around and the federal government outlaws football for 14 and younger. we should really spend our time finding out what the research said and then try to figure out how to make it as safe as possible. working with u.s. save football and pop warner, the result is going to be extremely important to the future of the game but the other thing is on the education peace, what we've found is teaching the parents, teaching the parents is critical. when i started we have all kinds of parents say 9 know my kid, he can go back in the game, and use save this child cannot go back in the game. parents are now aware and not making those decisions. the other piece of it is on coach's training we need to really get the coaches out there to teach other coaches. we can hand anybody in our

organization but we need to do a better job with the whole nation about going to places where there isn't a national structure. >> i want to bring brooke de lench. tell us about your web site. do you working with the nfl? >> yes, we are actually helping with the nfl evolution so each day you see some of the tips from the team which i and the publisher in that fight, i am also the author of home team advantage:the critical role of mothers in youth sports and i have a great new hat, a producer of a documentary around football. and i keep hearing these great pieces about parents, so mom's

team is the web site that i run and for the past 12 years we have been leading the way i believe in concussion education as a youth 49 high school level. >> moms are concerned. >> moms are very concerned. your ago, nine months ago i received a letter from a mom in oklahoma and she wanted momsteam to parachuting with our team of experts to set up a concussion management program and that is a very common question we have received over 12 years, can you help us. we have been helping right along that this time we wanted to document every step of the way. one of my triplets was taken out of football because of concussions years ago. now knowing what i know, the game can be made safer. the game is being made save her.

what we did was we parachuted into oklahoma. we have been following a team for the entire season, we started in february and each month we visit them for a week. there concussion rate has plummeted. we put together our risk-management program, 50 different steps. we have the accelerometers, sensors in their helmets at the high school level so we are tracking hits, we are tracking everything that these boys one, we have been able to give them new helmets, not just the correct fit but how to measure it. most important message i have is that the kids want the accelerometers either in their helmets, or as a mouthpiece, they want that responsibility

taken away from themselves. right now they're underreporting. >> let me bring bill mayer into the conversation. he is an owner, you have the unique perspective on the downstream consequences of concussions and other injuries. there at your doorstep. talk about that. >> unlike a lot of people you end up learning about something sort of going forward. in this case it is the cost of workers' compensation in football. and it is a real problem. part of it is the state of california and how it is structured to take claims but the insurance companies, the point is the cost of workers'

compensation for the little league, we had to go through the states and it was 1.5 times the entire compensation of the players and we had a conversation recently with national football league and if you ask them they will do you a similar problem, people think of a concussion and in herring where a player played last the whole thing and nobody objects because there are players that have been hurt but if you go back and say you want to change this guess where you end up, use end up where dr. cantu is talking about. we basically have an entire generation we have to deal with, somebody playing in the southeast conference has perhaps already occurred damage that is not going to manifest itself in 20 years. >> you were telling me the last

team that employes the player is the one that picks of workers' comp. >> that is not right or wrong. that happens to be the law. >> i am interested in your conversations with the national football league about how they could be in the same situation. one thing that is different -- the great thing under the cba is the cost of their workers' compensation insurance is worn by the players. we actually live in a world under the sea be a where the insurance cost is basically estimated every year and that is a benefit that goes to the team so the good news for our football teams, and i will say something about nfl owners, when it come to the cost of their insurance, that makes it somewhat ironic, even though those costs are reimbursed the

team's fight on workers, which is interesting. i could probably choose another word but it is a family show. i am always interested in this issue of workers' compensation but i do thing going back to these big ideas, recognizing when our players get hurt, our leadership refuses to call it an accident. if you are a running back and you are squaring up and ray lewis is coming at you and your recorder back and steven jackson is heading for you, what happens after you tackle one of those individuals is not an accident. that is a necessary and foreseeable consequence of football. the day we actually turned a corner on making this game better for youth is the same day we recognize that players, when

