Expressing the profound sorrow of the House of Representatives for the death of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon and extending thoughts, prayers, and condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Chicago and certainly my colleague from Indiana for bringing forth this resolution today in tribute to a young man whose service to his family, to the State of Indiana, and to this Nation is unsurpassed.

The Governor just 3 weeks ago met the President at the airport in Indianapolis when he came out to Indianapolis for disaster relief, and the Governor had just hosted the National Governors' Association there.

Frank O'Bannon was the type of guy who gave of himself, who lived for a cause, not just because.

Frank O'Bannon even in death contributed his organs so that somebody else may have a quality of life. Since his passing, I was telling his wife yesterday, I spent an enormous amount of time with the widow, ``Wouldn't it be great if Frank from on high could hear all of the attributes that are being given to him now that he did not hear when he was living?''

Unlike many other Governors in the United States, he came under a great deal of pressure because of the economic crisis that Indiana faced, a problem over which he had no control and had nothing in fact to do with it. But time and time and time again he came under a heap of criticism for Indiana's woes. I think he reminds all of us that even though we may not have control over something, it is unjust, it is like man's inhumanity to man, to heap that kind of pain and frustration on an individual who had done so much in improving the lives of the people in the State of Indiana.

I remember when Frank O'Bannon first decided he wanted to be a Governor. I was a member of the Indiana State Senate along with him. And because Evan Bayh decided he too wanted to be the Governor at that time, Frank O'Bannon in his own genteel way stepped aside and allowed our now junior Senator to become the Governor of Indiana and Frank yielded to become the Lieutenant Governor in the State of Indiana. I was telling his wife yesterday that fate had undoubtedly orchestrated that, because he was not Governor just for 8 years, he was almost Governor for 16 years. He served as Lieutenant Governor for 8 years and almost completed 8 years as Indiana's Governor.

Frank O'Bannon served over 6.15 million people and he served them well.

Politics, economic situations, religious denominations all paled under Frank O'Bannon's leadership. Today is a very difficult day for me, because I had so much respect for Frank O'Bannon, but then I remember the words of Ecclesiastes that reminds us that there is a time for all things.

Frank O'Bannon, I suppose, could have continued to suffer, but God would have it another way. Danny, your hospital took great care of our Governor. I want to thank you and your hospital for that. They had one of the best neurosurgeons that this country has right there at Chicago hospital. So I want to thank you and yours. And certainly to Judy O'Bannon, who has been a yeoman throughout this ordeal, who has been very stately, like a stateswoman throughout the pain that she and her family endure, my heart, my prayers go out to Judy, to Jennifer, to Polly and to Jonathan. I know in due time that pain will pass but precious memories never fade into eternity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with my colleagues and with the Nation just a glimpse of what Indiana has been going through in recent days.

Last week our Governor Frank O'Bannon, a gifted and gentle man on loan from God, suffered a massive stroke while hard at work for Indiana. Through the week, as he lay stricken, we thought of him, remembered him, worried about him and prayed for him. Then, on Saturday, we lost him.

My Governor, ``Frank'' as everyone called him, was a kind and intelligent man of great substance. A gifted man with many choices before him, he made a selfless choice: to spend a lifetime in public, a lifetime in service.

Now in public life, as we know--borrowing a bit from James Taylor-- `we see fire, we see rain, and sunny days we thought would never end'. Our duty is serve our way through, keeping the people and the responsibility ever in mind, looking again to reach those sunny days.

For My Governor, it was ever so. The sunny days were many--his work in our Senate, as our Lieutenant Governor, and as Governor the last 6\1/2\ years, saw great leadership and many sunny days, great prosperity and great progress, turning finally to fire and rain, as economic suffering reached Indiana and the blame was laid at his feet. Through it all, Frank never stopped working for Indiana, knowing, as we all do, that we would reach sunny days again.

