[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4920-4921]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MARION ``GENE'' SNYDER

  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, on February 16, the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky lost a favorite son. Marian ``Gene'' Snyder was born on 
January 26, 1928 in Louisville, KY, to a working-class family. He would 
often say he was

[[Page 4921]]

``a poor boy from the other side of the tracks in a cold-water flat.'' 
His upbringing during the Great Depression and the work ethic taught to 
him by his mother and father would serve Gene well in future years.
  Gene worked his way through college and law school and earned a law 
degree from the University of Louisville at the ripe young age of 26. 
He was appointed to his first political post as Jeffersontown city 
attorney.
  In 1962, Louisville Republican leaders saw they had a great young 
candidate and backed him for his first race for Congress. Gene won that 
race and represented the people of Kentucky's third congressional 
district for the next 2 years. Gene unfortunately lost reelection in 
1964, but as he did all of his life, he bounced back and in 1966 he won 
the fourth congressional seat. He would serve and hold that seat with 
distinction for the next 20 years.
  Gene was instrumental in bringing a number of important 
infrastructure projects back to Kentucky while serving on the Public 
Works Committee. One of his greatest achievements is a freeway that 
bears his name in Louisville, KY.
  Gene Snyder worked hard to make sure Kentucky got its fair share from 
the Federal Government. But I think the most important thing he did was 
to validate conservatism in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Back in the 
early 1960s, you couldn't count on one hand the number of Republicans 
in Kentucky. Gene Snyder was the first brick in the foundation of what 
the Republican Party is today in Kentucky.
  Gene had something lacking in today's world of weekly polls and 
political consultants. Gene had conservative principles and never 
wavered from those principles. Gene Snyder actually stood for 
something. That is why I consider Gene Snyder one of my political 
mentors. I would not be standing here in the well of this great Senate 
if it were not for Gene Snyder.
  My wife Mary and I extend our thoughts and prayers to Pat, Gene's 
beloved wife, and the entire Snyder family. Gene was a true patriot and 
a great American who loved the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 
citizens he represented.

                          ____________________