The Model Congressman: Mike Fitzpatrick

This month, as a Gallup poll showed, a decade of decline culminated in public faith of key institutions approaching their all-time lows. 

With several institutions at rock bottom, including Congress, there is no better time to study instances of exceptional leadership.

Not once but twice, Mike Fitzpatrick broke into a Honduran prison to free six wrongfully detained Americans.

He did so because, as a United States congressman, he believed that it was his duty to serve his constituents in a manner that reflected the highest American ideals of public service.

In a cynical era, Fitzpatrick believed that actions spoke louder than words. There were no bounds to the lengths he would go for his community in suburban Philadelphia. Many of his feats are hard to believe.

Fitzpatrick broke into a Honduran prison twice because it was clear to him that U.S. State Department officials were failing the local mother whose son was unlawfully imprisoned. Despite the protests of American diplomats, Fitzpatrick dared Honduran officials to stop him from walking out of prison with the Americans. All six safely returned to American shores.

After a byzantine regulation blocked a fallen paramedic’s family from receiving his death benefits, Fitzpatrick went so far as to change the law to force the bureaucracy’s hand. Remaining intransigent after the law was changed, Fitzpatrick showed up at the agency to make it clear he was not leaving without the money for his constituent. Fitzpatrick left with the money.

Having reached out to several federal representatives with no response, an employee contacted Fitzpatrick to expose the deplorable situation at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration. Her claims were so shocking that few believed her; Fitzpatrick never doubted her. After threats were made on her life, Fitzpatrick made unannounced visits to the VA. He sent a clear message: mess with her and you’re messing with me. Fitzpatrick coordinated the whistleblower’s prime-time testimony before Congress. That testimony led to the resignation of the VA Secretary and fundamental reforms of the VA.

Incensed that a lawyer working to free cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal was poised for Senate confirmation as the nation’s top victims’ advocate, Fitzpatrick took it upon himself to block it. Fitzpatrick’s relative, a police officer, was murdered in the line of duty. Re-victimizing the families of slain police would not happen under Fitzpatrick’s watch. Despite being a member of the House, Fitzpatrick walked the hallways of the Senate convincing enough Democratic senators, who held the majority, to scuttle the nomination.

Stunned that ISIS could finance itself with impunity, Fitzpatrick traveled to meet with the Syrian Resistance and Kurdish rebels to learn how ISIS raised its money. Upon hearing Fitzpatrick’s account, the Speaker of the House created the first-ever House Committee on Financial Services Terrorism Financing Task Force. With Fitzpatrick serving as chair, the committee rendered ISIS’s cash useless and helped precipitate its destruction.

Fitzpatrick believed that those who sacrificed their lives in defense of the country had earned the same contracting consideration as any other preference group. He called the policy “Fairness to Veterans.” Fitzpatrick finally got the bill to the floor, but only under the condition that it pass by voice vote to shield those who opposed the policy from being on the record against it. Refusing to let these critics off the hook, Fitzpatrick maneuvered a procedural motion against both Republican and Democratic House Leaders to force a roll-call vote. The bill passed: 285-138.

Fitzpatrick served on the House Financial Services Committee, where the powerful chairman intended to remove the federal government’s backing of the 30-year mortgage – what makes homeownership possible for millions of Americans. Fitzpatrick mobilized votes against the proposal and won handily. To his credit, the chairman never retaliated against Fitzpatrick. In fact, afterwards he came to Philadelphia to host a record-breaking fundraiser for Fitzpatrick’s reelection because Fitzpatrick never made his opposition personal.

While on a congressional tour of South America, Fitzpatrick learned that students from a middle school were visiting Washington. Fitzpatrick always rolled out the red carpet for his constituents paying a visit to the Capitol. That included a tour of the House floor. Those special tours can only be conducted by a member of Congress. Fitzpatrick boarded an overnight flight from South America to DC to greet the students as they arrived. They got their tour of the House floor.

Wanting to draw attention to local business success one summer, Fitzpatrick sought a marketing hook to help promote the economy.  Fitzpatrick decided he would visit “100 Businesses in 100 Days,” and that his tour would start the next morning. He had so much fun doing it that he decided to do it annually. The Speaker’s office asked Fitzpatrick to encourage other members of Congress to do the same, though few were willing to keep a grueling schedule during the summer months. The next year, Fitzpatrick visited 200 businesses in 100 days just to prove a point to his colleagues. They noticed.

Before a major vote, Fitzpatrick generated a report of all those who contacted him about the pending bill. He would return their calls to learn why they felt the way they did. Many constituents hung up on Fitzpatrick, believing it to be a prank call. It really was their congressman calling them, typically eating a bag of McDonalds over the speakerphone, as there was no Burger King (his preference) close to the Capitol.

Fitzpatrick was personally frugal. To save money, he befriended the Northeast Regional Train’s engineer that ran through his Levittown home to Washington. He regularly hitchhiked to DC in the engineer’s cab. One year, he saved so much money that he returned over $100,000 of his congressional office budget back to taxpayers. He did this while sleeping on the couch of his Washington office as cancer ravaged his body.

Fitzpatrick sought notoriety for his actions only when they advanced the cause. He relentlessly pulled all levers of power, including making several Oval Office and West Wing visits in an effort to locate a national cemetery at a staging ground for the Battle of Trenton, a turning point in the American Revolution. Fitzpatrick wanted this hallowed ground in his district protected forever as it was under considerable development pressure. Many heroes are now buried there.

In recognition and appreciation for his distinguished service to our country, the United States granted the laying to rest of Michael G. Fitzpatrick at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery. It is a rare and extraordinary honor that our nation can bestow.

Mike Fitzpatrick was the model congressman.