Mr. Speaker, the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, died on October 18, 2013. The House took several steps to honor the former Speaker. Following House…
Mr. Speaker, the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, died on October 18, 2013. The House took several steps to honor the former Speaker. Following House tradition, the Speaker's chair on the rostrum was draped in black and the Speaker's gavel rested on a black pillow. Outside the House chamber, Speaker Foley's official portrait in the Speaker's Lobby was draped in black. On October 22, 2013, the House adopted House Resolution 383, expressing the condolences of the House upon his death. On October 29, 2013, a memorial service was held in Statuary Hall celebrating the life of Speaker Foley. The following is a transcript of those proceedings:
(The Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives)
Speaker Boehner: Ladies and gentlemen, let us begin today
by acknowledging a great friend of this institution, Mrs.
Heather Foley.
(Applause.)
Speaker Boehner: Mrs. Foley, thank you for giving us this
chance to try to express the depth of gratitude that we owe
to Tom.
An English poet once wrote, ``The noblest work of God is an
honest man.'' Well, Tom Foley was that and more. A leader
grounded in decency, in principle, he brought honor to
himself, to his family, and to this House. He did all these
things a public servant should do and, frankly, did many of
them better than the rest. Ask any of his peers and they will
tell you this, especially those who didn't share his
politics.
Listen to Bob Dole, who around the time Tom became Speaker
called him ``a man of total integrity.'' Or ask Alan Simpson,
who said, ``Tom can tell you to go to Hell and make you feel
good about going there.'' And Henry Hyde, as fierce a
conservative as they come, who said of the man, ``I wish he
were a Republican.''
There's also this from President George H.W. Bush, ``Tom
Foley represented the very best in public service and our
political system.'' One class act tipping his hat to another.
Yes, the span of Tom's service and his record is
impressive, as is the sequence of his rise: Ag Committee
chairman, majority whip, majority leader, and Speaker.
But it was his sense of fairness, his port-n-a-storm
bearing, that will always stand out for me. It's how he held
this institution together at a very difficult time, and it's
why those who come after us, who seek to know what it means
when we use that phrase, ``man of the House,'' or just what
it means to leave something behind, should look up the name
Thomas S. Foley.
Today, we gather in the old Hall, joined by Presidents,
Vice Presidents, Speakers, and so many of our colleagues and
diplomats that Tom served with and to reminisce about this
man's service and a toast to his life.
Welcome, and thank you all for being here.
(The Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, S.J., Chaplain of the
United States House of Representatives)
Reverend Conroy: God of Heaven and Earth, the work of Your
hands is made known in Your bountiful creation and in the
lives of those who faithfully live in Your grace.
Today we especially remember the life and work of Tom
Foley, son of the very proud city of Spokane. His commitment
to furthering education in his own district, Washington's
Fifth, is testified to by the Ralph and Helen Higgins Foley
Library at Gonzaga University, his alma mater. It is named in
honor of his parents, who clearly did something right in
raising such a son.
Tom Foley was a modest man whose impact on the public weal
beyond his district far exceeded any projection of ego
strength. May we all be inspired by his example to be men and
women impelled to improve the lives and prospects of our
fellow citizens while eschewing any honor or glory for
ourselves, and as he did, do our part to increase
understanding and respect across cultural divides.
Be present with us this day, O God, as we mark his life and
remember his legacy. Bless this gathering and comfort us as
we comfort one another in remembering a great American and a
genuinely good man.
Amen.
(The Honorable Norman Dicks, United States House of
Representatives, Sixth District of Washington, 1977-2013)
Mr. Dicks: Tom Foley was my friend, mentor, and colleague
in the House of Representatives.
I first met Tom Foley at the University of Washington Law
School in 1965 during his freshman term. He was a brilliant
young man with a warm and friendly smile. It was his
intellect and love for this country that made him an
outstanding leader.
He served as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
and worked hard on the farm bill and food stamp legislation.
Bringing these two issues together allowed Chairman Foley to
build support in the House for both.
Tom believed in, and practiced, civility and
bipartisanship. His view was that, after the elections were
over, Democrats and Republicans should work together to deal
with the national legislative agenda.
Seeing Tom Foley's strong leadership qualities and belief
in getting things done for the American people, Speaker
O'Neill appointed Tom to be the majority whip. He was then
unanimously elected to be our majority leader and then our
Speaker in 1989.
As Speaker, Tom worked closely with Bob Michel, the
Republican leader from 1989 to 1995. They remained great
friends after they left Congress. Later, President Clinton
named Speaker Foley to be our Ambassador to Japan.
As a staffer to Senator Warren T. Magnuson, I worked with
Tom on the Spokane World's Fair in 1974. This project created
dramatic change for Spokane, the largest city in the Fifth
District.
Tom was so proud to represent the people of the Fifth
Congressional District for 30 years. He always thought this
was his most important responsibility.
It was a great honor for me that Tom Foley supported me in
my campaign to Congress in 1976. I was then privileged to
work with him and to receive his support as a Member of the
House, and I will always thank him for being such a good
mentor.
We will always remember the legacy of Tom Foley. He
believed in the Congress, and he believed that this
institution could produce positive results for the American
people.
