henry hyde

Local Knights Honor Henry Hyde upon his Retirement

By Mary Frances McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 10/5/06)

Congressman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., returned to Wood Dale, Ill., last week where he will retire after spending 32 years as congressman of the 6th District of Illinois.
Hyde still believes that the Hyde Amendment, one of his earliest acts of legislation, is his greatest accomplishment as a congressman because “it has had the deepest and longest impact.”
Passed in 1976, the Hyde Amendment has been enacted annually since then to the Health and Human Services Appropriations Act to limit federal taxes being used to fund abortion procedures.
“Three-hundred-thousand abortions were paid for by tax payers (before the amendment) and we stopped that,” Hyde said
Jerry Hovan, past grand knight of St. Mary of Sorrows Council No. 8600, thanked Hyde for his 32 years of service in Congress as he presented him with a lifetime appreciation award for “Distinguished and Unselfish Service.” The award was presented by the Fairfax council on behalf of District No. 14 last week in Hyde’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Also present at the presentation were Johnny Restivo, deputy grand knight; Dennis Halpin, a member of the Knights and House International Relations Committee professional staff; and Father Dan Coughlin, chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hovan thanked Hyde for his service and especially for passing the Hyde Amendment.
“I’ve only done my duty,” said Hyde.
When Congress was in session Hyde attended the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.
While some politicians argue that their personal beliefs do not affect their judgment or their votes, Hyde, dean of the Catholic members of the House, says he has the opposite feeling.
“I wouldn’t think much about religion if it didn’t provide guidelines for your life, your goals, your living,” he said. “I like to think I take my religion seriously.
“A relationship with the Creator, pondering the eternal questions — why are we here — as we get older, they get more important. Other things are reduced to triviality.”
In his retirement Hyde says he plans to write “Welcome to Wood Dale” on the back of souvenir turtles in his hometown. No one knows for sure if he’s joking or not.