Pete Stark: “it is a joy to get a chance to speak to Sam when he has to sit and listen to us. Mr. Speaker, I have worked with Sam my…”

“it is a joy to get a chance to speak to Sam when he has to sit and listen to us. Mr. Speaker, I have worked with Sam my entire 22 years on the Committee on Ways and Means. It is interesting. Sam opposed expanding the Committee on Ways and Means when all of us new youngsters came on the committee. They had a nice little club and they really did not want to add to it. But once the caucus worked its will and the Committee on Ways and Means learned about democracy and expanded its membership, Sam turned out to be the fairest of the titans on that committee for opening up and sharing the responsibility. Mr. Speaker, he wrote the rules for that committee which stand today I think as a mark for other committees in its fairness and its openness. And many of us who worked with Sam for so long remember that. He could oppose you and he is not shy and he is willing to speak out. And unlike some of us, he does not need to learn more diplomacy and reticence because he has Martha, and Martha has been able to keep Sam mellow and happy when he has been fighting like hell for something that he believes in. Mr. Speaker, Sam wrote the rules for the Committee on Ways and Means. He is an expert on trade.”