[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 154 (Wednesday, October 21, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H7082-H7087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LIFE OF DON EDWARDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the California 
Democratic congressional delegation to honor the life of Don Edwards, 
who passed away earlier this month at the age of 100 in his home in 
Carmel.
  Congressman Don Edwards was someone I was proud to know for many 
years. He was born in San Jose, California, in 1915, growing up on 
South 13th Street. Living in San Jose at an idyllic time, he took the 
trolley to play golf as a young man, attended public schools in San 
Jose, received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University, where he 
later studied law, and was admitted to the Bar Association of 
California in 1940.
  He became an FBI agent during the Depression. He used to talk about 
his service as an FBI agent, which he jokingly referred to as ``long 
hours looking for auto thieves in Indianapolis.'' But, in fact, he 
served with great distinction in the FBI, and he went on to serve in 
the United States Navy as an intelligence officer and a gunnery officer 
in World War II.
  He was first elected to represent what was then California's Ninth 
Congressional District in 1962, and he served for 32 years, until 
January 3, 1995.
  I remember the first time I saw Congressman Don Edwards. It was 
before he was a Congressman. He was giving a speech in Mitchell Park in 
Palo Alto, California. I was just out of elementary school, and I 
remember how impressed I was and inspired I was by his words. He, in 
turn, had been inspired by President Kennedy to run for Congress, and 
he was successfully elected that year.
  Over the years, he represented such communities as San Jose, Gilroy, 
Morgan Hill, parts of Milpitas, Fremont, and Union City. He served on 
the Judiciary Committee and served as chairman of the House 
Subcommittee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights for 23 years. He also 
sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  Now, Congressman Don Edwards was one of the foremost defenders of 
civil liberties in Congress. In the 1970s, along with Senator Frank 
Church and his committee, they exposed the pervasive abuses of civil 
liberties in J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO, which monitored, 
infiltrated, and disrupted entirely lawful civil rights and antiwar 
organizations; and his stature as a former FBI agent really allowed him 
to be effective in this role.
  In his first year in the House, he voted to abolish the House Un-
American Activities Committee, and he was involved every year. In fact, 
I helped him in the early seventies in trying to abolish HUAC. He 
finally succeeded in 1975. He was involved in the passage of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was a 
dignified and important member of the House Judiciary Committee during 
the consideration of the impeachment of Richard Nixon. And he was known 
throughout the country as somebody who stood up for the Constitution.
  Earlier today, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman came on the 
floor, and we were talking about former Members' right to be present on 
the floor, but they do not have the right to address the Congress as a 
former Member. She wanted everyone to know that she was so proud that 
she was able to serve with Congressman Edwards on the Judiciary 
Committee, and she is not alone where people were able to serve with 
him.
  His contributions will live on for many generations, as demonstrated 
by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildfire Refuge, which 
was the first urban wildfire refuge in the United States. I remember he 
used to call the chairman of the committee in the seventies every 
single morning, saying, ``Where is my wildfire refuge?'' because such 
endangered species as the California Clapper Rail and the salt marsh 
harvest mouse were on the verge of extinction, and now they are not 
because of his work.
  As I said, he was a stalwart defender of the Constitution, a tireless 
advocate for the rights of women, and was known as the ``Father of the 
Equal Rights Amendment,'' which he introduced every year.
  Congressman Edwards was also known as a champion of civil rights. 
After becoming chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional 
Rights, then known as Subcommittee Number 4, he managed the Equal 
Rights Amendment on the House floor in 1971, the extension of the 
Voting Rights Act in 1982, and all other civil rights bills of the era.
  Now, outside of Congress, he took part in civil rights marches in the 
South. His son Len was a Freedom Rider, and he joined Len Edwards 
during the Mississippi Summer. He visited Dr. Martin Luther King when 
Dr. King was imprisoned in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail. And Don 
Edwards spoke out against apartheid while visiting South Africa.
  Congressman Don Edwards had a long, fulfilling life, and part of that 
fulfillment was his marriage to Edie Wilkie Edwards until her death in 
April of 2011. She and he were very involved in a group that no longer 
is active in the House called Members of Congress for Peace Through Law 
because they were people who believed that we could have a peaceful 
world, and the route to peace was the rule of law.
  Congressman Edwards is survived by four sons, Len Edwards, Samuel, 
Bruce, and Thomas, as well as four grandchildren and five great-
grandchildren. He died peacefully and with a great deal of grace. 
According to his son Len Edwards: ``He died as he lived, an elegant 
man.''
  He leaves a legacy of supporting civil rights, advocating for those 
less fortunate in our society, and as being a strong defender of our 
Constitution. In fact, in his district, they used to call him not the 
Congressman from the Tenth Congressional District, but the Congressman 
from the Constitution.

