[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
.
HON. JIM WRIGHT
1922 -2015
Jim Wright
LATE A SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
AND A
REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND
OTHER TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
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Jim Wright
Memorial Addresses and
Other Tributes
HELD IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNITED STATES
TOGETHER WITH A MEMORIAL SERVICE
IN HONOR OF
JIM WRIGHT
Late a Speaker of the House
AND A
Representative from Texas
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One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
First Session
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Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
Tributes by Representatives:
Boehner, John A., of Ohio......................
4
Burgess, Michael C., of Texas..................
3
Foxx, Virginia, of North Carolina..............
4
Johnson, Eddie Bernice, of Texas...............
3
Memorial Service......................................
7
BIOGRAPHY
The insights gained by Speaker Jim Wright in his long
and tumultuous career can shed light on many of the
problems we face in the world today. A Member of Congress
for 34 years, Mr. Wright served with eight American
Presidents. He was chosen by his colleagues as Speaker of
the U.S. House of Representatives, the highest honor
Members can bestow upon one of their number. He met and
came to know many heads of state including Mikhail
Gorbachev and several of the current leaders of Middle
Eastern nations.
As majority leader, Mr. Wright helped President Carter
achieve the historic peace agreement between Egypt and
Israel. He was the principal advocate in Congress for an
energy policy to reduce our Nation's dependence on Middle
Eastern oil.
As House Speaker, Mr. Wright presided over the historic
100th Congress, considered the most productive in a
generation. Under his leadership, Congress passed landmark
legislation on such major issues as shelter for the
homeless, catastrophic medical assistance for the elderly,
safer highways and bridges, fast-track trade negotiating
authority and U.S. competitiveness, quality education,
clean water, and affordable housing. That 100th Congress
fashioned the beginnings of an effective war on drugs and
passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 as a step to
addressing the wrongs done to Japanese-Americans in World
War II.
Jim Wright was born in Fort Worth, TX, a city he
represented in Congress from 1955 through June 1989. He
completed public school in 10 years and was on his way to
finishing college within 3 years when Pearl Harbor was
attacked. Following enlistment in the Army Air Corps, Mr.
Wright received his flyer's wings and a commission at 19.
He flew combat missions in the South Pacific and was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Legion of
Merit.
After the war, Mr. Wright was elected to the Texas
Legislature at 23. At 26, he became the youngest mayor in
Texas when voters chose him to head their city government
in Weatherford, his boyhood home.
Elected to Congress at 31, he served 18 consecutive
terms and authored major legislation in the fields of
foreign affairs, economic development, water conservation,
aviation, education, and energy. Mr. Wright received
worldwide recognition for his efforts to bring peace to
Central America.
Jim Wright served 10 years as majority leader before
being sworn in as Speaker on January 6, 1987. He was
reelected as Speaker in January 1989.
A prolific writer, he authored numerous books: ``You and
Your Congressman,'' ``The Coming Water Famine,'' ``Of
Swords and Plowshares,'' ``Reflections of a Public Man,''
``Worth It All: My War for Peace,'' and ``Balance of
Power: Presidents and Congress from the Era of McCarthy to
the Age of Gingrich.'' He has also written articles for
major magazines and newspapers.
Mr. Wright also served as senior political consultant to
American Income Life Insurance Company. He wrote a
frequent newspaper column and occasionally appeared on
network TV news programs. Speaker Wright donated his
papers and memorabilia to the Texas Christian University
Library in Fort Worth, TX. He was also a distinguished
lecturer at TCU where he taught a course entitled,
``Congress and the Presidents.''
MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
AND
OTHER TRIBUTES
FOR
JIM WRIGHT
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged
resolution (H. Res. 254) and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 254
Resolved, That the House has learned with profound
sorrow of the death of the Honorable James Claude Wright,
Jr., former Member of the House for 18 terms and Speaker
of the House of Representatives for the One Hundredth and
One Hundred First Congresses.
Resolved, That in the death of the Honorable James
Claude Wright, Jr. the United States and the State of
Texas have lost a valued and eminent public servant and
citizen.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions
to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of
the deceased.
Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn
as a further mark of respect to the memory of the
deceased.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise
today with great pleasure to pay tribute to the life and
legacy of former Speaker of the House James ``Jim''
Wright, who passed away on Wednesday, May 6, at the age of
92. Speaker Wright served in Congress for more than three
decades and left an indelible legacy as chairman of the
House Public Works Committee. He was elected by his peers
as Speaker in 1987.
Jim Wright was born in Fort Worth, TX, the son of a
traveling salesman. He was educated at Weatherford College
and the University of Texas at Austin. Jim Wright
dedicated his life to serving the public. He bravely
served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and
was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying
combat missions in the South Pacific. Subsequently, he was
elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1946. He
served as mayor of Weatherford, TX, from 1950 to 1954. He
was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954
and was reelected 16 times.
Speaker Wright was a visionary who served the people of
Fort Worth and this Nation well. He is deserving of this
tribute. Because of his leadership, the House experienced
one of its most prolific periods. Speaker Wright
demonstrated his skill as a political leader and master
legislator by shepherding extraordinarily complex
legislation through the House. He understood that the
business of legislating and good politics required great
skill in the art of compromise.
Speaker Wright never backed down from a challenge, and
even after leaving office, he continued to serve the
public diligently. I was always able to consult with
Speaker Wright regarding difficult legislation, and he
never failed to provide thoughtful and principled insight.
