[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15673-15676]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIVES OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVES PHIL CRANE AND LANE EVANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) is 
recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is great to follow my 
colleague, but we have some other colleagues here tonight that I want 
to make sure that they get an opportunity to talk about their 
experience with the two Members that we are here to honor tonight, 
Congressman Phil Crane and Congressman Lane Evans.
  For that reason, I yield to my colleague from the great State of 
Georgia (Mr. Woodall).
  Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from Illinois 
yielding to me.
  If Phil Crane were sitting here on the front row tonight, he wouldn't 
have any idea who I am, but when you do great things, you don't ever 
know who those efforts, who that toiling, that sweating, that genuine 
effort that goes into what you do, you never know who that is going to 
affect.
  You have heard it here tonight. It was 1973. Folks were talking about 
how it is that we could bring conservatism to the United States 
Congress. It is Paul Weyrich, it is Phil Crane, and the RSC, the 
Republican Study Committee, is born.
  At that time, they thought the Republican leadership was a little too 
liberal in the House. They thought we needed another voice to kind of 
balance that leadership out. Imagine that, the audacity that a young 
Congressman--he had been on the Hill about 4 years at that time, won in 
a special election in 1969--the audacity that Phil Crane had, as a 
young Congressman, was to say, ``Maybe we need some balance in the 
discussion. Maybe we need a place to debate.''
  Now, that is 1973. Fast forward, it is 2014, and if you go and visit 
with colleagues today who are members of that Republican Study 
Committee that has survived and grown under Phil Crane's leadership and 
others, they will tell you that when it comes to healthy debate, that 
may be the single best location in the entire United States House of 
Representatives. I want you to think about that.

[[Page 15674]]

