To designate the Federal building located at 320 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas, as the "Kika de la Garza Federal Building".

I appreciate this opportunity to express my strong support for H.R. 2322, which designates the Federal building located at 320 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas, as the ``Kika de la Garza Federal Building.'' This honor is well-deserved recognition to the former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, co-founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and one of the most beloved members to have served in this House with distinction for more than thirty years.

Elected in 1964 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas' 15th District, Kika de la Garza served the people of the Rio Grande Valley and the nation for 16 terms before retiring in 1996. He was one of the first Hispanics elected to Congress and the first to chair the Committee on Agriculture.

Born Eligio de la Garza in Mercedes, Hidalgo County, Texas on September 22, 1927, ``Kika'' de la Garza grew up in Mission where he attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School and Mission High School. At age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served until 1946. He continued his education at Edinburg Junior College and the U.S. Army Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. De la Garza served in the Korean conflict as a second lieutenant with the Army's Thirty-seventh Division Artillery. In 1952, he earned a law degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio (where he was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree). That same year he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served for 12 years until his election in 1964 to the U.S. House of Representatives.

As a member of the Texas House of Representatives, Kika de la Garza had numerous legislative accomplishments, including the absorption of Pan American University into the University of Texas system, the creation of the Texas Water Commission, and the establishment of the Reagan/de la Garza coastal wetlands. He was the driving force behind legislation creating the nation's first state-run system of English language instruction for pre-school age children. He also sponsored a bill allowing Texas' border cities and counties to build their own international bridges.

Because he hailed from a district with a large agricultural base, de la Garza joined the House Committee on Agriculture. In 1967 he served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Department Operations and Foreign Agriculture. From 1981 to 1994, he chaired the Committee on Agriculture, becoming the first Hispanic since 191 7 (when Ladislas Lazaro chaired the Enrolled Bills Committee) to chair a standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

During his tenure as Agriculture Chairman, Representative de la Garza successfully led the way for the House to pass three omnibus farm bills (1981, 1985, and 1990), a major overhaul of the agricultural lending system, federal crop insurance reform, a major reorganization of the USDA, reforms in federal pesticide laws, and numerous other measures relating to agriculture, rural economic development, and nutrition.

During Kika de la Garza's 13 years of leadership as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, major agricultural legislation was enacted, including the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981; the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, which authorized distribution of government- owned surplus commodities to indigent persons; and the Food Security Act, which included provisions to shift the direction of farm programs to more market-oriented levels, strengthened export programs, and created a conservation reserve targeted at highly erosive croplands. His Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 revised credit assistance programs, restructured the Farm Credit System, and facilitated creation of a secondary market for agricultural loans. In 1988 and 1989, he managed to passage the Disaster Assistance Acts to provide assistance to farmers and ranchers who lost crop production due to drought and other natural disasters that occurred during this period.

A strong supporter of civil rights safeguard for minorities, de la Garza has successfully fought for improved access to health care for the elderly and veterans, better living conditions for low-income individuals and the impoverished, and access to educational opportunities for all Americans.

An influential proponent of free trade, de la Garza also was instrumental in the passage of both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the expansion of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

One of Congress' leading experts on U.S.-Mexican relations, de la Garza worked to improve relations and trade between the two countries throughout his congressional career. In 1966, he became the first congressman from the Texas-Mexico border area to serve on the Mexico- United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, which promotes dialogue between legislators from the two countries.

All in all, Kika de la Garza gave remarkable service to the people of Texas, the United States, and this chamber. He was a great congressmen and great American.

For these reasons, I strongly support H.R. 2322, which gives well- deserved and long overdue recognition to this great American and former member of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I thank both of my colleagues for their leadership on this matter, and I am pleased to honor Congressman Kika de la Garza as he has honored south Texas and America by his extended public service.

This particular building is located around the corner from where Kika de la Garza began his career practicing law in McAllen and also around the corner from the district office that I have had the honor to maintain this past 2 years in the city of McAllen.

Kika began humbly and poorly, poor in economic terms but rich in talent. His first job was shining shoes, and he rose from that to making laws in the State House and later here in the United States Congress. But as far as he traveled and as important a position as he held here in Washington, he never stopped treating all of his constituents as if each one were the most important.

Kika still remembers an episode from his early days as a lawyer when he loaned one of his clients a shirt to keep warm in a cold courthouse. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Congressman de la Garza never forgot where he came from. It was my pleasure to share one term with him when I was first elected to my term that began in 1995.

At a time when many this year look at the Rio Grande Valley and talk about building walls, Congressman de la Garza believed in building bridges, literally and figuratively. He worked to improve relations and trade between the United States and Mexico throughout his career. He promoted dialogue between Members of Congress and our counterparts in Mexico. He led efforts to create modern border crossings across the Texas-Mexico border and bridges that are now vital links in commerce throughout this hemisphere.

His hard work earned him many honors here, many things named for him in the Rio Grande Valley, but also the Order of Aztec Eagle, the highest honor that the country of Mexico can bestow on a noncitizen.