Our country has lost one of its finest statesmen, and I
have lost a close personal friend whose wisdom, dignity,
and knowledge of the legislative process was
unquestionably enviable. He is among the most influential
Speakers in the history of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Speaker, Jim Wright is an unforgettable public
servant and leader. A man fueled by passion and concern
for others, he set the bar high for his successors. He is
survived by his wife, Betty, and four children. I stand
today to honor former Speaker of the House, Jim Wright,
and to thank him for his work in service to the people of
Texas and throughout this great Nation. He left a powerful
legacy that will live for generations.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now
adjourn.
The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and
16 minutes p.m.), under its previous order and pursuant to
House Resolution 254, the House adjourned until tomorrow,
Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour
debate, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the
late Honorable James Claude Wright, Jr.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, the Honorable James Claude
Wright, former Speaker of the House of Representatives,
died on May 6, 2015. On that day, I issued the following
statement:
The whole House mourns the passing of Speaker Jim Wright
of the State of Texas. We remember Speaker Wright today
for his lifelong commitment to public service, from flying
combat missions over the South Pacific to fighting for
Fort Worth on the House floor. Speaker Wright understood
as well as anyone this institution's closeness to the
people, calling the House ``the raw essence of the
Nation.'' It is in this spirit that we send our deepest
condolences to his family and community.
The House took several steps to honor the former
Speaker. The Speaker's chair on the rostrum was draped in
black--the same mark of respect first made upon the death
of Michael Kerr of Indiana, Speaker of the House in the
44th Congress, and most recently for Thomas Foley. The
Speaker's gavel rested on the rostrum during this period.
Outside the House Chamber, Speaker Wright's official
portrait in the Speaker's lobby was draped in black. A
book of condolences was made available for the
remembrances of friends and colleagues. On May 12, 2015,
the House adopted House Resolution 245, expressing the
condolences of the House upon his death, and the House
adjourned on that day as a further mark of respect to his
memory. A funeral was held on May 11, 2015, at First
United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, TX. The following
is a transcript of those proceedings: [The transcript may
be found on page 11].
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S p e a k e r J i m W r i g h t
D e c e m b e r 2 2, 1 9 2 2 - May 6, 2 0 1 5
A Service of Thanksgiving to God for the Life and Legacy
of
James Claude Wright, Jr.
December 22, 1922-May 6, 2015
PRELUDE
Ms. Peggy Graff
PROCESSIONAL
``Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee''
CALL TO WORSHIP
Dr. Tim Bruster
PRAYER
PSALM 23 (In Unison)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me
beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His
name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for
thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my
cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever.
HEBREW SCRIPTURES
Psalm 46
Micah 6:6-8
SOLO
Mr. Christopher Auchter
``Let There Be Peace on Earth''
TRIBUTES
Mr. Martin Frost
Mr. Bill Alexander
Mr. Paul Driskell
CONGREGATIONAL HYMN
No. 437
``This is My Song''
NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES
I Corinthians 13
Luke 6:27-36
SERMON
PRAYER
BENEDICTION
Jim's Great Grandchildren
CONGREGATIONAL
HYMN
``When the Roll is Called Up Yonder''
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the
other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
On that bright and cloudless morning
when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home
beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain
Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till
setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth
is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain
RECESSIONAL
``For All the Saints''
Please join the family for a reception in Wesley Hall
immediately following the service.
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The funeral procession will depart at 4:00 for the
interment at City Greenwood Cemetery in
Weatherford. If you are planning to join the
procession and are parked at Farrington Field,
please take the shuttle to the parking area
and return to the church for the procession.
The Reverend Dr. Tim Bruster (First United Methodist
Church, Fort Worth, Texas). Please be seated.
Hear these words of Jesus: I am the resurrection and the
life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will
live, and everybody who lives and believes in me will
never die.
Christ said, ``I am alpha and omega, the beginning and
the end. Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and
the living one. I was dead, and now I am alive, forever
and ever.
Friends, we have gathered here to praise God and to draw
comfort from our faith and to give thanks as we celebrate
the life of Jim Wright.
We come together in grief, of course, acknowledging our
human loss. But we also come together in gratitude,
acknowledging and giving thanks for his life and his
legacy and for everything in his life that was a
reflection of the love and the grace of God.
May God grant us grace in this time that in pain we may
find comfort, in sorrow we may find joy, and in death,
resurrection.
Let us pray.
Our gracious and loving God, we bow in awe of Your
greatness and Your love. You have spoken words of life to
us in so many ways. You've given form and beauty to our
world, and all of creation sings Your praise.
You have given us one another to love and receive love,
a reflection of Your gracious love for us. And You have
spoken to us in the words of Scripture and in Jesus, the
Word made flesh, the Author of life.
As You speak to us now, in this service of worship, help
us once again to hear Your words of life as we celebrate
the life and legacy of Your servant, Jim.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
I invite you now to turn in your worship guide to the
words of the 23d Psalm as we say them together:
``The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
``He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth
me beside the still waters.
``He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name's sake.
``Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod
and Thy staff they comfort me.
``Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over.
``Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.''
The words of Psalm 46:
``God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the Earth
should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of
the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the
mountains tremble with its tumult.
``There is a river whose streams make glad the city of
God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the
midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it
when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the
kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the Earth melts. The
Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
``Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what
desolations He has brought on the Earth. He makes wars
cease to the end of the Earth; He breaks the bow, and
shatters the spear; He burns the shields with fire. `Be
still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the
nations; I am exalted in the Earth.' The Lord of hosts is
with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.''
The words of the prophet Micah:
`` `With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow
myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with
burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be
pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of
rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?'
``He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does
the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love
kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?''
God speaks to us in the reading of Scripture.
The Honorable Martin Frost (U.S. House of Representatives,
24th District of Texas, 1979-2005). In the words of
President John F. Kennedy about Jim Wright, ``No city in
America was better represented in Congress than Fort
Worth.''
I'm here today to speak on behalf of the scores of
people--many of whom, Texans--that Jim Wright helped along
the way with their careers. He was our mentor, our
colleague, and our friend. We were better public servants
because of Jim Wright, and many of those Members, past and
present, Democrat and Republican, are here with us today
to honor Jim.
In a minute, I'm going to speak about what Jim did for
my career, but it really speaks volumes for what he did
for a lot of others, too.
Jim Wright was an extraordinary leader both for the
people of Fort Worth and for our Nation. He always
remembered the people who sent him to Washington and
worked tirelessly to make our country even better every
day he was in office. Few Congressmen in recent times have
had a greater impact than our friend Jim Wright.
I met Jim Wright 57 years ago, in 1958, when he was a
young Congressman beginning his second term and I was a 16
year old. Jim was the guest speaker at the Temple Beth-El
youth group in the basement of the old synagogue building
on West Broadway, near downtown.
I had never met a national politician before, and he
made a deep impression on me that day. I remember to this
day some of what he said, and more of that a little bit
later.
Seven years later, in 1965, I showed up in Washington as
a young reporter covering Congress for a magazine, and the
first thing I did was to go see my hometown Congressman,
Jim Wright. Jim and his chief of staff, Marshall Lynam,
were very helpful to this young reporter, suggesting who I
should get to know on congressional committee staffs.
Three years later, in summer 1968, Jim helped me get a job
on Hubert Humphrey's national Presidential campaign staff
while I was a student at Georgetown Law School.
The last two people I saw before I headed back to Texas
following graduation in 1970 were Jim and Marshall. I told
them that I hoped to come back to DC some day as a
Congressman--in a neighboring district. I had no intention
of ever running against Jim Wright.
Fast forward to 1976 when I was north Texas coordinator
for the Carter-Mondale Presidential campaign. The Carter
campaign wanted to come to Texas the weekend before the
general election when carrying Texas was still in doubt.
They wanted to only stop in Dallas. As a Fort Worth boy, I
told them they also had to come to Cowtown and that I knew
that local Congressman Jim Wright would put on one hell of
a show for them, and that's exactly what Jim did. He
filled the downtown convention center with more than
10,000 people early in the afternoon that Sunday. It made
great television, and Carter became the last Democratic
Presidential candidate to carry Texas.
Shortly after that election, Jim Wright became House
majority leader by one vote in a hotly contested secret
ballot election. He certainly knew how to count.
Two years later, I was elected to Congress from the 24th
District, which, in fact, adjoined the 12th District that
Jim represented. Jim went to Speaker Tip O'Neill and made
sure I was named to the powerful House Rules Committee, an
appointment that almost never went to a freshman Member.
From that day on, Jim Wright and I became both
colleagues and friends. He was my mentor during the 11
years we served together, and I learned an enormous amount
just watching him in action. When I inherited the Black
community in southeast Fort Worth following the 1991
redistricting, I only used one picture in my mailing: a
photo of Jim Wright and me. There wasn't anything else the
voters in that part of my district needed to know.
They continued to be my base for the remainder of my 26
years in Congress, and just to make sure people in Fort
Worth knew that I had strong ties to Fort Worth, even
though I now lived in Dallas, he used to tell anyone who
would listen that I went to high school in his district at
Fort Worth's Paschal, and he went to high school in my
district at Dallas' Adamson.
When Jim taught a course at TCU on Congress for 20 years
after leaving the Congress, I was proud to be a guest
lecturer for him every single year. The last time I saw
Jim was in spring 2014, when I was working on a book about
Congress. We visited for about an hour in his office at
TCU. His body was frail, but his mind was as sharp as
ever.
I learned how to be an effective Congressman by
observing Jim as a colleague and as a junior partner on a
variety of matters that helped Fort Worth. He never forgot
the people who sent him to Washington. He was a stalwart
in his work on behalf of defense workers at what is now
Lockheed Martin, which was General Dynamics, and Bell
Helicopter in Fort Worth.
He played a significant role in the decision by American
Airlines to move its corporate headquarters from New York
to the Metroplex, and he was a strong supporter of DFW
Airport, the jobs magnet for this part of the State.
We worked together--and by the way, he did the heavy
lifting--to convince the railroad to make its right-of-way
available for the Trinity River Express connecting Fort
Worth and Dallas. No request from anyone in Tarrant County
was too small to win Jim's help.
Also, Jim's role in promoting the careers of promising
African Americans from Fort Worth was of great
significance. He brought Lorraine Miller, a young woman
from the southeast side of Fort Worth, to Washington to
work on his staff. Years later, she became the first
African American to serve as Clerk of the U.S. House and
recently served as interim national president of the
NAACP. Just a few years ago, Jim played a key role in the
election of Mark Veasey, who became the first Black
Congressman from Fort Worth.
One of Jim's greatest strengths was molding a disparate
group of Democrats into an effective majority when he
became Speaker. During his first year as Speaker in 1987--
and Tony and Steny, you will remember this--Congress
passed all 13 appropriation bills before the start of the
new fiscal year on October 1, something that is almost
never done today.