His loving wife, Heather, supported him throughout his
career and took wonderful care of him during his long
illness.
May God bless you, Heather, and the entire Foley family.
(The Honorable Jim McDermott, United States House of
Representatives, Seventh District of Washington)
Mr. McDermott: Good afternoon. I am Jim McDermott. I am a
House Member from Washington's Seventh Congressional
District, which is mostly Seattle. I knew Tom Foley for more
than 40 years, and throughout that time, he was a wonderful
friend and a sage mentor.
In 1971, when I was a freshman State legislator, he took me
out to dinner in Seattle and suggested I run for Congress. I
was pleased by his regard for my career, but I knew better
since I was a freshman legislator. So I rejected it and ran
for Governor. I got creamed. Tom never said a word.
Chastened, I returned to the legislature, determined to
learn as much as I could about the realities of governing
effectively and the challenges of the legislative role.
When I finally ran for Congress in 1988, Tom was the
majority leader of the House. As I arrived for my first term
in 1989, Tom was about to become Speaker. I know now that he
was about to become the last Speaker of the whole House. He
believed that the Speaker was the Speaker for the whole
House, and he lived that to his very core.
Today many will note Tom's devotion to the House of
Representatives and his learned knowledge of the history of
this organization. Sitting down with Tom and letting him tell
stories, you learned enormous amounts. He appreciated the
role of the House in our balanced structure of government. He
knew well the challenge of maintaining that fragile balance.
So when he assumed the Speakership, he brought to it a
scholar's depth of understanding and a disciple's passion. He
led the House with fairness and comity, a style of leadership
we haven't seen--we recently have looked for it--but we have
not seen what Tom was able to do with both sides.
Tom understood that the House could not perform its
constitutional function without evenhandedness and respected
the role of the minority. Tom was a Democrat, no question
about it. He was very clear about why he was a Democrat. He
believed in the legitimacy and the value of government. He
knew that government's duty was to improve the lives of
Americans, and he saw it as a noble obligation and worthy of
one's very best efforts at any time.
When he became Speaker, he abandoned none of these
principles. He added to them a very nuanced appreciation of
the role of
Speaker, and his certainty that the leadership of the House
required not a flame-throwing partisan but a measured, steady
pilot enlightened by an unmatched knowledge of, and love for,
the House of Representatives.
Tom Foley's district was a sprawling, largely rural swath
of eastern Washington state; yet its essentially very
conservative voters reelected him for 30 years. They took an
urban internationalist and sent him back again and again.
They did so, and that was a persistent reaffirmation of his
unshakeable integrity, his superb legislative skills, and his
deep connection with the people of the Fifth District. He
always started his speech by saying, ``My highest honor was
to be elected Congressman from the Fifth District.'' I
believe that the voters recognized him as a great American.
We share that sense of wry Irish humor, but Tom's charm and
wit were all his own. He was an extraordinary person and an
irreplaceable friend. I am grateful to have known him.
Rest in peace.
(The Honorable John Lewis, United States House of
Representatives, Fifth District of Georgia)
Mr. Lewis: Mrs. Foley, bless you.
There was a great minister, scholar, and abolitionist who
lived in New England in the 19th century. His name was James
Freeman Clarke, and he once made this statement: ``A
politician,'' he said, ``thinks only of the next election; a
statesman thinks of the next generation.''
Speaker Tom Foley was a true statesman. He believed it was
an honor to serve the public good, and he brought respect for
the dignity of our democracy and the inspiration of our
mandate as a Nation to every moment of his service. He
believed it was our calling as Members of Congress to do what
we could to preserve and help create a more perfect Union
that has been in the making for almost 300 years.
In all of my years knowing Speaker Foley and seeing him on
the floor or in small meetings, I never heard this man, this
good man, speak or say a bad word about anyone. I just have a
feeling that he was one who believed, if you couldn't say
something good about someone, don't say anything at all.
As a leader, he believed he should build and not tear down,
reconcile and not divide. He stood for the principles of
diplomacy and mutual respect, even toward his opposition. He
did not subscribe to the politics of personal destruction.
He knew that his work as Speaker, as a representative of
the great State of Washington or as a legislator was bigger
than his own personal values and ambition. He wanted to leave
a record of accomplishment that would have a lasting impact
on our society for generations to come. When he left the
Speaker's chair, it was the end of an era, a period, in our
history.
Maybe, just maybe, his passing at this moment in our
history is just an elegant reminder of one simple truth: no
leader is greater than the cause he serves, and when our
lives are over, we will be remembered not for fame or
fortune, but for how we helped or how we harmed the dignity
of all humankind.
I will never forget this prince of a man who led by example
and struggled to turn the tide of partisanship in Congress
back to constructive debate on the great issues. Every
leader, whether in politics or in the larger society, but
every leader in America could do well to take a page from Tom
Foley's book.
(The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader of the
United States House of Representatives)
Minority Leader Pelosi: Heather, Mr. President, Mr.
