[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 109 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H6588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SALUTE TO LANCE ARMSTRONG, WINNER OF TOUR DE FRANCE

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we have again seen the face of courage. It is 
Lance Armstrong's.
  Lying in his hospital bed just 3 years ago, Mr. Armstrong was fired 
by his French bicycle racing team. He suffered from testicular cancer 
and was given less than a 40 percent chance of survival.
  He underwent two operations and 12 weeks of chemotherapy, but he 
refused to succumb and now has prevailed by winning the Tour de France 
last Sunday.
  Lance Armstrong was not alone on this long journey back. The one team 
willing to take a chance on Mr. Armstrong was sponsored by the United 
States Postal Service. The Postal Service deserves great credit.
  This wonderful story reminds me of a poem by another American 
trailblazer, Amelia Earhart. She wrote:

     Courage is the price that life extracts for granting peace.
     The soul that knows it not knows no release from little 
           things;
     knows not the livid loneliness of fear,
     nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear
     the sounds of wings.

  Lance Armstrong knows both and inspires us all.

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