ROBERT HENRY MICHEL

1923-2017

Robert Henry Michel, the longest-serving Republican Leader of the U.S. House of
Representatives and recipient of the Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian
honor, died early this morning, Friday, February . He was 93.

Michel served as the top Republican in the House for 14 years, during a
transformative era in American history. He led Republicans through the
administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and in the years
preceding the transfer of power in Congress from Democratic to Republican for the
first time in 40 years.

Michel had a reputation as a skilled legislative craftsman, who knew his members,
and who could achieve consensus among his colleagues, making him a vital and
indispensible ally in the passage of the Reagan and Bush agendas in a Democratic-
controlled House. He played a critical role in garnering majority votes for
Republican budget resolutions, increased defense spending, landmark tax reform
laws, trade legislation, criminal justice, reform of Social Security, the Gramm-Latta
budget reforms, spending reductions, congressional sanction of the Persian Gulf
War, and other major legislative initiatives.

Michel orchestrated the talents of a leadership team that included three future
Cabinet secretaries, a Vice President, and a future Majority Leader of the U.S.
Senate. While loyal to Presidents Reagan and Bush, Michel was considered a man of
the House, who did not hesitate to defend the Legislative Branch when he believed
its constitutional prerogatives were being usurped by the Executive.

The hallmark of his tenure was his deep respect for Congress as an institution of
government, his respect for his colleagues, and the practice of civility in the
deliberation of public policy. He was a consummate legislator and consensus builder
who believed that regardless of your political ideology or partisan agenda, you had
to build bridges to be successful. Michel was known as a straight shooter whose
word was as good as gold, and his firm handshake a guarantee of good faith. He
was a powerful advocate for his Peoria-based district, particularly through his long
tenure on the House Appropriations Committee. Michel served under six Speakers
of the House and seven presidents, and as Republican Leader served as permanent
chairman of three Republican national conventions.

Michel did not seek re-election in 1994, the year Republicans won control of the
House for the first time in 40 years. His successor, Ray LaHood, said of his mentor:
Michel came to the House every day to do the work of the people, and not to
engage in ideological melodramas or political vendettasTo Bob, the harsh,
personal rhetoric of ideological warfare had no place in his office, no place in the
House and no place in American politics.

Michel was born in Peoria, IL., March 2, 1923, to Anna Baer Michel, who was born in
Tremont, Utah, the child of German immigrants , and Charles Henry Michel, who
emigrated here from Nancy, France. The elder Michel lived in Clearwater,
Oklahoma, harvesting wheat, before moving to Peoria to work at Keystone Steel and
Wire as a toolmaker, while his mother was a domestic in Peoria, IL. Both parents
were active in the Apostolic Christian Church.

The elder Michel insisted that his son work while being educated in Peoria public
schools. He did, mowing yards, delivering papers and working in a tailor shop,
factory and grocery store.

Michel was graduated from Peoria High School, the president of his class, and
attended one semester at Bradley University in Peoria, prior to joining the Army in
World War II.

Michel landed in Normandy on the fourth day of the D-Day invasion of Europe with
the Thirty-Ninth Infantry Regiment and fought his away across France to Belgium
and the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded in action and credited with capturing
a German machine-gun unit. He received two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, and four
battle stars.

After the war, Michel re-enrolled at Bradley, where he was a member of Sigma Nu
Fraternity. There he joined the a cappella choir, where he met his wife of 55 years,
the late Corinne Woodruff. They married on December 26, 1948, the same year
they were graduated from Bradley, she with a degree in music and he in business
administration.

Michel began a career in politics that spanned nearly 50 years, joining the
congressional staff of then Congressman Harold Velde in 1949, as his administrative
assistant. While Velde was consumed with his chairmanship of the House Un-
American Activities Committee, Michel tended to the needs of the District,
substituting for the Congressman at events and serving constituent needs.

Upon Veldes retirement in 1956, Michel prevailed in a hotly contested, four-man

primary race and eventually defeated Democrat Fred Allen in the general election to
take the seat from Illinoiss 18th Congressional District, a region of the state once
represented by Abraham Lincoln and Everett McKinley Dirksen. Allen, 57 years
after his defeat, made it to Washington to attend Michels 90 th birthday celebration
in 2013.

Michel, had a conservative voting record in the House. He first served on the House
Committee on Government Operations Committee and was appointed to a
subcommittee chaired by the future House Speaker John McCormick of MA and
ranking member, Bud Brown of Ohio, one of the most influential House Republicans
of the era. Michel was named to the House Appropriations Committee, on which he
served for 24 years, 12 of which as the senior Republican on the Labor, Health,
Education and Welfare Subcommittee. He advanced in Republican leadership ranks,
serving as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)
from 1973 through 1974, and despite the loss of 42 seats in the 1974 Watergate
midterm elections, he was elected Republican Whip in 1975, serving as the number
two Republican in the House until 1981. He was elected the House Republican
Leader following the 1980 elections that sent Ronald Reagan to the White House
and gave the GOP 192 seats in the House and control of the U.S. Senate. Michel
defeated Michigan Congressman and Chairman of the NRCC, Guy VanderJagt, for
Leader in a close race dubbed the Workhorse (applied to Michel because of his
legislative skills), versus the Showhorse , VanderJagt, (a spellbinding orator).

Michel was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
President Reagan conferred upon him the presidential Citizens Medal in 1989. He
received the first Congressional Distinguished Service Award in 2000.

Then President of France, Jacques Chirac, named Michel to the countrys most
prestigious order, the Knights of the Legion of Honor in June 2004, during the 60 th
anniversary of the Normandy landing, in recognition for your participation in the
liberation of France and Europe during the Second World War. Michel participated
in ceremonies marking the anniversary in England and France, and was presented
with his Legion of Honor award in September of that year by the French Ambassador
to the United States, Jean-David Levitte.

Michel received many honors and recognitions. Speaker Newt Gingrich named the
leadership offices on the second floor of the United States Capitol, the Robert H.
Michel Rooms. A bridge spanning the Illinois River is also named after him as is a
Veterans clinic in Peoria, the student center at Bradley University and the
cloakroom at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington. Michel was also named to the Roll
Call Baseball Hall of Fame for his record as a winning pitcher in the annual
Congressional Baseball Game sponsored by the newspaper.

The Leader was a diehard fan of the Chicago Cubs and an avid golfer as well. He
was a lover of music and an accomplished singer, often accompanied on the piano
by his wife, Corinne. He performed the national anthem at the Republican National
Convention in Houston, TX and was afforded the honor of conducting the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gardening was also among his most
favored pastimes.

Michel was preceded in death by his parents, a sister and his wife, Corinne. He is
survived by a sister; four children, Scott, Chicago, Illinois; Bruce, San Antonio, Texas;
Laurie, Alexandria, Virginia; and Robin, San Francisco, California; five grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.