[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11403-11407]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS LUDLOW 
                                 ASHLEY

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is with a sad but grateful heart that I 
rise today on behalf of my Ohio colleagues to inform the House that 
Congressman Thomas Ludlow Ashley of Toledo, Ohio, passed from this life 
on June 15, 2010.

[[Page 11404]]

  Lud ably served in our Congress from 1955 to 1981, a career that 
spanned a quarter century, after he returned home as a corporal in the 
Army during World War II, serving in the Pacific theater.
  As the Toledo Blade editorial reminds us, ``The late Senator Edward 
Kennedy once said: 'Americans sleep in better housing today because of 
Lud Ashley.''' As chair of the House Subcommittee on Housing and 
Community Development, Lud led America in urban and small town 
revitalization, improving our condition as a society a home and block 
at a time. He voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and authored many 
pieces of legislation to rebuild America following the civil rights 
movement of that period.
  In 1977, Mr. Ashley was selected by his beloved friend and Speaker, 
Thomas ``Tip'' O'Neill, to lead the House in the first ad hoc Energy 
Committee after the first Middle East oil embargo threw America into a 
deep recession. As Speaker O'Neill said at the time, ``Lud has a 
toughness and a never-say-die attitude, and who, when he was put on the 
first team, could run with the ball.''
  Born on January 11, 1923, in Toledo, Lud was raised on Robinwood 
Avenue. He has been laid to rest nearby at Woodlawn Cemetery. He was 
the great grandson of James Mitchell Ashley of Ohio, who served before 
him from 1859-1869 and coauthored the 13th Amendment to the U.S. 
Constitution outlawing slavery. In that tradition, Lud Ashley's legacy 
was his abiding spirit of equal justice that moved civil rights forward 
in the post-World War II era.
  It is appropriate this Congress has honored both Congressmen in 
passing legislation that named the Federal courthouse at Toledo forever 
in their memory.
  Our prayers go out to the Ashley family: to his daughter Lisa and 
sons Meredith and his wife Monica, to Mark, brother Charles, sister-in-
law Gerry, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his 
wife, Kathleen.
  Our citizenry in the 9th Congressional District shall miss his great 
intellect, dogged nature, and incredible sense of humor that lifted us 
all to carry forward.
  Thank you, Thomas Ludlow Ashley.

                 [From toledoBlade.com, June 16, 2010]

     Congressman Known for Aiding Housing, Civil Rights Dies at 87

                           (By Mark Zaborney)

