[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 176 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H8084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR NELSON MANDELA

  (Ms. FUDGE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me as we pause to 
honor and remember the life of former South African President Nelson 
Mandela, who dedicated his life to making his vision of a free South 
Africa a reality.
  Mr. Mandela stood for peace, for justice, and for a society that 
recognized the equality of every human being. After serving 27 years in 
prison for challenging the apartheid-sanctioned South African 
Government, Nelson Mandela emerged with a powerful message of 
forgiveness and reconciliation, a message that would transform his 
nation and unite the world.
  In 1986, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the 
majority of the U.S. Congress stood with Mandela for peace and justice, 
and helped force an end to apartheid in South Africa. Today, I leave 
you with Nelson Mandela's words:

       What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have 
     lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of 
     others that will determine the significance of the life we 
     lead.

  South Africa and the world will forever be changed because Nelson 
Mandela lived.
  I now ask that you pause for a moment of silence in honor of a great 
man, a man we respectfully and affectionately refer to as ``Madiba.''

                          ____________________