Kika de la Garza is best known for his work here on agriculture, particularly his extended service as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee. He was the first Hispanic since 1917 to chair a standing committee in the United States House of Representatives; and no other chairman has ever done so much to advance the concerns of the small farmer, the family farmer, as Chairman de la Garza.

When you ask him of his proudest accomplishments, he points to the farm bills that he shepherded through this Congress. He particularly remembers his first farm bill as chairman. He gave a speech in this very room that won him a standing ovation, but it was his last-minute persuasion of a colleague from the other side of the aisle that passed the bill by a single vote. Chairman de la Garza knew for the farmer in the field results count far more than rhetoric.

Even though he has retired from this Congress, Kika de la Garza has not retired from public life. In fact, we still call him ``Mr. Chairman'' in the valley because he is the Democratic precinct chairman of Precinct 62 in McAllen. Although he has moved along in years, he has maintained the same interest in service that he always has had from his origin in the valley.

When you ask him about his most recent political office, he quotes back Tip O'Neill's famous axiom that ``all politics is local.'' From humble beginnings in the local community, Kika de

la Garza has returned home but maintains a legacy that is international in scope.

I want also to commend Lucille de la Garza, who clearly has been his partner and continues to be his partner. She served with him through the legislature, the Congress and now in McAllen. Kika and Lucille have devoted their lives together to enhance the quality of life for all citizens of the valley.

That devotion is also reflected in a great family. George is a cardiovascular surgeon who still practices in the valley. Michael is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the Navy who defended our country on the high seas from the Pacific to the Persian Gulf. Angela is a special education teacher at Tobias Elementary School in Kyle, working to pass along the world of opportunities that come with a strong public education.

Kika de la Garza is an example to all of us of a true gentleman and public servant who brought honor to this Congress through civility, respect and commitment to doing what is right. He will serve as an appropriate role model for the lawyers and public servants who enter into that courthouse, that Federal building named after him in McAllen, Texas.

His lifetime dedication to public service has been a gift to our community. Today's tribute is richly deserved, and I thank my colleagues for helping to secure the approval of this legislation.

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

H.R. 2322 is a bill to designate the Federal building located at 320 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas as the Kika de la Garza Federal Building. This bill has bipartisan support, and I commend Mr. Doggett for his constant and dogged support of this bill.

Kika, as he is known by everyone, came to the United States Congress in 1964 and served the people of Texas for over 30 years. He was the first Hispanic American to become chairman of a standing committee and served as chairman of the Agricultural Committee from 1981 to 1994. He was an outspoken advocate for U.S. agriculture and for programs to protect and improve the farm and rural economy.

Chairman de la Garza led the effort to enact landmark legislation such as the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994, which established a federally fund catastrophic risk coverage policy for crop losses.

In 1990, he helped pass the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, which reformed export assistance programs and established new initiatives to strengthen environmental protection of agricultural lands.

He is a World War II veteran and received his law degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

It is fitting and proper to honor the long and distinguished career of Congressman de la Garza by designating the Federal building located in McAllen, Texas, in his honor. I support H.R. 2322, and urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), the bill's sponsor.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2322, a bill to designate the Federal building located at 320 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas, as the E. ``Kika'' de la Garza Federal Building.

E. Kika de la Garza's long and productive career spanned 30 years of public service to his constituents in Texas. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1953. In 1964, Kika was elected to Congress and served 16 years.

Congressman de la Garza was the first Hispanic American to become Chairman of a standing committee, the Committee on Agriculture. In the 103rd Congress, Kika led the initiative to enact legislation to revamp and streamline the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

He also became one of the founding Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which he chaired from 1989-1991. His numerous legislative accomplishments included creating the Texas Water Commission and the Reagan/de la Garza coastal wetlands. He was also a driving force behind legislation creating the Nation's first state-run system of English language instruction for pre-school age children.

Kika de la Garza was one of Congress' leading experts on U.S.-Mexican relations and worked to improve relations between the two countries. He served as Chairman of the Mexican-U.S. Interparliamentary Group, which promotes dialogue between the two countries.

In Congress, Kika was known, on both sides of the aisle, as a gentleman who fostered cooperation and bipartisanship. He was devoted to his constituents and their needs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2322.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2322) to designate the Federal building located at 320 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas, as the ``Kika de la Garza Federal Building''.

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

H.R. 2322, introduced by Representative Lloyd Doggett, designates the Federal building located in McAllen, Texas, as the Kika de la Garza Federal Building. The bill honors former Congressman Kika de la Garza from Texas, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years.

Congressman de la Garza started his career of civil service early when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17. After his military service, he earned a law degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio. Following law school, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served for six consecutive terms. Representative de la Garza was elected in 1964 to the U.S. House of Representatives.

During his 32 years of service in Washington, de la Garza accomplished countless goals and participated in a number of historic events, including the creation of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

This bill is a fitting tribute to former Representative de la Garza. I support this legislation, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

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