1 

A Ceremony 

Unveiling the Portrait 

of 

THE HONORABLE 

RICHARD W. POMBO 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 

Committee on Natural Resources 

1324 Longworth House Office Building 

Washington, D.C. 


CONGRESS.#13
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

21–310 2016

COMMITTEE PRINT 

A Ceremony 

Unveiling the Portrait 

of 

THE HONORABLE 

RICHARD W. POMBO 

A Representative in Congress from the State of California 

January 3, 1993–January 3, 2007 

Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources 

for the 

One Hundred Eighth 

and 

One Hundred Ninth Congresses 

PROCEEDINGS 

before the 

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

U.S. House of Representatives 

July 28, 2015 


CONGRESS.#13
2 

3 

A Ceremony 

Unveiling the Portrait 

of 

THE HONORABLE 

RICHARD W. POMBO 

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 

(IV) 

ARTIST: JEFFREY MARTIN

THE HONORABLE RICHARD W. POMBO 

Republican of California 

House Committee on Natural Resources 

Chairman 2003–2007 


21310.001
(V)

THE HONORABLE RICHARD W. POMBO 

Richard Pombo, former Chairman of the Resources Committee 

and Vice-Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, was first elected 

to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 and represented 

California’s 11th district until January of 2007. During his time as 

Chairman, he was the key author of several pieces of legislation, 

including reforms to our nation’s environmental laws, energy policy, Native American and Tribal issues, farm bill legislation, 

healthy forests reform, private property rights, and international 

species protection policies. 

During his time serving in the House, he also served on the 

Transportation Committee, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries 

Committee, the Agriculture Committee, and the Resources 

Committee. Pombo also served as the Co-Chair of the Speakers 

Task Force on Affordable Natural Gas, is a past Chairman of the 

Western Caucus, and was a Co-Founder of the PortugueseAmerican Caucus. Pombo’s work on the protection of private property rights led him to author the widely reviewed book, ‘‘This Land 

is Our Land,’’ and to be a staunch defender of property rights on 

Capitol Hill. As a rancher from the Central Valley of California, he 

currently splits time between his ranch, where he and his wife, 

Annette, have raised their three children, and Washington, D.C. 

JEFFREY MARTIN, ARTIST 

Award winning portrait and pastel landscape artist Jeffrey 

Martin strives to make every portrait flattering, reflective of individual personality, and stunningly accurate in likeness. Mr. Martin 

attended Susquehanna University, graduating with a BA in 

English Education. He then attended art school in New York City 

at the Art Students League of New York and continued his 

education at Penn State University where he earned an MFA in 

Painting and Drawing. Mr. Martin taught art classes at 

Susquehanna University from 1989–1992 and again from 2001– 

2006. 

(VII)

P R O G R A M 

WELCOME

The Honorable Frank Lucas 

Former Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture 

REMARKS

The Honorable Rob Bishop 

Chairman, House Committee on Natural Resources 

The Honorable Devin Nunes 

Chairman, House Select Committee on Intelligence 

ACCEPTANCE OF THE PORTRAIT AND REMARKS

The Honorable John A. Boehner 

Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives 

UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT

Richie Pombo, Rena` Pombo, and Rachel Pombo 

REMARKS

The Honorable Richard W. Pombo 

Former Chairman of the House Resources Committee 

Member of Congress (Ret.) 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Richard Pombo Portrait Committee—Darrell Henry, Kristin 

Schrader Marcell, Lisa Wallace, Seth Voyles 

Curator, U.S. House of Representatives—Farar Elliott 

Portrait Artist—Jeffrey Martin 

Gavel Resources—Jacquelyn Sommer, Suzanne Youngblood 

Photographer—Dana Renee 

U.S. Capitol Historical Society—Peter McGuire 

Richard would like to especially thank his family, friends, 

supporters, colleagues and former staff for being a part of 

today’s ceremony. 

(1) 

The Unveiling and Presentation of the Official Portrait of 

THE HONORABLE RICHARD W. POMBO 

CHAIRMAN 2003–2007 

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES, 

Washington, D.C. 

The ceremony began at 4:55 p.m., in room 1334, Longworth 

House Office Building. 

Mr. LUCAS. My good friends, thank you for being here today. As 

a Member who has been hung, but in a different room—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LUCAS [continuing]. This is the most pleasant way that this 

can occur. 

