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“TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN RALPH REGULA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6292-H6296 on July 25, 2017.
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TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN RALPH REGULA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2017, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) for 30 minutes.
General Leave
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a good friend who passed away last week: the former Congressman from Ohio, Ralph Regula.
Ralph Regula served in this body for 36 years, from 1973 to 2009. He ran in 1972 to replace former Congressman Frank Bow. He got on the Appropriations Committee in 1975, and I remember him telling the story of how that happened. When Gerald Ford was in the leadership here in the House, he praised former President Gerald Ford for getting him on the Appropriations Committee, in which he became a cardinal, in all the many years he was on the Appropriations Committee.
Some major things that he helped do in his time here in Congress were: he found funding for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; he formed the Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor; and he worked with his wife to create the National First Ladies' Library in Canton.
Having had many conversations with him over the years, I know all the work he did to support the National Institutes of Health, medical research, and also National Parks around the country that he so treasured.
Last week, when Congressman Regula passed away, he left his wife, Mary, and three grown children: Martha, Richard, and David.
Congressman Regula was born December 3, 1924, in Beach City, Ohio.
From 1944 to 1946, he served in the United States Navy. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Mount Union in 1948, where The Ralph and Mary Regula Center of Public Service and Civic Engagement is housed.
He earned his law degree in 1952, and went to law school at night while working as a teacher.
{time} 1930
He also served on the Ohio State Board of Education from 1960 to 1964. He served in the Ohio senate. He was elected in 1966, and he served in the Ohio house one term when he was elected in 1964.
During his time in the State house, he created the Northeast Ohio Medical University complex and Stark State College, which is paying many dividends to the residents of northeast Ohio.
Ralph was a good friend, and he always made sure that the staff knew that constituents came first. He even had a lapel pin button made up to remind his staff. He truly did. So my little memento that I remember was when I came here in the early 1980s, representing as a farmer in the Ohio Farm Bureau, we had an appointment at that time, and Ralph was my Congressman. Ralph was a farmer, too, and loved his beef cattle. He was an early riser. We had an early meeting well before 8 a.m. Another county Farm Bureau president from Wayne County and I got there in his office, Steve Grimes, and Ralph Regula said to us: Did you guys eat breakfast yet?
We said: No.
He said: Come with me.
I guess he took us down to the Members' dining room. I remember this because I brought this picture. How I got this picture was one of the agricultural media reporters tagged along and took this picture. It was in one of the local agricultural papers back in Ohio. My parents were so proud of the fact that our Congressman--my Congressman--would meet with us and take us to breakfast in the Capitol that they called the paper and got the print, and they framed it.
A few years ago, I had the privilege to speak at the McKinley Day Dinner in Stark County when I was redistricted in that area. Ralph and Mary were there. I brought this picture and passed it around to show them. Of course, this picture is 33 years old. What is really neat about it is we both had brown hair. I remember Ralph and Mary got a big kick out of that.
Another time that I remember that was really a treasure is he had Senator Thad Cochran come to his house one weekend, and he invited all the agricultural leaders from the district to have breakfast there one Saturday morning. I remember that quite well as a great experience.
A lot people said that Ralph Regula cared. He really did care. He really cared about the constituents he represented. He was a true public servant.
Another issue is he had a relationship at the time with President Reagan. They hit it off really good because they got talking about their farms. Of course, Ralph Regula had a beef cattle farm outside of Navarre, Ohio, in Stark County. They were talking about how to build fence. Ralph used to tell that story, and you can tell that he held that dear to him.
I first met Congressman Regula in 1974. He was the commencement speaker at the first graduating class which I was in at the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, and Ralph was a fairly new Congressman at the time. But he came and spoke. I remember that. That was my first chance to get to know Congressman Regula at the time.
I do have here some notes from his former staff. I just want to read them because I think words say a lot. Ralph left an impression not just on his constituents but also on his staff.