       Thomas Ludlow ``Lud'' Ashley, a liberal Democrat who played 
     key roles in passing landmark civil rights, housing, and 
     anti-poverty legislation while representing Toledo in 
     Congress for more than a quarter century, died yesterday of 
     melanoma at his home in Leland, Mich. He was 87.
       Mr. Ashley cut a large figure on national and local stages, 
     a genial good companion with a ready wit. He was colorful at 
     times but also a thoughtful, skilled legislator capable of 
     reconciling diverse interests to produce bills that would win 
     floor approval.
       While a student at Yale University in the 1940s, he 
     befriended George H.W. Bush, and the two remained close for 
     more than 60 years. Yesterday, former President Bush said in 
     a statement that he and his wife, Barbara, ``mourn the loss 
     of a very close friend'' and said Mr. Ashley ``might well 
     have been my very best friend in life.''
       During Mr. Ashley's congressional tenure from 1955 to 1980, 
     he brought millions of dollars home to northwest Ohio.
       On Capitol Hill, he was known as ``Mr. Housing,'' 
     shepherding America's public-housing programs through 
     Congress in the 1960s and 1970s--including more than $15 
     million in public-housing units across Lucas County.
       Through his efforts, Toledo was one of the first 30 cities 
     in which food stamps were distributed to the poor.
       With more than $11 million he secured, the Port of Toledo 
     was dredged and improved, creating one of the nation's 
     leading ports.
       ``It seemed like when the city needed the money, Lud would 
     come through,'' Harry Kessler, Toledo's mayor from 1971-77 
     and now deceased, told The Blade in 1997.
       Mr. Ashley's son Meredith, of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., said 
     yesterday that of all his father's Washington achievements, 
     the lawmaker was proudest of what he did to help Toledo.
       ``There was a lot of national legislation that Dad was 
     really proud of, but there was nothing he was more proud of 
     than scoring that $11 million grant for downtown Toledo,'' he 
     said.
       Known universally as ``Lud,'' Mr. Ashley was the 26th man 
     to represent the 9th Congressional District in the House. 
     Until his defeat in 1980, he served the district longer than 
     anyone before him.
       His great-grandfather James M. Ashley represented Toledo in 
     Congress from 1859-69 as a Republican, having left the 
     Democratic Party because of his anti-slavery beliefs.
       The federal courthouse in downtown Toledo was named the 
     James M. and Thomas W. Ludlow Ashley United States Courthouse 
     by an act of Congress two years ago. President George W. Bush 
     signed the measure, which had been sponsored by U.S. Rep. 
     Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), in a private White House ceremony, 
     and the official renaming was held in Toledo on June 3, less 
     than two weeks ago.
       Miss Kaptur, who with her re-election in 2008 surpassed Lud 
     Ashley's record for representing Toledo the longest in 
     Congress, said yesterday that ``Lud Ashley gave true meaning 
     to the term `public servant.' He followed admirably in the 
     footsteps of his abolitionist great-grandfather, James, 
     putting his genius to work in another tumultuous time and 
     helping pass the momentous 1964 Civil Rights Act.''
       James Ashley's co-authorship of the 13th Amendment, which 
     abolished slavery, and his great-grandson's work on the 
     Housing and Community Development Acts of 1974 and 1977 
     ``reflect the Ashley family's place in history on the scales 
     of justice and equality for all people,'' Miss Kaptur said.
       Mr. Ashley had been a resident in recent years of Leland, 
     Mich., near Traverse City, but noted in 2008 that his great-
     grandfather chose to settle in Toledo.
       ``It's where he was buried, and where I'm going to be 
     buried,'' Mr. Ashley told The Blade. ``Toledo's home.''
       Mr. Ashley was first elected to Congress in 1954, defeating 
     incumbent Frazier Reams, Sr., an independent, in a three-way 
     race. He proved a redoubtable vote-getter over the years, 
     dispatching some of the best opponents the Republican Party 
     could muster.
       He rose to a position of leadership in the House of 
     Representatives, becoming a close ally and personal friend of 
     House Speaker Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill, Jr.
       In 1977, Mr. O'Neill named Mr. Ashley chairman of a special 
     committee created to handle a package of bills submitted by 
     President Jimmy Carter to deal with the energy crisis.
       When energy legislation cleared Congress more than a year 
     later, Mr. O'Neill sent Mr. Ashley a letter of praise.
       ``Somebody said that it couldn't be done, but they didn't 
     know that Tip O'Neill had a friend who had knowledge, 
     ability, toughness, and a never-say-die attitude, and who, 
     when he was put on the first team, could run with the ball,'' 
     the House Speaker wrote.
       There were other instances of political courage.
       In 1959, more than a decade before President Richard 
     Nixon's landmark visit to the People's Republic of China, Mr. 
     Ashley was one of two House members to openly support that 
     nation's admission to the United Nations.
       In 1961, he was one of only six congressmen who voted to 
     cut off funds for the House Un-American Activities Committee.
       Mr. Ashley also became a senior and influential member of 
     three permanent House committees: budget; banking, finance, 
     and urban affairs; and merchant marine and fisheries, serving 
     briefly in 1980 as chairman of the latter panel.
       Mr. Ashley was known especially for his expertise in 
     housing and community development legislation.
       He was chairman of the housing and community development 
     subcommittee of the House banking, finance, and urban affairs 
     committee, and much of the legislation dealing with urban 
     housing and development problems that was passed in the 1970s 
     bore his imprint.
       In October, 1979, President Carter, at a White House 
     ceremony marking the anniversary of a community development 
     program, praised Mr. Ashley's legislative abilities.
       ``He cares about people, and he is superb in his ability to 
     conceive legislative programs and have them passed by 
     Congress,'' President Carter said.
       Mr. Ashley loyally supported Democratic presidents, but he 
     had good relations with President Gerald Ford, a Republican, 
     and many Republican members of Congress.
       While Mr. Ashley and President George H.W. Bush were Yale 
     undergraduates, the two were tapped to be members of the 
     elite secret student society Skull and Bones. In an old stone 
     building owned by the society and known as the Tomb, the 
     members confessed deep secrets to one another as part of 
     their initiation.
       ``It allowed us to come to know more about one another,'' 
     Mr. Ashley told The Blade in 1997. And from that sprang a 
     lifelong friendship.
       After Mr. Bush was elected president, Mr. Ashley spent many 
     days with him at Camp David and the White House, especially 
     in times of crisis.
       In 1990, he went to Camp David to buck up the president 
     after his budget was spurned by Congress, leading to a 
     temporary shutdown of the federal government.
       ``I have a lifetime of memories of friendship between those 
     two that stretch back to my youngest days,'' Meredith Ashley 
     said yesterday. ``We'd go up to Kennebunkport

