[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5330-5331]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE STAN PARRIS OF 
                                VIRGINIA

  (Mr. MORAN of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor former 
Congressman Stan Parris, who passed away on March 27. Mr. Parris 
represented the Eighth District in Virginia in the House from 1973 to 
1974, and then again throughout the 1980s, from 1981 to 1990.
  He was a very hardworking advocate for Northern Virginia and his 
constituents. He was a fighter pilot, a veteran of the Korean War. He 
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and an Air 
Medal for his service.
  He was known for giving out his home phone number, for listening to 
people regardless of their views; I'm not sure his successor has given 
out his home phone as often. Mr. Parris had a major impact on Northern 
Virginia by supporting flood control projects and bridges. He laid the 
groundwork for the Four Mile Run project. He put carpool lanes on 
Interstate 395. He transferred control of the airports from the Federal 
Aviation Administration to a regional airport authority. He led an 
effort to move the D.C. prison from Lorton. When the National Football 
League blacked out broadcasts of games that were sold out, he got the 
league to change its policy.
  As a member of the Banking and Finance Committee, he proved prescient 
in cautioning about the looming savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. 
He graduated from George Washington University Law School. He owned 
several car dealerships. He was a State Delegate and was on the Fairfax 
County Board of Supervisors. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, 
Martha Harper Parris of Mathews, Virginia, his three children, and his 
two grandchildren.
  I would now like to yield to my colleague, the dean of the Virginia 
delegation, Congressman Frank Wolf.
  Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman.
  Madam Speaker, this is a sad occasion as we inform the House of the 
passing of a former colleague, Representative Stan Parris, who died on 
March 27 at the age of 80.
  Stan loved the people's House and proudly served Virginia's Eighth 
District for six terms. I had the privilege of serving with Stan for 10 
of those 12 years. He was a good friend. He had many legislative 
accomplishments for the people in northern Virginia, in addition to the 
ones my colleagues, Mr. Moran, said. I think many would agree that one 
most significant accomplishment was the transfer of Dulles and National 
Airports from the FAA to a regional airports authority, an effort that 
consumed several years, but eventually led to two of the finest 
airports in the region.

[[Page 5331]]

  He was not only an outstanding Member of Congress, but he was a 
Korean War hero. Someone said if you wanted to understand Stan Parris, 
you should read the book ``The Right Stuff'' because he had the right 
stuff. He was a pilot, had been shot down during the Korean War. His 
airplane landed on power lines, and he was later rescued in North 
Korea. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and 
the Air Medal. He was also a State legislator and a local legislator, 
businessman and attorney. He recently had made his home in Mathews, 
Virginia, with his wife, Martie. And so to Martie and Stan's three 
children and two grandchildren, we express our deepest sympathies.
  Funeral services for Stan will be held in late June, I believe June 
28, with a burial at Arlington National Cemetery. He was a good Member 
of Congress, and he loved this institution as much as anybody that I 
ever met.

               [From the Washington Post, Mar. 29, 2010]

        Stanford E. Parris, 80, Dies; N. Va. Member of Congress

                           (By Matt Schudel)

       Stanford E. Parris, 80, who served six terms in the U.S. 
     House of Representatives as a Republican from Northern 
     Virginia's Eighth District, died March 27 of heart disease at 
     his home in Mathews County, Va.
       Mr. Parris, who was a lawyer and car dealer before entering 
     politics, was first elected in 1972, then returned to 
     Congress from 1981 to 1991. A onetime Air Force fighter 
     pilot, he survived several hard-fought campaigns and was 
     among the first Republicans to gain a foothold in modern-day 
     Virginia politics.
       During his first term in Congress, he won the gratitude of 
     football fans by introducing a bill prohibiting the National 
     Football League from imposing television blackouts of sold-
     out games. He supported efforts to improve transportation in 
     Northern Virginia, including carpool lanes on Interstate 395, 
     and helped transfer control of Dulles and National airports 
     from the Federal Aviation Administration to a regional 
     airport authority.
       As ranking Republican on the House District Committee, he 
     was a persistent critic of the D.C. government and often 
     quarreled with then-Mayor Marion Barry. Mr. Parris also led 
     an effort to move the D.C. prison from Lorton, which was 
     finally accomplished after he left Congress.
       Mr. Parris possessed a blunt, direct style that served him 
     well on the campaign trail. He had three epic electoral 
     battles with Democratic Rep. Herbert E. Harris II, losing in 
     1974 before ousting Harris from Congress in 1980. Mr. Parris 
     defeated Harris in a rematch in 1982, spending $700,000 in 
     Virginia's most expensive congressional campaign up to that 
     point.
       ``They were tough campaigns,'' recalled U.S. Rep. Frank R. 
     Wolf (R-Va.), who served in Congress with Mr. Parris. ``They 
     were almost like the Lincoln-Douglas debates.''
       Describing his political approach to The Washington Post in 
     1989, Mr. Parris said: ``Somewhere along the line, I learned 
     the best thing to do was to simply stand up and say what you 
     mean, mean what you say, and do what you commit to.''
       Stanford Elmer Parris was born Sept. 9, 1929, in Champaign, 
     Ill., and was a graduate of the University of Illinois.
       During the Korean War, he piloted fighter jets and was once 
     rescued after being shot down over North Korea. He received 
     the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal.
       He graduated from George Washington University law school 
     in 1958, settled in Fairfax County and practiced law. He 
     later owned car dealerships in Woodbridge and Manassas.
       After serving on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 
     he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1969, as 
     one of nine Republicans in the body. He was Virginia's 
     secretary of the commonwealth in 1978.
       Mr. Parris unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination 
     for governor in 1985 and 1989 and failed in a bid for the 
     Virginia state Senate in 1995. After losing his congressional 
     seat to James P. Moran Jr. (D) in 1990, he was administrator 
     of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. and was of 
     counsel to the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro.
       He was also a founder of the Flying Circus Aerodrome in 
     Bealeton, where he took part in aerobatic demonstrations.
       In recent years, Mr. Parris lived in Mathews County and 
     Melbourne, Fla.
       His marriages to Jane McCullough Parris and Sonja Parris 
     ended in divorce.
       Survivors include his wife of 28 years, Martha Harper 
     Parris of Mathews County and Melbourne; three children from 
     his first marriage, Michael Parris of Los Angeles, Ann Parris 
     of Culpeper and Susan Parris Littlewood of Mount Airy; and 
     two grandsons.

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I thank the gentleman. Perhaps now we could 
have a few moments of silence for both departed colleagues.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will observe a moment of silence 
in memory of our two former colleagues from New Jersey and Virginia.

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