[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12390]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE MENDEL DAVIS OF SOUTH CAROLINA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN M. SPRATT, JR.

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 14, 2007

  Mr. SPRATT. Madam Speaker, when Mendel Davis came to Congress, he had 
some big shoes to fill. His namesake and predecessor, Mendel Rivers, 
had chaired the House Armed Services Committee at a time when committee 
chairmen were powerful, and he had ruled the roost. He had secured for 
Charleston military installations, ranging from the Navy Yard, home 
port to surface ships and submarines, to Charleston Air Force Base, 
which boasted the first of the C-5As.
  After Mendel Rivers died, Mendel Davis ran an impressive race, won a 
special election, and obtained a seat on the Science Committee and then 
on the House Armed Services Committee. He served there effectively and 
with distinction, and had he served long enough, he would have matched 
his namesake in influence and output.
  Mendel Davis served 10 years and never quite matched Mendel Rivers' 
seniority, but he worked every bit as hard, if not harder, for his 
constituents. From his seat on Armed Services, Mendel Davis never 
forgot where he came from or who sent him here, and he cared for his 
constituency. He helped bring the USS Yorktown to Patriot's Point, and 
with Senator Hollings' help, he helped fund and keep in place all that 
Mendel Rivers had brought to Charleston.
  I came to Congress shortly after Mendel Davis had left, but I found 
that everyone who knew him remembered him and highly respected him. I 
did not see him often, but always enjoyed the opportunities we did 
encounter. Like all of his friends and acquaintances, I will long 
remember him and his great service to our country and to the House. His 
wife, Jane, and all his family have my deepest sympathy.

                          ____________________