As we know, too, public service can be lonely, wearying at its worst. As he soldiered on, this fine man absorbed the dismay, the frustration, the anger. Wherever I was, I spoke to him each week, not so much as our Governor but as a man I had known many years, whose friendship I treasured and whose commitment I admired, to remind him not to be ground down, that his commitment was a wise one, that sunny days would come again. And he returned the favor, with good counsel about the heart of public service.

He is gone now, recalled in a way. Indiana is in good hands, but we shall miss him greatly.

To My Governor, our ``Frank'', our prayers on the way. And, to Judy, ever his active partner and helpmate, to the kids, Jennifer, Polly and Jonathan, it is my prayer that your precious memories of all that was so fine will help to sustain you through these mysterious days and hours of our farewell.

Frank

You can do an article about Governor Frank O'Bannon, but

you can't do it justice, not in any language I know. But I

have to try.

In the prefaces of The 1600 Killers and Slander and Sweet

Judgement, the two volumes of my memoir, I wrote: ``One of

the principal and principled inspirations for this work was

the Honorable Frank O'Bannon, forty-seventh governor of

Indiana. He, his wife Judy and his lieutenant governor, war-

hero Joe Kernan, brought a refreshing wholesomeness and down-

to-earth wisdom to the people of Indiana, of whom I am

privileged to be one. The headline on The Indianapolis Star/

News story that reported Frank's 1996 Election was, `Nice guy

finishes first.' Amen''

The name of our dearly departed governor is O'Bannon, but

his face was not ``the map of Ireland;'' it was the map of

Indiana. His voice inflections, the twinkle in his eyes, the

generous smile made him the personification of all that is

good in what we call Hoosier.

An old cake ad read and said, ``Nobody doesn't like Sarah

Lee.'' Noboby didn't like Frank. And nobody doesn't like the

superlatively eloquent Judy.

Several years ago, Hoosier Congressman Pete Visclosky was

seated inside a banquet hall, awaiting the arrival of the

principal speaker, the slightly behind schedule, then-Lt.

Governor Frank O'Bannon. Suddenly, someone told Pete that his

nearly octogenarian father had slipped and fallen on the ice

outside. Pete rushed to his father's side and found Indiana's

second highest elected official helping the elderly man to

his feet.

We use the word ``gentleman'' over and over, but how often

do we stop to realize what it means? A gentleman is a man who

is gentle and the heroine of the play Love is a Many

Splendored Thing, declares, ``There is no greater strength

than gentleness.'' By that definition and declaration, Frank

O'Bannon was a person of towering strength. John F. Kennedy

said it: ``Civility should not be confused with weakness.''

Michel Eyquem de Montaigene wrote, ``Sit ye never so high

upon a stool, yet sit ye but upon your own tail.'' Frank

intuitively knew, felt and lived this. He was no big shot. He

did have a stuffed shirt, though, stuffed with a warm, caring

and giving heart.

Hoosier journalist William Miller Herschell asked, ``Ain't

God good to Indiana?'' When I think of Frank O'Bannon, I know

the answer.

Andy Jacobs, Jr.,

Former Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 369) expressing the profound sorrow of the House of Representatives for the death of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon and extending thoughts, prayers, and condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I met Frank O'Bannon, our now-deceased Governor, I met his father back in the late 1960s when I served with his father in the Indiana State Senate. His father was editor and publisher of a newspaper in Corydon, Indiana; and he was one of the finest men I ever served with. He was a real gentleman. Even though we had our differences, Governor O'Bannon's father was a wonderful man.

Mr. Speaker, we know a lot about people by their children. And although I knew Senator O'Bannon, Governor O'Bannon's father, very well, I was not sure about what kind of family man he was. But then I met his son who became Senator after his dad retired, and Senator Frank O'Bannon was also one of the finest men I ever served with in the Indiana State Senate. His brother, Bob, who is a businessman in Indianapolis, is also fine man. We know a lot about people by their children, and Governor O'Bannon was a wonderful man, and I am sure his mother was a wonderful woman as well.