they are engaged and they get hurt at work, not playing a game, hurt at work, when we accept that responsibility and shoes that we are going to compensate and take care of those medical injuries for those players who get hurt at work that is the day that is much better for you football because we will have moved beyond that, quote, gladiator days of football where we all used to say of a guy got a broken leg it just happened and that was tough for him and we move on. those days need to end. >> let me finish. that is why it is workers' compensation. my point was not necessarily workers' compensation perce but as a symbol for the cumulative impact of trauma from you for so we talk about 1 hundred million people watching football and watching your players you represent on the field working and they are the role model for

youth sports. part of what you do is to influence courts so you have to work at it from both ends. >> absolutely. >> my last point is something i said at the beginning of my comments, i am a big fan of looking at trends as opposed to snapshots and so you weren't able to join us that early but it is clear that this discussion is different than it was three years ago about the issue of youth sports and the risk up until 14 years old when the shell is full reformed and you need a lot more research, but i can tell you from the standpoint of logic is very clear to me that this has to be viewed as a threat or an opportunity and clearly most people would say in any situation where things seem to be changing more we are learning more information you would want to be in control of

the situation and arrive at a decision as opposed to being outside of that. and so differents of opinion among everybody doing this research for the 7-14-year-olds, but i would sure hope you are working together because the outcome is going to be what it is and sooner or later there will be a point, mccall's the tipping point and tipping points usually reached not necessarily by individual votes but there is some person with an abnormal amount of influence on the opinion of others. that person is probably in this room. >> i would like to bring two nfl players in to this, i want to go to a former nfl kicker, stefan fatsis wrote about kicking in the nfl. give me your thoughts on what you heard. >> i spent the summer with the denver broncos as a kicker on the team on the practice field.

i was never hit because anyone i hit, i would not be sitting here today. >> a free position. >> i did have a tight end coach insist that i approach a cackling dummy one day and i got hurt. i didn't tell anybody -- like most nfl players i don't tell anyone they got hurt. there are two points i want to make and one is the reality of the professional level is different from some of the scenarios we are laying out here. players are not, for all the excellent and progressive changes in conjunction with the nfl players are at the mercy of their coaches and still unwilling to tell doctors when they are hurt worse still unwilling to demand their medical records when they have a right to them, unaware of long term consequences of many injuries they are asked to play through. i know their efforts are being

made to do that. players are not willing to just make those changes because their livelihood depend on getting back on the field. at the youth level kids don't have those folks. parents are terrible, letting the worst judges of what their children need or are capable of. coaches in most sports are uneducated and for all the education opportunities and efforts you make, there will be a majority of coaches -- we are talking about a sport, putting accelerometers in equipment where we want equipment specialists to out fit our children, where we are talking about having independent observers of coaches on the sideline that practices and games to monitor what is going on. the general question, at what point are we kidding ourselves about youth football? this is not a sensible proposition when you need the superstructure of equipment and

medical testing and trained medical observers for every youth football game in the country. maybe lawyers decide or maybe the school board decided or the journalists decided, but how do we know we are at that point? >> let's hear from eddie mason. >> thank you for the work you have done for the players. i wish you had done it ten years ago, i would have still been playing but limited practices and all this type of stuff, as i stated earlier, the main thing about youth sports is save the. we all agree we need to make the game save her on every level. high school, college, perot. there have been many measures, a lot of research, a lot of discussion. appreciate the research you are doing. the reality is here. we live in a football community.

everybody's responsibility in this room, bringing us together, to come together to embrace the research, embrace the wisdom, embrace the knowledge and people who fight for change and represent. perfect example as i stated earlier, i worked with -- i am a commissioner -- and three tackle leagues in the area. the reality is this. in the football coach ron we always talked to fight through it. the breaking point as we talk about earlier when you come to the realization of who do we leave this responsibility, and this responsibility to? at some point we have to take that responsibility from the coaches and even the leagues because many leagues i work with

our own, not governed by u.s. a football at pop warner. scott can't come down until every coach in the united states of america that this is the way you need to do it so what we try to do with the league and i will share this as an example that this is what you are fighting at the grass-roots level, number one, i played eight -- we went to a league and approached the league and did you know what we want to do? we played at the highest levels so there is a model standard already out there. be nfl and the nfl p a set the standard for you've coaches. the problem is they don't embrace changes because it is all about winning. when it is good, nobody

