Bob Wise: “to those watching this debate, whether by television or in the gallery or wherever, think it is obvious that they can…”

“to those watching this debate, whether by television or in the gallery or wherever, think it is obvious that they can see that this is not just an ordinary Member, this is an extraordinary Member that is being remembered here today; not in a flashy, necessarily charismatic sense, but as a solid, stable, and caring legislator who touched so many of us in so many different ways. He was a Member in the finest way, not a Democrat and not a Republican, necessarily, but a solid Member. He brought me, as he brought so many of you, into a new experience. Bill recruited me to join with him when he was chair of the Congressional Study Group in Germany. He sort of brought me up through the ranks and made sure I was ready to handle the responsibilities. He made me the vice chair and this year, the chair. I got to visit Bill's district. A lot of us are used to visiting Members' districts with Members. I got to see Bill's district without Bill being present, because at the time that the Congressional Study Group on Germany was holding its meeting, and it was holding it in Cape Girardeau, Bill was not able to be there because of his chemo treatment. He hated that. He had arranged the whole trip. He wanted very much to be with the group. He had been with it for many years. It was being held in his district. He could not be there. Yet he carried on, his staff carried on marvelously.…”