[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DR. EPHRAIN KAHN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RONALD V. DELLUMS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 18, 1997

  Mr. DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with sadness and a powerful 
sense of loss, to pay tribute to Dr. Ephrain Kahn, a man who was well 
respected by many in our bay area community. Dr. Kahn's unwavering 
belief in justice, peace, and equality for all enabled him to become an 
innovative leader during the changing political climate from the 1960's 
to the present. Although common place now, his ideas of school 
integration, the dangers of pesticides, and the need for protecting our 
environment were considered radical and caused him to clash with 
several agencies during the governorship of Ronald Reagan. However, Dr. 
Kahn did not allow social pressure to block him from what he believed 
to be true and just. Ephrain once said, in response to negative 
publicity, ``I have the hide of an armadillo when I know I am right.'' 
He was a strong advocate for universal health care and was consistently 
active in national organizations concerned with issues of nuclear arms 
control, civil rights, and environmental hazards. His dedication 
inspired everyone with whom he came in contact.
  Dr. Kahn received his medical degree from New York University College 
of Medicine in 1940 in time to serve with the 77th Infantry Division in 
the Pacific during World War II. He returned to complete his residency 
in 1948 at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, and with his family moved to 
northern California. In addition to his work as a physician, his 
interest in public health led him to obtain a master's degree in public 
health from the University of California, Berkeley, after which he 
served as an environmental epidemiologist in the California Department 
of Health. He was named by Gov. Ronald Reagan to head a task force 
investigating mercury levels among fish and fowl in the delta and the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. It was in that capacity that he 
ignited a controversy within the agencies regulating California 
waterways.
  Ephrain Kahn was greatly valued as a giant of compassion by all who 
knew him. He will be missed by his patients, his family, his friends, 
and by all of us who had the opportunity to work with him and to know 
him. He leaves behind his wife of 57 years, Barbara Kahn; his two 
daughters, Kathleen and Georgia; his son, Michael, and two grandsons, 
David and Ethan. Dr. Kahn lived 81 years and in those years he spent 
most of it attempting to make this world in which we live a healthier, 
safer, and more humane place. We will all miss him profoundly.

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