remembers years from now. what matters is the effect of the game. what we tried to do with a vote week was co-pay, if you want to improve safety, you want to improve making sure these coaches are responsible being accountable, and credible, implement the league czar just like the nfl p a. they protect the players. they work alongside be nfl to come inside and say okay, these other things we want to give and these other things that are most important and these are the issues. that needs to happen. there needs to be -- may be legislative. i don't know. if we are serious about making changes to the game and serious about making save the paramount at the youth level and we need to get serious about okay, if these issues exist and these league presidents don't want to make changes your league can't

exist. your league cannot exist. you are irresponsible and you are being irresponsible to these families and these kids if you are unwilling to adhere to the standards because at the end of the day that is what it is all about, standards. it is about raising that standard and expectation and implementing. if we don't do that, it will be the same. 15 years from now, little jimmy, lonnie might be having problems if we don't all come together as a football community. that is what this is all about. >> likewise. how hopeful -- we heard a lot today and you're a good listener and also a skeptic, you are a journalist. how optimistic are you that the culture of football can change? that we can get coaches trained? quality decisions can be made at

the youth level that high school can use football in a way that promotes public health? >> that is a tough one. because i think this is a start and a huge start, and dr. cantu's work is seminole and a lot of things said today are very important, i am a little disappointed that eddie is one of the only players here. i would love to see more active players be a part of this. if there is -- you said it best. i don't think culture change is a bad watchword at all. i wonder from the perspective, is it possible for the lead to get into their thick heads of guys whose job is to hit people, people like ray lewis, like

james harrison, who have used some of this new culture of not killing the quarterback and calling it the specification of the league, and people whose a snitches get stitches, is it possible to come down on these people? is it possible to get it through their heads that it is not ok to hurt your fellow competitor? it is one thing -- like anybody else i have a reptilian brain and jump out of my couch when a guy makes a big hit. when the players stayed down is as sick as anything i can remember. i was at a championship game a few years ago in pittsburgh and went will list the gay went down, no one thought he was getting. i don't know if there's a ps a thing like grant hill came out and said using the gate whistlers are bad, if anything can happen like that in the nfl where ray lewis and the most violent hitters in the game can

come out and say point blank, this is not right, one thing to knock a guy down and another thing to want to willfully hurt him. the culture change needs to start at that level. if colt mccloy is allowed back on the field, what it all means. >> i hear you and i think that is a great point but again, going back to responsibility and accountability, we had a chance to chat a little bit outside and you know my feelings about the importance and obligation of smart journalists and journalism in america. that is a debate thankfully that people are having again. my question is always, you identify two individuals who said things that i would rather they not say. i will be dead honest with you. i have to hunt for a story about

a guy like mike raybold who was as vicious a linebacker as possible but coaches use football in a way everybody in this room -- to me, going back to the fact that there are 2,000 football players in the national football league, if we wanted to come up with the worst examples of things that happen that we would wish not happened my guess is we would be numbering in the 10s 220s, not the thousands. as i look at guys like stephen jackson and even guys like ryan clark, those are guys who i think do do it the right way when it comes to teaching their youth football people. i agree with you 100% on the idea of p.s. as for those things i would love to have a little bit of good news coming out about some of the players do you never hear about because they

don't drive their car at 1,000 miles an hour or get advice at clubs or throw people out windows. unfortunately those are the stories we never hear and a good thing about our job is once the tv is off, the greatest psas we could possibly do, and i am putting this responsibility on us and the head of the communications department for us to tell those stories because we have thousands of great ones and for the guys you played with, those guys on your team, more often than not those are the very guys you would trust to play football and that is the stories we need to year. >> if i could jump in real quick. i will be brief. you make a good point. the story you got that leads to further evolution how we address

