[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H9653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN ESTEBAN TORRES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a few minutes to give my 
appreciation to a great leader in this Congress but also a great leader 
in the Hispanic community. As this term ends, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Torres) will be retiring. I have had the honor of 
working with Esteban for the past 30 years. I first met him when he was 
involved with Telecue, a community based organization, whose objective 
was to give a voice to the Hispanic community in southern California.
  He was very effective in organizing that organization and today in 
southern California many Mexican Americans have great pride in this 
organization. Esteban was recognized for the fine work that he did when 
he was named ambassador, and he served for many years in Paris, 
representing this great country and was called by President Carter to 
come back to the White House and work in his administration.
  Esteban was a voice for many of us. Esteban was an advocate for us 
and again gave us great leadership. Since he has been in the Congress, 
he has been involved in many endeavors. Whether it be civil rights, 
betterment of education, ensuring that the Smithsonian Institute 
reflected the makeup of our country in terms of its diversity, Esteban 
has been out there.
  I know that very recently he was honored because of a scholarship 
program he promoted on a national basis. The people of Miami, Arizona, 
are very proud because Esteban was born in Arizona but moved to 
California to continue his career.
  On a personal note, Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that Esteban has 
been a friend, a mentor and a leader for me personally. It is with 
great regret that I see him retire from this great institution, but I 
know that he and Arcy are going to have a great time with their 
grandchildren and their children, but I know that he will continue to 
be the advocate that he has been for our community.
  So I congratulate Esteban for the fine work he has done. We are going 
to miss him, but we know that he is still going to be out there for us.
  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. PASTOR. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for 
his tribute to me during this special order. Indeed, I am honored. He 
mentioned Miami, Arizona. It should be noted for my colleagues here 
that the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) and I are both natives of 
Miami, Arizona, a small mining town in southeastern Arizona. He comes 
from that stock of people who have worked hard to make this nation what 
it is today, and I am proud that I come from the same part of the 
country. Perhaps it must be something that was in the water in Miami, 
Arizona, but it has yielded two great sons to the House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the kind words about me from the gentleman 
from Arizona (Mr. Pastor). He has been, indeed, a friend of mine 
throughout my period of time here and before that, as he mentioned, and 
I will continue seeing him in our lives as they continue on, as we 
continue our commitment to our communities.

                          ____________________