I remember his response to a question from the audience
at that speech at Temple Beth-El in 1958. He was asked
what a Congressman does when he feels one way about an
issue and his district feels the other way. He responded
that the job of a Congressman was to reflect the views of
his district as often as he could. He then added that he
reserved a small percentage of votes, perhaps 10 percent,
to vote against the majority of his district if he felt
something was vital in the national interest. He then
added that it was his responsibility to go back to his
constituents to explain his vote and hopefully convince
them that he was right and they were wrong. He added that
if a Congressman couldn't successfully do that, he
wouldn't be reelected, and that was as it should be.
He did a very good job following his own advice. I did
the same and found that he was exactly correct.
Fort Worth is a great city today because of Jim Wright.
We all owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. We will
never see his like again.
The Honorable Bill Alexander (U.S. House of
Representatives, First District of Arkansas, 1969-1993).
Jimmy and Ginger, Kerry, Lisa, and all the Wright family,
I feel that we are kin.
To all of his friends who are here today, I join you in
tribute to one of my dearest friends.
I kept up with Jim through the years, even after he left
Washington and returned to Texas; and following his
recovery from surgery, I gave him a call one day, and he
invited me to come to Fort Worth. So my son and I--Alex,
who is here--with his sister Ashley, who came to TCU at a
later time, boarded our plane and came to DFW. At those
days, Jim was driving, and so he met us at the airport.
I'd never been outside of DFW before, so I didn't know
what to expect.
As we left the terminal, I noticed all of the concrete
infrastructure that supports the airport: the entrance
ramps, the exit ramps, the overhead bridges, the long ride
to the interstate. I never saw so much concrete in all my
life. I turned to Jim, who at one time, as most of you
know, was chairman of the Public Works Committee, and I
said to him, ``Jim, how much money did the Public Works
Committee spend on this airport?'' He looked at me and
rolled his brow and lifted his big bushy eyebrows and he
said to me, ``Not a penny more than the law allowed.''
Jim was probably one of the most successful chairmen in
Congress; and with that success, people encouraged him,
and he ran for majority leader. As all of you probably
followed in the news, it was a very contentious race, and
on the day of the vote, I was appointed to be a judge. So
after the votes were cast, I adjourned with the other
members of the election group and counted the votes. We
counted them twice, and Jim won by one vote.
I got up from the chair in the Speaker's lounge--the
Speaker's lobby, we call it--rushed through the door to
the House Chamber, and Jim was sitting on the second row
on the Democratic side in the Hall of the House. I rushed
up to him and I said, ``Jim, you won.'' He was surprised
because no one knew the outcome of that election. He
looked at me, and he said, ``Are you sure?'' I said,
``Jim, I counted the votes, and if you hadn't won, Phil
Burton said he would send me to Alaska.''
Following in the footsteps of Sam Rayburn and Lyndon
Johnson, Jim asserted leadership in Congress at a time of
confusion in the Senate and the White House, demonstrating
a unique ability to command our Nation's political
resources to get things done. This went across the aisle
to the Republicans and even down Pennsylvania Avenue to
the White House, which is a million miles away if you
serve in Congress sometimes.
Jim Wright had fought in World War II to defend the
values of the Greatest Generation, as Tom Brokaw describes
this generation, a generation of men and women united in
common purposes of family, country, duty, honor, courage,
and service. During World War II, he flew many combat
missions. I haven't really been able to discern exactly
how many yet because there's such a debate over it. Maybe
somebody will tell me before I go back to Washington. He
served as a bombardier and was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross for his bravery.
Jim believed that government should serve the people as
well as the economic interests, which also must be
represented, and provide Federal assistance to communities
and States like Arkansas, where I'm from. It's in need of
capital development in order to provide infrastructure to
try to attract industry and jobs for our people. That was,
in his view, providing building blocks for the foundation
of the economic development that benefits all of us. All
you've got to do is look around in Texas a little bit to
find out if it works.
The criticism of Speaker Wright, which is in the news,
instead of all of the accomplishments that we know he
achieved, his strong leadership came from a changing
Congress. Some of my former colleagues from Congress are
here today, and they know what I'm talking about.
Beginning with the 1968 election, which was my first
election to Congress, the ideals and values of the
Greatest Generation began to evolve. A Congress run by
Southern Democrats, who chaired mostly the important
committees in the Congress, was gradually replaced by a
younger generation of Congressmen and Senators, many of
them in the other party. When he left Congress, even his
political enemies often remarked that, had he stayed in
Congress, he would have been the greatest Speaker since
Henry Clay.
His time as Speaker laid down historic markers. He was
the last great figure in Congress to keep alive the idea
of development--that came from the New Deal--that would
help our economy.
After him came what we call Reaganomics and the tidal
wave of polarization of our two political parties and the
continuing mindless cannibalism which we can still see
evident today between the parties and even in the parties
in Congress.
Criticism of Speaker Wright's forceful leadership came
from Republicans and Democrats alike; although, at the
time he stepped down, the principal antagonists came from
within our own party. I was there, and I know who they
are.
What followed was a profound change in the power
structure in Congress, shifting away from the power and
authority lodged in a handful of key Southern committee
chairmen to a dispersion of power among proliferating
committees and subcommittees, encouraging intensifying
rivalries and even political fratricides throughout the
House. His departure marked the end of an era when
Southern Democrats dominated in both the House and the
Senate, along with a gradual evolution of the Congress
toward social issues.
It marked the transition from Southern leadership of
Congress to a growing concentration of power of the
Democratic Party in our Nation's biggest cities, many of
them in the North, opening a widening rift between our
Nation's small towns and rural areas and the political
interests of the inner cities. The way was opened for
lobbyists to shift attention away from schools and roads
and bridges and water systems that helped our people to
special interests of Wall Street banks and a commercial
agenda.
A fluent speaker of Spanish, he took the initiative to
intervene in the political crisis in Nicaragua and crafted
peace talks that laid the foundation for elections. When I
assisted him in this so-called ``junket,'' in his endeavor
I found that what we tried to do generated much
consternation among President Reagan's White House staff.
Later, another great Texan, James Baker, observed that
what Jim Wright did with his intervention in Nicaragua
turned the corner for that nation and helped the United
States and Nicaragua to come to better terms with one
another.
Jim Wright was not only a master of the political
structure and the rules in Congress, he also was an
author, a professor. He lectured at Texas Christian
University with eagerness to inspire and guide our
Nation's youth.
In the tradition of Sam Houston and Sam Rayburn, Jim
Wright was a giant. I was his chief deputy whip in the
Congress, the worst job in the House of Representatives,
but it was worth all the knocks and the cuts and the
bruises and the criticism that I endured to fight for the
values established by the Greatest Generation until the
ideals were changed by a new breed of voter who believes
that Washington is not a solution, rather, Washington is
the problem.
He was my dear friend, and I stood with him in every
fight for the values that won World War II and provided
the building blocks and foundation for the greatest
economy on Earth.
God bless Jim Wright.
Paul Driskell (Special Assistant, Majority Leader Jim
Wright). Martin, Bill, Betsy, Mike, Kenneth, Mr. Leader,
Steny Hoyer--the one man in this sanctuary today who knows
the full weight and measure and the responsibilities of
the job this prince of peace executed so beautifully for
so many years. Dear Steny, thank you for your presence
today. How very special, how honored he would be, how much
he would love this congregation today. This is a
delegation of community builders.
Mr. Wright loved Sam Rayburn dearly, and he often quoted
him; and of course many people wondered why Mr. Rayburn
went back to Bonham, TX, after announcing he was going to
leave the House, and Rayburn's answer was simple, ``Bonham
is a place where people know it when you're sick, and
where they care when you die.''
You have validated Jim Wright's recitation of that
quote, all of you today, by honoring him in coming here.
You knew he was ill, and you cared that he died. How he
would celebrate you. How he must be enjoying this. He
loved people of accomplishment. He loved people who
contributed and built.
Mr. Rayburn used to always say, ``A jackass can kick a
barn down; it takes a carpenter to build one.'' It's no
accident that our Lord was fathered by a carpenter--and
parented by a carpenter in his early years.
I'd like to give you a sense of Speaker Wright, Jim
Wright, and my friend. It may be unique. As I have thought
about him so much and as I visited him in those final
days, things came to me that I would have never imagined.
He was, in fact, the first gifted multitasker. Now, if you
know anything about Jim, he despised anything to do with
technology, but he was a multitasker. Let me explain what
I mean.
February 7, 1985, after about 30 days, some of the
people in this room--Tony, John--had been working
diligently because Mr. O'Neill had told us privately he
was going to retire. So we were trying to collect the
requisite number of votes for him to become Speaker of the
House 2 years out.
February 7, 1985, 11 o'clock in the morning, a national
press conference was held in the office that Steny Hoyer's
offices are in today. He met the national press. He was
surrounded by his colleagues. He was surrounded by people
who loved him and wished well for him, and he made the
announcement that he had achieved the requisite number of
votes to capture his dream, to be Speaker of the House. He
put at peace, if you will, a body that's not given to
peace easily about the next years and how things would
follow.
Fifteen minutes later, he grabbed me by the arm and
escorted me and my wife, Donna, up the back stairs with 31
other people to the House Chaplain's office where Chaplain
Ford married us at Henry Clay's desk, the Great
Compromiser. Then, he walked back downstairs with us. We
had a reception in the office. He pulled Donna and me
aside and he said, ``I only have two things to tell you
two: Paul, always hold her hand, and never go to bed
mad.''
Mr. Speaker, sometimes you set the bar too high. I have
removed pillows from my bed so as not to elevate the
temptation for Donna to smother me.
There are so many things privately that I loved about
him and that we shared. He had a passionate love for
boxing. He knew boxing like Nat Fleischer, the famous
author who recorded almost everything of significance
about American heavyweight boxing. We went to a fight. We
went to Golden Gloves. We went to the Olympic trials. We
went to tons of professional fights. It was like going to
that fight with Nat Fleischer, and he would be sitting
there and he would be reciting to you the ring scores of
the Firpo-Dempsey fight. He knew every hobby and interest
he had, he wanted to know everything there was to know
about it. If you ever saw the roses that he cultivated,
you'd understand that in spades. He was a gifted
horticulturist. He was a great teacher.
Kay, you and I sat just about where Steny was sitting 2
years ago, 2\1/2\ years ago, and you told me how he taught
you and Ginger, Jenny, and Lisa about God. In fact, he
used a wagon wheel and said that was the universe and God
was, indeed, the hub; and the spokes represented the
people, and, of course, the rim, where all the damage and
impact takes place, was the furthest from God. He
admonished you that it was your job, it was your
responsibility, it was a testament of your faith to move
closer down those spokes because you would be closer to
more people, and as you were closer to more people, you'd
be closer to God. What a gift.
