S6014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 2, 1995 

higher, and faster in more complex machines. 

He was born in the year after the 

first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. His 

flying career began in 1924, when he 

and a partner bought an airplane, and 

he taught himself to fly. His first pilot’s license was signed by Orville 

Wright. 

For 70 years, he designed, built and 

flew airplanes as a barnstormer, a test 

pilot and a racer, and he was one of the 

founders of the Experimental Aircraft 

Association, the Oshkosh-based organization that does so much to promote 

the love and the joy of flying. 

The Winnebago County airport in 

Oshkosh, which Mr. Wittman managed 

from 1931 until 1969, is named Wittman 

Field in his honor. 

Buster, a red single-engined midget 

racer Mr. Wittman built and flew is 

currently on display in the Golden Age 

of Flight Gallery in the West Wing of 

the National Air and Space Museum. 

Buster, originally named Chief Oshkosh, raced successfully for 23 years, 

beginning in 1931. 

He was a superb pilot, and stories 

about his skill are legion, even though 

he was reluctant to tell them himself. 

One of the more famous incidents occurred as he and a friend were flying 

over Tennessee. A trigger-happy rifleman had put a .22 calibre slug into Mr. 

Wittman’s gas tank, and the fumes almost asphyxiated him. He managed to 

get his ship down safely, a bit of flying 

his partner barely completed though 

fully conscious. 

He kept the slug as a souvenir. 

Mr. Wittman set several speed 

records, and it would be hard to find a 

significant air racing event he had not 

entered. It wasn’t unusual for him to 

fly home with the winner’s trophy. He 

entered his last closed-course pylon 

race in 1989. At the age of 85, he won 

one heat, finished second in another 

and then came in third in the final 

race. 

By the way, he did all this with vision in only one eye. He had lost the 

other in an accident when he was 

young. 

In addition to his brilliant and storied racing career, he also contributed 

greatly to the common body of knowledge of the aviation community. Although he had no formal engineering 

training, he was often ahead of the 

curve in aviation design, and he never 

stopped looking for clues to better performance. He designed a landing gear 

that has been installed on over 100,000 

airplanes. 

One of his airplanes, the Wittman 

Tailwind, is a design that is still being 

flown by private pilots all over the 

world. 

His self-developed talents were so impressive, he was made an honorary 

member of the elite Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a rare achievement. 

He had his share of bumps and 

bruises in crashes along the way, but at 

91, he was still flying. 

He did all this with modesty and gentlemanly character, and he was a man 

who enjoyed life at a level most of us 

never approach. 

As Tom Crouch, chairman of the 

Aviation Department at the Air and 

Space Museum put it, ‘‘If anybody in 

the history of aviation could be called 

a legend, it would sure be him.’’

Our condolences go out to Mr. 

Wittman’s relatives, friends, fellow 

aviators and to all those who were inspired by this true pioneer.

f 

∑ 

AID/U.N. POPULATION FUND 

∑ Mr. REID. Mr. President, as my colleagues and I prepare to go to conference on the H.R. 1158/S. 617 Defense 

supplemental appropriations and rescissions bills, I wish to submit a statement of support for funding for the 

Agency for International Development 

[AID] and United Nations Population 

Fund [UNFPA] population assistance 

programs. I strongly commend the distinguished chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the ranking member for their focus on retaining 

the option of continued funding for 

AID and UNFPA population assistance 

programs in S. 617. By allowing the administration to decide where to rescind 

AID dollars, rather than agreeing to 

proposals to specifically rescind 

UNFPA and other AID population assistance funds, the Senate Appropriations Committee has kept open an opportunity to support these programs at 

fiscal year 1995 levels. While AID administers many valuable and significant human assistance programs 

worldwide, its population assistance 

programs contribute greatly to improving opportunities for economic growth 

and political stability in many developing countries, and are crucial to the 

protection of our global environment. I 

strongly support the full funding of 

these programs and urge my colleagues 

in conference to commit to leaving the 

administration with the option to meet 

the United States 1995 population assistance commitments.

f 

∑ 

TRIBUTE TO RICHARD CLARKE 

∑ Mr. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, leadership grounded in common sense and 

compassion and elevated by imagination and vision is the hallmark of Richard Clarke’s 30-year career at Pacific 

Gas & Electric Co. [PG&E], the last 8 

as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. 

As his retirement nears, I should like 

to salute him. Over the years, first as 

mayor of San Francisco and now as 

U.S. Senator, I have worked closely 

with Richard. Not only on questions involving utility service, but on a broad 

range of community issues, I have 

known Dick as a person who quickly 

gets to the heart of issues and directly 

speaks his mind. 

Even further, he has been involved in 

a wide range of charitable and civic activities, and gives meaning and substance to the accolade ‘‘civic leader.’’

During his tenure as PG&E’s CEO, 

Richard Clarke made environmental 

improvement a company priority and 

created programs that implemented 

policies to conserve energy. So effective were these innovations that PG&E 

received the President’s Environment 

and Conservation Challenge Award in 

1991, the Nation’s highest recognition 

for corporate environmental excellence. In that same year, then President Bush named him to the President’s Council of Sustainable Development. 

At the same time, Richard, as chair 

of the Bay Area Council and the Committee on Jobs, worked to bring together other business leaders of San 

Francisco business and focus their collective knowledge and talents on ways 

to make government more efficient 

and the economy stronger. 

Under Richard Clarke’s guidance, 

PG&E has won national recognition for 

improving the workplace by establishing child day-care centers for employees and advancing opportunities 

for women and minorities. 

His sense of community concern and 

compassion is reflected in his effort of 

such worthwhile efforts as Francisco 

Food Bank and Project Open Hand, 

which provides nourishing meals to 

people living with AIDS, to United Way 

and the San Francisco Symphony, 

where he serves as a board member. He 

personally developed and championed 

programs that encourage PG&E employees to become mentors to disadvantaged young people and to provide guidance to small, developing 

businesses in the inner city. 

As he retires, Richard Clarke leaves 

behind a remarkable record of accomplishment—success in business and 

community affairs. He takes with him 

the admiration and respect of all those 

who have worked with him, and who 

wish him all the best in retirement. 

f 

THE 1995 WHITE HOUSE 

CONFERENCE ON AGING 

∑ Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, 

today begins what I anticipate will be 

a productive and useful week for the 

more than 2,200 delegates here in Washington for the fourth White House Conference on Aging. I commend President 

Clinton for convening the first White 

House Conference on Aging since 1981, 

and want to take this opportunity to 

welcome all of the participants in this 

important policy conference, especially 

those from my own State of Maryland. 

In the spirit of the first White House 

Conference on Aging established by 

President Kennedy in 1961, this week’s 

Conference will address common problems facing all generations of Americans and seek to increase public awareness of the interdependence of generations and the essential contributions of 

older people. It will also facilitate the 

mmaher on MIKETEMP with SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS