June 27, 1978
Page 19171
REMARKS ON THE DEATH OF SENATOR JOSEPH M. MONTOYA
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Nation lost another important national leader with the passing of Senator Joseph M. Montoya earlier this month. I served for many years with Joe Montoya as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. His contributions were many, and his voice will be missed.
He can best be remembered for his concern for the common man in his home State of New Mexico. His concern for the economic development needs of those constituents led him to help fashion national programs to stimulate economic development activities throughout the Nation.
He chaired the Economic Development Subcommittee during years when legislation was fashioned to bring public works projects to all corners of America, but particularly to those areas that seem to have been bypassed by the major growth patterns of the last three or four decades. Schools, industrial parks, water, and sewer lines, Federal building, and Indian cultural centers sprang up in areas where new growth had not been visible for years, giving new hope to the citizens of the community.
"Little Joe" gained his interest in politics during the time in which Franklin D. Roosevelt was President, and he developed the same concern for those who are economically downtrodden, racially oppressed, and generally unable to break through many of the barriers society erected. His law practice began in New Mexico serving those that had previously found legal services too expensive and too complicated to obtain.
Joe Montoya made those services available and understandable. He never forgot his origins and often referred to himself as the "barefoot boy from Pena Blanca, "the small town in New Mexico where he was reared.
Joe Montoya was proud of the work he did to raise the position and the opportunities of the people whose cultural heritage he shared. He was proud of the bilingual education program he helped establish, and Spanish-surnamed Americans, along with many other bilingual Americans, have gained an important opportunity because of his work in that area.
Joe Montoya served for years on the Air and Water Pollution Subcommittee of the Senate Public Works Committee. His State of New Mexico has usually been in the forefront of environmental matters, urging strong provisions in Federal statutes. His votes were an important development of the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
He recognized early the mistakes we made in Indochina and worked resolutely to turn our efforts in that area away from war and toward constructive policies. He served diligently as a member of the Senate Watergate Committee, and the action of that committee eventually led to a cleansing of American politics that is still being felt today.
Joe Montoya will be remembered for his many contributions. He will be missed by his State and the Nation.