September 16, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE H7291 this matter. I also want to take this The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- cally significant films had been colorized or opportunity to thank the gentleman ant to clause 5, rule I, and the Chair's otherwise altered from the original; and Whereas in 1985 President Ronald Reagan from Indiana [Mr. BURTON], the chair- prior announcement, further proceed- man of the Committee on House Gov- awarded Jimmy Stewart the Nation's high- ings on this motion will be postponed. est civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of ernment Reform and Oversight, and The point of no quorum is considered Freedom: Now, therefore be it the gentleman from California [Mr. withdrawn. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the WAXMAN], the ranking member, for f Senate concurring), That Congress recognizes their leadership and helping to expe- the many talents of the late James M. dite consideration of this matter before GENERAL LEAVE (``Jimmy'') Stewart and honors the artistic, the House. Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unani- military, and political contributions he Mr. Speaker, this resolution asks the mous consent that all Members may made to the Nation. President to issue a proclamation rec- have 5 legislative days within which to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- ognizing and commending each of these revise and extend their remarks on ant to the rule, the gentleman from 82 men by name for their service, their House Concurrent Resolution Resolu- Florida [Mr. MICA] and the gentleman bravery, and their fortitude. In good tion 95. from Maryland [Mr. CUMMINGS] each conscience we can do no less. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there will control 20 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to objection to the request of the gen- The Chair recognizes the gentleman vote for this long overdue resolution. tleman from Florida? from Florida [Mr. MICA]. Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in There was no objection. Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield my- support of the resolution offered by the gen- f self such time as I may consume. tleman from Florida. The history of mankind Mr. Speaker, from time to time the has shown us much about human nature. In HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS U.S. House of Representatives and our World War Two, we faced an evil so unprece- JIMMY STEWART MADE TO THE Congress honors the memory and tal- dented in its inhumanity we refer to those ac- NATION ents of great Americans. Mr. Speaker, I tions today as ``atrocities'' and as ``crimes Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to rise today to pay tribute to the late against mankind.'' The Nazi regime inflicted suspend the rules and agree to the con- Jimmy Stewart. As an actor, as a citi- many injuries against the world, some of current resolution (H. Con. Res. 109) zen, and in his personal life, Jimmy which were still struggling to heal. Let us take recognizing the many talents of the Stewart exemplified the best of Amer- a step in a forward manner today and give our actor Jimmy Stewart and honoring the ica. support in honoring a special group of Amer- contributions he made to the Nation. Most Americans know Jimmy Stew- ican defenders who were witness to this ter- The Clerk read as follows: art through his many movies. All of us rible regime. have seen at least some of these mov- H. CON. RES. 109 The 82 American airmen captured and in- ies, and he endeared himself to us by terred at the Buchenwald concentration camp Whereas James M. (``Jimmy'') Stewart made more than 80 films including comedies, his performances. As laymen, though, must be commended. In the service of their we probably did not fully appreciate nation, they were forced to suffer at the hands westerns, and dramas of suspense; Whereas Jimmy Stewart won an Academy what a consummate craftsman he was. of a vile enemy. Award for best performance by an actor in His acting appeared so natural that The suffering and sacrifice of these Ameri- 1940 for his performance in ``The Philadel- many wrongly believed that he was not cans cannot be forgotten. It was because of phia Story'' and received four other Oscar acting at all, just being himself. But, them and the Allied forces that we are in a po- nominations for his performances in ``Mr. according to biographers and critics, sition today to take preventive measures Smith Goes to Washington'', ``It's a Wonder- that was deceptive. against such an occurrence ever happening ful Life'', ``Harvey'', and ``Anatomy of a again. Murder''; b 1245 As much as some people wish to deny his- Whereas Jimmy Stewart received a Screen What appeared so natural to us was Actors Guild Award in 1968 for ``fostering the tory, this event was real. A Holocaust took instead the result of talent magnified place. These 82 soldiers not only became finest ideals of the acting profession''; the American Film Institute's eighth life many times over by dedication and prisoners, they became witnesses and mes- achievement award in 1980, a Kennedy Center hard work. sengers who could share with us firsthand this Honor in 1983, a special Academy Award in Frank Capra, who directed Jimmy terrible event so that we might understand and 1984 for ``50 years of meaningful perform- Stewart in his most famous movies, learn from the tragic mistakes of the past. ances'' and ``for his high ideals, both on and ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' and To let this moment pass us by without ac- off the screen'', and the annual tribute by ``It's A Wonderful Life,'' had this to tion by this body would cast a pall on the the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1990; say about Jimmy Stewart's acting memory of these valiant, selfless men. We Whereas Jimmy Stewart appeared in a ability: number of television shows and Broadway have learned of the terrible circumstances at There is a higher level than great perform- plays and received a Tony Award; the concentration camps. We have previously ances in acting. The actor disappears and Whereas Jimmy Stewart's poetry was com- there is only a real live person on the screen. honored innocent civilian victims of these piled into his 1989 book entitled ``Jimmy There are only a few actors, very few indeed, camps. Some of those people were our Stewart and his Poems''; capable of that level of performance, and friends and family members, and many were Whereas Jimmy Stewart enlisted in the that tall string bean sitting over there, he is people we did not know. Now we have the op- military and served during World War II as one of them. portunity to bestow proper honor and recogni- operations officer, chief of staff, and squad- tion of those service men who were fighting on ron commander of the Second Combat Wing He was referring, of course, to Mr. our behalf. And who ended up in the Buchen- of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in England; Stewart. wald concentration camp. I urge all of my col- Whereas Jimmy Stewart's military decora- Jimmy Stewart's personal life was tions include two Distinguished Flying leagues to join together and support his admi- also exemplary. He married his wife Crosses, the Air Medal, multiple oak leaf Gloria in 1949 and remained married to rable resolution. clusters, six battle stars, and the Croix de Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back her until she died in 1994. That is no Guerre with Palm; mean feat in Hollywood and in days the balance of my time. Whereas Jimmy Stewart attained the rank The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. of colonel during World War II and the rank where marriages sometimes seem to LAHOOD). The question is on the mo- of brigadier general in 1959, making him the last only weeks or months. He also tion offered by the gentleman from highest ranking entertainer in the American contributed to his community. He was Florida [Mr. MICA] that the House sus- military; an adviser to Princeton University's pend the rules and agree to the concur- Whereas Jimmy Stewart was active in na- Theater in Residence, and served on rent resolution, House Concurrent Res- tional politics in his later years and was a the executive board of the Los Angeles close personal friend of former President olution 95. Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Ronald Reagan; Jimmy Stewart also set a model for The question was taken. Whereas Jimmy Stewart testified before Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I object to Congress in 1988 in favor of a bill that was all of us in citizenship and patriotism. the vote on the ground that a quorum later enacted to require film exhibitors and He was already a famous actor when is not present and make the point of distributors to disclose to the public whether World War II broke out. Perhaps he order that a quorum is not present. certain culturally, historically, or aestheti- could have used his influence to stay H7292 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE September 16, 1997 out of the armed forces, but he chose loved men. This is not only for his pro- mained active in the Air Force Reserve not to do so. To the contrary, when the fessional successes, but every bit as and rose to the rank of brigadier gen- Army rejected him because he was un- much for his integrity, his character, eral. derweight, Jimmy Stewart ate fatten- and the fact that he was a true human- Mr. Speaker, Jimmy Stewart never ing foods so he could pass the weight itarian.