Susan Ross, who worked for Congressman Regula, offered some insight and stories about Ralph.
Ralph's motto was ``Constituents First,'' according to Susan. One day, Ralph got a frantic call from a woman whose daughter was gravely ill in Mexico. She needed help immediately, as she didn't have a passport and couldn't find her birth certificate. By the next day, she was on her way to Mexico to help her daughter return to the U.S. Ralph made sure that his constituent could get a copy of her birth certificate and called the State Department to get her a passport within just a few hours. Considering the bureaucracy of government, this is a minor miracle. That is how committed he was to the people of Ohio.
Ralph would go out of his way to help people. Ralph had a red pickup truck, and after the September 11 attack in 2001, he drove it home with the luggage of several constituents who were stranded here because of the attacks and no way to rent a car and obviously the planes were not flying.
A former schoolteacher himself, he would say to the teachers: The lower the grade, the more you should be paid; and when you look out at your class, you have 30 little mirrors looking back at you.
Susan wrote: We are so grateful for the chance to work alongside and learn from this giant of a man. His accomplishments are legendary, and his legacy can be seen across all of Ohio. It was an honor and privilege to call him our boss.
When former staff members say those kinds of things about their former boss, that says a lot.
I had the privilege to know Ralph for three decades. Two of those decades he was my Congressman, and then the last decade he wasn't because of redistricting. I had a different Congressman and a different congressional district. Then 4 or 5 years ago now, redistricting, they moved me into the Stark County, Ohio, area, and Ralph became a constituent of mine. There were a few times here a few years ago that Ralph came in and visited me in the office, and we had some great conversations.
It seemed a little strange because I can remember, in the 1980s and the 1990s, I would be visiting Ralph here in the Rayburn Building for pork producers in the Farm Bureau talking about agricultural policy and talking to another farmer who is also a Congressman, too. Those are fond memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
I think that we are so glad that so many are standing out here tonight to pay tribute to Congressman Ralph Regula because he was a true public servant and loved his constituents, loved Stark County, Ohio, and loved his farm. So it is a privilege to make a few remarks tonight to pay tribute to him for his 36 years of service in this Chamber and this body and all the service he did throughout his life to help the people of Stark County, Ohio, the 16th Congressional District in the State of Ohio, and the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) who is from the Columbia area and who served some of the time here when Congressman Regula was here.
Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Gibbs for yielding.
The Akron Beacon Journal, a few days ago, wrote an extraordinary editorial about Ralph Regula. The last paragraph sums Congressman Regula up best: ``What would benefit Congress and the country today are more lawmakers like Ralph Regula, devoted to their districts without losing sight of the larger picture. He wasn't just superb at legislating. He delivered what governing requires.'' I couldn't say it any better.
We in Ohio lost a truly wonderful person, a great American. Ohio has lost three of them in the last year who I served with here in the United States Congress who made this body a better place and who made this country a better place: nearly a year ago, Steve LaTourette from northeastern Ohio; earlier this year, Mike Oxley; and now Ralph Regula.
Ralph Regula was the dean of the delegation even before I got here, and he was the dean of the delegation when I came here in 2001. One of the great things that Ralph Regula did on our side of the aisle when we were in the minority and then when we were in the majority is he strategically placed members of our team from Ohio throughout all the committees. So you had people on the Appropriations Committee, you had people on the Ways and Means Committee, on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and on the Armed Services Committee. Ralph was so thoughtful that way trying to make sure that we represented our State in all sorts of ways.
I got to know Ralph mostly sitting in that corner with Dave Hobson, Ralph Regula, and Steve LaTourette. The dean of the delegation didn't speak loudly. He often spoke softly, but his words were meaningful--and usually right. He was a thoughtful guy who cared about our State, who cared about our country, and who taught so many of us how to legislate not just on the Appropriations Committee, but actually how to get things done. I have fond memories of the lessons that he gave us on an ongoing basis.
