[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S54]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING MARIO M. CUOMO

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I wish to speak about the life and 
extraordinary legacy of former New York State Governor Mario M. Cuomo.
  Governor Mario Cuomo inspired a generation of Americans to be 
unafraid of idealism. He was a role model for Americans with big 
dreams, and he was a champion for the causes and values that we cherish 
in this country.
  He was a tenacious competitor on the baseball diamond, the basketball 
court, and in the halls of the capitol in Albany, but it wasn't merely 
the abstract desire to win that drove him. The quest for justice and 
fairness in our country motivated him to act, and he used his pulpit as 
a public servant to push for a better world for all Americans.
  Throughout his career, he spoke powerfully to us about the value of 
equality, and the visionary words of his most famous speech, the Tale 
of Two Cities, still hold true today, decades later.
  Governor Cuomo was a brilliant and generous mentor, and I was honored 
that he took a risk and helped me when I was an untested Congressional 
candidate a decade ago. Whenever we met, he was always kind, 
thoughtful, and always generous.
  I know that Mario Cuomo's most cherished title wasn't Governor--it 
was husband and father. He took these roles as seriously as his 
governorship, and it is clear that he succeeded in both. He loved his 
wife and children, and he instilled in his sons and daughters an 
unwavering commitment to service.
  Mario Cuomo was one of the great, motivating, and inspirational 
leaders of our time, and I will always be grateful to him for his 
leadership, his service, and his inspirational mentorship. He was a 
friend that my family and I truly admired.

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