President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Vice President, how
wonderful that Speaker Foley has two Presidents, two Vice
Presidents, and the good wishes of President George Herbert
Walker Bush that our distinguished Speaker quoted earlier. He
could never probably have imagined that when he came to the
floor on the first day to make his first floor speech. He
said, ``Public service is a free gift of a free people and a
challenge for all of us in public life to do what we can to
make our service useful for those who have sent us here.''
Few fulfilled that charge with more courage, more conviction,
more civility than he.
I take great pride in the fact that he's the first Speaker
to hail from west of the Rocky Mountains. He brought to
Congress a fresh perspective and a powerful voice that would
open doors of leadership to Members who represent the
diversity of our country.
His first campaign was legendary in its civility. Before
the election was even over, his opponent, Congressman Walt
Horan, released a statement calling the campaign the cleanest
he had ever seen in his 22 years in office. In that spirit,
when Tom Foley came to Congress and as Speaker Foley, he made
campaign finance reform a priority. He sent legislation to
the President's desk that would ensure that our democracy was
a government of, by, and for the people. Unfortunately, we
could not override the President's veto, but Speaker Foley's
commitment to a just democracy and fair elections serves us
as an enduring challenge to this day.
Known for his ability to build consensus, Speaker Foley
never compromised on the conviction to do right by the
American people. When tragedy struck at the Fairchild Air
Force Base Hospital in his district, this longtime defender
of gun rights saw the need for sensible gun violence
prevention laws. Speaker Foley brought that bill to the
floor. He helped enact it--those bans--knowing that it would
not be well received in his district. But he did what he
believed, and he did it with courage.
He matched that dedication to principle and courage with a
gift for diplomacy. Nearly 20 years ago, I was privileged--I
don't know why I was on the list, but I was invited to attend
a special dinner at the British Embassy to honor Speaker
Foley for his leadership. As fate would have it, President
Clinton, that was the day that you announced that you were
going to grant a temporary visa to Gerry Adams. Just a
coincidence.
Needless to say, the mood of the evening was tense. Speaker
Foley, with his characteristic grace, reasoned that this
step--no matter how disconcerting at the moment to them--was
crucial to delivering an ever-elusive peace to Northern
Ireland, Ambassador.
That remarkable ability to build bridges across great
divides would serve him well as Speaker and, later, as U.S.
Ambassador to Japan--something he took great pride in, as I
know you did, Mr. Vice President. His judgment was impeccable
and was respected, and many of us benefited from it.
For me, in September 2008, I attended a G-8 meeting of
heads of Parliament, or Speakers--whatever they're called in
their particular country. All of the participants were
invited to lay a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. I
immediately called Ambassador Foley, as I called Vice
President Mondale, to ask what I should do. He replied, ``You
must participate. You will be the highest-ranking American
official,'' up until then, ``to lay a wreath at the memorial.
You cannot say no.''
Now, that may seem easy now, but at the time, that was very
strong judgment, as, again, the Vice President also gave me.
Such is the nature of a great man who believed, above all,
in the purpose of public service. It's about respect.
Diplomat, leader, Speaker--Tom Foley was the quintessential
champion of the common good. He spoke for the House he led
and the country he so loved.
In his farewell speech--I started with his opening speech--
in his farewell speech to the House, he said, ``Congress is
the place where we come together to speak the voices of
America and democracy, and it is the voice that is found to
echo resoundingly throughout the world.'' Throughout the
world.
Heather, I hope it is a comfort to you that so many people
mourn your loss throughout the world and are praying for you
at this sad time. To you, Heather, and to the Foley family,
thank you for sharing Tom with a grateful Nation. His voice
will forever echo in our hearts, to all who strive to make a
difference through public service.
As we count our blessings as a Nation, we know that God
truly blessed America with the life and leadership of
Speaker, Ambassador, and leader, Tom Foley.
(The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Republican Leader of the
United States Senate)
Senate Minority Leader McConnell: Thank you all for being
here. And, Heather, we honor you today. You were there all
along, guiding and accompanying Tom across all the peaks and
the valleys right to the end. We thank you for your spirit,
your generosity, and your example, which enlivened this
House, as well as your own, for many years. Welcome back.
Now, given Tom's famous equanimity, it is somewhat ironic
that he decided to run for Congress in the first place. He
actually did it in a moment of anger. The day was July 16,
1964. The Beatles had just returned to Liverpool after their
first U.S. tour. President Johnson had recently signed the
Civil Rights Act and was on his way to a landslide victory
against Barry Goldwater that November. And a 35-year-old Tom
Foley was having lunch at the Spokane Club in downtown
Spokane.
A gifted lawyer from a prominent local family and a trusted
aide to Scoop Jackson, Tom mentioned to the guys he was
eating lunch with that he was thinking seriously about
running for Congress--not this time, but the next time
around. At which point, one of his lunch companions bluntly
dismissed the idea out of hand and said:
``You'll never do it. You're like all young people. You
think the party's going to come to you with a Tiffany tray
and an engraved card and say, `Please, we humbly beg you, run
for Congress.' And that isn't the way it happens. People get
to Congress by wanting to run for Congress. You've got
excuses this year, and you'll have excuses next year and the
year after that.''
