Date: 2010-02-24
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania and now the dean of the delegation. I want to echo the comments of my classmate. Congressman CHRIS CARNEY. also from Pennsylvania. When we came in together. he was really our mentor. and he was a great man. I thought it was fitting. when we heard earlier Republicans talking about the honor to serve with a great patriot like Jack Murtha. the fact that he always reached across the aisle. The pallbearers at his service last week were both Democrats and Republicans. They were coming together to be those pallbearers in that final service. In that service last week. we heard how Mrs. Bair told a young Jack Patrick Murtha that one person can make a difference. that one person can change the world. Whether it was in the Marine Corps. in the Congress of the United States. or within the Murtha Family. Jack Patrick Murtha certainly did make quite a difference. In the military. he was proud of his over three decades in the Corps. He was proud that he was the first combat marine to serve in the United States Congress. He was proud when he had given a knife to a current commandant of the Marine Corps. General Conway. General Conway talked in the service last week about still having that knife. He was also proud to go down the street at the Walter Reed military hospital to see the men and women. our countrys heroes. when they came back. When they gave it all on the battlefield and they came home. he was there for them. As for his time in the Congress. he was proud of the family that made up "team Murtha"-the folks who served with great honor and distinction. not just to the constituents of the 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. but also to the citizens of the United States of America. I am a person who often says that budgets are moral documents. If you want to see someones priorities. you look at his budget. whether its a familys budget or a countrys budget. Well. the fact is that Jack Murtha made sure that our troops had everything that they needed. If our warfighters were going to put their lives on the line. if they were going to be willing to take a bullet to keep our families and our country safe. Jack Murtha did not want a fair fight. Jack Murtha wanted to make sure that our troops had a tactical and a technical advantage on that battlefield. Jack Murtha also wanted to make sure that the Congress of the United States and our countrys policymakers also had the right war policy for those troops. As JOHN LARSON said earlier. when Jack Murtha spoke about calling for a timeline to bring our troops home from Iraq. it sent shock waves. not just across our country but around the world. that he was going to stand up for principle and do the right thing. That is the kind of marine. that is the kind of leader that Jack Murtha was. It was no surprise to many of us who had watched him throughout the years when he was awarded John Kennedys Profile in Courage. He was so proud of that award because he knew what that award representedthe fact that he. a guy who had grown up in Johnstown. Pennsylvania. had finally made a difference. Lastly. we all know Jack to be the family man that he was. The fact is he was most proud of his wife. Joyce. of his kids and of his grandchildren. Hed be here at the Capitol so early. by 6:00 in the morning at least. Then when wed have late votes. at about 7:00 or 7:30. you could see him fidgeting. We used to joke with him. Youd hear Bob Ray ask. Whats the matter? Does Joyce have pork chops going on? You know. why do you want to rush out of here? Hed say. Ive got to get home. He wanted to make sure that he was home so he could be there with his family to have a meal. I believe that John Patrick Murtha and his service that he gave to our country as a marine. as the chairman. and as a family man is a testament to his lifes work. which is that one man can make a difference. God bless you. Jack Murtha.