For those of you perhaps who have not been a part of this process before, this is a tradition that goes back about a century in the 

U.S. House. It acknowledges the men and women who have served 

as Committee Chairmen, who have toiled in the trenches, dug in 

the ditches, so to speak, and moved Democracy forward. 

After you retire, and again, for all of my fiscally-conservative 

friends in the room, and I am sure a good many of you are part 

of helping make this possible, this effort, not a penny of taxpayers’ 

money was involved in producing a portrait to commemorate the 

Chairman’s past experiences, which will hang in the Committee 

hearing room forever or at least as long as they don’t remember 

Pombo and I. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LUCAS. But I would be remiss if I didn’t take this 

opportunity to offer a personal thought or two. 

I was sworn in in May of 1994 in a special election. Pombo and 

I, at that time Pombo was a freshman, were members of what was 

the last of the old 40-year Democratic majority. I took the oath of 

office down in the well. Speaker Foley was not very happy about 

it because I replaced a Member of his side of the room, took a seat. 

And I proceeded to the back, having picked out a zone that looked 

fairly safe to have a seat. 

Lo and behold, I encountered for the first time in my life a 

Portuguese Californian. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LUCAS. He looked up, and he said, ‘‘Well, at least you were 

brief with that speech. Have a seat, Lucas.’’ And that is when I 

first met the Chairman. 

2 

And over the course of our serving together for 141⁄2 years, something like that, on the Ag Committee together and working with 

him in his involvement on Resources, we developed a relationship 

that will endure forever. 

Richard is one of these folks who, from day one, came committed 

to make a difference. Yeah. Farmer/rancher in California, that is 

a tough challenge these days, but it has always been a tough challenge. A fellow who came by way of the Tracy City Council because 

he idealistically believed local government could do better for the 

citizens. 

And then, amazingly, he discovered when he was on the city of 

Tracy Council, he used to tell me, that the real problem wasn’t the 

city council; it was those yahoos east of the Mississippi River. So 

when an opportunity came to run for Congress, a competitive 

race—you were what, 31 when you were sworn in? 

Mr. POMBO. Yes. 

Mr. LUCAS. Pombo came charging to where the problem was. He 

focused on property rights, focused on agriculture, focused on preserving our natural resources, focused on making a real difference 

from a real person’s perspective. 

And the thing about Pombo is that he never forgot that perspective of being a Portuguese in California, being a rancher, even if 

he is the knight of something or other in the Portuguese empire. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LUCAS. I don’t understand all this nobility stuff. 

But he never forgot that, in all the bills and all the legislation 

and all the things he worked on ever so consistently. 

I have the greatest respect for him. You do, too, or you wouldn’t 

be here. 

Now, I have vented my spleen. I feel better for having told the 

truth. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. LUCAS. I would now like to turn the floor to Chairman 

Bishop for whatever comments he might offer. 

REMARKS OF HON. ROB BISHOP 

Chairman, House Committee on Natural Resources 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

I thank you all for being here. This is a wonderful occasion to 

honor the former Chairman of the Resources Committee, the best 

Committee in Congress. I understand some of you think of it as a 

B Committee, but for those of us in the West, this is the most important Committee that happens to be here. 

My first session was also the first time that Chairman Pombo 

was Chairman of this Committee. So, for me, I judged the Chairman by the standards that he set. And it is going to be a very difficult road for me to try and live up to the standards Chairman 

Pombo set for this particular Committee. 

I am, though, happy to see that we are about the same height. 

[Laughter.] 

3 

The CHAIRMAN. You have to realize, when I was here, I was always sitting down at the bottom looking up at him. For my entire 

first 6 years here, I always looked up at Pombo. I always thought 

he was a lot bigger than that. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. But I am appreciative of you all being here. This 

is a great honor for Richard, and it is an honor for me; you have 

to be nice to me because I still get to decide where this is actually 

hung. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. And we all know that is a lie, because the staff 

will tell me where to put it. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. So thank you for being here. Thank you for your 

service to the country. Thank you for the standards you set for this 

Committee. I am looking forward to trying to do as well as you did. 

And we are happy to have you here forever in these rooms. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. LUCAS. The Speaker of this greatest House of Representatives, who we all served with on the Ag Committee for a long time, 

will bestow a few words upon us and hopefully accept this fine 

work of art. 

Mr. Speaker. 

REMARKS OF HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER 

Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives 

Speaker BOEHNER. Well, let me just say I thank all of you for 

being here. 

Richard, it is amazing to see you. 