  I am fortunate that when I graduated from college in 1970 and I came 
to Washington without a job, I walked into his office and he hired me. 
I worked for him for nearly 9 years, both here in Washington and in his 
district in San Jose. He helped me enormously by giving me time off to 
take exams while I was taking my law school classes. He helped me and 
mentored me, and I feel a great debt of gratitude to him personally for 
all he did to help me, but mainly to inspire me and a whole generation 
of Americans to believe in their country and to believe in their 
Constitution and to believe in the rule of law and civil rights.
  With that, I yield to the gentleman from California, (Mr. Farr), my 
colleague.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Lofgren for yielding, the chair of 
our wonderful California delegation, the largest Democratic delegation 
in Congress.
  When I arrived in Congress in a special election in 1993, Don Edwards 
was

[[Page H7083]]

the dean, the chair of the Democratic delegation, the same delegation 
that his former employee, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, now holds. He was 
the father figure for all of us from California, and I think of this 
entire Congress when you look at his remarkable record.
  It is ironic that Don Edwards grew up in a Republican family in the 
Stanford area in Santa Clara Valley, attended Stanford University, was 
captain of the golf team, did very well in golf, and so much so that 
the district that I represent every year hosts what was formerly known 
as the Bing Crosby Clambake, now the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament. And 
Don Edwards told me that he carried his pro, he got a better score than 
his pro, and they won the tournament the first Clambake at Pebble 
Beach.
  He soon became president of the Young Republicans. He quickly 
thereafter left the Young Republicans and became a very, very liberal 
Democrat. I asked him once as he retired, as Congresswoman Lofgren 
said, to Carmel, California--he retired to a home right next to the 
home that I grew up in and my sister still lives in, so we had many, 
many nights with him and Edie discussing politics, and I once asked 
him: What made you become a Democrat? He said: Well, you know, Sam, 
after I got out of Stanford, I was in the FBI right after law school, 
and after I knew what the government could do to you through the FBI, I 
decided that I better be on the other side to protect the rights of 
individuals.
  He then became a Navy intelligence officer. One of the things that 
happened when he left the FBI--he was no fan of the head of the FBI, J. 
Edgar Hoover--he asked Congress to audit the FBI. Well, the FBI had 
never been audited. All of the seizure of the equipment and goods and 
things that they had taken in the arrest were used to support them 
internally, and people thought that there might be some foul play 
there. Because he asked for that audit, he was on their blacklist. A 
former FBI agent knew a little bit too much about what was going on 
inside the FBI and with J. Edgar Hoover.
  As a Member of Congress--it is really interesting. He got elected 
when John F. Kennedy was President, and he left Congress when Bill 
Clinton was President, so all of those President's between Kennedy and 
Clinton, Don Edwards had served with. If anybody, he was probably the 
most dapper, best dressed, politest, nicest human being on this floor.
  He had great friends on the Republican side of the aisle, even though 
he was such a liberal Member of the Democratic Party. One of his 
friends was Hamilton Fish from New York. They worked together on many 
of these remarkable acts: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the rogue 
Voting Rights Act of 1965. He became chair of the Subcommittee on Civil 
and Constitutional Rights, and he managed the equal rights amendment on 
the House floor. He was a constitutional civil rights-human rights 
expert and passionate about his feelings of the law to protect people.
  When Don and Edie retired to Carmel, California, they brought with 
them a lot of their friends from Washington, and in his home State of 
California, we used to have wonderful dinner parties together. He was 
still a member of Cypress Point Golf Club, a very exclusive golf club. 
In fact, he was the longest surviving member of that club.

