[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 13 (Monday, April 4, 1994)]
[Page 653]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Representative William H. Natcher

March 30, 1994

    Hillary and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of 
Congressman William Natcher. We want to extend our deepest sympathy to 
his family, friends, and staff for their great loss. For the past 40 
years, Bill Natcher has served the people of Kentucky's Second District 
with distinction and uncommon dedication.
    Earlier this month, I visited Bill Natcher at Bethesda Naval 
Hospital where I presented the Presidential Citizens' Medal to him. The 
citation for that medal offers a fitting remembrance of Congressman 
Natcher's career: ``Few legislators in our history have honored their 
responsibilities with greater fealty or shunned the temptations of power 
with greater certainty than William Huston Natcher.''
    Bill Natcher governed and campaigned the hard way. He never missed a 
rollcall vote or a quorum call in the House for 40 years. He never took 
a campaign contribution. He never made a political commercial. He never 
hired a press secretary. He read and answered his own constituent mail. 
He drove through the small towns and farms of central Kentucky visiting 
the people he represented at county courthouses and general stores. He 
paid his campaign expenses out of his own pocket and never had to spend 
much money. In an era of sound-bites and high-tech media campaigns, Bill 
Natcher was a rarity.
    Some may think that Bill Natcher's death marks the end of an era in 
politics. I hope not. I hope that Congressman Natcher's devotion to 
public service serves as an inspiration to the young men and women of 
America for as long as his voting record stands. Bill Natcher once said 
he wanted his tombstone to read, ``He tried to do it right.'' Let us all 
carry those words forward in his honor and memory.