these issues, there are essential because they lead to changes and the game has to evolve. we have athletic trainers in the sky boxes for the sidelines but more of that. what is interesting is last year in the championship games, two hard hitting games, the giants beat the niners in the super bowl. go back and watch those games. was there an illegal hit, was there a penalty, making a reptilian brain jump off, go back and watch. i present to you that it is changing. james harrison said publicly he was going to avoid it in a quarterback so anecdote, not specific and i will probably get in trouble but anecdotal isn't

proof, but then again those stories also, the great part about football, those hard hits you are excited about can be done and they can continue to encourage the part of us that enjoys hard hits, doesn't have to be anybody hit. >> we need to wrap up. of love to get to everyone at the table the two quick closing comments from scott and let's go to bob. >> i want to comment, getting players engage is very important. i got to be careful but the three pilot programs, one of the aspect that was really beneficial is nfl alumni players came out and they were genuinely presenting their feelings about the game and talking openly to

parents, in northern virginia, made a real difference and one of the points you made is how we come together, and the science and medical industry that we have to embrace that and act accordingly but i am pleased with the players association and the nfl and encouraging their players to come out and engage parents to talk about what is going on and parents are asking hard questions but in the end you want to be informed demand there is a movement. there are steps being taken to try to address this complex issue and the conversation will continue but they are definitely engaging. >> this conversation started with the idea of 14 and under so i will give you the comment. >> thanks very much. let me wrap quickly by saying

what i started with, it is great that all of us understand no brain trauma, we are not paranoid about it, you can reduce it or every chance you get to eliminate it short of stopping something completely is a good thing. i am very encouraged by what i have heard today, because the bus that has been driving is going in. i am proud of what the national football league has done, or working with the players association collectively what they did in the collective bargaining agreement, reducing the hitting to less than once a week but that has not been picked up significantly at lower-level so far and i am speaking, forget me getting on my 14 and other bandwagon, and i came back from zurich where we have been on the organizing

committee, and the big thing four years ago was for youth football 18 and under, no going back into contests the same day. that was a mandate coming out of the conference. nothing happened. 2009, nothing. 2010 national football league implemented at and within months the lockstep, the national federation of high school football, the national football league has been driving the save the business and it seems to me we need to have a little -- is great we are doing that but the youth league needs to step in a bigger way than they have in the past. i am delighted to see what they have done recently and applauded. >> a transcript of today's proceedings if you want to call it that will be available later in the day, i will look at them

and send them to folks that are interested and i am sorry we were not able to figure out the video clip earlier but we will show it, you are welcome to set -- stick around, it is about ten minutes for the head games panel at aspen, jim brown and others talking about these issues. and on november 20th at 8:00 p.m. check that out and there's a dvd at your station, which you are free to take home which is of the show. i want to thank everyone who brought this together, jeff harris, give jeff hand. [applause] >> jim spiegelman who is always a supporter of everything we do.

bill mayer who is an advocate of our program and all of you who have engaged in this conversation. as an investigative journalist, people like donovan hill who suffered second impact syndrome, they talk to me because they want something great to come of their story. they want people to learn so it doesn't happen to someone else. the kind of journalism that is essentials, there is another component if something happens afterward. important people come together and share their perspective and find common ground and identify ideas and advance the conversation moving forward but i feel like i am helping the donovan hills of the world. thank you for coming. [applause] >> if i could interject, i flew

out here to ask one question. are am a concerned parent. i have been to four of your executive committee members, these gentlemen are the most adept at speaking to this issue. you mentioned we should have more player reputation and i appreciate everything you said to me today, in interviewing your executive committee members one of them told me on this issue point blank there is no way in hell he would let his kids play football. that person decided not to be part of the documentary so i will not mention his name, i interviewed drew belize on this subject and he signed a release. i have no problem saying what he said. he said he would not allow his children to play football, wouldn't even consider rental there 13 years old. earlier, you spoke about morally indefensible, informed consent, accountability. is it not his job being part of the executive committee member

