year at 
Thanksgiving, used to take the girls. He would let those girls have the 
run of a very nice hotel in Atlanta to do whatever they wanted, 
including Charlie Norwood, a mean, gruff, old dentist from Augusta, GA, 
sitting down in the afternoon and having tea with his granddaughters. 
He was, indeed, a very special person, a guy who loved his country, 
loved his State, loved his family, and really cared about what is best 
for America.
  One anecdote about Charlie I will never forget. He and I became good 
friends during the 1994 campaign. We both signed the Contract with 
America. We ran on the Contract with America. One provision in there 
was requiring an amendment to the Constitution calling for the Federal 
budget to be balanced. Charlie and I both felt very strongly about 
that. We were sitting on the floor of the House of Representatives one 
night together, as we were debating and voting on the amendment to the 
Constitution calling for a balanced budget, and as the numbers in favor 
of the bill grew and grew, the roar within the Chamber itself got 
louder and louder. It took 397 votes to reach the point where the 
balanced budget amendment would pass, and when it hit 350, the roar got 
louder. It hit 360. Finally, it hit 397. Charlie looked over at me and 
said: Sax, that is why we came here. He was that kind of person who 
truly cared about his country and the principles for which he stood.
  He was a man who will truly be missed, as my colleague, Senator 
Isakson, said, for his ideas on health care. He truly believed that 
every person who received health care treatment in this country ought 
to have the ability to look their physician in the eye and make sure 
they had the right to choose the physician from whom they were 
receiving medical services. It is only fitting that Charlie's Patient's 
Bill of Rights was reintroduced in the House in the last several days. 
I look forward, hopefully, to Congressman Dingell taking up that bill 
and debating that bill. It was a controversial bill then. It will be 
controversial again. But just because Charlie Norwood felt so strongly 
about it, I am hopeful we will see some movement on that bill.
  As I wind down, I have such fond memories about Charlie from a 
personal standpoint. But most significantly, the great memories I will 
always have about Charlie Norwood are about his commitment to America, 
his commitment to freedom, his commitment to the men and women who wear

[[Page 3785]]

the uniform of the United States, of which he was one--he was a veteran 
of Vietnam--and about the great spirit Charlie Norwood always brought 
to every issue on the floor of the House of Representatives. He was a 
great American. He was a great Member of the House of Representatives. 
He was a great colleague. He was a great friend who will be missed.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

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