July 29, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 134 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages H3974-H3975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REFLECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE WITH RESPECT TO 
                         CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Panetta).
  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and 
for having this Special Order in which we rise, remember, and recognize 
one of our country's civil rights champions, one of America's heroes, 
my friend, our colleague, and, yes, the conscience of Congress, 
Congressman John Robert Lewis.
  Now, unlike some other Members that spoke earlier, even though John 
was a fellow Member of Congress, he was a fellow Member on the Ways and 
Means Committee, I have to say I never got used to having John Lewis as 
a fellow colleague.
  As Mr. Kelly alluded to and said, I should say, we do have a family 
here on the Ways and Means Committee, but it was clear that John was 
that favorite child. All of us were in awe as to everything he did and 
everything that John stood for.
  And that is part of the reason why my wife and I took our two 
daughters down to Selma, Alabama, this last March to walk arm in arm 
with John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the last time.
  Now, obviously, with the ceremonies this week in John's passing we 
have been thinking a lot about John, but this past weekend I could not 
get him out of my head. And it resonated with me the most when my wife 
and I took our two daughters up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and we 
stood on the battlefield, in that cemetery and at that monument and 
read the speech that President Lincoln gave to consecrate that hallowed 
ground. And I can tell you it reminded me of the lifelong fight of John 
Lewis. It reminded me of our Nation's lifelong fight for equality. And 
it reminded me of our continued fight today. And you will see what I 
mean when I use some of that speech in my following remarks.
  Although we are a Nation conceived in liberty and equality, it seems 
as if now our Nation is divided and being tested as to whether we can 
endure together. Now we gather here tonight to honor the death of a man 
who literally shed blood so that our Nation can live together. But in a 
larger sense what we say here tonight is nothing compared to what John 
Lewis did throughout his life.
  See, as with most of our speeches on the House floor, the world will 
little note nor long remember what we say here tonight, but it can 
never forget what John did, not only in this Chamber, but also for 
civil rights and for this country.
  So it is for us, from Congress Members to frontline workers to 
peaceful protestors to be dedicated to the unfinished work which John 
fought for and so nobly advanced. And with the passing of John Lewis 
let us be dedicated to the task remaining before us, that from John's 
life we take increased devotion to the cause for which he gave full 
measure of devotion that we here highly resolve, that his actions, his 
service, his sacrifice shall never be in vain, that this Nation under 
God shall continue to have freedom and equality and that our government 
of the people, by the people, and for the people shall never perish 
from this Earth, but shall always live with the conscience of our 
country, John Robert Lewis.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Gomez).
  Mr. GOMEZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for 
doing this Special Order hour to remember the life of John Lewis.

  He called other people ``brother.'' He called me ``young brother,'' 
so I guess I was the little guy.
  He was such an amazing man. He had a huge character. He was a civil 
rights giant who amplified the voices of a generation. His commitment 
to dismantling hatred and oppression in whatever its form was something 
that inspired generations, and it is something that we all know that we 
stand on his shoulders on for our own fights for greater equality in 
this country.
  His strength and resolve, showcased during the Nashville sit-in 
movement, the Freedom Riders, and the March on Washington gave us the 
momentum to carry on through adversity and taught us what it means to 
get into some ``good trouble.''
  And those who knew John and marched with him, whether it was to 
protest the detention of immigrant children, as I did a few years ago, 
or to speak out against racial injustice, always felt a little bit more 
hopeful when he was around. It created that little bit of a ripple of 
hope from person to person when he was marching with you.
  I believe he also created a little bit of a ripple of change in every 
single person he met that transformed and empowered communities and for 
future generations still unborn. That is the kind of legacy he left.
  But I also got to see him as just a humble person, a regular person. 
And I noticed when we would walk from the Ways and Means Committee room 
back here to vote, I would always kind of walk with him, and people 
would come up and ask for a photograph, you know, school children and 
adults alike. And they would get around him and, you know, I was pushed 
aside, and I took the phone and I was proud to take the photographs. He 
would always say: Hi, I am John Lewis. What is your name and where are 
you from? And he took that moment to make it about them, not about him.
  Imagine if we were all like that, where we just paused a little bit 
and took the moment to make it about the other person, the other party, 
the other State, the other person from a different country. Imagine 
what this country would be like. It would be a lot better. It would be 
a lot more hopeful and would create that ripple of change that we all 
desire.
  I know John is getting up to the pearly gates of Heaven with Saint 
Peter, who is the guardian of those gates, and John is going to say: 
Hi, I am John Lewis, nice to meet you.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  Madam Speaker, the Nation had a chance tonight to hear about the 
affection and regard that we held for a very important member of the 
Ways and Means family, John Lewis.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Kelly for yielding me the time. He did 
urge at a moment last week: I hope that we will be able to do a 
bipartisan tribute to John.
  I said we planned one, and we want to make sure both sides are 
involved.
  I just want to close on this note, as we travel to Atlanta tomorrow 
to say good-bye to John. At a Committee on Ways and Means Democratic 
retreat in New York about 2 years ago, with a very distinguished 
alumnus of the Democratic Party as well, Charlie Rangel came over to 
the dinner. John, myself, and former Chairman Rangel, we were sitting 
and just talking at the end of the night. After the conversation, when 
John got up and left, Charlie Rangel said to me: You know, Rich, there 
were many of us who did the right thing along the way. Many of us 
participated fully in the civil rights movement. But John Lewis would 
have died for the cause.
  Pretty remarkable: John Lewis would have died for the cause.
  Tonight, Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Members of the House, 
both political parties, and the Ways and Means family for a nice 
tribute to our friend, John Lewis.

[[Page H3975]]

  

  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Chair, I thank Chairman Neal so much 
for hosting this Special Order.
  We truly are a family, and at times like this, that really comes out.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor my friend John Lewis. 
A giant of the civil rights movement in life, John Lewis' legacy now 
transcends his death. Nearly two hundred years after our Founders 
dedicated our nation to the proposition that all men are created equal, 
John Lewis worked to secure that precious truth. He did so with a warm 
heart and a smile on his face. He brought that same spirit to Congress, 
where we served on the Ways and Means Committee together and his 
presence was always uplifting.
  Facing racial segregation and violence, Congressman Lewis held an 
unwavering conviction in the ability of nonviolence to deliver equality 
to all Americans.
  His tireless and bold efforts were met with determined resistance and 
brutality. He suffered vicious beatings and unwarranted arrests. 
Through all strife and opposition, he stood bloody but unbowed.
  John Lewis helped move our nation, and he will be dearly missed in 
this House.

                          ____________________