I only got to serve with Ralph for 8 years. There are others in the room who got to serve with him a lot longer. But it is safe to say what the Akron Beacon Journal said is right: He knew how to get things done.
He did it in a bipartisan way, he did it with his constituents in mind, and he did it because it was the right thing to do.
There is a long list of things that he accomplished and that got done. He didn't brag about it. He just did it in his soft-spoken, nice, gentlemanly way. The gentleman from Navarre contributed and gave more than he ever got. His former staff knows, the former Members on both sides know it, and he will always be remembered for that great spirit that he had around this place--a true gentleman describes the gentleman from Navarre. It was an honor and a privilege to serve with him.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers).
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of an incredible leader from my home State of Ohio but also for the United States: Congressman Ralph Regula. He was a teacher, a patriot, and a veteran. He served during World War II in the United States Navy. He had been a schoolteacher and a school principal, and he devoted his life to public service.
His career in government began with service in the Ohio house of representatives and the Ohio senate before he came to Congress in 1972. For nearly four decades in Congress, Congressman Regula became known as a leader who was willing to reach across the aisle to get things done--
to compromise--both on Capitol Hill and with the White House. He worked to pass legislation that helped his district and the American people.
His spirit of bipartisanship carried throughout his career when he remained an outspoken advocate, even in his retirement, for bipartisanship. He was truly an example of how to get things done.
Through his role on the House Appropriations Committee, he served as an important advocate for Ohio, including funding for the Cleveland Clinic and support for the Great Lakes. He was the quintessential example of what it means to be a public servant.
Mr. Speaker, my thoughts go out to his wife, Mary, and the rest of his family.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) who is from Bowling Green, Ohio.
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I, too, would like to express my sympathies to Mary and all the Regula family on Ralph's passing.
I got to know Ralph a long time ago because my dad served here for 30 years. Dad was elected in 1958, Ralph was elected in 1972, and toward the end of their terms that they were here together--of course, Ralph served on for 36 years--their offices were very close to one another. I know that in those days sometimes you had a little more time than we seem to have today, but folks could actually go to one another's office and sit down and chat. I know that Dad and Ralph were very good friends.
What has been said by my other colleagues is true; Ralph worked hard. He served his district well, he worked hard, he did his job, he served the people of his district, and he served the people of this country.
At all times, though, he always was a gentleman. I know that for a fact because I know that when I was younger, I always liked to be able to come here with my dad, I was able to sit in a lot of meetings, and Ralph was an incredible individual.
One of the things that my dad always said was that there was always a difference in life between people who wanted to be politicians and public servants. Dad said that it was very simple: A politician is a person who sees how much they can take from the people they represent for their own benefit, while public servants see how much they can give of themselves to the people they represent. Ralph did this over and over and over again, giving of himself.
Marcia and I do want to express our regret to Mary and all of Ralph's family on his passing because, again, we have lost a great friend, a great colleague, and it is tough to say goodbye.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I am sure the gentleman shares a lot of childhood memories running around here with his dad being a Congressman and Congressman Regula for all those years.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) who is from the Cincinnati area.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Gibbs for organizing this Special Order here this evening in which we are honoring Ralph Regula, our former colleague.
I had the pleasure of serving with Congressman Regula for 14 years here in this great institution.
Ralph Regula was truly a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. He served Ohio and our Nation with a dignity and grace that few will ever match. When I think of the phrase ``disagreeing without being disagreeable,'' I think of Ralph Regula.
{time} 1945
Ralph was a lot of things. He was an attorney, a teacher, a school principal, a veteran, a farmer, and a loving husband, father, and grandfather. But perhaps most of all, he was dedicated to serving the people of the 16th Congressional District and his country.
He was born in Beach City, Ohio, in 1924--the same year my mom was born, by the way. Ralph first served his country, as my father did, in World War II. My dad was in the Army and served in Europe. Ralph was in the Navy from 1942 to 1946 during World War II.