focusing on player health and safety shouldn't he as the super bowl champion from texas tell kids under 13 years old or more specifically tell their parents wouldn't even let my kids play, i wouldn't consider, when he is doing these concussion clinics shouldn't he be giving this information? isn't it incumbent upon your players to talk about this publicly? >> thanks. so i will tell you this, i will answer your question because it is my anniversary and because my own sun will play sports and i have an hour, i will be brief. i am not sure you will ever find a man who cares more about the community and certainly more about his family then drew. >> this is about our family, our kids. >> when he talked to you about his decisions as a parent with

respect to his own kids, i am never going to comment or second-guess what decision he would make for his children. and if and when he wants to make a broader statement about his own personal beliefs, i know drew pretty well. he is not a shrinking violet about anything or anyone. i am sure he will. >> is a responsibility playing the game as a role model -- [talking over each other] >> let me finish. what comes to a person that has certainly played the game at its highest levels, who certainly has done things for the community that i can only hope to do one day that drew does and certainly a man who lost a family member, i don't ever second-guess courage or integrity of anybody on the

executive committee. with respect to the things he told you about his personal choices about his family i am sure i have had conversations with him about what i would want best for my family, if and when he wants to talk about what he thinks that means for other people that is up to a man named group breeze. >> what about your players in general? >> i am not understanding -- >> part of their directive to share that information? >> if your question to me is should it be the obligation of our players to share information, is that what you are asking? >> about the ramifications of playing tackle football, being honest about the way they feel afterwards -- >> certainly. >> in a what i'm talking about? >> sort of. i am struggling a little bit. i think that any player that wants to talk about what they believe is best for their family if they want to do that, that is

up to them. if they want to talk about the broader implication of the business they're in it is up to them. as executive director of this organization i can tell you that i don't suffer a lot from not hearing about former players about what they feel about the game so i think the great answer to your question is those players who feel strongly about have spoken up and i would think they would continue. >> thanks. appreciate it. [inaudible conversations] >> vice president joe biden, a former supreme court justice david souter, et and others pay tribute to warren rudman who died last week. here is a portion.

>> when i think of warren rudman i think of the foam of life, it has a wine that says lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and the parting leave behind us footsteps on the sands of time. warren rudman left footsteps in the united states senate in the sands of time. many people serve here and are soon forgotten and he is not one of them. and i think the reasons are quite simple. one, he was admired, he had courage, he had principles. he got things done. he made things happen. he cared more about his country than he did about anything else. and as a result, this country cares about him.

and we care about him and that is why we are here and that is why we are honoring him today. a great privilege to me to have my name associated with warren rudman. >> you can see the entire tribute to former senator warren rudman tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> on wednesday the house of representatives voted to name a federal building after thomas p. tip o'neill who served as speaker from 1977 to 1987. the legislation was sponsored by current speaker john maynard and his predecessor speaker, nancy pelosi. here is the floor debate on that measure. >> i would like to thank the majority for bringing this bill up. this is a nice way to honor the longest serving continuously serving speaker in the history of this country. for those who did not have the pleasure of knowing mr. o'neill

i would like to remind everybody that i don't look at him as a historic figure on the podium. i look at him as a man that i knew a fair amount of my adult life anyway. he never forgot where he came from. that is the phrase people here all the time and when people say that of me it is the nicest thing they can say. everyone who served in congress knows that many of us on a regular basis get treated like something special, somebody calls us congressman, that is all well and good and respectful, but at the same time we came for the simple reason of trying to make the world a little better place for the people who elected us. we have different views on how that gets done. mr. o'neill never forgot how to do that even when he reached the pinnacle of power in this great body. for me that is the most important aspect he could leave for us. all the great accomplishments

and meetings with presidents and kings and queens, very important, i don't want to diminish them but at the end of the day, if you have forgotten who you represent, you have stayed too long, mr. o'neill never did. even after he retired he would talk to me about regular ordinary people, the truck drivers i have the privilege of representing in the district he represented and to me that is the most important reason to recognize anyone. someone who gave of themselves day in and day out and even then with all the fighting around here is amazing to me with all the differences of the opinion we have i get the same questions we all get, is it really as bad as all that? for me, no. we disagree and most every point, and i like him.