I've often wondered, and I think everyone in this
sanctuary today wonders, why God lets us see certain
things at certain times. It seems rather odd. Last week,
just the day before his passing and only a few days after
my last visit with him, there was a documentary on about
George Foreman. I happened to turn it on the other night.
George Foreman, the famous heavyweight, struck fear and
terror in everyone's heart--undefeated, knocked poor Joe
Frazier down eight times. The interviewer asked him a
question. He said, ``Who was the greatest champion of all
time in your estimation?'' George Foreman didn't hesitate.
He said, ``Muhammad Ali.'' That stunned the interviewer.
Muhammad Ali had defeated George Foreman in Zaire,
Africa, and usually when a boxer loses to another one, it
was a lucky punch or you're just a little better that
night, not the greatest champion that ever lived. He
didn't hesitate. He said, ``Muhammad Ali.''
The interviewer said, ``Why? Why do you choose him?'' He
said, ``Well, if you saw the fight in the eighth round, he
hit me twice in the face.'' If any of you remember or
happened to have seen it, George Foreman began to
cartwheel. He began to turn and fall to the floor. As he
was falling, Muhammad Ali, as all boxers are trained all
their life to do, cocked his arm to hit him with what is
known as the ``killing punch.''
George Foreman said, ``I looked up out of my left eye,
just partially conscious, knowing I was going to the
floor, and he never threw that punch. So for me, he's not
the greatest champion that ever lived for the punches he
threw; it's for what he didn't do. It's the punch he
didn't throw.''
The very people who besmirched and impugned this prince
of peace at the end of his public career, when they fell
on hard times and they fell by the sword they had so
recklessly wielded, not once in private--and certainly
never in public--did Jim Wright throw that punch. He could
not retaliate. He didn't just talk Christian forgiveness;
he lived it. His higher calling at that time was to find a
way to inspire students at TCU to engage in public service
and to think about the possibilities of what they could
build, like the beautiful people in this room today. He
didn't throw that punch.
I was 15 years old, standing in front of a black and
white television, and I watched Robert Kennedy say, ``When
he shall die, take him and cut him out into stars, and he
shall make the face of Heaven so fine that all the world
will be in love with night and pay no worship to the
garish Sun.''
I didn't know at 15 just what that meant. At 65, I
marvel how Bobby Kennedy could have mustered the strength
and the insight to say that about the brother he loved, in
some ways his best friend, and, oh, by the way, in
passing, the President of the United States.
I understood because of this church and because of my
association with him that all of us have a spark of
divinity. We are all made in God's image, and that spark
is there, but what I didn't understand was that there are
a special few who possess a flame, a torch. It's bigger.
It's more committed. It's something we can appreciate.
It's not necessarily something we readily understand.
It's not by accident that there's an eternal flame that
burns at John Kennedy's grave and why, for all the
accomplishments: the Peace Corps, the space program, all
of those things--no. That's part of it. That's why
millions go there to pay respects. The part of it is that
during the most sensitive time in our Nation's history,
when we were the closest to engaging in a nuclear
holocaust, when every adviser that that President had was
admonishing him to take advantage of the tactical and
strategic position we occupied for those precious few days
and strike Cuba with nuclear weapons, he didn't throw that
punch. We're all breathing good air and loving our friends
and conducting our lives because of that divine torch.
The thing I think I will miss most is a private passion
that Jim had and I shared. He loved movies. The singular
thing that we really appreciated together was we happened
to think that Robert Duvall was the greatest American
actor that's ever lived.
Jim's favorite movie was ``Tender Mercies,'' and my
favorite film was ``The Natural.'' In ``The Natural,''
there's a scene--of course, all the ladies in here know
Robert Redford was the natural. He was Roy Hobbs, the
gifted baseball player. Robert Duvall was the cynical
sportswriter; Wilford Brimley was the crusty old coach.
There's that beautiful soliloquy where the coach walks
in and he says--I mean, pardon me, Robert Duvall walks in
and says to the coach, ``Coach, who is this Roy Hobbs?''
The coach turns on his heels and says, ``I don't know who
Roy Hobbs is. I just know he's the best there is and the
best there ever will be.''
Jim Wright, you are the ``Natural.''
There probably has never been a man in American history
who I can recall that so eloquently used the English
language. He helped those of us who only have sparks
appreciate the flame with his application of our language.
It seems a shame that I can't find words in my language
to encompass all that he was, and yet he will always be.
Only in Spanish: Vaya con Dios--go and be with God. Light
of our land. Vaya con Dios, friend of my life.
Reverend Bruster. I invite you to hear now the words of
the Apostle Paul from the first letter to the Corinthians,
chapter 13:
``If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels,
but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so
as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand
over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I
gain nothing.
``Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or
boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its
own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not
rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. Love bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things.
``Love never ends.''
Paul ends that chapter with the words, ``And now faith,
hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of
these is love.''
The words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, a sermon on
the plain:
``But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the
cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes
away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. Give to
everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your
goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you
would have them do to you.
``If you love those who love you, what credit is that to
you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do
good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to
you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those
from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting
nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will
be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the
ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your
Father is merciful.''
Jim had a wonderful, quick wit as we all know. His
responses to glowing introductions illustrated that point.
Two years ago, when Cissy Day was introducing him to a
Sunday school class where he was about to speak, she told
a story at the end of her introduction of something that
he had done that was very kind and a note that he had
written to her that was a kind note that she treasured.
When he stood up then to speak, he looked over at her and
he said, ``I had forgotten how nice I used to be.''
After a glowing introduction at another event, he said,
``An event of this dimension is just terribly hard on
one's humility. Try as I might to look and sound humble, I
just can't quite pull it off.''
