{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2137-4", "2006-12-08", 109, 2, null, null, "TRIBUTE TO JERRIS LEONARD, A GREAT AMERICAN", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "TRIBUTETO", "E2137", "E2138", "[{\"name\": \"Ralph M. Hall\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "152 Cong. Rec. E2137", "Congressional Record, Volume 152 Issue 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2137-E2138]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n              TRIBUTE TO JERRIS LEONARD, A GREAT AMERICAN\n\n                                 ______\n\n                           HON. RALPH M. HALL\n\n                                of texas\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006\n\n  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to a great\nAmerican, outstanding public servant, and an esteemed colleague and\ngood friend, the Honorable Jerris Leonard, whose sudden passing on July\n27, 2006,\n\n[[Page E2138]]\n\nwas mourned by his family and countless friends whose lives he touched.\nJerris's life was devoted to God, family, country, and his fellow man,\nand he leaves a legacy of integrity and service that will long be\nremembered and appreciated.\n  Jerris received his undergraduate and law degrees from Marquette\nUniversity, where he was president of the Marquette student body and\nwas elected to Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Jesuit Honor Society.\nFollowing graduation from Marquette University Law School in 1955,\nJerris began his career in Wisconsin. He was elected to the Wisconsin\nAssembly in 1956, representing the North Shore suburbs of Milwaukee. In\n1960 he was elected to the state Senate and became Senate majority\nleader in 1967. In 1968 he was the Republican nominee for the U.S.\nSenate, but lost to incumbent Senator Gaylord Nelson.\n  In 1969 Jerris moved his family to Washington, DC, when he was\nappointed by President Nixon and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as\nAssistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. He served in that capacity\nuntil 1971, when President Nixon appointed him the first Administrator\nof the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, a position he held\nfor the next 2 years. Jerris remained in Washington, where he has been\nactively engaged in the practice of law and advocacy. Most recently, in\n2005, he launched The Leonard Group to focus on legislative and\nlobbying activities. He also served on the Bush-Cheney Transition\nDepartment of Justice Advisory Committee, which helped the\nAdministration find key candidates for the agency.\n  In recognition of his considerable accomplishments, Jerris was the\nrecipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquette University\nLaw School in 2000. In 1969 he received the Belle Case Lafollette\nOutstanding Professional Award from the Wisconsin Law Foundation. He is\nthe author of numerous articles and was frequently invited to speak to\ngroups throughout the United States.\n  Jerris was one of the original true conservatives, who championed\ncore conservative values throughout his career and through his service\nin various organizations, such as Free Congress. His intellect and\nexperience were invaluable to advancing the conservative agenda, and\nhis engaging personality and enthusiasm for policy and politics were\ncontagious. Jerris was a true statesman who made friends on both sides\nof the political aisle.\n  His friendships extended well beyond the realm of politics and\ncareer, however. He made friends in all walks of life. ``He treated\neveryone the same, and that is what I think made him special,'' said\nhis daughter Kate Leonard. On the day he was to be sworn in by\nPresident Nixon as an assistant attorney general, Jerris gathered his\nchildren and instructed them that they were going to meet the\nPresident, but they were to remember that the man who parks the car is\njust as important and just as deserving of respect.\n  Jerris was devoted to his wife, Mariellen, to whom he was married for\n52 years, and to his family. He took an active interest in the lives of\nhis six children and attended countless sports events and other\nactivities in which they were involved. In addition to Mariellen, he is\nsurvived by his children, Mary Leonard Ralston and husband David, Gib\nLeonard and wife Joni, John Leonard and wife Jeannine, Kathleen (Kate)\nLeonard, Francis Leonard and wife Kelly, and Daniel Leonard and wife\nKelly, 16 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He was greatly\nloved.\n  Mr. Speaker, many of our colleagues in the House of Representatives\nknew and admired Jerris Leonard. I valued his friendship and advice, as\ndid so many others, and we will greatly miss him. It is impossible to\nfully grasp the breadth and depth of a life of someone like Jerris, who\ngave every project or responsibility his very best effort and who lived\nhis life with boundless enthusiasm and compassion. He was a role model\nand mentor to so many, and he leaves a powerful legacy that will last\nfor generations to come. As we adjourn today, let us do so in tribute\nto this great American, dedicated public servant, and truly great man--\nJerris Leonard.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2137-4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 10.05572103895247, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}