Thank you all for this incredible honor and I am thrilled. And thank you, Mr. Speaker, for that wonderful introduction. This is an honor I will long cherish. What an exciting trip it has been over 20 years since you came to the House and to the House Ag Committee.
And you’ve always stood for good policy. Even on the agriculture committee where leadership was sorely missing your unwavering support and leadership were never more clearly seen and keenly felt than in this recent diary policy debate on the Farm Bill. You know, in 1963, Bryce Harlow said in a speech, “Farm bills face disaster, always, right up to approval.” But, Mr. Speaker, you were the force that lead us and sped us to victory on diary policy.
And for that, and much, much more, we owe you a debt of gratitude and I personally thank you for everything you have done for our country as Speaker of the House. Thank you very much. Now I’d like to also recognize this year’s winner of the Bryce Harlow Award, Senator Orrin Hatch. I cannot think of a more worthy and befitting recipient of this high honor. He’s a senator’s senator who gets things done and whose legislative accomplishments and devotion to public service and public good are legendary.
Senator Hatch is a man of principle, conviction, integrity, dignity and trust. In other words, much like the man for whom this award is named. Both you and Bryce Harlow, Senator Hatch, were cut from the same cloth. And on a personal note, let me say that I have many fond memories of the occasions when my husband, Tip, and I spent time with you, Senator Hatch, and your wife, Elaine.
And that only elevates the honor of sharing tonight’s program with you. Now I also want to thank my colleagues and friends with whom I’ve served on the Bryce Harlow Foundation board. Could there be a more dedicated and thoughtful group, I think not. Also, an enormous thanks to Foundation President Linda Dooley who’s done a — she does a fantastic job day to day and she always does a terrific job of putting together this annual awards dinner.
We’ll miss Linda’s leadership and as she steps down from her position this year, and thank you, Linda for all you’ve done. Now a couple more thank yous and then I have a few comments to make. But I want to thank my board chairman, Patty Stroup from Nestle, for being here tonight. Patty is based in Switzerland and she came in for this evening, so, thank you, Patty. And I would be sadly remiss if I didn’t thank my great staff and my great friends who have supported me over the years and are here at tonight’s dinner.
You’re absolutely the best, all of you; thank you. And lastly, a big shout-out to my son, Andrew Broadstone, and to my daughter and son-in-law, Maddie and Mark Segrist, if you guys would please stand up, I would love it. Thank you for being here, I’m very proud of you, and don’t forget mom always has the opportunities to embarrass you.
Now I have a few brief thoughts that I want to share with you before we get back to the real fun of these dinners, reacquainting ourselves with old friends, meeting new ones, and telling a few war stories. I am an optimist at heart — but when you’re an advocate in today’s Washington, I sometimes agree with the malapropism coined by the film mogul, Samuel Goldwin.
You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour. Case in point, the Obama administration struck a blow against advocates like you and me when it announced that former lobbyists would be banned from administrative positions, from committees, and from commissions. Now just think about this for a second. Under this ban a man like Bryce Harlow, who never hesitated to answer the call of duty, to offer his services to presidents and to Congress on some of the biggest and most difficult problems of the day, would be turned away hat in hand.
I think that’s wrong, as both Democrats and Republicans have publicly and privately said. And I think it’s an assault on the first amendment rights that we have to petition the government. This is what happens when you let a campaign trail sound bite morph into a smothering blanket of bad policy. And sadly, in the end the only person being punished is the President because he’s depriving himself of experts and expertise that this administration desperately needs.
I think if there’s a question of conflict of interest for a lobbyist, then make the conversation about that, not whispers impugning everyone who makes their living lobbying. Now in a ruling this January, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit did reverse and remand the lower court’s decision upholding the ban. So who knows where this will end. But the whole lobbying ban tells me two things.
First, the administration’s actions remind me of the aphorism sometimes attributed to Mark Twain. To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Second, there appears to be an inherent mistrust of anyone, regardless of party affiliation, who advocates for an issue, policy or position. In other words, our motives and actions are not to be trusted. Out integrity is called into question and that’s really what rankles me the most, as I know it does many of you.
Although I think I look great in red, I don’t like wearing that what Politico calls the scarlet L. In spite of these attacks or maybe because of them, I’m very proud to be part of the Bryce Harlow Foundation’s mission to promote integrity and professional advocacy, and to support the Bryce Harlow Fellows. Integrity is a fundamental value that all of us embrace.
And these dinners renew our faith in it. Integrity was writ large throughout Bryce Harlow’s remarkable career. It was emblematic of the man. There was even a biography of him with the subtitle, Mr. Integrity. And by word and deed, he lived up to that billing. As an L.A. Times editorial said on Bryce Harlow’s passing, this was a man of old-fashioned virtues that are never out of date.
I sometimes forget that Bryce Harlow was an accomplished speech writer for President Eisenhower, so I wonder if he didn’t write these words in 1956, for Ike that still resonate today. “The strength of America’s political life depends not upon the size of the political promises, but the integrity of the political purposes.” The takeaway for me as an advocate is that it should always be about policy.
But the integrity of the person who advocates for those policies makes a big difference. And speaking of making a difference, now more than ever, advocates and advocacy are what make Washington work. Our late friend, Senator Daniel Inouye, who was honored at this dinner in 2006 said, “Seriously, if it weren’t for lobbyists I don’t think our business in the Capitol could be carried out.”
And although there’s some good natured joking and ribbing about that, there was more than an element of truth to the senator’s observation. And it’s not just a modern phenomenon. Certainly the Washington that Bryce Harlow knew when he first raised Procter and Gamble’s flag in 1961 has changed dramatically. But Bryce Harlow recognized almost 50 years ago the importance of advocacy and developing and maintaining relationships with Congress to make it work better.
In a 1965 speech he said people who consider it the duty of a congressman to point himself with their problems have the situation precisely backwards. That may be technically correct and for the congressman a political necessity, but as a practical matter it is up to you to inform the congressman. And a half century later advocates like us provide expertise, critical information, and the all-important analyses to inform the development of good public policy.
We put together coalitions to garner grassroots support. We take steps together and together we move sound public policy and legislation forward. And it’s important work. In that same 1965 speech, Bryce spoke of the importance of maintaining relationships with key members of Congress. He said it is not simply good citizenship, it is hardheaded realism.
It often means dollars and cents in profits. It may well mean avoidance of economic disaster. Many are the times that it means keeping the free in free enterprise. Amen, Bryce. Let me close by recognizing two individuals who were mentors to me and I wish they were with us tonight. They are my dad, who just turned 96 in December, and my husband and partner in everything for 34 years, Tip Tipton.
I learned from two of the best. They taught me the importance of honesty, hard work, and integrity, the ability to recognize what it means to do it right, and treating people with respect. Just as the L.A. Times described Bryce Harlow, these are men of old fashioned virtues that are never out of date. Thank you again for this award It’s an honor of a lifetime.