Governor O'Bannon was revered by everyone who knew him, whether it was a Republican or a Democrat. He was a very fine public servant, a man who really cared about his fellow man and his civic responsibilities. He learned that from his father and mother and worked hard in both the Indiana State Senate and as Governor.

Although we had political differences, I always admired him because he was a man of honor. If he gave you his word, you could take it to the bank. He always said what he meant, and he meant what he said. We are going to miss him in Indiana.

I will tell one little anecdote. Senator O'Bannon sat directly in front of me when I was a freshman when he was a State Senator. I was seated on the Democrat side, and he was the minority leader for the Democrats in the State Senate. He was such a nice guy we would kid each other. One day I said, Senator, you are such a nice guy and so intelligent and you read papers, I know you can read, I do not know why you do not become a Republican. And he turned around and looked at me without batting an eye; and he said you

have the same qualities, I do not know why you do not become a Democrat. That was one of the more interesting and funny anecdotes I remember about Governor O'Bannon.

He was a wonderful man. We are going to miss him in Indiana. I wish his wife the very best. I know she is suffering a great deal, as well as the rest of his family right now; but I hope that Judy O'Bannon is doing well, and we wish her the very best. She and her family have our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).

(Mr. Souder asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the Eighth District of Indiana (Mr. Hostettler).

(Mr. HOSTETTLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola).

(Mr. CHOCOLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me just end by saying that in the 1997 inauguration speech, Frank O'Bannon made some very poignant remarks that I think are appropriate at this time. He said: ``Life is no brief candle for me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as I can before turning it over to future generations.'' Frank O'Bannon did just that, and we all miss him, and we wish his family the very best, and they are in our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois, and I thank the other gentleman from Indiana for bringing this resolution so quickly to the floor. I join my Indiana colleagues.

I knew Frank O'Bannon pretty well. I was asked by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) in 1995 to serve in the capacity of the liaison to the National Governors' Association and to the Democratic Governors' Association, and I, therefore, know firsthand the loss that the Hoosier State has sustained and the loss of this extraordinarily popular Governor, who presided over great change and progress in his State. Our Nation, as I think the last speaker indicated so well, has lost a model public servant and citizen.

A few years ago when I served as the House liaison, I had the pleasure of working with Governor O'Bannon, both on issues that were in front of the Congress and on politics, and I can confirm what so many have written and said about him. He was a wonderful, intelligent, kind, and humble gentleman who, along with Judy, worked tirelessly for all Hoosiers and who cared deeply about his country and his State.

It is noteworthy, I think, that Governor O'Bannon never lost a political election. Democracy is an extraordinary process, and the people's wisdom is what makes it so great because they choose well. They choose different types of people, and we contend politically, but I am always impressed with how well, ultimately, they do choose. But it is telling what his last opponent David McIntosh, a former Member of this body said about him. This is somebody who ran against him, ran a hard campaign, an extraordinarily able young man. He said this: ``Everywhere I'd go, people would say to me: `How are you going to run against someone who is everyone's grandfather?' And it was the truth,'' David McIntosh said. ``He was a congenial guy that everyone liked.''

After serving 18 years in the Indiana Senate including 8 as Democratic floor leader and 8 as Lieutenant Governor and more than 6 years as Governor, Frank O'Bannon pulled off a rare feat in politics: He was both effective and well-liked. However, his gentle nature is not his only legacy. His many accomplishments, as the colleagues from Indiana know better than I do or others, include creating a community college system, adopting of academic standards that are among the best in the Nation, extending health insurance to nearly half a million children, and engineering an overhaul of the State tax system to entice business to Indiana and to relieve property tax owners.

There is no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that Frank O'Bannon lived life to the fullest, graduating from Indiana U, where he played basketball, serving in the Air Force, practicing law, and working as a newspaper publisher in his native Corydon. And there is no doubt that we are fortunate for his service. I am pleased to join my colleagues in lamenting for ourselves, for Indiana, and for our country the loss of this extraordinary individual and being joyous in the fact that, as a man of faith, he is better off, and joyous in the fact that we had the opportunity to know him and to work with him and to know that his State and country were better for his life.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share a few thoughts about our Governor from Indiana for people outside Indiana who are not as familiar with him.

