[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE LATE PETER RODINO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I take this time to honor and commemorate 
the life and the accomplishments of our former colleague Congressman 
Peter Rodino, elected to the House of Representatives in 1949, who 
served his district in New Jersey for 40 years with great integrity, 
humility, fairness, dignity and honor.
  Originally known for making Columbus Day a national holiday, Chairman 
Peter Rodino spent his whole life fighting for people's rights, and I 
recall personally his strong commitment to human rights, his unwavering 
support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 
1965, and the Voting Rights Extension Act of 1982. He introduced many 
of these bills and shepherded them through Congress as chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives.
  He was also responsible for the enaction of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act 
which reviewed determinations of mergers of huge corporations in 
America, and he was instrumental in reforming immigration laws in both 
the Simpson-Rodino legislation and the Kennedy-Rodino legislation, both 
of which improved mechanisms for people in the country illegally to 
legalize their immigration status.
  In 1973, Mr. Rodino replaced the legendary Emanuel Celler as the 
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. I was then a member of the 
committee, and he impressed all of us with his determination to do the 
right thing and his considerate treatment of all committee members. He 
displayed this common touch in his ability to relate to citizens of 
every background and from all walks of life.
  Of course, Peter Rodino has earned his record in history for his role 
as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, presiding over the 
Watergate hearings which led to the impeachment of then President 
Richard Millhouse Nixon. History has recorded the debt all Americans 
owe him for presiding firmly, responsibly and fairly over these 
hearings and subsequent proceedings.
  Many people were very alarmed at what the impeachment of a President 
would mean, and they wondered aloud in our public media whether this 
country could survive an impeachment. He handled this very sensitive 
matter, and it turned Chairman Peter Rodino into a national hero. It 
was his calm steering of the committee to a final conclusion that 
ultimately preserved, without any disruption, the constitutional system 
of the United States, which has been emulated throughout the world.
  After he retired from Congress in 1990, he returned to New Jersey as 
a professor of law at Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey, and 
he was active up until even last year. When I visited him there, he was 
still going strong.
  I would like to close by announcing that his memorial service will be 
held in Newark on this coming Monday, and we want to invite as many of 
his friends in and out of the Congress who remember his great work to 
join us at 11 a.m. at the Catholic church of which he was closely 
connected for his memorial service.

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