[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 102 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1446]]
                        TRIBUTE TO LOUIS STOKES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 1998

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the dean of 
the Ohio delegation, my good friend Representative Louis Stokes. Lou 
has served his constituents in Cuyahoga County with enormous 
distinction for the past 30 years. When he retires after the November 
election, he will be sorely missed. It has been an honor for me to 
serve with him for the past two decades.
  Lou has been a member of the Appropriations Committee for 28 years 
and was the Chairman and then Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on VA, 
HUD and Independent Agencies. He is a former Chairman of the House 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the House Intelligence 
Committee, and the Special Committee which investigated the 
assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. In all of these posts, he served with dedication, 
dignity and fairness.
  Lou Stokes was the first African American elected to Congress from 
the State of Ohio. He was also the first African American to serve on 
the Appropriations Committee. He was one of the founders of the 
Congressional Black Caucus.
  Lou has never forgotten his roots. Because he grew up in public 
housing, he knows that public housing need not breed despair and 
hopelessness. He served in the Army during World War II, and as a 
result has been a steadfast proponent in behalf of the interests of our 
Nation's veterans. He used the GI Bill to obtain a legal education and 
became a distinguished lawyer who argued and won a case before the 
United States Supreme Court.
  In Congress, he has fought untiringly to provide legal protection for 
the poor through the Legal Services Corporation. He has sponsored 
landmark legislation in education such as the Federal TRIO programs for 
disadvantaged students, and in health to improve the delivery of health 
care services to minorities.
  Just earlier this week, President Clinton signed into law a bill that 
Lou sponsored to establish the National Underground Railroad Network to 
Freedom within the National Park Service.
  Lou comes from an illustrious family. His brother Carl was the first 
African-American mayor of Cleveland and he was Ambassador to the 
Seychelles. His daughter Angela is continuing the family tradition by 
being elected as a judge.
  I shall miss Lou. I wish him, his wife Jay, his four children and his 
seven grandchildren the best of luck in the future.

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