[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 662-663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1515
                             RIC WILLIAMSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor of the House this 
afternoon to remember one of the most dedicated public servants from 
the State of Texas we lost on December 30 of this year.
  Ric Williamson was a member of the Texas Transportation Commission 
and served as that body's Chair that oversees statewide activities for 
the Texas

[[Page 663]]

Department of Transportation. He was appointed to that position in 
March of 2001 by Governor Rick Perry and in January of 2004 became the 
chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission.
  Prior to his appointment, he served in the Texas State Legislature 
from 1985 to 1988. Numerous professional and legislative 
accomplishments are attributed to Ric Williamson, and many awards from 
the Texas media, including twice being recognized as one of the 10 best 
legislators in the Texas State Legislature in 1989 and 1991.
  Ric was born in Abilene, Texas, and graduated with a B.A. degree from 
the University of Texas in 1974. He later founded his own natural gas 
production company. He made his home in Weatherford, Texas, with his 
wife, Mary Ann. He has three beautiful daughters, Melissa, Katherine 
and Sara, who spoke so eloquently on behalf of their father in the 
memorial service that we held this past January 3. Ric has two 
grandchildren. Most recently, his grandson was born at the beginning of 
December of this past year.
  Chairman Williamson brought a sense of purpose, a sense of vision, 
and a sense of urgency that had not previously been present in the 
State of Texas when it came to issues regarding transportation. He 
established a strategic plan, he set real goals, and then he did 
everything within his power to meet those goals.
  He wanted to reduce congestion. He wanted to improve safety. He 
wanted to expand economic opportunity, increase the value of the assets 
in the Texas highway system, and clean the air.
  One of his greatest legacies was to empower local leaders to make 
local transportation decisions. The best example of this empowerment is 
the State Highway 121 Project in my district of the Dallas/Fort Worth 
area. This brought over $3 billion in highway construction funds to 
north Texas. At a time when the rest of Texas and, indeed, many other 
areas of the Nation have money only to put towards maintenance, we have 
money available for new construction because of Ric's vision.
  He wasn't always easy to live with, he wasn't always easy to work 
with, but you always knew where you stood with Ric Williamson; you were 
never left guessing.
  He was more than just a leader for Texas; he helped make Texas a 
leader for the Nation. The United States Department of Transportation 
now looks toward Texas as a model for other States to use to employ 
some of those innovative solutions to their challenging problems. And 
that was, in whole part, due to Ric's unique vision for the State of 
Texas.
  Shortly after Ric Williamson's death, the Federal Highway 
Administrator Richard Capka said, ``He helped pave the way for some of 
the Nation's most innovative transportation projects, and he is largely 
responsible for bringing highway financing for Texas and the rest of 
the Nation into the 21st century.'' He got Texans thinking. He got 
other Americans thinking on a broad and deep level about issues 
regarding transportation in a way that probably had never been done 
before.
  During the memorial service for Ric Williamson, and many people got 
up and spoke on his behalf, it was frequently brought out how Ric 
Williamson regarded politics as a full contact sport. He would go at it 
with everything he had. And again, you always knew where you stood with 
Ric Williamson and he wasn't always easy to live with. But Ric 
Williamson believed that these discussions should take place within the 
light of day, not behind closed doors, not in some smoke-filled room. 
So, it's to his credit that he pushed these ideas in the State of 
Texas, but it was never done in secret; it was never done behind some 
veil. Everyone always knew where Ric Williamson was and what he was 
doing.
  He will always be remembered by his friends and associates as a true 
champion for all things Texan. He was unafraid to challenge the status 
quo. He was highly regarded for bringing innovative ideas to provide 
safe, economic, and reliable transportation to improve the quality of 
daily lives of all Texans.
  On a strictly personal level, Ric remained a patient mentor to me, a 
steadfast friend, and I will greatly miss him.

                          ____________________