                              {time}  1845

  Unfortunately, Edie predeceased him--his wonderful wife for many 
years, whom we all loved--and we were saddened about her development of 
lung cancer, and she died.
  Don wanted to have a memorial service for her at a local church and 
then the reception at the Cypress Point Country Club, one of the most 
conservative golf clubs in the United States. Don was very proud after 
the church service to have invited everybody, and he proudly stated 
that this was the largest collection of Democrats that had ever been at 
the Cypress Point Country Club.
  He had a great sense of humor, lots of friends. He was a remarkable 
human being who was able to work across the aisle, something we miss 
today. With that, he was able to accomplish some of the greatest laws 
of this country in the modern era.
  He was a good friend of Republicans and Democrats, but, most of all, 
he was the friend of the animals and of the people who could not speak 
for themselves. We will sorely miss this great man, who served this 
great institution for a long, long time.
  My wife sends all her best. She was at his bedside when he died, and 
she was part of his caretaking team. We will have services for him in 
Carmel this Sunday, and there will be services in the San Jose area and 
future services here in Washington.
  So I just stand tonight to give you my thoughts on my relationship 
with a great man, Don Edwards, who championed civil rights and died at 
the age of 100.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you, Sam Farr.
  I now yield to the gentlewoman from San Francisco, California (Ms. 
Pelosi).
  Ms. PELOSI. Thank you very much, Congressman Zoe Lofgren, the chair 
of the House Democrats of California, for calling us together in a 
Special Order to honor a truly great man.
  I want to associate myself with the remarks that have gone before and 
to say to Sam Farr: Thank you to you and to Shary for the love and 
affection and care that you gave not only to Don Edwards, but to Edie 
Wilkie, for such a long time. We all talked about how much we loved 
them. You were there for them all the time, and we are completely, 
entirely, in your debt. Thank you for the love that you gave them.
  Thank you again, Zoe Lofgren and the entire California delegation, 
for orchestrating this Special Order hour.
  Tonight, Mr. Speaker, we honor an august statesman who labored with 
dignity, led with integrity, and lived with courage, William Donlon--
otherwise known as ``Don Edwards''--who passed away last month at the 
age of 100.
  His life was a gift to the Nation.
  He protected our communities through his service as an FBI agent. He 
protected our country through his service in the U.S. Navy during World 
War II. He moved our country forward through his service as a U.S. 
Congressman.
  Service. Leadership. Patriotism. Don Edwards.
  Don reminded us that how we live our values matters; so he fought for 
fair pay, becoming the ``Father of the Equal Rights Amendment.'' He 
stood with the Freedom Riders at a time when they were written off as 
troublemakers and agitators. He championed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
and fought to protect freedom of speech. He spoke up for workers, for 
our environment, for the resources needed to improve our country, and 
for future generations.
  As chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and 
Constitutional Rights for more than 20 years, Don became the 
``conscience of the Congress'' and strived to ensure that all Americans 
enjoyed equality of opportunity.
  He took great pride in the fact that he was the floor leader for the 
Equal Rights Amendment, that he managed that bill. During his 32 years 
in the House, Congressman Edwards helped change the course of history. 
So significant was his leadership.
  Oddly enough, Don won his first election to any office in 1950 when 
he was elected president of the California Young Republicans. 
Throughout his life, Don's ability to respect all viewpoints made him a 
remarkable leader who was respected by Members on both sides of the 
aisle. When he was 88 years old, Don reminded us that the world works 
better when we get along, and that is what we owe everybody.
  In California, we hold a special place of honor for Congressman 
Edwards, the long-time dean of the California Democratic delegation. 
The beautiful, pristine Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge serves as a tribute to his efforts to preserve our environment 
and our ideals for future generations.
  In fact, he, as a modern-day man and as a Member of Congress, with 
his love of nature and all living things, was probably as close to a 
model of St. Francis of Assisi as we have ever seen--Don Edwards, a 
gentle, beautiful man.
  Don Edwards never stopped serving our country, and his achievements 
will stand forever as a living monument to his determined vision and 
legendary ability. But it wasn't just about that. It is how he 
encouraged others.
  I can tell you, when I came to Congress 28 years ago, there were only 
23