Then he quoted Jesus: ``Let your light so shine before
others that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in Heaven.''
He said, ``You know, when I read that, I realized he
doesn't say, `Let your light so shine so that others may
see your good works and think what a great guy.' '' Then
he went on to say, ``The purpose of good works is not to
get bragged on.'' Then he said this, ``But if I'm honest
with you, I guess I'm going to have to let you in on a
little personal confession. Being bragged on, I like it. I
eat it up.''
On another occasion, he said after an introduction,
``Undeserved as though an introduction like that is,
indeed I want you to know that I liked it. I liked every
word of it.''
Then he said, ``There are two kinds of people who
appreciate flattery: men and women.''
So since Jim made that confession, I guess it's OK that
we tell of his good works and that we laud him. I hope
that he would appreciate that we do it not just pointing
at Jim, but pointing at the source of all of that for Jim;
pointing not just to Jim, but beyond to the legacy that he
received from other people, and beyond Jim to his faith
and his commitment to Christ that guided his life.
He leaves a great legacy, and our words hold up those
great attributes not to point just to Jim, but to also
point to his faith and commitment and the One in whom he
had faith and the One that he sought to follow, and also
to see Jim's life as an example to all of us.
I want to think about that with you for just a few
minutes. Jim was an encourager. As he sought to be a
follower of Christ and as he put that into practice in his
life, he knew the importance of encouragement. He was an
encourager.
In the Book of Acts, we meet a man named Joseph. He was
from Cyprus. But we don't know him as Joseph. We almost
never hear that. After his first introduction in the Book
of Acts, he's known by his nickname, and his nickname was
Barnabas. The disciples, the apostles, nicknamed him
Barnabas because Barnabas means ``son of encouragement.''
He was an encourager. Imagine having your nickname mean
one who encourages. We could call Jim that, a Barnabas,
because he was. He was a son of encouragement.
How many of us in this room, I wonder, have, in our
possession, notes of encouragement from Jim Wright? I
would guess a lot of us. Those notes arrived at a time of
discouragement, perhaps, or a time of grief or a time of
uncertainty or a time of failing confidence or a time of
waning courage. A note of encouragement arrived at just
the right time.
What is the value of those notes? I was thinking about
that and thought, the law of supply and demand would say
those notes are not worth anything at all; there are too
many of them on the market. But the value of those notes
goes far beyond that. They're valued in a different way.
One person told me that she had such a note in a plastic
sleeve and carried it with her for a long time.
What an encourager, not just the notes, but the right
words spoken at the right moment.
We give thanks to God for Jim because Jim was a
peacemaker, and we have heard our speakers talk eloquently
about his peacemaking efforts. He often quoted Jesus,
again, from the Sermon on the Mount: ``Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.''
He was a peacemaker. He was a man of strong convictions
but yet able to see and to respect the perspective of
another and to bring people together in ways that make for
peace. He was, as a peacemaker, a child of God, as Jesus
said.
Now, peacemaking extended beyond what you may know about
to his role as a parent. His daughters, Ginger and Kay,
were fighting one time as sisters do, and Jim intervened
as the peacemaker. He made each one of them go to her room
and write an essay, entitled, ``Why I Love My Sister.'' He
held on to those essays for 30 years, and then he gave
them back to the girls so they could read them.
Kay wrote this: ``Well, I suppose she's nice. Her
friends seem to like her.''
Ginger wrote: ``Well, she seems to like my clothes
because she wears them all the time.''
He closed the door after reading those essays and
guffawed, as you can imagine.
Ginger's comment, when she was telling me about it, was,
``And he thought the Sandinistas and Contras were tough.''
Jim was a servant leader; we know that. His
accomplishments were many. In serving his beloved
Weatherford and his beloved Fort Worth and his beloved
Nation, he was a servant leader. Whether that was as a
father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a soldier, a
State legislator, a Scoutmaster, a Golden Gloves boxing
coach, a Sunday school teacher, a church leader, a mayor,
a Congressman, a majority leader, a Speaker of the House,
a teacher, or a friend, he was a servant leader--again,
following the words of Jesus that we are to be servants of
one another if we're ever to be called great.
His life was committed to compassion and justice. I read
those wonderful words from Micah a moment ago. Micah was
writing to a nation, to his people, who had lost their
way, who had lost sight of that which was most important.
They had the right words. They had the right rituals. But
Micah wrote that that was all empty and reminded them of
what was most important that they should have known
already.
He said, ``What has he told you, O mortal, but what is
good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do
justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God.''
On so many occasions, I saw Jim share his faith; I saw
Jim share his values, heard him speak in this pulpit. A
number of years ago--I think it was in 2006--my wife,
Susan, who was working at William James Middle School as
an academic coordinator, shared that with Jim, and he
said, ``I used to go to William James Middle School.'' She
invited him then to come and speak to the students, and
she had Jim Wright Day, and he spent most of the day at
the school. He talked with those students, and he had a
reception in the library where he shared with them.
There was a big assembly in the auditorium, and it's one
of those old classic schools with a big auditorium, a
balcony in the back, and it was packed with middle school
kids. I couldn't believe my eyes and my ears when he spoke
to them. You could hear a pin drop. He was a master.
He shared with those kids the story of the Good
Samaritan. I remember how he started into that. He said,
``There are a lot of different beliefs.'' He said, ``There
is a man who lived a long time ago. His name was Jesus. He
was a very good man, and a lot of different people
believed a lot of different things about him. But he told
some stories that taught some important values, and
everybody agrees on that.''