Well, Tom didn't like this little piece of armchair
psychology one bit, and he was determined to prove them
wrong. So he got up from the table, walked over to the
library across the hall, stuffed himself into a phone booth,
and called Western Union. Within minutes, a telegram had been
sent to Senator Jackson back in Washington saying that Tom
had just resigned his job and was headed to Olympia to file
for a run.
Then Tom called his bank and found out he didn't have any
money. His cousin Hank had to loan him the filing fee.
Oh, and the filing deadline was the next day.
So Tom had no cash, no plan, and virtually no time.
But he had the smarts. He had a sterling reputation. He had
the backing of Senator Jackson. And now, he had the
motivation.
And he did it, and for the next three decades, Thomas
Stephen Foley would devote his life to the people of eastern
Washington's Fifth Congressional District--with grace,
intelligence, wit, and a profound respect for others,
including his political adversaries,
and an abiding gratitude for the trust and confidence of the
people he was elected to serve, from Walla Walla to Northport
and all the wheat country and timber towns in between.
Tom always looked the part. Even his classmates at Gonzaga
High School called him ``the Senator.'' And I dare say that
if most Americans were asked to conjure up in their minds the
image of a Congressman, the man they'd like to see would be
him. To most people, it seemed as though Tom were born to
serve here. And in a remarkable 30-year congressional career,
he proved they were right. He proved that he didn't just look
the part, he knew the part, and he played it well.
Tom and I weren't on the same side on most issues. His
faith in government was, shall I say, a little more robust
than mine, but we shared a deep respect for the institution
and a belief that working with the other side, particularly
at a time of divided government, is no heresy when it enables
you to achieve some good for the Nation.
That kind of comity is sometimes viewed as old fashioned
around here, but that's never been true. The parties have
always disagreed, but it hasn't kept them from working
together from time to time to solve problems that we all
recognize.
Tom knew that. He practiced it. He took flak from time to
time for being a little too friendly with Republicans, but I
don't think he ever doubted the wisdom of his approach, even
in defeat. As Tom often said, ``The first vote you need to
earn is your own.'' It was a principle that served him very
well, and it's one that I think says a lot about what the
legacy of the gentleman from Spokane will be. We honor his
service and his memory.
May we draw all the right lessons from both. (The Honorable
Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the United States Senate)
Senate Majority Leader Reid: For 4 years, I served in the
House of Representatives with Speaker Tom Foley. During the
time I served there, he was the majority whip. I also served
with the man who would succeed Speaker Foley as leader of the
House, Speaker Newt Gingrich. Newt and I don't agree on too
much, but when he wrote in last week's Time magazine that Tom
Foley was a pragmatic man, a person of great integrity, and a
genuine patriot, I couldn't agree more with Newt.
This is what Speaker Gingrich wrote: ``I have nothing but
fond memories of serving with Tom Foley. We worked together
when we could, competed when we had to, and cooperated for
the national interest as far as possible.''
I, too, have fond memories of my time serving in the House
with Tom Foley. I offer my condolences to Heather who, as we
all know, had a strong voice in the House, at least when I
was there. She was tremendous, always there available to help
us; and she was his greatest influence politically in his
whole life.
Tom learned his practical style of politics from his
mentors, Senators Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson, who were
both from the State of Washington. Speaker Foley gained his
pragmatism from being a Member, as we've heard from Norm
Dicks and others, as a Member and then chairman of the House
Agriculture Committee, one of the Chamber's most bipartisan
committees.
But I credit much of Tom's down-to-earth demeanor to his
Western upbringing. You see, he was the first Speaker of the
House of Representatives to be born west of the Rocky
Mountains. He cut an imposing figure. He was a big man
physically and had this wonderful smile and great voice. He
was always gracious to young Members like me.
One day, when I reflect back, as we get a little older, and
we've all had that experience, or most of us, you can't see
like you used to, and somehow he didn't bring his reading
glasses with him. And he was desperate. He had to read there.
He was managing what was going on on the floor and he
couldn't see. So I was the first person he saw, and he said,
``Find me some glasses. I don't care where you get them.''
And I wanted to adhere to his wishes, so I didn't care where
I got them. Somebody left them laying on a desk, and I
grabbed them, and he was so happy to get those glasses
because, as has happened to all of us, he just couldn't see
and he needed to see. Well, it was my honor and pleasure to
find him some glasses to help him see that day.
But a vision as to where the country needed to go he always
saw clearly.
(The Honorable Robert H. Michel, Minority Leader of the
United States House of Representatives, 1981-1995)
Mr. Michel: Heather, members of the family and President
Clinton, President Obama, and all my former colleagues and
friends of Tom, all of you, it was my good fortune to have
visited Tom with my former right-hand man Billy Pitts a few
days before Tom died. I am so grateful to Heather for making
that visit possible.
We thought it was going to be just a visit of a couple of
minutes, and it ended up we were speaking for an hour about
the days gone by, not unlike so many others we had over a
relationship of more than 40 years. We both were able to say
our piece in an atmosphere of mutual respect, open-
mindedness, and, most of all, trust.
As I said in an article in The Post the other day, when Tom
became Speaker, he suggested that we get together once a
week, talk over the affairs of the House, one week in my
office and the next in his, something that had never been
done before. While we disagreed over policy and jousted with
each other politically, the meetings were highly productive
because underlying them was the faith and trust we had in
each other. We could talk about anything, knowing that our
discussions would remain private unless we decided otherwise.
