[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E637-E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LIFE OF FORMER CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM LEHMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great man, 
Congressman William Lehman of Florida. In his passing, I have lost a 
dear friend, Congress has lost a role model, and the Nation has lost a 
brave leader and national hero.
  Congressman Lehman was, above all, a true liberal, dedicated to 
equality among races and classes. He opened his used car dealership in 
a black neighborhood, and was one of the few dealers in the 1940's and 
1950's--white or otherwise--who would finance cars for black customers. 
He supported issues that were important to poor communities, fighting 
against highways that divided and ruined communities, and bringing home 
more than $800 million for a Metrorail system in Miami, providing 
multiple ways for the poor to get to and from work.
  He was also a gifted politician, inspiring loyalty in his committee 
members and his party. He neither dictated policy, nor ran his 
subcommittee overseeing highways, seaports and mass-transit systems 
with an iron fist, but by striking a perfect balance between offering 
incentives to cooperate and promising consequences to those who didn't. 
He knew all the legislative routes, and successfully steered bills he 
believed would benefit his constituents and the country around the road 
blocks and land mines in the House. If he was defeated on the House 
floor, he would work tirelessly in the conference committee to ensure 
the soundest legislative policies were written into law.
  Bill was respected on both sides of the aisle, and had friends in 
both parties and all over Capitol Hill. He conducted himself with 
dignity, and he showed others that he believed in the issues he fought 
for, and wasn't merely supporting them for political purposes. When you 
hear people describe him, they almost always include the words 
``honest'' and ``moral'', attributes that are rarely connected with 
politicians in this day and age, but which truly fit Bill.
  Even after becoming one of the more influential members of Congress, 
he never lost touch, with his roots. He maintained his southern accent 
and his unpolished yet powerful manner of speaking throughout his 
career, and continued to dine and spend time in his old neighborhood.
  One would be hard pressed to find a Congressman who took more risks, 
and for more noble reasons, while in office. In 1988 he chartered a 
plane to Cuba and successfully

[[Page E638]]

negotiated the release of three political prisoners, endearing him to 
the conservative Cuban community in his district. Seven years earlier 
he had negotiated the release of a political prisoner in Argentina, and 
he smuggled an artificial heart valve into the Soviet Union for an 
ailing 22 year old woman.
  In my mind, Bill was more than a gifted colleague and a good person; 
he was a very close friend. I can attest that this is one of the rare 
cases where the statements being made about a person after his death 
are absolutely true. He was as good of a person in life as he is being 
described in death--a smart, moral, genuinely decent human being, one 
whose company it was a pleasure to keep.
  Over the years I had the pleasure of working with Congressman Lehman 
a number of times. We served on the House Judiciary committee together, 
and in 1982 we traveled to several Latin American countries, including 
Nicaragua to investigate illegal arms sales. He was as much of a 
gentleman in the professional world as he was in the personal one.
  Our country has experienced a great loss. Congressman Lehman was the 
kind of man who does not come around often, and we were blessed to have 
him in Congress. He was a role model to politicians everywhere and an 
inspiration to citizens all across the Nation. He will be sorely missed 
wherever he was known.

                          ____________________