The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE DOUG APPLEGATE
______
HON. MARCY KAPTUR
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Friday, August 27, 2021
Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fine gentleman who was not just a former colleague, but also a fellow Buckeye, and a dear friend.
Congressman Doug Applegate of Steubenville, Ohio, served nine terms in the House from 1977 until 1994. Sadly, Doug passed away on August 7 at the age of 93.
For nearly two decades, Representative Applegate ably and honorably represented eastern Ohio's 18th Congressional District. He and his beloved wife Betty were indefatigable in their fierce advocacy for their constituents. Doug was particularly gifted in his representation of his industrial and mining region and his advocacy for the steelworkers, coal miners, and veterans who called their shared Appalachian region ``home.'' I can recall travelling to Steubenville and viewing the industry that propelled its economy atop the Ohio river 33 miles from Pittsburgh.
Doug served as a Member and then chair of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Compensation, Veterans, and Insurance. He never stopped championing their cause. Representative Applegate was responsible for passing a $150 a month benefit increase for World War I pensioners and their spouses.
He also fought for raises in disability and other allowances and benefits that improved the quality of life for our heroic members in uniform.
When I was first elected to Congress and achieved appointment to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I remember the poignant debate about Agent Orange and why Vietnam veterans should receive medical eligibility at the Department of Veterans Affairs for diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, including soft tissue cancers, they were developing due to exposure to Agent Orange. Long debate occurred in the Committee at that time as to who then this was possibly afflicting because irrefutable scientific studies had not been completed at that point in time. Doug Applegate turned the debate to positive support of Vietnam veterans self-examining themselves to determine their medical conditions by saying ``There is a difference between what is scientifically provable and morally right.'' From that point onward, the VA covered Agent Orange diagnostic tests and treatments for Agent Orange. Doug Applegate never yielded when it came to America's veterans and he stood his ground.
Toward the end of his career, he was instrumental in ensuring Veterans Affairs became a department-level agency--allowing our heroes to receive the attention and care they deserve.
I also vividly remember his scorching denunciation of unfair trade policies, such as when he introduced legislation in 1986 to punish countries skirting steel import rules and harming American workers. He was a fighter for the working pension and the middle class. I miss his passion in these chambers.
As his tenure drew to a close, Representative Applegate was praised by his colleagues and constituents for his work to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for Ohio, and the diligence he displayed in serving the residents of the 18th District.
While many today did not have the privilege of working alongside Representative Doug Applegate, he provides a model for us all to follow on behalf of the people of Ohio. I thank him for his honorable and faithful service, and offer my deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, and the constituents to whom he dedicated his best years. May the angels carry him close to his beloved Betty.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 151
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