  Again, if Phil Crane were sitting here on the front row, he would not 
remember the times that we have met because I was a minor blip on his 
radar, but what he dreamed has become the single largest and most 
productive forum for the discussion of ideas that exists in the 
people's House in the United States of America.
  I always wonder about the dreams that we don't hear about, those 
dreams that had they materialized would have affected dozens of lives, 
hundreds of lives, thousands of lives, but because the dreamer did not 
press on and the dream was never materialized, we will never know.
  Phil Crane was not just a dreamer. Phil Crane was a doer, and because 
of the work, the sweat, the toil that he invested, not dozens, not 
hundreds, but thousands of Members of Congress who have followed have 
had an opportunity to be among their colleagues and grapple with the 
pathway forward.
  So much of what we do here on the House floor seems so scripted 
today. What Phil Crane wanted was an opportunity for us to discuss, an 
opportunity for us to challenge one another, an opportunity for us to 
make each other better.
  For all the things that Phil accomplished, for all the impact he had 
on his family and his friends, this may seem minor, but if you are a 
young Member in the U.S. House of Representatives, the legacy that Phil 
Crane left behind isn't something; in many cases, it is everything.
  I cannot imagine what this institution would be today without the 
groundwork that he laid those many years ago and continued groundwork 
he continued to lay until the day he left this institution. It is a 
proud legacy from the great State of Illinois, and I am grateful to my 
friend for allowing me to come down and talk about that tonight.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Georgia. The gentleman from Georgia mentioned the great legacy that 
Phil Crane left, and it was a great legacy that not only former 
Congressman Phil Crane left for those of us who follow him in Illinois, 
it is a great legacy for former Congressman Lane Evans that he left 
too.
  My colleague from Georgia also mentioned what would a young Member of 
Congress say if Phil Crane were here today and the inspiration that he 
gave to all of us.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague and my good friend from the 
great State of Illinois (Mr. Schock), one of the youngest Members of 
Congress to offer his remarks.
  Mr. SCHOCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Illinois for 
yielding the time.
  I also want to thank my colleague from Illinois, the distinguished 
dean of the Illinois Republican delegation for organizing the tribute 
to the late Phil Crane.
  The history of American conservatism, I believe, cannot be written 
without mentioning Phil Crane. Phil was born into a large family, to 
stalwart Republican parents. Crane's bedtime stories may well have been 
the Federalist Papers or the collected works of Edmund Burke.
  After completing his Ph.D. in history at Indiana University, Phil 
moved to my hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and he began teaching 
history, philosophy, and economics at my alma mater, Bradley 
University. For years, Crane filled his classes with students 
captivated by his engaging lectures, and he inspired them by his 
commitment to America's founding principles.
  All the while, he worked to build conservative youth movements from 
the ground up, creating leading groups like the Young America's 
Foundation and the American Conservative Union. Together with the 
pantheon of American conservatism, William F. Buckley, Ed Feulner, Stan 
Evans, Phyllis Schlafly, Barry Goldwater, and even Ronald Reagan, Crane 
helped lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness.
  I don't think it is an overstatement to suggest that a governing 
Republican majority would never have been possible without the 
gentleman from Illinois, the Honorable Phil Crane.
  He was willing to enter the arena, to confront the ideologies of 
socialism, communism, and Big Government liberalism head on. He armed 
conservatives with the intellectual firepower they needed to assault 
the bulwark of Big Government, and he lived long enough to see the New 
Right emerge strong and resilient.
  In Congress, he was a fierce advocate for free trade and pro-growth 
economic reforms, and he was a champion of commonsense pension reforms 
that were needed to help the middle class.
  A few years ago, Phil was honored at a dinner here in Washington for 
his contributions to the conservative movement. That night, surrounded 
by the men and women he had worked alongside for more than three 
decades, he reflected on his earliest memories growing up as a 
conservative in Illinois.
  He told the crowd that night how every time when he was a young boy 
going to visit his grandfather, that his father would make him shake 
his grandfather's hand, and he would say, ``Son, remember shaking that 
hand. That hand has shaken the hand of Abraham Lincoln.''
  Phil Crane grew up with a deep sense that he had a responsibility and 
a calling to keep the party of Lincoln tied forever to the principles 
of free enterprise, individual liberty, and peace through strength.
  Through his entire public service, Phil Crane fought hard for the 
things he believed in, and along the way, he managed to mentor and 
train an army of young conservatives to join him.
  There is something poignant about the fact that Phil Crane lived long 
enough to see the largest Republican majority in the House of 
Representatives in his lifetime. He even got to see his home State of 
Illinois elect a Republican Governor, the first time since 1892 that a 
sitting President's home State Governor switched parties.
  In his eight decades, Phil labored to build the conservative 
movement. In his final days, he surely sensed that his labors were not 
in vain.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Thank you to my good friend from 
Illinois.
  Mr. Speaker, I would remiss if I wasn't able to offer my prepared 
remarks on Congressman Crane and also Congressman Evans before we 
recognize some of our other friends who are here tonight.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. Speaker, I want to say it is a privilege for me to be able to 
stand on the floor of this House to recognize the life and 
accomplishments of two great leaders from the State of Illinois.
  Congressman Phil Crane was first elected in the 13th District of 
Illinois to represent the northwest Chicago suburbs in 1969, and he 
held that office for nearly 40 years. At the end of his career, he was 
the longest-serving Republican Member of the U.S. House of 
Representatives. Congressman Crane was, in a word, a legend. He was one 
of those larger-than-life politicians that we often talk about or read 
about in history books but who rarely exists today.
  We also take the time today to mourn the loss of former Congressman 
Lane Evans. Last week, former Congressman Lane Evans passed away after 
a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Mr. Evans, a former marine, was 
elected in 1982, at the age of 31, and served the people of the 17th 
District for parts of three decades. In fact, over the course of his 
tenure, Mr. Evans served the many parts of Illinois that I am now lucky 
and proud enough to represent. During his 24 years in the House, he was 
a staunch advocate for our Nation's veterans and for America's working 
men and women, and his service to his constituents was second to none. 
He will be remembered as a fighter both for the people he represented 
and against the disease that eventually took his life.
  It is fitting today that Republicans and Democrats together have come 
to the floor to honor the lives of two great public servants from 
Illinois and to thank them for their service to our country. We send 
our thoughts and prayers to the families of Congressman Evans and 
Congressman Crane during this very difficult time.

[[Page 15675]]

