[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN TRIBUTE TO REPRESENTATIVE JOHN MURTHA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Capuano) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, out of respect for Jack, I will be very 
brief. Great American, great patriot, but for me he was a friend. He 
was my buddy.
  The truth is, he was my buddy not because we shared a philosophical 
view--we probably disagreed on more than we agreed on--but because we 
respected each other. In my world, the best thing you can say about 
anybody is he didn't forget where he came from. Jack never forgot. He 
represented working men and women to the utmost. Even when we 
disagreed, his motivation was pure.
  He was the epitome of a politician. He liked helping people. I 
disdain politicians who think that we won't or that we shouldn't help 
people. That's what we are here for. Jack knew that from the day he got 
here to the day he left. He was my friend. I'm going to miss him. I 
think America will miss him, but I will miss him.
  Jack, I will tell you that I am not looking forward to it, but when 
my day comes I'm going to be looking you up. My hope is that you'll be 
up there with a whole bunch of the good old boys and hopefully you'll 
welcome me then as you welcomed me when I got here.
  I'm going to miss you, Jack.

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