[Laughter.] 

Speaker BOEHNER. You know, these portrait unveilings tend to 

become a reunion of sorts. And I know a lot of people that are here, 

some of you we haven’t seen since 2006. 

But I remember, in 1992, there was a candidate running from 

Stockton, California. Remember that? And we did an event at a 

little house out on the front yard. And all I can remember is this 

guy was tenacious. He won the seat and got here and was just as 

tenacious. 

You know, I will never forget, as he was going out the door, and 

here he was, on the Floor of the House, pushing for drilling on the 

Outer Continental Shelf. Packing the office, moving out—no, no, 

not possible. He was still pushing till the last moment. 

If you looked at his work on the Endangered Species Act, I don’t 

know how many bills, how many times he worked this thing, but 

he worked it and worked it and worked it. It never really got 

anywhere, but—— 

[Laughter.] 

Speaker BOEHNER. Listen, a great Member, a tenacious Member, 

somebody who did a great job leading this Committee. On behalf 

of the House, it is my honor to accept this portrait into the House 

gallery. 

Richard, God bless you. 

[Applause.] 

4 

Mr. LUCAS. I would now like to call up the Chair of the House 

Intelligence Committee, a Representative from the California 

delegation. 

REMARKS OF HON. DEVIN NUNES 

Chairman, House Select Committee on Intelligence 

Mr. NUNES. Thank you, Mr. Lucas. 

So, Richard, this really is a pleasure and an honor to be here for 

you today. 

And it was so nice for Richard to shut off the air conditioning in 

the Longworth House Office Building. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES. I am quite sure that was a message that was sent 

by you to the environmental groups, that this is what happens if 

you never reform the Endangered Species Act. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES. If Richard would have had his way back in the day, 

he was really ahead of his time, California wouldn’t be having the 

problems that it is having today with the implementation of the 

Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, Richard could never get it 

across the line, although we came close in the Senate, but I think 

now California is paying the repercussions for not listening to a 

real statesman and friend like this that we have had only a few 

times in our lifetime, in a guy like Richard. 

And the Speaker said it very well, that Richard was fierce and 

he was loyal. There was never a time that I would come to Richard 

and he couldn’t do something for me. He would help me to get to 

the place that I needed to get to. 

And you had a very loyal staff and friends. I haven’t seen a lot 

of them for a long time. Some of them are still on the Committee. 

But the staff was very loyal to you and loyal to your friends. And 

a lot of my best friends that I met were through you in our time 

when Bishop and I were sitting on the bottom of the Resources 

Committee. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES. And I will tell you one of my favorite freshman 

stories, and then I will be quiet. 

I was only in Congress for a couple months, and I get this call 

from Richard on the weekend at my house. He says, ‘‘Very important. I’ve got to talk to you. I need you to go with me on this trip 

to Alaska.’’ And so I said, ‘‘OK, all right.’’ So I dropped everything, 

changed my schedule, because I figured, if the Chairman calls, I 

have to go. 

So then we came back to Washington. We flew from here to 

Alaska. Well, I realized when I got on the plane I was part of the 

problem because it was, like, me, the gentlelady from Guam—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES [continuing]. Denny Rehberg, and, like, nobody else, 

right? So, clearly, he had to have me to at least fill the plane. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES. And then we landed, outside of Anchorage there, 

Valdez, and then we went up to a place called Deadhorse. And it 

was, like, 20 below, and I said, ‘‘Well, this isn’t too bad.’’ You know, 

I don’t think I had ever been in weather below 10. 

5 

And you know the rest of the story. We fly to the North Slope, 

and it was, like, negative 45 with the windchill. And I said, ‘‘Oh, 

my God.’’ And then we get out, and the tires on the plane had 

frozen—frozen and locked. So you had me, Ms. Bordallo, and 

Rehberg out there rocking the plane because the tires were locked. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. NUNES. But I think that is a testament to you, Richard, because nobody wanted to go up there, but you were willing to go up 

there. And you conducted real hearings, made your point. And, like 

Rob said, you are a tough act to follow because you did such a good 

job. 

So congratulations to you and to all your family. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. LUCAS. Chairman Pombo will make comments in just a moment and, at that point, he will introduce his lovely bride. That is 

more appropriate for him to do. 

So I think, at this point, could we have the heir and heiresses 

to the empire come up? 

I have to comment that Rachel wasn’t even a threat to anybody’s 

life when Pombo came to Congress. 