[[Page 11405]]

     [Maine] during the summer, well before he became vice 
     president and president, and nothing ever changed in their 
     friendship after he became vice president. If anything, their 
     friendship got stronger.''
       Mr. Ashley joined Mr. Bush at the opening of the Bush 
     Presidential Library and Museum in Texas, where the Toledo 
     congressman's name appears prominently in biographies and 
     videos of the 41st president.
       Mr. Ashley, born Jan. 11, 1923, to Alida and William 
     Ashley, was raised on Robinwood Avenue in the Old West End 
     and attended Glenwood Elementary School.
       His father owned a small steel manufacturing firm on Tracy 
     Road and nearly lost his business during the Great 
     Depression. The business rebounded, and the family moved to 
     Front Street in Perrysburg. His parents sent their son to 
     Kent School in Kent, Conn., from 1939 to 1942.
       His older brother William, the heir apparent to the Ashley 
     political legacy, was killed at age 22 in May, 1944, when his 
     Army bomber exploded during a training mission over 
     Massachusetts. All 10 aboard died.
       Decades later, Mr. Ashley said he was greatly affected by 
     the loss. ``We were inseparable friends,'' Mr. Ashley said.
       Mr. Ashley was a corporal in the Army during World War II, 
     serving in the Pacific Theater.
       He graduated from Yale in 1948 and was associated with the 
     Toledo Publicity and Efficiency Commission that year.
       Michael DiSalle, then mayor of Toledo and later governor of 
     Ohio, encouraged him to study law, and Mr. Ashley enrolled in 
     the University of Toledo law school. He later transferred to 
     Ohio State University, from which he received a law degree in 
     1951.
       Mr. Ashley was hired to be a special projects coordinator 
     for Radio Free Europe and was stationed briefly in New York 
     City.
       In 1954, Mr. DiSalle was looking for a candidate to 
     challenge Mr. Reams, the independent 9th District incumbent. 
     Mr. DiSalle provided Mr. Ashley with considerable advice and 
     aid. Mr. Ashley provided the energy and image in what was the 
     first local campaign to make extensive use of television. Mr. 
     Reams was defeated by 4,000 votes.
       In 1980, when he was defeated by Republican challenger Ed 
     Weber, some political analysts linked it to the landslide 
     presidential victory of Ronald Reagan. But Mr. Ashley told 
     The Blade in 1997 that it was his own fault, saying it was 
     ``tough to get enthusiastic about another campaign. And 
     that's when you get beaten. I just didn't get the job done.''
       Miss Kaptur defeated Mr. Weber in 1982.
       Mr. Ashley was married twice. He and the former Margaret 
     Mary Sherman of Toledo married in August, 1956, in Manassas, 
     Va., but separated that fall.
       In 1967, he married Kathleen Lucey, a graduate of 
     Georgetown University law school who'd begun working as an 
     assistant in his office in 1962.
       Mr. Ashley was a student of history and politics with a 
     personal library that testified to those passions. He also 
     loved opera and gardening.
       His decision to make Leland, Mich., his home came a few 
     years after the death of Kathleen in 1997.
       Mr. Ashley was a member of the George H.W. Bush 
     Presidential Library Foundation at the time of his death and 
     earlier served on numerous other boards including those of 
     Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage 
     lenders.
       He is survived by sons Meredith (Monica) Ashley of Ho-Ho-
     Kus, N.J., and Mark Ashley of Washington; daughter, Lise 
     Murphy of Washington; brother, Charles S. Ashley, and sister-
     in-law Gerry Ashley, of Leland, and many nieces and nephews.
       A reception for family and friends will be held from 3-6 
     p.m. Sunday in the Ashley home, 402 Mill St., Leland. A 
     memorial service will be held later in Washington and 
     interment will be in Toledo's Historic Woodlawn Cemetery.
       The family requests that any donations be to the Leland 
     Township Library. Martinson Funeral Home is handling 
     arrangements.
                                  ____


