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Republicans mourn death of former Rep. Hyde |
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By Jackie Kucinich
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Posted: 11/29/07 11:54 AM [ET] |
House Republicans mourned the loss of a mentor and former colleague as they learned of the death of former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), who passed away Thursday morning. He was 83.
“I have long included Henry Hyde among my heroes, and for the 16 years I served with him in the House, I was honored to call him a mentor, a colleague and a friend,” Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. “Henry was a student of American history, a constitutional scholar, a thoughtful legislator and a passionate orator.”
Boehner said of Hyde’s famously eloquent speeches, “He was a forceful advocate for maintaining the dignity of the House and for recognizing the sacrifices and struggles members make while in its service. Indeed, when Henry spoke in committee or on the House floor, members on both sides of aisle listened intently — and they learned.”
Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) called Hyde “perhaps the most patriotic American I have ever met. He believed in this country and he always fought for what he believed was best for it.”
According to congressional sources, Hyde had been ill for several months, never fully recovering from open-heart surgery six months ago.
On Nov. 5, President Bush awarded Hyde the Presidential Medal of Freedom, although the former congressman was too ill to make the trip to Washington to accept it. The medal is the highest honor the president can bestow on a civilian.
“I may slip it around my neck and parade in front of a mirror every, every 24 hours,” said Hyde, told the Chicago Tribune at the time.
Hyde was first elected to Congress in 1974. During his 32 years in Congress, he made himself known not only as congressional scholar but also as a fierce opponent of abortion. One of his first and most enduring congressional contributions to the anti-abortion cause was the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which banned Medicaid from covering abortion.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) praised Hyde for his anti-abortion efforts.
“Henry’s great victory for humankind will never be forgotten, particularly by those who live today because of the Hyde Amendment,” Hensarling said in a statement. “His work to protect human rights across the globe was relentless, and will carry on for generations to come.”
Hyde, who had an adversarial relationship with the Clinton administration from the start, famously presided over the House Judiciary Committee during the former president’s impeachment. It was during that episode that Salon.com confronted Hyde about an affair he had 30 years before. Hyde dismissed the publication of his “youthful indiscretions” as an attempt to intimidate him.
In his role as the chairman on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hyde led the panel’s efforts to write legislation allowing the Bush administration to carry out an agreement to supply India with nuclear fuel and technology. Known as the Henry Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, the legislation allows the export of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India, reversing the sanctions imposed after India’s 1998 nuclear tests. President Bush signed that act into law in 2006.
Before he retired in 2006, Hyde gave the green light to a controversial bill calling for Japan to formally acknowledge and accept responsibility for sexually enslaving women during World War II. Hyde made a promise to now-retired Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.) to move that legislation. While it did not get a floor vote last year, the House passed it this year. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) carried the torch for Evans and had the backing of panel chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Hyde is survived by his wife and three children.
Roxana Tiron contributed to this report.
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