I don't think there is anything more important in the
relationship between political leaders than trust.
Never was that bond tested more than it was in January 1991
when I implored Tom to bring to the House floor a resolution
that Steve Solarz of New York and I had introduced
authorizing then-President Bush to engage in military action
in Operation Desert Storm to drive Saddam Hussein out of
Kuwait. I was convinced that Tom opposed military
intervention, and I know that a good many of his caucus were
strongly opposed as well. It was an exercise of political
courage and personal decency for Tom to agree to bring the
resolution up for an open debate and recorded vote under
those circumstances, but he did.
We had one of the most spirited, but civil and informative,
debates in which I had been privileged to participate in all
my 38 years in Congress. We prevailed in the final outcome
that day, but I would have been proud of the House and proud
of our Speaker regardless, because the House demonstrated to
the world that it was truly a deliberative and democratic
body.
Tom and I always struggled to find common ground between
our two sides. When there were issues upon which we could not
agree, we could at least use common courtesy in the way we
conducted our politics. That isn't just good manners; it is
good politics.
But win, lose, or compromise, the way we argue can be as
important, in the long run, as the decisions we reach.
I so admired Tom's grace and civility. I also admired his
understanding and natural feel for the personality and the
distinctive culture of the institution. He was so dedicated
to its preservation and protection. Tom was chosen to lead
the House in a very difficult time. Through it all, he was a
gentleman of the House and a fair and honest broker and a
worthy adversary.
And maybe we both knew that our days were numbered. We were
too conditioned by our personal and political upbringing to
assume that we had the market cornered on political principle
or partisan superiority. We knew, too, that there would
always be a distinction and separation between campaigning
for office and serving in office. We were, I guess, pupils of
the old school.
Tom knew that a House Member has three essential jobs: to
deliberate, to debate, and to be effective. He knew that if
we wanted to be effective in the House, you just can't go
around shouting your principles; you have to subject those
principles to the test of open debate against those who do
not share those principles. But true debate is not possible
unless the Golden Rule is applied, which simply means that
you treat your fellow Members the way you, yourself, want to
be treated. Tom believed in that rule, and he practiced it
from the day he came to the House and all during his time as
Speaker of the House.
Tom Foley was proud to be a Member of this House. I share
that deep pride in this great institution, and I guess that
is one reason we were able to work together. We both saw the
House of Representatives not as a necessary evil, but as one
of the great creations of a free people.
On our last day in Congress, on November 29, 1994, Tom did
me the great honor of inviting me to the Speaker's podium to
preside over the House while he gave his farewell remarks
from the well. Incidentally, that was the first time in 40
years a Republican had been on that rostrum. When we stood
side by side at the podium on that last day of the 103rd
Congress, we knew that we were icons, I guess, of a bygone
era. As we visited for the last time 20 years later, I think
we felt good about that. We both took great pride in knowing
we had made things happen, that we found good ways to solve
difficult problems and make the House a working institution.
Now Tom takes his place among the great public servants
immortalized in this Hall of Statues. He is most worthy of a
presence here. I know, because of his great love for this
institution, that his spirit will dwell here forever. I only
hope that the legislators who now walk through here each day,
so consumed by the here and now, will feel his spirit, learn
from it, and be humbled by it.
That's what I have to say in honor of my dear friend, Tom
Foley.
(The Honorable William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the
United States)
President Clinton: Mr. Michel may be 90 years old, but he
has the spirit of a man half his age and the wisdom of one 10
times his age. We thank him for his remarks.
Heather, I thank you, and, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for
giving those of us who worked with, knew, and cared about Tom
the chance to be here today. I thank you, Heather, for all
you did to make his work possible and better.
Mr. President, thank you for being here, and Mr.
Vice President, Vice President Mondale, and all the others
who have spoken before me.
Shortly after I was elected President, I invited Speaker
Foley and Leader Gephardt to come to Arkansas to see me to
tell me everything I didn't know that was about to happen to
me, which Tom Foley proceeded to do in that calm, restrained,
balanced, lyrical way.
Tom told me not to be lulled by Bob Michel's friendliness,
that he was a very
tough adversary, but I could make a deal with him. He told me
not to be intimidated, Mr. Speaker, by your bellicosity
because you were a brilliant politician, but in the end, we
would find a way to do business. He turned out to be right
about both things.
His leadership made possible things that mattered to me a
lot. Being President is a matter of trying to do what you
promised to do when you ran, trying to respond to legitimate
impulses that are coming out of the political system across
the range, and trying to deal with the unanticipated
developments. And if you ignore any of them, you cannot
prevail. And if you can't work with the Congress, it's very
difficult.
Tom Foley, therefore, was pivotal in our landslide victory
for my economic plan and deficit reduction plan, because we
won by one vote in the House. And that runaway victory was
made possible by the Speaker and everybody else that voted
for it. But also, we just celebrated the 20th anniversary of
the Family Medical Leave law, the 20th anniversary of
AmeriCorps. They are now part of the pillars of our sense of
common citizenship.