Ralph then graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where he met his wife, Mary, and later obtained his law degree from William McKinley School of Law in Canton.
Ralph had a passion for education. Before getting into politics, he served his community as a schoolteacher, as I also did. He was then a principal and even ran for the Ohio Board of Education.
As a former teacher myself, as I mentioned, I know the time you spend with students helps shape the way you view the world. Ralph was no different. He brought those experiences with him here to Washington, D.C., and put his passion to work on the Appropriations Committee.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Ralph got his start in politics as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and, later, the Ohio Senate. In 1972, he ran for Congress and won, beginning a long and impressive congressional tenure.
Ralph served 18 terms, 36 years, and he was a leader on the Appropriations Committee. In that role, he helped to shape the country, but he never forgot where he came from: Stark County, Ohio.
Back in 1998, Ralph and his wife, Mary, were instrumental in the establishment of the National First Ladies' Library in Canton, and they both remained very involved in the library's operations over the years.
Many Ohioans and Cantonians remember him for his staunch support of Stark County's park system, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the Towpath Trail.
While many around the Nation will remember Ralph Regula as an important figure on the Appropriations Committee, a role he served in for many, many years, I will remember him as a respected colleague and someone I was proud to call a friend.
Ralph was a soft-spoken, old-school gentleman. By the time I was elected to Congress back in 1994, Ralph Regula was the dean of the Ohio delegation. A few years after Congressman Regula retired, I became the dean of the Ohio Republican delegation, and I tried to model my approach to the role that he set. He set a great example for all of us who serve here in the House because he truly was a gentleman.
Tonight, as we remember our former dean, I hope that we also remember his ability to work across the aisle. Ralph always treated everyone with respect and genuinely listened to the viewpoints of others. He believed that bipartisanship was a virtue and would work tirelessly to find common ground. I think we can all learn from his example.
I would note that Marcy Kaptur, who is one of our more respected Democratic colleagues in the House, is here this evening. I think it is a tribute to the bipartisanship that Ralph Regula showed over the years. I know that she worked not only with him, but with many of us in a bipartisan manner. That is just the way that Ralph Regula operated.
Mr. Speaker, Ralph Regula was a decent, hardworking family man who was dedicated to Ohio, and particularly the 16th Congressional District and the people of Stark County. He was a public servant and a role model. He will be deeply missed.
To Ralph's wife, Mary; his daughter, Martha; his sons, David and Richard; and the entire Regula family, please know that we are saddened by your loss. We share that loss. We appreciate the time that you allowed Ralph to serve our Nation. You are in our thoughts and our prayers. God bless you all.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Toledo (Ms. Kaptur), who serves on the Appropriations Committee and who, I am sure, has some interesting tales to tell about Congressman Regula.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the kind gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for arranging this Special Order this evening. I thank Congressman Chabot for his kind words and all the Members who have come to pay tribute to our beloved colleague, Ralph Regula.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor my late friend and respected colleague who served 18 terms and was a gentleman farmer, the very Honorable Congressman Ralph Regula of Ohio. Ralph passed away earlier this month in Bethlehem Township, Ohio. He was 92.
To his beloved wife, Mary, for whom we all hold deep affection, and their family--Martha, Richard, David, and their children--please let me extend heartfelt sympathy and deepest affection.
I had the privilege of serving with Ralph for 26 years, many of those on the Appropriations Committee.
As others have mentioned, Ralph Straus Regula was born in Beach City, Ohio, on December 3, 1924, right before the Great Depression.
In 1948, he graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, and went on to receive a degree in law as a night student from William McKinley School of Law in Canton, and then went on to serve in the United States Navy during World War II.
Some of my memories of Ralph include him pulling into the congressional garage on so many occasions in his spiffy red pickup truck, always thinking about what was happening back in Ohio on his farm. That truck had many purposes.
