[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO JAY W. WEISS: A GREAT PERSON AND A GREAT PUBLIC PERSON

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                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2004

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, with great pride--but with deep 
sorrow--I rise to pay my homage to one of Miami-Dade County's giant 
leaders, the late Mr. Jay W. Weiss. His untimely demise late Saturday 
night, January 31, 2004, has cast a veil of sadness over our community.
  Indeed, as the business entrepreneur par excellence that he evoked, 
this extraordinary man easily communed with the pains and anguishes of 
ordinary people and transformed them into his very own by uplifting 
them into a timely rationale for creating appropriate solutions to 
them.
  As Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Public Health Trust, he 
spearheaded the passage of the half-penny tax that now provides 
continuous support to Jackson Memorial Hospital, along with the funding 
of the Ryder Trauma Center and the University of Miami/Sylvester 
Comprehensive Cancer Center. These are but a few of the great 
initiatives his humanitarian spirit willed to come to fruition, and 
these programs now serve to lessen the burdens of various illnesses and 
enhance the quality of life for countless people in Miami-Dade County.
  Though a highly private individual, he virtually consecrated his life 
to public service. In so doing he symbolized everything that is good 
and noble about the American spirit of idealism and optimism in serving 
our fellowmen.
  Our community genuinely feels the loss of a truly decent and caring 
man who made it his personal business to reach out to the less 
fortunate among us. Dr. Bernard Fogel, former dean of the University of 
Miami Medical School, succinctly described Mr. Weiss as someone who 
believed and lived by the tenets of tzedekah, ``. . . the Jewish 
tradition of charity . . . that's what he was motivated by--doing the 
right thing because it's the right thing to do. ``
  The numerous accolades with which government officials and various 
organizations have honored him buttress the unequivocal testimony of 
the utmost gratitude and respect he enjoyed from a grateful community. 
He truly epitomized the vision, resilience and compassion of a servant 
of God whose life served as an example of the great difference each one 
of us can make on behalf of our community's well-being once we hearken 
to the calling of our common stewardship over one another.
  This is the legacy Mr. Jay W. Weiss bequeathed to us. Indeed, I am 
privileged to have seen and marveled at the magnificent works that 
emanated from his boundless heart and great faith. I now join our 
community in thanking God for letting him grace us with his noble 
presence during his earthly sojourn.

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