December 3, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H6053 He is a writer who is working on a ban and when we secured millions to May God bless my colleagues with novel. He is a musician and a member combat the opioid epidemic. the strength to do what is right, and of the Arkansas Sympathy Youth Or- In retrospect, those were the good may God bless this great country. chestra. He hopes to attend North- days. f western University in Chicago, and I Then there were days when it felt REMEMBERING CHAIRMAN BOB expect him to succeed wherever life like our politics was absolutely irre- SMITH takes him. I congratulate Clayton on deemable, when a peaceful march for his hard work and keen interests. justice in my community was used as a The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Keep it up, Clayton, and make weapon to tell my constituents that it Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maumelle High School and your family is impossible to believe that Black Oregon (Mr. WALDEN) for 5 minutes. proud. Lives Matter while also believing that Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise f the vast majority of police officers are today to commemorate and honor the heroes. Those marchers were called life and legacy of former Congressman FAREWELL ADDRESS TO Bob Smith. An Oregon native—born in CONGRESS thugs and they were called rioters just for believing that peaceful protests Portland and raised in Burns—he had a The SPEAKER pro tempore. The could change this country. The public deep understanding of what it meant to Chair recognizes the gentleman from was told that their movement was dan- be an Oregonian and he knew the needs New York (Mr. ROSE) for 5 minutes. gerous and not something you should of the surrounding communities, espe- Mr. ROSE of New York. Mr. Speaker, listen to but something you should be cially the rural part of our State. this may be the last time I get to ad- afraid of. Yet for those who saw it with He went to Willamette University in dress this hallowed Chamber, and for their own eyes, the truth cut through Salem and received a degree in agri- that I am grateful for this opportunity. all those smears. culture. He would go on to put that de- I want to start by thanking my staff. gree to work on his own ranch. I remember being outside of a super- It may come as a surprise to some of In 1960, Bob’s career as a public serv- market. It was raining, and I was mis- my colleagues, as well as the press, but ant began when he was elected to the erable. An off-duty police officer came I do have some flaws. My staff worked Oregon House of Representatives. He up to talk to me. He assured me he was with me for 2 years—some of them even served in the State house until 1972. He no Democrat, but he had been working longer—and together we—not me, we— was speaker of the Oregon House dur- that day of the march. He had been accomplished an extraordinary amount ing the 1969 and 1971 sessions. skeptical, but those young men and for the great people of southern Brook- I remember as a 13-year-old young- women changed his mind, and he was lyn and Staten Island. ster going with my father, whom they proud of them. That officer saw past As I leave to pursue new adventures, were recruiting to run for the legisla- the lies and past the differences others I want to depart, though, with a few ture, down to Salem to see Bob Smith have used to divide us. He witnessed words of optimism for our great coun- and the speaker of the house. I was his fellow Americans in pain, and for try, as well as a warning. about this tall. I looked up, and here him it changed everything. In typical We live in a tough time for truth, and was this giant of a man. He was a giant Staten Island fashion, though, right it is causing faith in our government to of a man in Oregon politics, but a very after, he told me he wasn’t going to corrode. There is not a person in this kind soul. vote for me and that I was going to Chamber who thinks the American peo- He then served in the State senate lose for a thousand other reasons. ple trust us. There is not a person sit- from 1973 to 1982. When Oregon got its ting here right now who thinks the But conversations like that refreshed fifth congressional seat, he ran for that American people believe in our govern- my memory and my faith that this and was elected. He actually ran 31 dif- ment. country can one day live up to its ferent times for election and never lost This didn’t happen overnight. It was promise. We can put the government a single one. death by a thousand disappointments, back on the side of working people In the State house, Bob passed a a thousand scandals, and a thousand from New York City to Washington, number of pieces of legislation. He al- lives broken by politicians who mock a D.C., and everywhere in between. ways stood up for farmers and ranchers virus until it kills their neighbor; who That is the America we know is pos- in eastern Oregon and for lower taxes. carve us up into blue States and red sible: One where, in the face of un- He led the effort in the Congress to States, yet have the nerve to question imaginable vitriol, we don’t hate back; pass a balanced budget amendment. In someone else’s patriotism; who saw no in the face of unimaginable adversity, the State senate, he actually helped problem whatsoever giving a trillion- we don’t give up fighting until it pass the kicker law, which said when dollar tax cut to Big Pharma and com- doesn’t matter what you look like and Oregon collects more tax revenue than panies that are killing our planet, but where you come from, but in this coun- anticipated, that goes back to the tax- then they clutch their pearls when we try you can accomplish your dreams— payer. That went into the constitution say we want to be there for poor people a safe America, a just America, our eventually. and when we say we want to be there America. Bob went on to serve here, as I said, for the most vulnerable. In light of recent electoral results, for 14 years, from 1983 to 1995, and then During my few years in politics, I some have begun to wonder if Demo- came back to chair the Agriculture have seen how we can beat back this crats should soft-pedal the fight for Committee when he returned from 1997 festering cynicism: when we fight like equal justice, if they should take a step to 1999. hell for what is right, especially for back from fighting for economic secu- I am joined here on the floor today those who need us most, when we bring rity or even just give up. I am here to by a colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. converts to our side by promoting say absolutely not. This cannot wait. LUCAS), who served with Chairman truth where there is injustice, and by Justice cannot wait. If you aren’t will- Smith on the Agriculture Committee. appealing to common sense and—God ing to risk everything to build a better Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman forbid—humanity. country, then you do not belong here in from Oklahoma (Mr. LUCAS). I have seen constituents who thought the first place. Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the their government was there only to Mr. Speaker, to close, representing gentleman for yielding. It is an honor screw them over; begin to hope that Staten Island and south Brooklyn has to be here. Discussing my Agriculture maybe that wasn’t the case when we been the honor of my life. On behalf of Committee chairman and my colleague passed the Victim Compensation Fund; Leigh, Miles, and myself, I thank the for 21⁄2 years, Bob Smith, is truly an and when we cut through the red tape people of the 11th Congressional Dis- honor. to finally begin the construction of the trict for this extraordinary privilege. I When I was sworn in, in a special East Shore Seawall, the largest resil- am not sure what life has in store for election and I first surveyed this body, iency project in New York City his- us, but I will be on the front lines mak- one of the faces I recognized was this tory. I saw it when we reunited fami- ing sure our city and our country live huge figure of a man standing at the lies torn apart by the racist Muslim up to its promise. back brass rail. I can still almost see VerDate Sep 11 2014 11:25 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K03DE7.008 H03DEPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HOUSE H6054 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE December 3, 2020 Bob right over there surveying the VFW POST 334 CELEBRATES 75TH treme left. Politicizing access to cap- House floor and watching the process. ANNIVERSARY ital needs to end, and the Fair Access Bob was one of those folks who had a The SPEAKER pro tempore. The rule is a step in the right direction.