On the recordJanuary 25, 1994
I want to rise today to pay our respects to this great American. I came to the Congress in 1977, January, when Tip O'Neill became Speaker. I would simply say that he had an enormous influence not only on his constituents in Massachusetts and in his State, but he had an enormous influence on all of us who served with him in the House and on generations of people who met him and knew him here in the House of Representatives. There were two kinds of values or ideas that he stood for that I will never forget. One was that he always told us, both Republicans and Democrats, but all of us as public servants that all of politics is local. He was famous for that phrase because it is such a true phrase. All of us understand that what we do here is interesting and important, but if it does not relate directly to what people see, feel and hear at home, it really is of no relevance to the people who are our boss, our constituents.