                    Ashleys Served With Honor, Vigor

                        (By James M. Ashley IV)

       This Thursday, Toledo's new federal courthouse will be 
     dedicated to two men--both past congressmen from our city, 
     both named Ashley. I am proud to claim kinship with both men.
       James M. Ashley and Thomas Ludlow Ashley served their 
     constituencies and their country with vigor, honesty, and a 
     firm resolution to achieve what they saw as the best courses 
     of action for the people. They served our state for more than 
     16 percent of the time from when Ohio was admitted to the 
     United States in 1803 to the present day.
       James Ashley served in Congress during the most difficult 
     period of our history, from 1859 through 1869--the era of 
     John Brown, the Civil War, and the impeachment of President 
     Andrew Johnson. He saw slavery firsthand while he worked on 
     riverboats in the South during his youth. He became a 
     passionate and dedicated abolitionist, working within the 
     Underground Railroad.
       The turmoil of the decade before the Civil War led to the 
     formation of the Republican Party. Like Abraham Lincoln, 
     James Ashley was stirred into action by the growing national 
     emergency and ran for public office as a Republican. Both men 
     put their strongly held beliefs into action.
       In Congress, James Ashley adamantly opposed secession and 
     any compromise on slavery. He worked zealously and skillfully 
     to make the emancipation of America's slaves a reality. 
     Expressing his hard-line outlook and frontier upbringing, he 
     proposed that a congressman who favored a slavery compromise 
     should be ``kicked by a steam Jackass from Washington to 
     Illinois.''
       Such no-nonsense dedication was useful to Lincoln in his 
     efforts at emancipation. As president, Lincoln could not 
     express or overtly back anything that might weaken support 
     from border states or moderates within the Union. James 
     Ashley became Lincoln's go-to man in Congress.
       When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation during 
     the Civil War, it immediately freed only a few thousand 
     slaves. But it turned the war from a sectional struggle into 
     a crusade to free the millions of African-Americans who were 
     still held in bondage.
       The stage was set for the Constitutional amendment that 
     would finally outlaw chattel slavery throughout the country, 
     forever. James Ashley focused on the complexities of 
     achieving necessary harmony within Congress to pass this 
     monumental amendment.
       With help from the president, James Ashley garnered the 
     necessary votes and support. To those who wavered, Lincoln 
     stated that ``whatever Ashley had promised should be 
     performed.''
       The Thirteenth Amendment, authored by James Ashley, became 
     the law of the land in 1865. ``Neither slavery nor 
     involuntary servitude'' without due process for crimes 
     committed would ever again stain America.
       Thomas Ludlow Ashley, the abolitionist's great-grandson, 
     represented Toledo in Congress as a Democrat from 1955 
     through 1981. During that time, his influence and impact on 
     both Congress and this community grew immensely.
       Toledo's ethnic blue-collar voters provided Lud Ashley's 
     power base during the latter part of the industrial heyday 
     the city enjoyed during the mid-20th century. But instead of 
     riding that wave of prosperity to become part of the 
     industrial establishment, he pursued a congressional career 
     noted for liberal causes.
       ``I think probably one of the most lasting contributions 
     was my role in housing,'' Thomas Ashley said in retirement. 
     Sen. Edward Kennedy concurred: ``Americans sleep in better 
     homes today because of Lud Ashley.''
       Thomas Ashley fought urban sprawl with legislation. He 
     warned his colleagues about the tremendous flight of 
     Americans to suburbs from the inner cities--a crushing fact 
     of national life in the 21st century.
       Thomas Ashley's stance on civil rights, community block 
     grants, and enterprise tax zones contributed to his image as 
     an urban liberal. But the late Judge William Skow, a former 
     aide to the congressman, noted that he was a moderate on 
     fiscal issues.
       Whatever the label, Thomas Ashley's career centered on 
     fighting racism and poverty. It was a natural extension of 
     his family legacy. Like James Ashley, he fought the good 
     fight.
       James M. Ashley IV, of Maumee, is a senior lecturer in 
     sociology and anthropology at the University of Toledo. He is 
     a great-grandson of James M. Ashley and first cousin of 
     Thomas L. Ashley.
                                  ____


