[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 138 (Wednesday, October 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11910-S11911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN EDWARD R. ROYBAL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it was a great privilege for me to serve in 
the House of Representatives. I loved my job in the House for a lot of 
reasons, one of which is I got to know a man by the name of Ed Roybal 
real well. Congressman Ed Roybal died Monday. I will sure miss him. My 
thoughts and my prayers are with his wonderful family.
  For those of us who knew him, it is a time to reflect and really be 
sad. I remember Congressman Roybal as a very quiet man, with an 
unwavering commitment to justice and compassion. He was not much for 
giving speeches, but he was much for getting work done. He worked 
tirelessly over the past four decades on behalf of the poor, the 
elderly, those who are disenfranchised.
  To get a glimpse of the kind of man he was, here he is, a senior 
Member of the House of Representatives, chairman of the Aging 
Committee, and one of the leaders on the Appropriations Committee. My 
dear wife became extremely ill, and she spent more than a month at UCLA 
Medical Center. I had just been elected to the Senate. I would fly from 
here to L.A. Ed Roybal would meet me at the airport and drive me to the 
hospital. That is the kind of guy he was.
  He was always there for the people of California, just like he was 
there for his friend from Nevada. For the people of California and this 
country, he fought to increase educational, political, and economic 
opportunities.
  As an advocate for Hispanics, he had no peer. He was a pioneer and a 
relentless leader. When he was young, Ed Roybal created an organization 
called Community Service Organization. This group began a crusade 
against discrimination in housing, employment, and education and also 
conducted voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives within the 
Latino community.
  It is my understanding that he was the first Hispanic elected to the 
Los Angeles City Council--if not, he was one of the first. He was 
elected to Congress in 1963, the first Hispanic from California to 
serve since 1879. When he came to Washington, Ed Roybal was one of the 
few people fighting for the progress of Latinos. There was no 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus when he arrived, so he created one. It 
was founded by Ed Roybal. Later in 1976, he helped create the National 
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
  Getting more Hispanics involved in the political process was a 
passion of his, and he was a mentor of many Latinos. As part of this 
effort, he cofounded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. To 
this day, this organization is bringing a new generation of talented 
Latinos into the political system and supporting them as they follow in 
Ed's footsteps.
  I served on his Aging Committee. His fingerprints are all over the 
last major immigration bill we had here. I went to Ed Roybal to find 
out how I should vote. I had great confidence in his integrity.
  I wish we could all have known Ed as I felt I knew him. Everyone in 
Government should have known Ed Roybal. He, to me, was a shining 
example of what Government is all about: selfless, compassionate, 
committed to equality. He lent his voice and his life to making the 
American dream a reality for everyone.
  On a more personal level, he loved to come to Las Vegas. He loved Las 
Vegas. I talked with his daughter, Lucille, yesterday and reminded her 
of that. She said: Yes, but he always left his credit cards at home. He 
only took enough money so he could have a good time. He would be there 
for me. He did Hispanic conferences for me. He did Aging Committee 
hearings. He was always there for me.
  I know how proud he was of his daughter, Congresswoman Lucille 
Roybal-Allard. She has taken up his cause, so his legacy lives on in 
her work. But the burden does not fall only on her; it falls on us all.
  When he died, opportunity lost one of its greatest champions. It is 
up to all of us to pick up on his absence and continue opening doors 
and building an America that works for everyone.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a great 
American, former Congressman Edward Roybal, who passed away on October 
24, 2005, at the age of 89.
  My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family, especially to his 
daughter, my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.
  As his friends and family gather to pay tribute and celebrate Ed's 
remarkable life, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in paying 
tribute to the memory of this outstanding public servant.
  Ed Roybal devoted over 50 years of his life to public service, 30 of 
those years as a Member of the House of Representatives from 1962 to 
1992. During that time, Ed was a steadfast advocate on behalf of those 
without a voice.
  His long and distinguished career in public service began in 1942. 
Having returned to Los Angeles, upon completion of military service, he 
became a director of health education for the Los Angeles County 
Tuberculosis and Health Association.
  In 1949, he established the Community Service Organization to 
advocate for the rights of minorities in the areas of housing, 
employment, and education. That same year, he was elected to the Los 
Angeles City Council where he served until 1962.
  When Ed was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1962, he 
was the first Hispanic from California to serve in Congress since the 
1879 election of Romualdo Pacheco.
  During his three decades of service in the House, Ed worked 
tirelessly to protect the rights of minorities, the elderly, and the 
physically challenged.
  Together with Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas, he championed the 
1968 Bilingual Education Act to assist the Nation's schools in meeting 
the educational needs of children who come from non-English speaking 
homes. Later, he worked to establish a Cabinet Committee on 
Opportunities for Spanish- speaking people.
  Ed Roybal was a national leader for the Latino Community. In 1976, he 
became one of the founding members of