Now, I have had Republicans and Democrats come up to me and
tell me what a difference the family leave law made for them;
young people who belong to both political parties who
believed in citizen service and participated in AmeriCorps.
He helped make those things possible, too.
And one of the things that I always appreciated about him
and marveled at how he could be brutally honest in the
kindest way.
It is true, as Leader Pelosi said, that he had a conversion
of sorts on the whole question of assault weapons because of
an experience he had, but he was very clearheaded. He told me
when we succeeded, in no small measure thanks to the
leadership of then-Senator Biden, and putting the assault
weapons ban back in the crime bill, he said, ``You can leave
this in here but there will be a lot of blood on the floor if
we pass this. Many of us will not survive.''
I will never forget the argument I had with him. I said,
``Tom, I'm from Arkansas. Both my Senators voted for this.
I'm still going to carry it next time.'' He said, ``Yeah.''
He said, ``In 4 years. It's the same thing with your economic
plan. People will see that it works and people will see that
they did not lose their guns and they still got to defend
their homes and go hunting and be in sports shooting
contests, but we all have to run before they know any of
that. We have enough uncertainty now. If you put this in
there, there will be a lot of carnage.''
And I thought he was wrong, but he was right. And he lost
that election by 4,000 votes. I would be a wealthy man if I
had a dollar for every time in the last 20 years I have found
my mind drawn to that conversation.
Was it worth his public service? We had 8 years of
declining violent crime for the first time in the history of
the country. We did prove that it did not interfere with
people's Second Amendment rights, but the price was high.
What I want to tell you is, appropriate today, that Tom
Foley, as nice as he was, as civil as he was, as much as he
loved his colleagues of both parties, was one tough guy. This
is a man who took up martial arts in his sixties. Now that I
am there, I respect it even more.
He risked the broken bones and the torn ligaments and
everything. He was tough and he walked clear-eyed into the
House, and we put those votes together and the crime bill
passed. And those of us who supported it at least think
America was much better off as a result. But he knew that,
even in the spirit of bipartisanship and compromise, being in
public service and making difficult decisions was inevitable
and not free, and he paid the price.
Before I came here, I read all the letters that Tom Foley
and I wrote to each other. That is a great thing about having
a library. Somebody will dig that stuff up for you. Now, here
is the one that means the most to me. It says the most about
him. He loved being in the House. It hurts to lose anytime,
but it really hurts if you're the Speaker, and he knew his
district, it turned out, way better than I did, at least
4,000 votes better than I did.
Bob Michel talked about what they did on November 29, 1994.
This letter was written to me on November 16, 1994, signed by
Tom Foley and Dick Gephardt and Bob Michel and Newt Gingrich,
asking that the administration send to the lame-duck session
of Congress the legislation to implement the general
agreement on terrorism and trade which established the World
Trade Organization which I believe has played a major role in
lifting more people out of poverty in extreme circumstances
in very poor countries, in the last 20 years, than anything
else.
He was, in short, dying inside, heartbroken, and he still
showed up for work, and he still believed that the purpose of
political service was to get the show on the road.
I will never forget this letter as long as I live. Dick was
hurt, too. He was going from majority to the minority, but
Tom Foley had lost his seat in a district he loved. I talked
to him about the wrinkles and curves of that district I don't
know how many times. But he was doing his job.
I asked him to go to Japan, just as I asked Vice President
Mondale to go to Japan, for a very simple reason. After our
wartime conflict, they became one of our greatest allies and
one of the greatest forces for democracy and security and
freedom and growth in the world. They had a tough time in the
1990s. They had their collapse well before we did, and I
always believed that the rest of the world was
underestimating the Japanese people, their brilliance, their
creativity, their technology, their resilience, and I wanted
them to know that America still cared.
And when Fritz Mondale was there and when Tom Foley was
there, they knew America cared.
So I leave you with this. I think they had a good time
there, and I think they enjoyed it. I know he did. There were
seven Japanese Prime Ministers in my 8 years as President. We
are not the only people that have turmoil. The best
politician was Prime Minister Obuchi. Tragically, as a young
man he had a stroke. He endured for 43 days after his stroke,
and when he died I suppose in a busy world full of things to
do, it was something of an anticlimax. I was appalled when I
was the only leader of a major country that came to his
funeral. But I flew all the way to Japan, spent 7 hours, so
that I could go. I liked him, I admired him, and I thought he
had set forth a direction that gave Japan the best chance
they had to succeed until Mr. Mori took office.
At the end of the funeral, young Japanese women appeared
with trays of flowers, and in the site, his ashes were on a
high wall that was totally made of flowers of the rising sun,
and every person there, beginning with his wife, went up and
bowed to his ashes and put a flower on the table until
thousands and thousands and thousands of flowers were there
creating a great cloud.
He was succeeded as Prime Minister by one of his close
allies, and the ally said this--Tom Foley and I stayed there
for hours and then we went home and watched the rest of it on
television until every person had put their flower there, a
testimony to the importance of citizenship and believing in
the institutions of your country. But the current Prime
Minister said this of his friend, ``I wonder if he ever
dreamed, and if my friend dreamed, I wonder what his dreams
were. Whatever they were, I hope they have all now come
true.''