i think he is a good man and is here for the same reasons i am here, to make this country better place and i feel that way about virtually everyone in this body and speaker o'neill not only represented that but spoke as loudly as he could, he loved this body not for the difficulties it presents or the masses we create and try to fix but for the fact we have a lot of people who come here trying to work on the most difficult issues in a the world with passion and commitment and respect to each other. with that i will yield the balance of my time. >> the gentleman from california. >> i wish to yield one minute to the speaker of the house, the hon. john boehner. >> i thank my colleague for yielding and i rise in support of h.r. 6604 and commend my colleague, the gentlelady from california, nancy pelosi, for

sponsoring this resolution. tip o'neill needs no introduction to this body. i remember those who respect admire him and his long shadow that he cast over the people's house. we have all bar code is best known saying, all politics is local. is certainly true today that as we propose the name of the building right here at the foot of capitol hill, a stone's throw from this great dome in honor of our 55th speaker, this is one of those moments you wonder how the honoree would feel, especially when if someone like tip who never held back his opinions, perhaps he would have enjoyed seeing leaders from opposite sides of the aisle come together to give them a well-deserved her raw. certainly he would have gotten a kick out of being flanked by buildings named after hubert

humphrey and gerald ford, also leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum. to actually considered mr. humphrey one of his heroes and he had one of humphrey's quote put on the wall in his office. has for gerald ford, they didn't agree on much of anything, but to it counted president ford as a true friend and since friends are always honest with one another, when the new president explained what legislation he wanted to pass, tip would say that is not going anywhere but if you want to do that, that was tipped. who of course would also be pleased to see as telling an old story or two. now he will stand in good company and ever the representative, provide folks back home with yet another source of pride. having said all that, tip might

have one small complained about today's the occasion. of small part of the relationship, nothing but a close vote, give him a chance to do just the last bit of a little more wrangling as he tries to secure the votes. today when the roll is called on this bill, the outcome is likely to be unanimous, a reflection of this body's vast gratitude and appreciation of the gentleman so i would urge the whole house to join me in supporting this resolution and i yield the balance of my time. >> the gentleman yields back. >> i yield the balance of my time. >> the gentleman from massachusetts. >> i would like to yield one minute to the once and future speaker of the house, more is leader nancy pelosi. >> the chair recognizes the minority leader. >> i think john boehner for his

leadership and cooperation in bringing this legislation to the floor. thank you, mr. speaker. tip o'neill said the speaker of the house, i have the privilege of serving in the office that tip o'neill had when he was speaker of the house and having in my possession the gavel that was given to speaker o'neill when he became the leader. it is waterboard, so you can only use it one time. perhaps you should use it today. you make this possible, all of us do. all of us admire to o'neill. and i thank you for your fine work. two weeks ago, members of congress, joined members of the o'neill family and others plant a tree in honor of the life of tip o'neill. today we honor tapped again,

passing a resolution to inscribe his name on a federal building paying tribute to the service and leadership to the state of massachusetts and the house of representatives and his leadership for all americans. i think john boehner for leading this bipartisan effort to remember the great tip o'neill on the floor of the house where he wielded the speaker's gavel with courage, dignity and grace and i thank you for joining the committee to bring this to the floor of the house and serving the same district that tip o'neill did, what an honor. i served in the office he had, what an honor. it is fitting that to the neel jr. federal building will stand alongside the building named for his dear friend, a partner and public servant, former president and house minority leader gerald

ford as john boehner indicated, they will be neighbors. reflecting on their long partnership, president ford once said to bone meal is an outstanding political leader and patriot who always carried the torch for the congress and the american people, carrying the torch. this statement captures the statement of tip's success, his extraordinary leadership and unflinching patriotism and his belief in the common good, and the unending fight for a more perfect union. mr. president, he carried the torch for all who believe the purpose of politics was to improve the lives of others. cit carried the torch for the underdog, the person on the street, the family struggling to pay the bills, carried the torch of opportunity, equality and every budget negotiation, every legislative battle, every bi-partisan agreement.