The past few days have been an outpouring of grief and almost a celebration with the O'Bannon family about our Governor that is different than anything I have seen in Indiana politics. It is partly, I think, a transition of an era. Frank O'Bannon represented a different part of politics when it was not quite as, how would you say, aggressive, it was not quite as negative. He was a friend to everyone. Even when we had differences it was a different type of relationship.

He came from the little town of Corydon, which was our State capital. As you would look at it, it would be a picturesque vision of what Indiana was when we started in southern Indiana and moved to the north. And Indianapolis in the north has now the bulk of the population and the bulk of the power, but Corydon still represents kind of old Indiana.

When he ran his campaign, no matter who his opponent was and no matter what kind of campaign they ran, he ran a Hoosier-roots type of a campaign. You would see him and his wife on their porch in Corydon. You would see him talking with his grandkids. You would see him talking and sending a different signal than often is put forth in politics. It was a symbol of comfort much like Governor Bowen used to have, saying in Indiana we may not be flashy, we may not all have blow-dried hairdos, we may not be as slick as other people, but we are going to produce good, honest government that is going to continue to move Indiana forward.

We are in a period of transition. And, interestingly, this man whose family was deeply rooted in early Indiana history and whose father had been a public servant, in addition to his normal public service he realized that Indiana was in this transition period. And while we sometimes disagreed on how best to do it, I think one of the things he will most be remembered for is his commitment to education at a time when Indiana is struggling with funds, like everybody else, and we have limited funds in education, to take those education funds right now and concentrate them on getting kids able to read by age 3.

He understood that if Indiana was going to move forward, whether you had the old Indiana or the new Indiana, whether you were kind of a comforting grandfather figure like he has been in Indiana, or a young slick politician coming up, if we did not have basic education in Indiana we weren't going to be able to compete with the States around us and around the country.

He and his wife have a tremendous legacy of preserving Indiana landmarks of many different things. But I think his effort to make sure that all kids can read will be one of his major legacies and also his legacy of how a public servant should be in relationship to other members of his party, of other parties, and to the people of Indiana. That is why we are seeing this extended outpouring of grief because we are worried that the Nation is changing and we are losing the type of values that Frank O'Bannon brought to government.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Governor O'Bannon was in my congressional district when he passed away. Certainly I would want to extend on behalf of all of the people in Chicago and the people of Illinois our sympathies to his family and to the people of Indiana.

Mr. Speaker, Frank O'Bannon, the 47th Governor of Indiana, died last week at the age of 73 from a stroke. After serving 18 years as Lieutenant Governor to Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon was elected Governor of Indiana November 5, 1996, and was reelected on November 7, 2000.

Frank O'Bannon's two inaugurations as Governor made history. After he was elected in 1996 he invited Indiana's fourth grade history students to witness his inauguration, something no Governor had ever done. Despite sub-zero temperatures that day, hundreds of Hoosier schoolchildren for the first time ever watched as their Governor was sworn in.

After his 2000 reelection, Governor O'Bannon repeated his invitation to the fourth grade history students. This time, however, the festivities were moved inside the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. More than 25,000 students and visitors from across Indiana watched as the Governor was sworn in, making it the largest gubernatorial inauguration crowd in Indiana history.

Although Governor Frank O'Bannon was sometimes criticized by other lawmakers for not being more assertive, he followed his own instincts for achieving consensus quietly. Born on January 30, 1930, in Louisville, Kentucky, Frank O'Bannon devoted his entire life to public service and to the people of the State of Indiana.

Education, health care, building communities, promoting public safety and economic development are the hallmarks of Frank O'Bannon's legacy as Governor of Indiana. He taught those fourth grade students a valuable lesson in leadership, integrity and good works.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the Governor's Congresswoman, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

(Mr. VISCLOSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. Therefore, I urge swift passage of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.