[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 10 (Thursday, January 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E148-E149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PAUL TSONGAS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 18, 2007

  Mr. MEEHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember one of my heroes, 
Paul Tsongas. Paul Tsongas was a great champion of my hometown of 
Lowell, Massachusetts and an extraordinary American, whose courage and 
convictions should inspire us all.
  It has been ten years since he lost his battle with cancer and ten 
years since the American people lost one of their greatest public 
servants.
  Paul was one of my early role models and mentors, and I'm honored to 
follow in his footsteps as the Congressman for the 5th District of 
Massachusetts.
  Born of Greek immigrants, Paul grew up in our joint hometown of 
Lowell, Massachusetts.

[[Page E149]]

After graduating from Dartmouth College, he became one of the first to 
answer President John F. Kennedy's call to public service by joining 
the newly formed Peace Corps. Paul's experience in the Peace Corps 
would lead him to great heights as a standard-bearer of the Democratic 
Party.
  After his service in the Peace Corps and as a City Councilor in our 
hometown of Lowell, Paul was elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives in 1974. In 1978 he ran and won a seat in the United 
States Senate where he would serve until 1984 when he retired after 
being diagnosed with cancer.
  Paul loved people and public service. His direct speaking style and 
heartfelt manner captured the hearts of the nation during his service 
in the United States Congress and especially during his campaign for 
President.
  As a politician, Paul lived his beliefs. Perhaps Paul's greatest 
strength was that as a politician he took risks, challenging the tired 
assumptions about how change should take place.
  Paul's vision of what a Democrat can and should be was an inspiration 
to me and continues to inspire Democrats across the country. Leading by 
example, Paul expanded the reach of our party and helped shape our 
promising future.
  His leadership forced the debate on dealing with our national debt. 
At the same time, he reminded us that a Democrat can and should be pro-
worker, and pro-family, and also pro-business-pro-employment.
  Paul's career as a politician may have been cut short because of his 
battle with cancer, but his illness never prevented him from fighting 
for the issues, people, and the city he loved.
  In my hometown of Lowell, Paul's fingerprints are all over the 
remarkable redevelopment and revitalization that has occurred over the 
past two decades. In the streets of Lowell today, I am constantly 
reminded of the lessons Paul taught me--that in every community you 
must preserve that which has meaning and beauty for its users and its 
visitors.
  Paul was a visionary: he envisioned the connection of people to the 
places where they lived and worked. But more importantly, Paul was a 
doer: he identified significant community assets and challenged 
everyone around him to preserve and make visible these deeply felt 
dreams.
  Paul motivated Lowell residents to make these dreams a reality. He 
didn't stop there. Throughout Massachusetts, he was able to rally 
similar support. In Concord, the Walden Woods Project preserved the 
lands and water sanctified by Henry David Thoreau. On Cape Cod, he 
helped to establish the Cape Cod Commission that is dedicated to 
protecting critical open space.

  As a private citizen, he made significant contributions to education 
and the environment. Walden Woods, Cape Cod, the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge, the Board of Higher Education all benefited from his 
leadership and ideas.
  And he demonstrated compassion and caring to those who sought comfort 
and advice on how to deal with life-threatening illness.
  I could go on and on about Paul Tsongas, and about how he was an 
extraordinary individual, but I won't.
  I'll close with this--When announcing his presidential candidacy, 
Paul Tsongas said to his supporters, Just as we reach back to our 
ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that 
legacy, must reach ahead to our children and their children. And we do 
so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching.
  I'll simply say that I'm humbled and honored beyond words to follow 
in Paul Tsongas, footsteps, He truly devoted himself to making a 
difference not just for our generation, but for our children and future 
generations.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to Paul's daughters, Ashley, Katina, 
and Molly; his sisters, Thaleia and Vicki, and especially to his wife, 
Niki, who continues to champion the issues that Paul spent his life 
fighting for.

                          ____________________