this is kind of refreshing in Washington-and we need more like him. I just told him that I was going to introduce a bill next week making him Admiral in Perpetuity. I think that would be a good title. And I want to say something I've written here. If I read it, it will be the first speech I've read in 65 years, but I want to say one or two things that are in my heart about this nuclear frigate. This thing was born in controversy. Born in controversy, because this ship (and its sister ship) was a real confrontation between your Congress and your President. We had to live with a man by the name of Robert Strange McNamara, and he was determined to give America obsolescent ships from the very beginning, and the John F. Kennedy is one of those. The John F. Kennedy was born in obsolescence. That should have been a nuclear powered carrier (and, Bill Martin, you know this). And he was determined not to build this ship. He was determined not to build the California. And your Congress, which started the nuclear program against the Executive Branch of the government, gave you the nuclear submarines, and your Congress alone did it. And we were equally determined that you'd get nuclear frigates. We put in a provision-I happen to be the author of it—that the President of the United States should order these ships built unless he wrote the Congress that it was not in the national interest. McNamara went to one Lyndon Johnson and asked him to write a letter saying it was not in the national interest, and Lyndon Johnson had sense enough not to do it. And that's why we have the DLGN-36 and the DLGN-37, and we'll get others. Out of that confrontation came a new Secretary of Defense by the name of Clark Clifford, and he ordered these ships to go forward and his successors have carried on-to their great credit. And so, all I want to say, and I have finished, is that this ship began in a stormy sea, and, if you can find any stormier sea than the Congress of the United States, I'd like to know what the name of it is. But, as Chairman of your Committee on Armed Services, I plan to give your Congress the opportunity to try to catch the Russians in the days that I have, because today I'm not sure we're ahead of the Russians; I'm not sure we could beat them if we met them on the high seas, and my authority for that is one Hyman Rickover. A lot of our battle wagons would take off for the battle, but they wouldn't get there, because 80 percent of your Navy is old and 80 percent of their Navy is new. And come January, your Congress is going to have the opportunity to try to begin the catch-up, and already we've stared . . . I have my Acting Chief Counsel here with me today . . . and our bill is well on its way to being prepared for introduction. I am determined, as is your great Committee on Armed Services, that in your lifetime your Navy will not melt away, or as Kipling said in his famous lines: "Far-called our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks afire: And Lord God-Lord God, be with us-lest we forget this commitment with our destiny which I plan to keep, so help me God. I'm glad to be here today, Mrs. Rivers and I are honored beyond expression that we could participate in the program for this ship which bears the name of our great State. It's a humbling experience-one I shan't forget. And to receive the hospitality of these warm Virginians, these great Americans, together with the presence of my own people, this is something I shall remember as long as I live. Thank you very much. ADDRESS BY HON. DAN ROSTENKOWSKI OF ILLINOIS Mr. Speaker, with the passing of L. MENDEL RIVERS, the Nation has lost one of its most outspoken patriots, the State of South Caroline has lost its most distinguished statesman, and I have lost one of my closest friends. The death of our great Chairman last Monday leaves this body with a vacuum that will be very hard to fill. Many tributes have already been paid to this great man, as I am sure, many more will be in the weeks ahead. But, the greatest memorial to this man is the record that he compiled during his many years in the Congress. It is a memorial that will stand long and proud in honor of a man who was dedicated to the security and defense of his country. As a Member of Congress for the last 12 years, I have had the honor and privilege of sitting with him during many memorable sessions. I am especially thankful for having had the opportunity to Chair the debate of many of Mr. RIVERS' bills. His knowledge of military matters, his parliamentary expertise, coupled with his extraordinary wit, made these sessions most rewarding. I could go on to list almost endless awards and citations Chairman RIVERS has received, but these, I am sure, are already known to all of us. I would, instead, like to insert the tribute paid to Mr. RIVERS in the Chicago Tribune, a paper which has been one of his strongest supporters and has always admired him for his courage, determination, and fierce belief in the causes which he championed. The article follows: L. MENDEL RIVERS Leading the nation in mourning for L. MENDEL RIVERS, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, President Nixon called the South Carolina Democrat a patriot who held "unswervingly to the belief that the freedom that exists in the modern world is inextricably tied to the military strength of the United States." He was a friend, said Mr. Nixon, upon whom he could always rely “in times of great difficulty.” These were no routine words of acknowledgment for a departed member of Congress. The Republican President had no more fervent supporter of his policies in Viet Nam than the powerful committee chairman who died Monday of a heart attack. Nor did the military establishment have any greater admirer in the House. From the moment he entered Congress, in 1941, RIVERS fought for American supremacy in