tip carried the personal manifestation of the american dream and carried the torch for everyone else who strive to achieve it. for tip standing on principle was not about political gain, but fighting for the voiceless and the aspirations of the middle-class. the effort to reform and save social security was not about figures on a page, but the seniors fighting to make ends meet. that is why i am so proud of what he did with president reagan to prolong the life of social security. for tip, floor debate were not about abstract numbers, they were about people, the consequences, the policy to their lives. those are values that enabled to the neil to leave his giant footprint, a giant footprint on the course of american history. this is the spirit that made him a legend, allowed him to help

the middle class strive, assured his actions will strengthen the character of our country in his time and for future generations. by his leadership and patriotism tip o'neill was of proud champion of his district, his state and our nation. gavel in hand, he was a giant in the congress. for his record of progress he was a bonafide american hero. by adding his name to federal buildings, in spite of the capital he loved, we all carry the torch of the legacy of tip o'neill. i hope that we have not the close vote at the time, but a unanimous vote that shows we share tip's values and take pride in his leadership as he stands as an neighbor to president gerald ford. thank you, i yield back the balance -- i yield back --

>> the gentlelady yields back and seeks recognition. >> gentleman in reserve. >> reserve. >> i would like to recognize the ranking member of the transportation committee, mickey joe riegle. i yield to him two minutes. >> the chair recognize perhaps the gentleman from massachusetts for yielding me the time and join with the democratic leader and speaker of the house in supporting the pending measure. speaker thomas o'neill, otherwise known as tip, was first collected to represent the eleventh congressional district of massachusetts in 1952 and continue to serve for 17 terms. during his 34 years in congress he served as chair of the select committee on campaign, majority leader, speaker of the house.

speaker o'neill hold a special place in my own congressional career, when i was sworn in at the beginning of my first term in congress in 1977 it was also tipped's first year as speaker of this body. he held that post for a decade, making him the second longest tenured speaker in the history of the house of representatives and there are a litany of legislative accomplishments that will be described as the fining the career of thomas p. o'neill, his most remarkable guidepost was his dedication to federal programs that addressed the need of the middle-class, the sec, the fallen and our working men and women across this great country. speaker o'neill was an unabashed supporter of the new deal and believe government had the ability and responsibility to provide for those in need and championed programs like public

education, social security, unemployment insurance, medicare, medicaid, income for low-income people with disabilities just the tip of the iceberg. part of his success in protecting and growing these programs was speaker o'neill's talent in forging political consensus. we heard that describe already, is superb political instincts and being a pragmatic dealmaker which allowed him to take on the day-to-day responsibilities of holding his caucus together while advancing his commitment to liberalism. we heard the speaker, reference speaker o'neill and his popular saying that all politics is local and believe you me that was my first advice in coming to this body and my advice to this very day. he had over 50 years of combined public service in the massachusetts state house and

the house of representatives. a true public servant in every sense of the word. because of his dedicated service i am sure my colleagues will join in a bipartisan round of support for the naming of this federal building after thomas tip o'neill. i yield back my time to the gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you. >> two minutes of the gentlewoman from massachusetts. >> the gentlelady from massachusetts is recognized. >> i thank my colleague mr. capra won no --cpauano for yielding to me. i recognize and honor the legacy of former speaker of the house to o'neill. tip o'neill had a long and distinguished career in public service as we heard. this was clearly an o'neill family value as so many have carried on with such distinction.

