[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       A TRIBUTE TO JOHN LaFALCE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mr. FRANK. Mr. Speaker, for the past several years, I have had the 
privilege of working under the leadership of our colleague from New 
York (Mr. LaFalce) in his role as Senior Democrat on the Committee on 
Financial Services (as it is now officially called, after our 
Republican colleagues gave a hint of their policy preferences by 
excising from the Committee's title any reference to cities, urban 
affairs or housing).
  In his leadership of the minority on this important committee, Mr. 
LaFalce has been a committed, creative, forceful advocate of policies 
that combined support for a strong free market with concern for 
fairness for consumers and social justice for people with low incomes. 
No opposition was strong enough to deter him from fighting for an 
America that was both prosperous and fair, and he helped people 
understand that these goals are mutually supportive, not exclusive.
  Personally, I have been the beneficiary of his ability to lead in a 
cooperative spirit, and to perform both his partisan and bipartisan 
roles with great skill. That is, when possible, he worked 
constructively with the majority party to improve legislation, when 
necessary he led the minority in an effective and cohesive way.
  The financial community, the House, and I personally will miss him. 
As an indication of this, I ask that the well-merited tribute contained 
in a recent editorial from the official publication of America's 
Community Bankers be printed here. And, I thank America's Community 
Bankers for this gracious--and entirely accurate--summation of John 
LaFalce's work.

       The LaFalce Legacy: Three Decades of Leadership for Banks

       Congressman John J. LaFalce (D-N.Y.), who represented 
     western New York's 29th Congressional District since he was 
     elected to Congress in 1974, will retire at the end of the 
     current Congress. His departure represents the end of an era.
       Congressman LaFalce has been a good friend of the banking 
     industry. In his years of service, from the U.S. Army 
     Adjutant General Corps, to the New York State Senate and 
     State Assembly, to the House of Representatives, John LaFalce 
     personified the best in public service.
       He listened to those on all sides of an issue, staking out 
     his position and, as a pragmatist, using his skills as a 
     politician to craft compromises on both sides of the aisle to 
     move needed legislation.
       In his leadership role as the ranking Democrat on the House 
     Financial Services Committee, John LaFalce exercised 
     extraordinary influence over the outcome of financial 
     services and housing legislation. He contributed greatly to 
     the historic Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act by first introducing his 
     own bipartisan bill and then by helping to craft the final 
     product. In his long career, Rep. LaFalce was involved in all 
     of the major legislative initiatives on banking and financial 
     services.
       John LaFalce is a consumer and community advocate, and a 
     staunch defender of the Community Reinvestment Act and 
     financial privacy. And yet bankers also found him to be a 
     champion of balance.
       As chairman of the House Small Business Committee, John 
     LaFalce paid special attention to the needs of women who are 
     small business leaders and entrepreneurs. He wrote the 
     Women's Business Ownership Act, which improves access to 
     credit for women.
       Rep. LaFalce's public service career was aptly summarized 
     in a citation by Niagara University when it awarded him the 
     honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. It read, in part, ``Three 
     qualities emerge as best describing the man: honesty, energy 
     and conviction.''
       These qualities, along with his integrity, leadership, and 
     good humor, will be missed in the halls of Congress. John 
     LaFalce leaves behind a legacy of outstanding achievement. 
     America's Community Bankers extends its best wishes for the 
     future.

     

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