                          Thomas Ludlow Ashley

       The late Sen. Edward Kennedy once said: ``Americans sleep 
     in better homes today because of Lud Ashley.'' He was right.
       Mr. Ashley, the longtime Toledo congressman who died this 
     week at age 87, chaired a House committee on housing and 
     community development. For years, he worked hard to provide 
     federal grants to improve low and moderate-income housing 
     nationally, as well as close to home.
       Thomas Ludlow Ashley also was important to and instrumental 
     in the development of the city where he was born, which he 
     represented in Congress from 1955 until 1981.
       ``Lud'' Ashley was the great-grandson of James Ashley, who 
     settled in frontier Toledo, changed political parties because 
     of his opposition to slavery, and represented Toledo in 
     Congress during the Civil War. James Ashley was a co-author 
     of the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery. In that 
     tradition, his great-grandson sought to free Americans from 
     the squalor of terrible housing.
       Lud Ashley served in the Pacific during World War II before 
     he attended Yale University. He and George H.W. Bush, who 
     would become President decades later, were classmates and 
     fellow members of the ultra-elite secret society Skull and 
     Bones. Though they were of different political parties, the 
     men remained longtime friends.
       Mr. Ashley earned a law degree at Ohio State University and 
     worked for Radio Free Europe before he returned home in 1954 
     to campaign for Congress. He ousted independent Rep. Frazier 
     Reams, in part because of the support of the late Paul Block, 
     Jr., publisher of The Blade, who felt Toledo's interests 
     would be best represented by a member of Congress with ties 
     to a major political party.

[[Page 11406]]

       During his career, Mr. Ashley landed millions of dollars 
     for public housing in Lucas County. He got a crucial $11 
     million to improve Toledo's port.
       Late in his career, during the energy crisis of the 1970s, 
     Mr. Ashley was chairman of a special committee that 
     successfully steered through Congress a controversial package 
     of bills proposed by President Jimmy Carter that were 
     designed to reduce oil consumption.
       That assignment won him some enemies in the auto industry 
     but high praise from then-House Speaker Thomas ``Tip'' 
     O'Neill, who counted Mr. Ashley as a personal friend.
       In 1980, Mr. Ashley was defeated for re-election by 
     Republican Ed Weber in a stunning upset. Mr. Ashley fell 
     victim to Ronald Reagan's landslide victory and huge negative 
     feeling against the Carter administration.
       His death came days after the federal courthouse in Toledo 
     was renamed in both his and his great-grandfather's honor. 
     That tribute is appropriate.
       When the energy bills were passed, Rep. Ashley knew the 
     legislation was unpopular with Jeep. But he responded: ``My 
     view is that my district elected me to represent, when called 
     upon, a wider national interest.''
       That is who Thomas Ludlow Ashley was. As he is laid to rest 
     in his hometown, that is how Toldeo's congressman should be 
     remembered.
                                  ____


