In My Time - Dick Cheney [67]
After the election, Lynne, the girls, and I spent several days in Hawaii relaxing and enjoying the wonderful weather. Bill Steiger and I had both been invited to speak to a convention of realtors in Honolulu, and since his and Janet’s son Bill was the same age as Mary, the four of us sat around the pool at the Hawaiian Village, talking and watching the kids play. The conversation was wide-ranging, as it always was when we had time to spend with Bill and Janet. I looked forward to working alongside Bill in the House and expected to be one of the growing company of members who looked to him for leadership. His conduct and contributions to the work of the Ways and Means Committee had attracted attention and gained him widespread and bipartisan respect. Although he was only forty, his influence was steadily growing, and there was already talk about his presidential potential.
I HAD SPENT ENOUGH years in Washington to know the importance of hiring the right staff. They should have knowledge of Congress and how to get things done on Capitol Hill, but just as important was having some feel for and understanding of Wyoming.
As my administrative assistant (the equivalent of a chief of staff) I hired Dave Gribbin, who had graduated from high school in Casper and was a good friend. He’d served a tour in the U.S. Army, was working for the National Automobile Dealers Association, and was an ordained Methodist minister. He and his wife, Lori, had been our neighbors in student housing at the University of Wyoming when we were first married.
I was able to persuade Patty Howe to come work for me as my top legislative aide. The Laramie native was a twelve-year veteran of Cliff Hansen’s staff, and she was intimately familiar with all of the federal issues that would have an impact on my constituents and our state. A single mother with only a high school education, she had started work for Cliff as a secretary. By the time she came to work for me she was recognized as one of the finest legislative assistants on the Hill.
Kathie Embody (formerly Kathie Berger) was like part of our family after the months she had spent with us on the Wyoming campaign, and I was pleased when she agreed to come to Washington. There were many others who made significant contributions in those first days and during the early years, including Jim Steen, Pete Williams, Cece Boyer, Ruthann Norris, Norma Fletcher, Sue Benzer, and George Van Cleve. One of the things I always felt good about was the low rate of turnover among the people who worked for me. Once someone signed on they rarely expressed a desire to move on. Many were still working for me long after I left the Congress.
On December 4, 1978, the House Republicans who would serve in the 96th Congress convened to elect our leadership for the coming Congress. I had an appointment scheduled with a photographer from U.S. News & World Report to take a picture for an upcoming issue on new members of Congress, and at the appointed hour I left the caucus. As I stepped outside, I noticed that the U.S. flags over the Capitol and the House office buildings were being lowered to half-staff, and when I asked why, I was told it was to honor a member who had just died.
I asked who it was and was stunned to be told it was Bill Steiger. After living with diabetes for many years, he had died of a heart attack at the age of forty.
A few days later, I was granted permission to fly out to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the funeral with the official delegation from the House, even though I had not yet been sworn in as a member. I’ve attended a great many funerals over the years, but few have rivaled the Steiger service for the sense of loss about what might have been.
AMONG HOUSE REPUBLICANS THERE were a number of informal social groups that a member might be invited to join, including SOS (Society of Statesmen) and the Chowder and Marching Society. Neither group had official standing or function, but they