I did not know Tom Foley well enough to know if he ever
dreamed, or if he did, what he dreamed. But I know when he
sat with me that day and watched that sacred experience, I
saw the well of common humanity we all share across all of
our interesting differences.
He gave his life to our country, and I hope his dreams have
all come true.
(The Honorable Barack H. Obama, President of the United
States)
President Obama: To Heather and the Foley family, to Tom's
colleagues and friends, President Clinton, Vice President
Mondale, former Speakers, and those who preceded me, I am
honored to join you today to remember a man who embodied the
virtues of devotion and respect for the institution that he
led, for the colleagues that he served alongside, and, most
importantly, for the citizens that he had the honor to
represent.
Unlike so many of you, I did not have the privilege of
knowing Tom personally. I admired him from afar. But like
millions of Americans, I benefit from his legacy. Thanks to
Tom, more children get a head start on success in school and
in life, more seniors receive better health care, more
families breathe easier because they know their country will
be there for them in times of need. And all of them--all of
us--are indebted to that towering man from Spokane.
I think, in listening to the wonderful memories that have
been shared, we get a sense of this man, and we recognize his
humility. He often attributed much of his success to good
luck--and he may have had a point. Leader McConnell told the
story about his first race. There were a couple of details
that got left out. On the way to Olympia to file the
paperwork for his first congressional campaign, apparently
Tom blew out a tire, so he and some friends hitchhiked to a
service station to get it fixed. And then, as they approached
the outskirts of the city, they ran out of gas, so they
pushed the car up the hill, coasting into town just before
the deadline. And Tom went on to win that race by a
resounding 54 votes.
So there's no question that there may have been some luck
of the Irish operating when it came to Tom Foley, as well as
incredible stamina. But what led him to make history as the
first Speaker of the House from west of the Rockies was not
luck. It was his hard work, his deep integrity, and his
powerful intellect, and, as Bob Michel so eloquently and
movingly stated, his ability to find common ground with his
colleagues across the aisle. And it was his personal decency
that helped him bring civility and order to a Congress that
demanded both and still does.
Which brings me to a final point. At a time when our
political system can seem more polarized and more divided
than ever before, it can be tempting to see the possibility
of bipartisan progress as a thing of the past--old school, as
Bob said. It can be tempting to wonder if we still have room
for leaders like Tom; whether the environment, the media, the
way that districts are drawn, and the pressures that those of
us in elected office are under somehow preclude the
possibility of that brand of leadership. Well, I believe we
have to find our way back there.
Now, more than ever, America needs public servants who are
willing to place problem-solving ahead of politics, as the
letter that President Clinton held up indicates, as the
history of the crime bill shows. We are sent here to do
what's right, and sometimes doing
what's right is hard and it's not free; and yet that's the
measure of leadership.
It's important for us who feel a responsibility to fight
for a cause to recognize that our cause is not advanced if we
can't also try to achieve compromise, the same way our
Founders saw it--as a vital part of our democracy, the very
thing that makes our system of self-government possible.
That's what Tom Foley believed. That's what he embodied.
That's the legacy that shines brightly today.
On the last day that he presided as Speaker, Tom described
what it should feel like to serve the American people in this
city. He spoke about coming to work in the morning and
catching a glimpse of the Capitol. And he said that it ought
to give anyone a thrill, a sense not only of personal
satisfaction, ``but very deep gratitude to our constituents
for the honor of letting us represent them.'' And Tom never
lost that sense of wonder.
It's interesting--as I read that passage, what he wrote,
the first time I visited Capitol Hill, Tom Foley was Speaker.
I was a very young man and I was doing community work, and I
remember seeing that Capitol and having that same sense of
wonder. And I think now about Tom Foley being here, doing
that work, and inspiring what might have ultimately led me to
be interested in public service as well.
When we're standing outside these magnificent buildings, we
have that sense of wonder and that sense of hope. And
sometimes the longer you're here, the harder it is to hang on
to that. And yet Tom Foley never lost it--never lost that
sense of wonder, never lost the sense of gratitude. What a
privilege he felt it was to serve. And he never forgot why he
came here--on behalf of this Nation and his State and the
citizens that he loved and respected so much.
And so, as a country, we ought to be grateful to him. And
to Heather and to the people of the great State of
Washington, thank you so much for sharing Tom with us.
God bless Tom Foley. God bless the United States of
America.
Speaker Boehner: Mr. President and to all of our speakers,
thank you for your testimonials.
In keeping with tradition, at this time, I would like to
ask Leader Pelosi to join me as we present Mrs. Foley with a
flag flown over the Capitol on the day of the Speaker's
passing and a copy of House Resolution 383, a resolution
expressing the House's sincerest condolences.
(Presentation made.)
(Mrs. Heather Foley, wife of the Honorable Thomas S. Foley)
Mrs. Foley: Thank you, President Obama and President
Clinton. I so appreciate you coming to honor and celebrate
Tom's life.
Thank you, Norman Dicks and Jim McDermott, our wonderful
friends. Let me acknowledge Congressman Lewis and former
Congressman and Republican leader Bob Michel, who have both
always been great friends to Tom and me.