  Mr. Speaker, I mentioned Republicans and Democrats coming to the 
floor of the House to honor these two great men, and it gives me great 
privilege to yield to my good friend and colleague from the great State 
of Illinois, Mr. Dan Lipinski.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor two of our former colleagues, Phil Crane 
and Lane Evans.
  First, I didn't have the opportunity to serve with Mr. Crane, but 
Phil Crane was certainly a giant, as some of our previous speakers have 
said--a giant of the conservative movement. He certainly served here in 
this institution but also just in the wider circles, especially in the 
eighties. He ran for President in 1980 but lost to Ronald Reagan. Yet 
many of those things that Ronald Reagan brought forward and saw through 
were things that Phil Crane stood for. While I may not agree with 
everything that Phil Crane did, there is really no denying the fact 
that he stood up for what he believed in. He fought very hard for what 
he believed in, and he was a great American patriot. I really, truly 
believe that.
  I also want to honor our former colleague and a friend and a mentor 
of mine, Lane Evans.
  From his time in the Marine Corps to nearly a quarter century in this 
House, Lane always put his country first. He bravely served in the 
Marine Corps during the Vietnam war. His experience in the military and 
his firsthand knowledge of veterans' issues led him to become a leading 
advocate for veterans during his time in Congress. Certainly, many 
would say he was the leading advocate on issues critical to veterans, 
such as posttraumatic stress disorder, the effects of Agent Orange, and 
homelessness. He was consistently a leader in crafting real policy 
solutions. In addition to the great work on veterans' issues, Lane 
always dutifully served his constituents in the State of Illinois. He 
was a strong advocate for working people, and he was one of the first 
to see the need for renewable energies.
  Personally, my own experience in Congress began about 30 years ago 
when I interned for Lane Evans. During my time in his office, he 
certainly showed me how to be a truly compassionate and effective 
leader in the House. Lane really cared about people, and that showed 
through in everything that he did. He was very passionate in all that 
he did. During his final years, he again showed his courage and 
strength in his fight with Parkinson's disease. If this terrible 
disease had not afflicted Lane, I am sure he would still be here today, 
fighting for his constituents, for hardworking families, and for all of 
our veterans, especially those who are coming home today.
  I send out my prayers to Lane and his family. We truly miss him. I 
had the opportunity to serve 4 years with Lane before he had to retire 
because of Parkinson's, but I really miss having Lane around. I think 
the example that he gave is truly something that we can look up to and 
emulate in what he did for the State of Illinois, along with what Phil 
Crane did for the State.
  We had two men who were very passionate. They had very different 
ideas, but they were very passionate about what they believed in. They 
fought hard for those things, and that certainly deserves our great 
respect. Our prayers go out to their families on this loss.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Thank you to my good friend from 
Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), who had the opportunity to get to know Lane 
Evans not only as an intern but also as a colleague.
  I never had that opportunity to serve with either Mr. Crane or Mr. 
Evans, but I had the opportunity to be able to work for the dean of our 
Republican Illinois delegation, Mr. Shimkus, who was here earlier 
tonight, and I got to meet both of these men during my time in working 
for Mr. Shimkus in the late nineties and throughout the last decade. I 
can tell you that both gentlemen were pillars of public service for 
very different reasons. They both served their State well. They served 
their districts well, and they served their constituents well.
  As a matter of fact, I had the opportunity--and it might have been 
during one of the times that Mr. Shimkus mentioned. It was a flight 
that Mr. Crane was taking through Springfield that ended up in 
Vandalia, where Mr. Crane appeared at an event on behalf of Mr. 
Shimkus, and I got a chance to hear him speak personally. His passion 
for free markets, his passion for economic development and economic 
growth, and his passion for free trade was evident during his 
discussion. That was one of the few times I got the chance to actually 
experience what many, when I was growing up, experienced when watching 
Phil Crane, in person, run for the Presidency in 1980.
  Let me remind you, Mr. Speaker, that, in 1980, we had many 
Illinoisans vying to send to the Presidency; not only President Reagan, 
who was born in Illinois--in Dixon, Illinois--but we also had Mr. 
Crane, Congressman Phil Crane, and also John Anderson, Congressman John 
Anderson. It looks like Illinois was the center point of the 
Presidential election in 1980, and Illinois still, obviously, plays a 
great role in the White House today. This is an opportunity that we 
have to stand here to talk about bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., 
something that, when many people turn their TVs on, they don't see. 
They don't see the bipartisanship that we are seeing here tonight.
  That chance to see Congressman Crane in action helped inspire me to 
want to become a Member of this institution. He served the 13th 
District that I am now blessed enough to represent--that district 
starting with Marguerite Church and Donald Rumsfeld and then Phil 
Crane. Then we had Robert McClory and John Erlenborn, Harris Fawell, 
and Judy Biggert, who served the 13th District of Illinois before I 
did. Now I get the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of people 
like Phil Crane and those aforementioned Members of this great 
institution, and it humbles me every day to know that I get the chance 
to follow in their footsteps.
  With Congressman Lane Evans, I got a chance to know him and his 
successor, Congressman Phil Hare, who was once a fellow staffer for 
Lane Evans. We sat next to each other in Hillsboro, Illinois, talking 
about how Republicans and Democrats can work together to make sure that 
water infrastructure needs and sewer infrastructure needs are addressed 
in Montgomery County, Illinois. I now get a chance to serve Montgomery 
County, Illinois. I think back to that time when Lane Evans never 
thought he would leave the Rock Island area and the Adams County area 
and represent places like Montgomery County, Illinois, but he did, and 
he did it well. We got a chance to work together as fellow staffers--
Phil Hare and I and Jerry Lack, who was another one of his economic 
development coordinators in the district that I worked so closely with. 
Opportunities like that to see leadership in action and bipartisanship 
in action is another reason I wanted to be a Member of this great 
institution.
  Lane Evans never thought that he would come down and represent areas 
like Pana, Illinois, and my home county, Christian County, Illinois. 
With Lane Evans, I remember the first time he was in Pana and actually 
called it ``Pannah.'' Do you know what? Lane Evans was the type of guy 
who could laugh at himself. If you make a mistake in this business, 
sometimes that mistake is turned into a 30-second ad, but Lane Evans 
was able to take that mistake and turn it into humor and to represent 
Pana, Illinois, extremely well.
  Mr. Speaker, I learned a lot about constituent service from my former 
boss, John Shimkus, but I also learned a lot about constituent service 
from Lane Evans. Lane Evans taught many of us that it is the most 
important part of our job to make sure you answer every phone call, 
that you answer every time a constituent writes you a letter--or, in 
today's day and age, an email--and that you make sure you respond to 
their requests because members of our communities--the citizens of the 
13th District of Illinois--don't call us at the beginning of their 
problems. They call us to help break through the bureaucracy of 
Washington, D.C., when they are at the end