he was a friend and mentor to me and my late husband paul when paul served with him in the house, often remembered for coining the phrase all politics is local. as we in massachusetts are so often reminded his imprint has shaped the thriving boston of today and protected the glories of cape cod for tomorrow and we treasure his innate ability to bring together with good humor and unwavering purpose people from both sides of the aisle, a singular aspect to his legacy which is most embodied in his work with president reagan to strengthen social security, protecting this critically important program for a decade. i think john boehner and nancy pelosi for introducing this legislation that will name a building in the shadow of the great capital after a great speaker, tip o'neill. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentlelady yields back. >> reserve the balance of my

time. >> i want to yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you. i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership. i know those of us in the massachusetts delegation always welcome the opportunity to pay tribute to tip o'neill, a giant of this house and a legend in massachusetts politics. for decades to the new represented the people of this district with distinction, hard work and with and for ten years he led this house as speaker. tip got into politics for the right reasons, to help people. and the new deal democrat he believed government doesn't have all the answers, but it can and should be a force for good. he may be best remembered for his admonition all politics is local and always put his constituents first he always made a great american national international affairs. he fought to protect and preserve social security and the safety net and work for peace in northern ireland and against the

war in vietnam and was a great source of advice to me and many others. when you are running for office always ask for someone's vote and always saying you. never judge a beauty pageant or pick a raffle number because he will make one person happy and hundreds of people mad. in his second term he was appointed to the house rules committee. when he entered the democratic leadership my old boss and mentor to that seat, when he died i was given the honor of taking his place on the rules committee. i feel a strong personal responsibility to maintain to the neil's legacy. i think the leadership for bringing this bill to the floor and the effort to designate this federal building in honor of tip o'neill. finally i want to say to pony believe politics was an honorable profession. he believe government should be there for the poor and the vulnerable and the elderly and he believed in extending ladders of opportunity so everyone regardless of their background could succeed. i hope all of us will remember congress and the white house as

we enter these discussions on our budget. i hope we remember tip o'neill's example. to the o'neill was a champion for all those who had no voice. we should be too. i yield back my time. >> the gentleman from california, stand for massachusetts. >> i would like to yield two minutes. >> the chair recognizes mr. markey. >> i thank the gentleman so much for holding this special session. mr. speaker, i was elected to congress 36 years ago and my first day in congress, my first vote in congress in january of 1977 was a vote for who would be the speaker of the house. republicans were all going to

vote for john rhodes, a good man. democrats were going to vote for it to the o'neill. the tradition is that on that first vote on that first day that the member has to stand to actually say the name of the person they're voting. so the first word i ever uttered on the floor of the house standing at my chair at the top of my voice which is saying one word o'neill, and with that i had voted. his first term as speaker of the house. he was a democrat, a social security democrat, he could work with ronald reagan -- he was committed to ending the nuclear arms race and led the fight on the house floor, but did so

while insuring there would be a complete preservation of the security of the united states of america. he always asked two questions on every issue out here on the house floor. is it fair and does it work? he said that if it could not pass that two part test it should not become a lot in the united states of america. a comprehensive energy plan on the floor, protected social security, advanced so many other issues. in my opinion, to o'neill was the albert einstein of politics. he knew what it took in order to make this institution work. he knew what it took to reach across the aisle, find people with good will and make this chamber work and advance the agenda for this country so for me it is an honor to be here

because buildings as we named them also embody that person and it is my hope as people walk in and out of this building for the twenty-first century that they think about who tip o'neill was, they think about how much he loved political war but at the same time brought his own personal want to that so it was not separated here on the house floor. it is my hope that naming this building, perhaps this process, this great institution can be animated by his great legacy and i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentleman yield back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. >> no more speakers. i would like to close by thanking those members who spoke on behalf of mr. o'neill and thanking the speaker and minority leader for bringing this bill to the floor and congratulating the o'neill family. most of you know the o'neill family and i will tell you tip

would be proud of them. from the ones he knew and the ones he didn't know as well and everyone that i know is good, solid, people know what they're doing and who they represent because they see me on a regular basis and i thank him for being so tenacious to remind us that tip o'neill, who he was, what he was, living in his shadow and living the type of life he would have been proud of. i also want to close by simply saying again thank you for this congress for providing not just me but all of us the opportunity to have these debates, have these discussions, have these fights, there's nothing wrong with a good fight over important issues and to understand each of us brings to this body what to the deal brought to this party and people who come after a spring to this party a commitment to this country and their district and the people they represent, to bone meal eaten my skull and that is