So many evenings we were in the same building and I could see him walking down the hall with Mary, his wife, well after 9 p.m. in the evening after having put in a very long day here in Congress.
The press never reports about the Members who are dutiful and do their work. They generally focus on those who run into a little bit of trouble or get into a fracas, but Ralph Regula was the type of citizen who holds this Republic together.
He was first elected in 1972 and was a longstanding, prominent figure in our body, serving 36 years in the House by the time of his retirement. At the time he retired, he was dean of the Ohio delegation and number three in seniority on the Republican side of the powerful Appropriations Committee. His service embraced the tenure of seven U.S. Presidents.
As a lawmaker, Ralph was a champion of cross-party collaboration, as others have referenced, and he was a moral compass in an era of personal enrichment. Ralph is remembered as a hardworking, constructive, affable, intelligent, and effective Member. He set a very high standard.
I tried to write words that remind me of Ralph--certainly
``talented,'' ``honest,'' ``hardworking,'' ``sensible,''
``understated,'' ``straightforward,'' and ``even-tempered.''
If you never met him, he was sort of a cross between Andy Griffith and Robert Redford. He was even-tempered and not vindictive--and he had reason to be vindictive. He described himself as a conservative in spending but a progressive in programs.
A proud Canton resident, he worked tirelessly to honor the legacy of his hometown hero, President William McKinley. Regula sought to preserve the fellow Ohioan's memory by fighting to keep the name Mount McKinley for the summit in Alaska, homage to the man who represented his same district.
During my time in the House, I have had the pleasure of serving alongside Ralph on the Appropriations Committee, where he was distinguished for sensible solutions that worked for Americans and for Ohioans.
When he served on the Labor, Health, and Human Services Subcommittee, he instructed me, when I got to Congress: This is where you really help people.
Ralph was dedicated to that. He had such a heart, but he didn't wear it on his sleeve. He supported working people. There are many votes he cast in favor of the minimum wage. His father was a coal miner. He understood what it was to do that kind of work for a living.
On the centennial of the Metro Parks' creation, we remember his adoration and commitment to our public lands, founding one of northeast Ohio's proudest landmarks, the Cuyahoga National Valley Park. He dedicated so many of his years to creating that park, the Ohio and Erie Canal system, and expanding that park to among the top 10 most visited in the United States of America.
He attended to Ohio while he attended to the Nation. He had the guts to pass new user fees for all national parks to raise money to improve them, so he was thinking of the future.
He was the founder and leader of the Steel Caucus in this House--that was one of the first places that I met him--and an early and effective voice about foreign dumping and about the importance of manufacturing in America, the importance of that steel industry and having fair trade among nations.
With his wife, Mary, he was instrumental in creating the National First Ladies' Library in Canton, Ohio, a most amazing place, with important untold stories about valorous women in our country that, for years, had been largely hidden from the public.
I recommend that the public go to the website of that library and just read about the First Ladies of this country--not just who they were, but what they endured. I learned so much that I didn't know.
Ralph brought phenomenal experience to his public service. Others talked about how he had practiced law, serving in the Navy, held a degree in business administration, served as a school administrator, a teacher, a principal, State legislator, and served on the Ohio Board of Education. He was so level-headed.
An article in the The Washington Post reported that he introduced language in appropriations bills and procedural maneuvers to fight efforts to change Alaska's Mount McKinley name. Obviously, he held the seat that was once occupied by President McKinley, the 25th President, who, sadly, was assassinated in 1901.
As a graduate of the old William McKinley School of Law in Canton, Mr. Regula did not want to see the name of his fellow Buckeye erased from the tallest peak in North America. Ralph said: The law says it is Mount McKinley, and no President can change the law by the flick of a pen.
When he set his mind to it, he prevailed. His vast experience on the legislative front led him and drove his successful efforts to invest millions and millions of dollars in the improvement of healthcare for the American people, as well as Ohio institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, and MetroHealth.