[[Page 15676]]

of their ropes, when they have already called the Federal agencies, 
when they have already not gotten the answers that they needed or 
deserved. What John Shimkus and Lane Evans taught me while seeing them 
in action was that responding to our constituents' needs is what 
matters most, and it is a part of our job that I appreciate the most.
  Now, I mentioned Lane Evans came down to central Illinois in a new 
district that included a county that I now am blessed enough to 
represent. It is Macoupin County, Illinois. I would be remiss if I 
didn't take this opportunity in this time that we are honoring the 
service of Congressman Phil Crane and honoring the service of 
Congressman Lane Evans to honor another gentleman, another public 
servant from Macoupin County, Illinois, who also passed away 
unexpectedly at the age of 50 this week. His name is Brad Demuzio. Brad 
was the son of long-time State Senator--an institution in central 
Illinois--Vince Demuzio.
  I got to know Brad when I got the chance to meet his dad, Vince, and 
Vince was a powerhouse in Illinois politics. We didn't share the same 
partisan affiliation, but what we shared was friendship and 
opportunities to serve central Illinois together. Vince passed away 
from colon cancer a few years back, and he was succeeded in the 
Illinois State Senate by his wife, Deanna, who happens to currently be 
the mayor of Carlinville, Illinois, and somebody I am blessed enough to 
be able to work with today. Before her, Brad Demuzio served Macoupin 
County and Carlinville as mayor for multiple terms. Brad was also the 
director of the Illinois Secretary of State Police. Brad served in that 
position until he passed away unexpectedly last week. Brad was a public 
servant, true and true, for his community and for our communities.
  There was a time in the Illinois State Capitol when we had somebody 
who was mentally ill walk in with a loaded gun and fire a shot that 
killed a friend of mine, Bill Wozniak, who was guarding the door. Brad 
Demuzio helped lead the charge to make sure that we created an Illinois 
State Capitol Police force that secured the Illinois State Capitol to 
ensure that Bill Wozniak was the last person to be killed in the line 
of duty, guarding the Illinois State Capitol. Brad Demuzio worked with 
our secretary of state, Jesse White, to make sure that this police 
force was put into action.
  That is true leadership. That is public service. That is why I stand 
here, on the floor of the House today, to also honor my friend who died 
way too young, at age 50--former mayor, former director of the Illinois 
Secretary of State Police, and my friend, Brad Demuzio.

                              {time}  1945

  So it gives me great pleasure tonight to honor these three great men 
because they are inspirations to me, and they are going to be 
inspirations to future generations of central Illinois' public 
servants.
  Thank you, Phil Crane, for your service to this country and to our 
great State. Thank you, Lane Evans, for your service to this great 
institution. And thank you, Brad Demuzio, for your service to the great 
State of Illinois and Macoupin County.
  And with that, I see no other Members down here to recognize the 
service of these great men, so, Mr. Speaker, I will take this 
opportunity to yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________