[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E204-E205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MOURNING THE LOSS OF ELI SEGAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of my dear 
friend Eli Segal. I offer my sincerest condolences to his wife of 40 
years, Phyllis, his brother, Alan, and his children, Mora and Jonathan. 
We have lost a tremendous political mind, tireless social advocate, a 
loving husband and father, and a selfless friend who, as President and 
Senator Clinton said, ``lived his life as a man for others.''
  Eli was born in Brooklyn in 1942, headed to Massachusetts for 
undergraduate work at Brandeis University, and graduated from the 
University of Michigan's law school in 1967, making an impact at each 
stop along the way. Washington, DC, though, is where Eli's footprint is 
most clearly visible.
  Eli's work as a campaign strategist is well documented, from his time 
on the late Eugene McCarthy's staff in 1968 through his work for 
General Wesley Clark during the 2004 election. It was during George 
McGovern's campaign, though, that Eli hired a young man named William 
Clinton to run the campaign's Texas operations, and I am 
extraordinarily thankful that Eli made that decision. If not for that 
particular hire, I probably would not have had the chance to work so 
closely with Eli during the Clinton administration, and I would not be 
fortunate enough to count myself as one of the thousands of people 
whose lives were touched by Eli. Then again, if President Clinton had 
not hired Eli to help run his campaign

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in 1992, it is entirely possible that none of us would have worked in 
the White House anyway.
  Following his work on the campaign trail for President Clinton, Eli 
became an incredible asset to the administration, creating the 
AmeriCorps program and heading the Welfare to Work Partnership. These 
and other accomplishments are why he received the Presidential Citizens 
Medal for service to the Nation in 2000 and the respect of his peers 
long before then.
  It was during this time that I came to know Eli well. The common bond 
of working together in the White House was obviously a contributing 
factor, but Eli and I became friends not because of circumstances, but 
because of character. He truly was an incredible person, and I consider 
myself to be privileged to have worked with him in the Clinton 
Administration. I consider it to be an even greater honor that we 
continued to be friends after our time in the White House.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us who knew Eli Segal will always remember his 
warmth, compassion, and insight. Eli was taken from us too early, and 
we surely will miss him, but we were fortunate to have him in our lives 
while we did. Neither he nor his impact will be forgotten.

                          ____________________