He championed the Great Lakes and fought mightily to find a way to clean up coal. I can remember being on the Republican side of the aisle. He said: Congresswoman Kaptur, you have got to help me clean up coal.
He was always looking for a way to try to make life better. He advocated for the National Endowment for the Arts. He worked to clean up Florida's Everglades and led the construction of the popular children's farm here in Washington at the National Zoo.
When people come to public service at the national level, they learn that it is very hard to accomplish things over a brief period of time. It takes a long time. It takes decades to do something of merit. Ralph certainly achieved that.
In 2010, the Cleveland Plain Dealer quoted him. I will end my tribute to him this evening with a quote that he gave to the Plain Dealer. He said: ``Inflammatory rhetoric may satisfy the partisans, but it does little or nothing to move the legislative ball to the goal line.'' He was talking about the necessity of breaking legislative gridlock and advocating bipartisan compromise.
I think by Congressman Bob Gibbs being on floor tonight, by my being on the floor tonight, in a bipartisan spirit, giving tribute to Ralph Regula, this is a life that Members of Congress can learn from: real achievement, real merit, real honor. He brought real meaning to the word the ``Honorable'' Ralph Straus Regula.
May God let him rest in peace and bless his spirit.
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, we heard tonight that we will miss Ralph Regula. He was a dedicated public servant. He didn't grandstand. He worked hard, and he got the job done for the people of Ohio and the people of this country. We will sorely miss him.
Best regards to his beloved wife, Mary, and three children and the rest of the Regula family. It was an honor and privilege to know Ralph Regula.
Mr. RENACCI. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today to offer my tribute on behalf of my predecessor, mentor, and most importantly my friend, the late Congressman Ralph Regula. We not only had the chance to share the same district but we celebrated the same birthday, something that always made our connection feel stronger.
Congressman Regula represented the 16th District of Ohio in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 until his retirement in 2009. For thirty-six years and eighteen terms, Ralph Regula brought common-sense, Ohio values to Washington each and every day.
Ralph came to Washington, often in his ubiquitous red pickup truck, to do a job for the American People. His was an office held in trust for a time and then relinquished with grace when that season of his life was over.
Ralph Regula began his career as a teacher and grade school principal. Throughout his long career in public service he always encouraged students who approached him to ``Learn something new every day''. It was more than advice: it was a heartfelt wish that every young person he met would embrace a lifetime of learning and go on to become the very best versions of themselves.
As a public servant, Ralph Regula was a thoughtful, conscientious man of the people. From humble beginnings as village solicitor in Navarre, Ohio, Ralph brought his experience as an educator to the Ohio Board of Education, and from there, to the Ohio state house where he served in the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate. In 1972, Ralph Regula was elected to Congress to represent the 16th District of Ohio, an office he always said he held in trust for the people he represented back home in Ohio. His constituents sent him back to Washington eighteen times, asking for and receiving his best service and judgment on their behalf in the People's House.
In Congress, Ralph Regula served most of his tenure in the Committee on Appropriations. Ralph would say he was one of the keepers of America's checkbook. In that role, Ralph brought his own brand of fiscal conservatism to bear on the great issues facing the United States. As chairman of the Committee on Appropriations Interior subcommittee, Ralph was instrumental in securing the future of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
I have no doubt that Ralph Regula will be remembered for many things during his time in Congress. I think his sense of fairness and his bi-
partisan approach to lawmaking will, no doubt, be among the best attributes recalled by his friends and colleagues. Debate ended at the doors to the House, but the friendship always endured.
Ralph was foremost, though, a family man. The great love of his life, Mary, was his partner through thick and thin. Partners in all things, Ralph and Mary built a life together and raised three wonderful children: David, Richard and Martha.
In closing, Mr. Speaker let me just say this: It truly was the honor of a lifetime to know Congressman Ralph Regula and call him my predecessor, mentor, and my friend. He will be dearly missed by all.
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