[[Page S11911]]

the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and served as its first chairman.
  Ed also played an important role in the passing of legislation to 
outlaw age discrimination, and he worked for numerous benefits and 
opportunities for those with handicaps.
  Ed also continued to champion healthcare issues throughout his career 
in Congress. He led efforts to fund America's first AIDS research and 
treatment programs and was instrumental in renewing legislation to 
provide medical service to people with Alzheimer's disease. In 
recognition of his leadership on health care issues, the county of Los 
Angeles opened the Edward R. Roybal Clinic in East Los Angeles in 1976.
  Over the course of his life, Ed cofounded several other organizations 
to increase civic participation of Hispanics, including the National 
Association of Latino Elected Officials and the Mexican American 
Political Association.
  Ed Roybal was a true leader and pioneer for the City of Los Angeles, 
the State of California, and for the national Latino community. I feel 
very lucky to have known him. I know my colleagues join me in extending 
to his family our deepest sympathy and condolences. He will be greatly 
missed.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, California and the Nation have lost a 
unique leader with the passing of former Congressman Ed Roybal.
  In 1922, Ed Roybal moved to Los Angeles from New Mexico with his 
parents. He graduated from Roosevelt High School and attended UCLA 
before going off to fight in World War II. When he returned from the 
war, he returned to Los Angeles and joined the County's Department of 
Health Education in its County Tuberculosis and Health Association.
  In 1947, Ed Roybal decided to run for a seat on the Los Angeles City 
Council in a district that was remarkably diverse and included Boyle 
Heights, Bunker Hill, Civic Center, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and the 
Central Avenue District. Though he lost this race, he returned in 1949, 
winning in the same district. In part, his victory was based on a well 
organized effort to register Latino voters in the district. With this 
victory, he became the first Latino to serve on the Los Angeles City 
Council since 1881. He would serve on the council until 1962, when he 
was elected to the U.S. Congress.
  When he took his seat in the House of Representatives in Washington, 
DC, Ed Roybal remembered his constituents and his roots. He worked 
tirelessly to ensure that Latinos were represented and that their 
interests were not diluted by redistricting changes. He often stood 
alone in these efforts.
  Ed Roybal was also a tireless advocate for the elderly, and the 
working poor. He served as chairman of both the Select Committee on 
Aging and the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, guiding 
legislation on health care, Social Security, housing and human 
services. He also helped to establish important programs in southern 
California, including scholarship programs at local colleges and 
universities.
  In 1992, Ed Roybal was fourth in seniority in the House of 
Representatives and known as a legislator's legislator, crafting and 
passing landmark legislation. It was then that he opted for retirement, 
with his daughter, Lucille Roybal-Allard, running for and winning his 
seat. A generation of Latino leaders have followed in Ed Roybal's 
steps, including his daughter. It is very fitting that Congresswoman 
Roybal-Allard's office can be found in the Edward R. Roybal Federal 
Building in downtown Los Angeles. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
sending my deepest condolences to Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and her 
family on their personal loss.
  California and its leadership have undergone remarkable changes since 
Ed Roybal first ran and won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 
1949 and was later elected to Congress in 1962. Following his 
leadership and example, Latinos are represented in the Congress, in the 
state legislature and lead our most populous cities. And people across 
our Nation who depend on Social Security, who need medical care and who 
work for fair and representative elections can be grateful today for Ed 
Roybal's vital service to our Nation.

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