[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO CHRISTOPHER GEORGES

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I was stunned and saddened to learn this 
morning of the death of Christopher Georges.
  For much of the last four years, Chris reported on Congress for the 
Wall Street Journal. He died yesterday from complications of lupus.
  He was not given much time in this world--only 33 years. But he used 
every minute he was given, and achieved a remarkable amount.
  He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987 with a 
degree in government. At Harvard, he was the executive editor of the 
Harvard Crimson and was named Harvard Journalist of the Year for 1986-
87.
  He began his journalism career in 1987 as an intern with the 
Washington Post. He worked on the issues staff of the Dukakis for 
President campaign in 1987 and 1988. He returned to newspapers, as a 
clerk for the New York Times. From the Times, Chris moved to CNN's 
first special investigative unit.
  After CNN, he was named editor of Washington Monthly magazine. A 
story he wrote on investigative journalism for Washington Monthly was 
named one of the ``10 Best of 1992'' by the 1993 Forbes Media Guide.
  In 1994, he joined the staff of the Wall Street Journal in Washington 
covering politics, the budget and economic issues. He was nominated for 
a Pulitzer Prize last year for a series of stories he wrote examining 
the effects of the new welfare reform laws.
  It was during his time at the Journal that I got to know Chris. He 
was a brilliant and fair reporter. He understood public policy as well 
as anyone in this building. He also had a rare ability to see how what 
we do in this building affects people outside it.
  His stories on welfare reform were a case in point. For months, Chris 
practically lived at housing projects in the Washington area to see how 
the new laws affected four women as they struggled to make the 
transition from welfare to work.
  Chris loved everything about newspapering--the reporting, the 
storytelling. His abilities, and his fundamental sense of fairness, 
earned him the respect of people on both sides of the aisle.
  Chris was brilliant, funny, modest, gentle. He was also incredibly 
brave.
  Like many of us, I had no idea how sick Chris was, how savage and 
debilitating his disease was. He almost never spoke about it. I now 
know that Chris struggled with his disease for more than half his life, 
since he was 15 years old.
  A good friend of Chris's, Gene Sperling, director of the President's 
National Economic Council, first met Chris when he was 22. He said the 
first time they stayed up all night working on a project, Chris 
confided to Gene about his disease.
  Gene asked Chris what it meant to have lupus. Chris was quiet for a 
moment, then he said, ``It means I could die young.''
  As a teenager, Chris had been a fierce wrestler. He was just as 
ferocious in his efforts to wrestle his disease into submission. He did 
not allow it to defeat him.
  Perhaps because he knew what it meant to suffer, Chris was an 
unusually compassionate man. He leaves behind an incredible number of 
friends. I want to extend my condolences to them.
  I also want to extend my prayers and heartfelt sympathy to Chris's 
parents, Mary and Jerry Georges of New York City; his sisters, Gigi 
Georges of Washington; Stephanie Georges Comfort and her husband Chris 
Comfort of Denver, Colorado and their daughter Katherine.
  In the last year of his life, Chris Georges got to do the kind of 
reporting he really wanted to do. It was smart and important, and it 
illuminated what we do here. Had he lived longer, I'm sure we would 
have seen more of it.
  I will miss reading Chris's stories. More than that, I will miss 
seeing him and talking to him. He was an extraordinary man.
  In closing, President Clinton this morning also talked about Chris's 
life and his work. I ask unanimous consent that the President's remarks 
be printed in the Record as well. Thank you.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                       Statement by the President

       Chris Georges was a reporter's reporter. Whether he was 
     writing about the budget, Medicare or welfare, Chris' 
     journalistic integrity, attention to detail, and focus on the 
     human side of policy earned him the respect of both his 
     fellow reporters and those who work in the Congress and the 
     White House. It was only fitting that his nomination for a 
     Pulitzer Prize was for a story about welfare and HIV-positive 
     children. Chris's friends and colleagues most remember his 
     decency, integrity, wit, and sense of fairness. He will be 
     deeply missed by his parents, sisters, and many friends.

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