[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 167 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
               HONORING THE LIFE OF FRANKLIN BARKER WEST

  (Mr. SESSIONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, today I am joined by part of our Rules 
Committee family, members of the Rules Committee who would like to 
welcome back to our Nation's Capital a very dear friend, Celeste West. 
Celeste is part of our Rules Committee family who retired last July 
after 25 years of service. On Friday, September 6, Celeste tragically 
and unexpectedly lost her only son, Barker, in a car accident. Today 
would have been Barker's 19th birthday.
  We all in the Rules Committee watched Franklin Barker West as he grew 
up. Barker brought a smile to everybody he met. He was a gregarious 
young man who had an unlimited amount of energy and zeal with an 
unlimited future. He was an outstanding young man who believed in 
himself and others.
  Barker was also a fraternity brother of mine in the Pi Kappa Alpha 
fraternity. Barker's fraternity brothers have called him a ``legend.'' 
As we know, lives live on despite us being in other places. His spirit 
is with us today.
  In the wake of this tragedy, we are here today with Celeste and her 
family, Barker's father, Frank, and his stepmother, Suellen. We are 
here to celebrate Barker's short but remarkable life, a life that was 
part of our United States Capitol family.
  As a father myself, I cannot even fathom the difficulties that the 
family is going through. But we want you to know, all of us here today, 
that the life that has been lived of Franklin Barker West was 
important, and is important to us.

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