                   `Gracious' Right Label for Ashley

       It always saddens me when a great warrior dies, and among 
     other things Lud Ashley was a warrior (``Congressman known 
     for aiding housing, civil rights dies at 87,'' June 16).
       In the 1980 campaign, we debated at least six times. 
     Although an incumbent's strategy would usually be to deny the 
     opponent the public forum of a debate, Lud never failed to 
     accept any challenge.
       Of course, he was well informed, and I believe our joint 
     appearances led to a clarification of the issues and opposing 
     viewpoints in an intelligent and civil manner that we don't 
     always see at election time.
       Lud Ashley's name is etched in the history of Toledo and 
     Lucas County. For 26 years, he was an important member of the 
     liberal Democratic wing that controlled the House of 
     Representatives. Always a strong advocate of Toledo, he 
     brought millions of dollars to Toledo and the area during his 
     tenure in office.
       He was a likable person, with good friends on both sides of 
     the aisle. At the time of his defeat, he was very gracious to 
     me. Two years later, at the time of my defeat, he was equally 
     gracious and considerate.
       It is very fitting that the federal courthouse here is now 
     named for Lud Ashley and his great-grandfather James Ashley, 
     the Republican abolitionist congressman during the Civil War.
     Ed Weber.
                                  ____


               [From the Washington Post, June 16, 2010]

 Ohio Congressman and Public Housing Supporter Thomas W. Ludlow Ashley 
                               Dies at 87

                          (By T. Rees Shapiro)

       Thomas W. Ludlow Ashley, 87, a 13-term Ohio Democrat in the 
     U.S. House of Representatives who was chiefly known for his 
     work on housing and addressing the energy crisis of the 
     1970s, died of melanoma June 15 at his home in Leland, Mich.
       Mr. Ashley--known colloquially as ``Lud''--served Ohio's 
     9th District, which includes Lucas County and the city of 
     Toledo, from 1955 to 1981.
       As chairman of a House subcommittee on housing and 
     community development, Mr. Ashley was a key supporter of 
     legislation to provide federal grants to cities and counties 
     to improve low- and moderate-income housing.
       ``Americans sleep in better homes today because of Lud 
     Ashley,'' Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) once said of Mr. 
     Ashley's extensive work on low-income housing legislation.
       In 1977, Mr. Ashley was appointed to an ad hoc energy 
     committee by House Speaker Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill Jr. (D-
     Mass.), who said he picked Mr. Ashley because he had 
     ``toughness, and a never-say-die attitude, and who, when he 
     was put on the first team, could run with the ball.''
       A year later, Mr. Ashley helped the 40-member bipartisan 
     group pass a series of energy bills aimed at reducing the 
     nation's use of oil and increasing the budget for research 
     into alternative energy sources.
       Upon his appointment to the position, Mr. Ashley assured 
     critics that he would not be close to the automobile 
     industry. At the time, Toledo housed the headquarters of many 
     car-parts manufacturers and an American Motors plant that 
     produced Jeeps.
       ``That district is a part of me,'' Mr. Ludlow told the New 
     York Times in 1977. ``It is responsible for the perspective I 
     bring with me. But my view is that my district elected me to 
     represent, when called upon, a larger national interest.''
       Thomas William Ludlow Ashley was born Jan. 11, 1923, in 
     Toledo. His great-grandfather, James Mitchell Ashley, served 
     Ohio's 9th District from 1859 to 1869 as a Republican, having 
     switched from the Democratic Party because he was vehemently 
     opposed to slavery.
       The elder Ashley co-authored the 13th Amendment abolishing 
     slavery and led the campaign to impeach President Andrew 
     Johnson, who he claimed had conspired to assassinate Abraham 
     Lincoln in order to assume the presidency. He was also 
     chairman of a committee on territories and helped choose the 
     names for Wyoming and Montana.
       After Army service in the Pacific during World War II, the 
     younger Mr. Ashley graduated from Yale University in 1948. At 
     Yale, he became close friends with George H.W. Bush when they 
     were members of the Skull and Bones secret society.
       He received a law degree from Ohio State University in 1951 
     and practiced law for a short time with his father before 
     moving to New York to work for Radio Free Europe.
       Before losing his House seat in the Reagan landslide of 
     1980, the only time Mr. Ashley had come close to being 
     defeated was in 1974. The race occurred only months after 
     he'd been convicted of drunken driving and resisting arrest 
     in Toledo, and Mr. Ashley eked out a victory over his 
     Republican opponent by a margin of 3,500 votes.
       Mr. Ashley directed federal funds toward his district, 
     including more than $15 million for public housing units and 
     $11 million for the improvement of the Port of Toledo. By an 
     act of Congress in recent years, the city's federal 
     courthouse was named in his and his great-grandfather's 
     honor.
       His marriage to Margaret Mary Sherman ended in divorce. His 
     second wife, Kathleen Lucey Ashley, died in 1997.
       He had two children from his first marriage; two children 
     from his second marriage; and a brother.

