[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 172 (Tuesday, December 21, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2231-E2232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE OF THE 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF 
                              PENNSYLVANIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 21, 2010

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, over the last 26 years it has been an 
enormous honor and privilege to represent the people of the 11th 
congressional district of Pennsylvania as a member of this body, and I 
rise today to express my eternal appreciation to the people who gave me 
the extraordinary opportunity to serve them.
  The youngest son of a lawyer and homemaker who was also a teacher, I 
was blessed to grow up in a loving, supportive family who

[[Page E2232]]

encouraged me to pursue even the most ambitious goals. Of all the 
values my parents imparted to their children, none was more important 
than education. My father, A. Peter Kanjorski, Jr., graduated from the 
Wharton School class of 1919 before completing law school at the 
University of Pennsylvania in 1922, while my mother Wanda Nedbalski 
Kanjorski graduated from Wyoming Seminary before obtaining her degree 
from Bloomsburg College. All four of my siblings also completed 
college; Wendy from Marywood College, Aloise from the Connecticut 
College for Women, A. Peter III from the Wharton School as well as the 
University of Pennsylvania law school, and Charie from the University 
of Florida. This tradition has continued to my parents' grandchildren, 
as all 13 have earned their college degrees and some have pursued 
graduate degrees. My daughter, Nancy, for example, has earned her 
doctorate in geophysics.
  In light of the importance my parents placed on education, therefore, 
it was extremely distressing for them to realize that at the age of 10 
I was still having great difficulty learning how to read, because of 
what I now realize was most probably an undiagnosed case of dyslexia. 
My mother and older sisters, most especially my sister Allie, became my 
personal tutors. Under their guidance, I became a voracious reader and 
eagerly consumed historical biographies. From reading about Arthur 
Vanderberg and Daniel Webster, I learned about congressional pages and 
convinced Congressman Ed Bonin, the representative for the 11th 
district of Pennsylvania, to appoint me in 1953. I met my lifelong best 
friend Bill Emerson when we started as pages together, and we were 
unfortunate witnesses to the first terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol 
when Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the floor of the House on 
March 1, 1954.
  Bill returned to Congress in 1981 as a Republican representative from 
Missouri, and I followed him 4 years later as a Democratic 
representative from Pennsylvania. Our political views were starkly 
different, but we respected one another's views and disagreed 
agreeably.
  Those of us lucky enough to be citizens of the United States are 
privileged to be experiencing the noblest experiment the world has ever 
known: democratic self-governance. As representatives of the people, we 
in Congress must be the guardians of that experiment, and in the words 
of Abraham Lincoln, ensure that it does not perish from this earth. Our 
constituents have entrusted us to do our very best to make the United 
States a better place, the reason every one of us sought to serve in 
Congress. It is a sacred trust, and one I hope that no Member of 
Congress ever forgets.
  The people of the 11th congressional district of Pennsylvania gave me 
a gift for which I will be forever grateful, and to them I would like 
to say thank you.

                          ____________________