arms. He fought as hard for nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers for the Navy-his favorite service-as he did for modern weapons systems for the Army and Air Force. His was the voice heard most clearly in support of America's Safeguard antiballistic missile system. If the United States has fallen behind the Soviet Union in the nuclear arms race, as many military experts argue, it is not thru any lack of effort by Rep. RIVERS. In fact, he more than any other single member of Congress is generally credited with giving the United States as much defense as it now has. As President Nixon phrased it, RIVERS was important to the security of this nation because he believed freedom was inextricably tied to American military strength. Fortunately for the interests of national defense, RIVERS' committee mantle is expected to fall on the next senior Democratic member, F. Edward Hébert, of Louisiana, an equally strong supporter of the military and American servicemen. ADDRESS BY HON. DOMINICK V. DANIELS OF NEW JERSEY Mr. Speaker, it was with a great personal sadness that I learned of the death of our distinguished colleague from South Carolina, the Honorable MENDEL RIVERS. His loss will not only be felt in his congressional district or home State, but throughout the entire country. The late chairman of the Armed Services Committee was truly an American, a patriot dedicated to his country, and an outstanding statesman. For the past 30 years, MENDEL RIVERS has guided this country's national security with a determination and loyalty unsurpassed by few men in the history of America. In Chairman RIVERS, every soldier, sailor, and airman found a friend and champion. He has consistently led the fight in support of our men in the armed services and has never let them down. Mr. Speaker, these past few years have been troublesome times. We have heard our military force and national defense goals challenged and criticized mercilessly and continuously. Throughout all of the turmoil MENDEL RIVERS Stood strong and unswerving in his principles and would not be swayed by the attacks against his beliefs. To paraphrase the words of the great Winston Churchill, MENDEL RIVERS would not give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. I will miss the wit and unique personality of Chairman RIVERS, as will all of us in the House of Representatives. We have lost an extremely remarkable and capable man. ADDRESS BY HON. JOHN C. KLUCZYNSKI OF ILLINOIS Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in expressing grief at the passing of my friend, the Honorable MENDEL RIVERS, a committee chairman respected by his fellow Members of this House, esteemed by his constituents, and beloved by those on active duty in our military services, who called him "the big boss" as a title of affection. His constituents' esteem for him was based partly on his solid achievements in their behalf. He saw to it that his First Congressional District of South Carolina had defense production payrolls for its people and defense installations within its boundaries. Some of these were the Charleston Army Depot, the Charleston Naval Station, the Charleston Shipyard, the Charleston Naval Hospital, the Beaufort Naval Hospital, the Charleston Naval Supply Center, the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, the Charleston Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Training Center, the Charleston Polaris Missile FacilityAtlantic-the Marine Air Station at Beaufort, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, the Charleston Air Force Base, and the Headquarters of the 6th Naval District. The men and women of our Armed Forces, who regarded him as their special protector, did not base their loyalty on mere hearsay. They knew directly that it was he who had sought pay raises for them at the times they were left out while sizable increases were being voted for bureaucrats busily keeping the home fires burning. Chairman RIVERS Once added a billion-dollar authorization to the budget for a military pay raise. He believed that it was not possible to do enough for those who serve in the Armed Forces. Those who serve in the Armed Forces thus had good grounds for the friendship that they felt for him. He was on a first-name basis with most of the people in his congressional district. They were his pals long before he could do anything about getting defense payrolls into his district. They will remember him fondly and so will we. Mrs. Kluczynski joins me in extending deepest sympathy to his beloved wife, and her family at this time. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Extensions of Remarks an editorial which appeared in the Chicago Tribune of December 30, 1970, entitled L. MENDEL RIVERS: L. MENDEL RIVERS Leading the nation in mourning for L. MENDEL RIVERS, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, President Nixon called the South Carolina Democrat a patriot who held "unswervingly to the belief that the freedom that exists in the modern world is inextricably tied to the military strength of the United States." He was a friend, said Mr. Nixon, upon whom he could always rely in "times of great difficulty." These were no routine words of acknowledgment for a departed member of Congress. The Republican President had no more fervent supporter of his policies in Viet Nam than the powerful committee chairman who died Monday of a heart attack. Nor did the military establishment have any greater admirer in the House. From the moment he entered Congress, in 1941, RIVERS fought for American supremacy in arms. He fought as hard for nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers for the Navy-his favorite service-as he did for modern weapons systems for the Army and Air Force. His was the voice heard most clearly in support of America's Safeguard antiballistic missile system. |