And of course, I thank Senator Harry Reid and Senator Mitch
McConnell for traveling a long way from the Senate to the
House to remember my husband.
Also, I want to thank the Special Envoy from Japan,
Minister Masahiko Komura and Ambassadors Sasae, Anderson, and
Westmacott, plus the diplomatic delegations, for coming.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to Speaker Boehner for
making this memorial service possible. Without his caring and
competent staff, this event would not have happened.
When my husband was Speaker, we had about one person who
handled this kind of work. The Speaker has been most gracious
and helpful, and I applaud him for that.
I want to say a few words about my husband. As you probably
know, I worked for him for years as an unpaid staffer. I did
not plan to do this when I married him in 1968. I was sort of
wooed into being a volunteer for just a little while to see
how things go, and I remained for the full time he was here.
I should say that I stayed here unpaid, and that it was a
great adventure. Every time I thought of leaving, he would
suddenly assume a new position, and it was a great good
fortune of my life to be along for the ride and to see what
happened next.
Early on, I discovered that my husband was a wonderful
teacher. David Barner has written the nicest note about this,
and I think he was right on the mark. I can look back and say
that his father taught him about fairness, patience, and all
the virtues everyone has mentioned today.
There was a story that Tom's father, who was a superior
court judge, could sentence you to death and you would thank
him. But when I think back, and what I thought at the time is
I'm not sure where his good judgment came from, how he
understood the limits of power--and there are enormous limits
to power--that we must all work together and how much courage
he often displayed when defending what he believed was right.
Some of it must have been the result of his Jesuit education
and his experience as a debater.
A friend of his is here who knew him and debated with him,
and he told me that at 16 he was just a wonderful, great man,
even though he was just a young man at that time. I never
knew really exactly why he always knew the right thing to say
and do. Perhaps it was his honesty and his resolve to keep
his word. I don't know.
I think back on our almost 45 years together, and I think
of the long, long meetings that perhaps best displayed his
ability to reason with people. One of them was in the late
1960s at Shadel Park High School in Spokane. Tom had accepted
the challenge of a man whose name I think was Virgil Gunning
who was opposed to any form of gun control, and he claimed
that Tom was for every form of gun control. So Tom agreed to
appear at this forum in this local high school, and Virgil
ran ads in the newspapers and was able to attract--I think he
also ran them on the radio and television--an audience of
about 700 people. Tom stood on the stage for 5\1/2\ hours and
answered all of Gunning's allegations with reasons that I
never would have thought of. There were endless questions in
the audience. There were bumper stickers waved about the
Hungarians limited their guns and that's why they lost their
freedom, something to that effect.
I can remember Tom saying that he was not for repealing
laws that limited a citizen's use of cannons and rockets,
that he didn't think you were entitled to have a missile silo
right there in the backyard of your house.
At first, the audience was hostile, but at the end, Gunning
made a fatal mistake. He asked everyone to stand up and then
he pleaded for money to pay for the hall and the ads, and
people who were already standing, they just walked out.
I had spent a good deal of my life overseas at this time,
and I was mesmerized to watch this. It wasn't like, you know,
dealing with the Pakistanis or going to school there or
living in Greece or Egypt, as I had done. It was something
very different.
I learned over the years, and I was able to see Tom reason
with all kinds of people and with all kinds of interesting
arguments. He could always see another side to something. I
got to see him in action with Presidents and politicians on
both sides of the House and both sides of the Capitol. He was
somehow able to walk others through their demands and show
them where they were asking too much and where they might be
right. He was not afraid to take a position that a
constituent or a colleague might oppose and explain why.
I can remember the Pacific power administrator who came to
get more goodies being told that it was time that the Pacific
Northwest perhaps limited its demands and look in other
directions to get more power. I'm sure they are still here
asking for it, but anyway. But at the time, they agreed.
He was a man of principle. He was not afraid to compromise.
He believed there was honor in compromising. When he nearly
lost the election in 1980, he did not retreat to the life he
enjoyed as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, as
many would have done. Instead, he became Democratic whip and
started his climb up the leadership ladder.
I was appalled. I had gotten used to his position as
chairman, and I was on good terms with the staff. Suddenly,
all of these people were going to lose their jobs. We
couldn't take all of them with us to the whip office. The
budget was not that large. So I got used to it, and then he
moved up the ladder again and again.
It would have been the easy thing to stay as chairman of
the Agriculture Committee, and I should have known that this
extraordinary man was destined for extraordinary things. I'm
afraid I've kept you too long. Thank you so much for coming
to salute the life of a great man.
Thank you.
Reverend Conroy: Dear Lord, as we close our time together,
send Your Spirit of peace and consolation upon us, who mourn
the loss of the honorable former Speaker of the House, Tom
Foley.
He was a glowing example, an icon of what it means to be a
man for others. His decades of service to his home State of
Washington, and to our great Nation, will be long appreciated
by those whose lives are forever blessed by his life's work
and dedication.
May Your angels come to greet our beloved Tom, and may
those who mourn him here be consoled with the knowledge that
for those who love You, everything is turned to good.
Amen.