He told the story of the Good Samaritan. You know the
story. The man is beaten and robbed, lying on the side of
the road. Along come two people who pass by on the other
side, and then comes the Samaritan who is the outsider in
the story, and he's the one who helps the man. I remember
Jim said to those kids, ``This illustrates really three
philosophies of life, the three ways of approaching
life.''
He said, ``There is the philosophy of the thieves, and
their philosophy is what's yours is mine, and I'll take
it.'' He said, ``That philosophy still lives in attacking
others and cheating people and greedy business practices
and being envious of others and whatever belittles or
injures or degrades another person. It's not always
physically violent. We rob others by slander or gossip
when we injure their reputations.''
He said, ``The second philosophy is that of the two men
who saw the wounded man but offered no help. Their central
operating principle is what is mine is all mine, and I'll
keep it for myself. That's less violent, but in its own
way it's as selfish as the first.'' He said, ``We can come
up with all kinds of excuses to justify not helping those
injured along life's highway. We deceive ourselves and
ignore their suffering by saying that they're not our
responsibility.''
Then he said, ``Then there's the Samaritan. This was
Jesus' model for humanity. He was a stranger and a child
of another religious heritage, but he extended himself
freely to help one in need. His philosophy is what's mine
is yours if you need it, and I'll share it with you.''
Then he said, ``Jesus told that story in answer to a
question. The question was, `Who is my neighbor?' '' Then
he told those kids, ``There are these three philosophies
of life, and there's only one that makes the world a
better place. There's only one that makes your
relationships better, and it's that of the Samaritan. And
we each can choose how we live.''
Now, that illustrates so much how Jim lived and how he
wanted to pass on that legacy to those who came after him.
Much has been spoken about his ability to forgive, and I
cannot but think, as we meditate on those words of Jesus,
the words of Paul about love, Jesus' words about
forgiveness, and I can't help but think of the quote that
he often gave from Abraham Lincoln.
Someone once asked Lincoln if he believed in destroying
his enemies, and Lincoln replied, ``Of course, I would
like to destroy my enemies because I've never wanted
enemies. The only way I know satisfactorily to destroy an
enemy is to convert him to a friend.''
The Fetzer Institute has done a lot of research on
forgiveness, and they define it in a way that I think is
so meaningful, and that is, forgiveness is the difficult,
intentional process of letting go of an old reality and
opening up one's self to a new one. Jim lived that
difficult, intentional process of being able to let go of
an old reality and opening up and living a new one.
One friend emailed me and said, ``He was the poster
child for amazing grace.''
That's the legacy that we celebrate today, and there's
so much more that could be said. The challenge for all of
us today was how do we winnow it down. But you know what?
You carry those stories of Jim; you carry those memories;
you carry that legacy. Share it; share it with one
another; and do your best. Let us all do our best to live
it.
In the obituary that you were handed as you came in,
there is a favorite quote of his from Horace Greeley,
``Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take
wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow. Only one
thing endures--character.''
Well done, Jim Wright, good and faithful servant.
Let us pray.
Gracious God, we give You thanks for the hope that faith
in You gives. For all Your people who have laid hold on
that hope, especially we thank You for Your faithful
servant Jim Wright. We thank You for all Your goodness to
him and for everything in his life that was a reflection
of Your love and Your grace. We give You thanks for his
faith, for his love for and his commitment to You and to
his family and to his friends, to his Nation.
We give You thanks for his kindness, his passion for
justice, his courage, and his strength of character.
Loving God, hold us and all who mourn in Your love, and
comfort this loving family and comfort us, his friends.
Help us all to be ever mindful of Your sustaining
presence.
We offer a prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
In just a few moments, the family will process out, and
you're invited to Wesley Hall, which is across the garden
in that adjacent part of the building, for a reception
with the family. Please note the instructions that are on
the back of your bulletin, and I invite you to please
remain seated, if you will, until the ushers direct you.
Ginger shared with me one of her favorite memories of
the opening of the Presidential display, the new
Presidential display in the early 1990s, a room turned
into a replica of LBJ's office there in Austin. There was
an antique pump organ there signed by all the Members of
Congress, and Jake Pickle sat down at the organ and
started playing a hymn. The Congressional Members and
former Members there started singing the hymn, and it's
the hymn that we're going to sing in just a moment after
Jim's great-grandchildren give us our benediction.
A benediction isn't really a prayer. It can be a prayer
of course, but traditionally, it is not. The word
``benediction'' literally means ``a good word.'' The
great-grandchildren, led by the oldest, Campbell, will
give us their good word.
Will you come now.
Campbell Brown (Jim Wright's great-granddaughter,
accompanied by Jim Wright's great-grandchildren). Hi, my
name is Campbell Brown. Everyone on stage with me is a
great-grandchild of Jim Wright or, as we like to call him,
``Great Pop.''
None of us were born when he was in Congress, but we all
knew his love for this great country, especially Fort
Worth. We are told by many people that he often said, ``I
want to make the world a better place for my children,
their children, and their children's children.'' Well,
that's us. Next to me are the children of the
grandchildren. We are the next generation.
We would like to ask you to honor our Great Pop for the
rest of the day by thinking about how you can make the
world a better place. As you walk out of the church and
for the rest of today, think about peace, not war; think
about abundance, not scarcity; think about love, not hate,
and hope, not despair.
Please help us lift Great Pop to his next rollcall by
singing the final hymn.
Thank y'all for coming today.