[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 13, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H2475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE BOB FRANKS OF NEW 
                                 JERSEY

  (Mr. LANCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. LANCE. Madam Speaker, it is with deep regret that I inform the 
House of the passing of a former Member, Robert D. Franks of New 
Jersey. Bob Franks died late Friday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in 
Manhattan at the age of 58.
  His distinguished career of public service included membership in the 
New Jersey General Assembly, where we were colleagues, chairman of the 
State Republican Party, and from 1992 until 2000, as a Member of 
Congress from New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District where he was 
succeeded by Mike Ferguson.
  In this decade, Bob has served extremely ably as the president of the 
Health Care Institute of New Jersey. A graduate of DePauw University in 
Green Castle, Indiana, and Southern Methodist University Law School in 
Dallas, he is survived by his wonderful wife, Fran, and their beautiful 
young daughters, Kelly, Sara and Abigail.
  A devoted friend, colleague and mentor to me, Bob's passing at such a 
young age is particularly poignant, but his shining example as a public 
servant will burn brightly for decades and serve as an example to us 
all.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LANCE. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Bob Franks was a great friend. I served with him in the 
New Jersey legislature. We served on opposite sides, but it did not 
matter; he was a gentleman, a professional in every sense of the word. 
We are going to miss him. His beautiful wife and three young children 
are going to miss him. And the State of New Jersey will miss him.
  This body was made better when Bob Franks walked through this 
Chamber, served on major committees, and contributed to the security of 
this Nation. May he rest in peace, and may we remember what he stood 
for as a model of civility and bipartisanship. God bless him.

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