  Mr. BOEHNER. Madam Speaker, Thomas ``Lud'' Ashley was a tireless 
public servant who ably served Ohio and our nation for more than a 
quarter century.
  A World War II veteran, Lud was raised in Toledo in a family with 
deep Ohio roots and a strong sense of patriotism. Lud's brother William 
was killed in an army training accident in 1944. His great grandfather, 
James Ashley, represented Toledo and Ohio's 9th Congressional District 
as a Republican during the Civil War era, co-authoring the 13th 
Amendment to abolish slavery.
  As a member of Congress, Lud added to his great-grandfather's legacy, 
helping pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with fellow 
Ohio Republican Congressman Bill McCulloch. Lud was also a strong 
advocate for the Toledo area. To this day he is remembered for his role 
in securing federal support to build the Port of Toledo into one of the 
nation's key hubs for trade and industry.
  Though an unabashed Democrat, Lud was well-liked and respected on 
both sides of the aisle. That George H.W. Bush would count him among 
his best life-long friends certainly speaks to Lud's character. Lud 
will be missed, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and 
friends.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life 
and public service of former Congressman Thomas Ludlow Ashley. 
Representing Ohio's 9th District, ``Lud'' Ashley served in the House of 
Representatives for 26 years. Throughout his tenure, Congressman Ashley 
successfully balanced his loyalty towards his home city of Toledo and 
his responsibility to the country at large.
  As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community 
Development, Lud was an important figure in passing legislation which 
provided federal grants that improved low and moderate-income housing 
nationwide. During the 1970's oil crisis, he was appointed to an Ad Hoc 
energy committee that passed a series of bills which reduced the 
nation's oil use and increased the budget for researching alternative 
energy sources. Among his many other accomplishments, Lud secured 
millions of dollars in federal grants to improve the Port of Toledo and 
maintain this vital Midwestern economic pathway.
  His achievements were products of his tenacity. Former Speaker of the 
House Tip O'Neill praised Ashley for his ``toughness, and a never-say-
die attitude, and who, when he was put on the first team, could run 
with the ball.'' Furthermore, Lud did not hesitate to work with 
Republican lawmakers. He was a lifelong friend of President George H.W. 
Bush, had a good relationship with President Gerald Ford, and made 
countless other alliances with members across the aisle. I will 
remember his commitment to public service and helping the American 
people.
  Ms. KAPTUR. I ask that my colleagues now do rise and remember him and 
his service with a moment of silence.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will observe a moment of silence.

[[Page 11407]]



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