And whether you want to admit it or not, you used to entertain 

us on the back row when you would come visit us as a 4-year-old. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LUCAS. So let’s all take a deep breath. 

I sent Pombo several copies of various cartoons from 10 years 

ago, and I asked if any of those were going to be the face in the 

portrait. He denies that. Therefore, let’s unveil him. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. LUCAS. Former Chairman of the House Resources 

Committee, former Vice Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, 

The Right Honorable Richard W. Pombo. 

[Applause.] 

REMARKS OF HON. RICHARD W. POMBO 

Mr. POMBO. I want to just start off by thanking everybody for 

being here and everything that went into this event here today. 

You know, this is something, after I left, I wasn’t coming back. 

I didn’t want to do a portrait, I didn’t want to do anything. And 

because of the encouragement of former staff and my kids, my family, I finally agreed that I would do the portrait. And I am glad I 

did, because I am having a lot of fun with it. 

And I want to thank, of course, the Speaker for taking time to 

come over here. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for doing this for me. 

And thank Frank and Devin, who are two of my closest friends, 

two of the guys that I know we will always be friends no matter 

what. And those of you that are in this political world know that 

there are not very many people here you can call your friend till 

the end, but those are two of the guys that always will be my 

friends. 

The other one that I commuted back and forth from northern 

Virginia for 14 years with, John Doolittle, who is here, he came in 

for this. 

[Applause.] 

6 

Mr. POMBO. And Jim Costa is here. Tom McClintock is here. I 

don’t know who else I am missing that walked in, but—— 

Mr. LUCAS. Congressman Weller is here. 

Mr. POMBO. Oh, yeah, Jerry is here, and Congressman Burton. 

But thank you, everybody, for coming over and, again, making 

this. 

You know, first of all, this whole thing was just a team effort 

from the beginning to the end. It started back in 1992 when I 

called my wife, I was thinking about running for Congress, so I 

called her, and I said, ‘‘What do you think about moving to 

Washington? ’’ She said, ‘‘Yeah, that would be fine. Did you guys 

find a ranch up there? ’’ 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. POMBO. Not thinking that I was dumb enough to want to run 

for Congress. But, after I explained it to her, she went along with 

it, happily, I guess. 

But she has been there from the beginning and always supported 

me and helped me get through everything. My kids, Richie, Rena`, 

and Rachel, who, when most of you saw them last, they were a 

little bit smaller. 

But, you know, I say this was a team effort from the beginning. 

I see guys here that were with me in my very first office when I 

first opened up in the Longworth building, a couple floors up. Guys 

like Tom Pyle and Chris D’Arcy, Jack Victory, those guys were in 

the first office when I first got here, and we had a great staff. 

And I was one of those who had always believed that I didn’t 

have to be the smartest person in the room, I just had to have 

them working for me. And I was lucky that I always had such 

great staff through the whole time I was here. Steve Ding, my 

former chief of staff, deserves a lot of credit for that because he put 

together a heck of a team, both in the personal office and then on 

the Committee. 

And, you know, all of you got together and joined me in this battle, and we went to war over this. We knew going in we were 

outmanned and we were outgunned, but we were going to fight, 

and we were going to do what was right. 

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to see so many of you here 

today that worked for me, that worked with me over the years, because you guys are still fighting. You haven’t given up. And that 

is what it is all about. You have to keep fighting. 

There are a few things in the painting that I started thinking 

about what I was going to do and how I was going to make it. Of 

course, I had to do it casual because that is me. But, when it comes 

right down to it, I looked at what the jurisdiction of the Committee 

was. And, at the top, we have the longhorns for the cattle grazers 

out West. In the background is Shasta Dam, and it is the development of the greatest water project in the world. We have a logging 

truck and an oil rig at the bottom. And hanging over the chair is 

a Native American blanket that was given to me when I was 

Chairman by a Tribal Chairman. 

And, to me, that embodies what the Committee was, and it 

embodies all the work that we did over the years. So I wanted to 

make that part of the official portrait. 

7 

So, all of you, thanks for being here. I appreciate it. You know, 

I had so much help: the guys over at Gavel with me, my former 

staff, Sophia here on the Committee. Everybody pitched in to make 

this all work. 

So, thank you. Enjoy yourselves. Have fun. To my colleagues, 

thanks again for coming over. 

[Applause.] 

[Whereupon, at 5:15 p.m., the ceremony was concluded.] 

Æ