[[Page H7084]]

women in the House out of 435--12 Democrats, 11 Republicans. To say 
that we weren't always paid full attention to sounds almost like 
complaining, but it was a fact. Nobody ever asked, ``What do you 
think?'' to any of the women Members. I mean, we made our voices heard, 
of course, but nobody ever asked, ``What do you think?'' except Don 
Edwards.
  Don Edwards would ask, ``What do you think of this?'' to each of us, 
especially when he was dealing with issues that related directly to us. 
But even well beyond that, whether we were talking about national 
security, economic growth--whatever the subject--Don would always ask 
us, ``What do you think?''
  I can remember hearing him ask, ``Nancy, what do you think?''
  And I said, ``Don, do you know how unusual that is, to hear you say 
that?''
  And he would ask, ``Why do you say that?''
  And I said, ``Because not many people around here, of the four 
hundred and something versus the 23, come up and ask the few women who 
are here what we think.''
  But he was always about encouraging people to reach their fulfillment 
and to see what their contribution could do for the common good.
  Sadly, we lost Edie Wilkie a few years ago. As Sam Farr mentioned, 
she predeceased Don by a number of years. He worshiped Edie, and they 
were a real team for equality, for peace, for disarmament, for 
protecting the environment, for promoting opportunity and fairness. 
They were such a team.
  So I hope it is a comfort now to his children and to his 
grandchildren--to all he loved--that so many people throughout the 
world and, certainly, in our country mourn the loss of a consummate 
public servant, a proud Californian, and a proud American.
  May his legacy long endure in this House, and may it challenge all of 
us to do more and to do better on behalf of America's working families.
  Thank you again, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, for bringing us together.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you, Madam Leader.
  It is wonderful for those who served with Don Edwards, for those who 
knew him by reputation, and for those who worked for him to--
  Ms. PELOSI. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. LOFGREN. I yield to the gentlewoman.
  Ms. PELOSI. I would like to say how proud he was and thrilled he was 
that Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren was going to succeed him in the 
Congress. He made that well known to all of us. So his service 
continues his leadership in your excellent service and leadership in 
the Congress.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you, Madam Leader.
  Now I turn to my colleague from California who was able to serve with 
Congressman Edwards for the first 2 years of her service here in the 
Congress, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
  Ms. ESHOO. I thank the gentlewoman from California, the chair of the 
California Democratic delegation, and my dear friend and colleague.
  Mr. Speaker, it is really, I think, bittersweet this evening because 
we loved Congressman Don Edwards so much, and it is hard to imagine the 
world without him.
  He was the kind of human being that you wanted to have live forever. 
Instead, his contributions to our Nation, to the State of California, 
to his community are a record that will be revered for generations and 
generations and generations to come.
  There is a lot that has already been said about Don, beautiful things 
that have been said about Don, how he graduated from Stanford 
University and Stanford Law School, how he began his professional 
career as an FBI agent, and how he joined the Navy as an intelligence 
officer.
  So he served our country in many different roles, and, of course, the 
crown of his public service career was right here in the House of the 
people, the House of Representatives. He was a small-business man in a 
business that his father owned and that he became a part of during the 
1950s, and then, of course, he was elected as a Democrat.
  In fact, I still have in my office an invitation that Don had sent 
out. I think it must have been for some fundraiser that he had had, but 
the cover of that invitation has Don Edwards standing next to a very 
young President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.
  Young children and those who helped elect John F. Kennedy and anyone 
else who comes through my office very often remark about the picture. 
It is something that I cherish, that my staff cherishes, and my 
constituents do.
  It has been said that he was elected to be the president of the 
California Young Republicans. That is a very prestigious organization, 
and I can just see Don, elegant in every way.
  He dressed magnificently. He had the most beautiful posture. The way 
he carried himself, he almost kind of glided down the hall.
  But he had a deep sense of humility about him. We talk about his 
greatness and his goodness, and he was never one to want to be served. 
His joy was in serving. And so he had more than a healthy dose of 
humility about him.
  Don Edwards had an eloquence about him that ran as deep as his 
beliefs. In my lifetime, he had two great love affairs. One was Edie, 
and the other was the Constitution. He loved the flag.
  He understood that that was a symbol of our country, but he knew that 
the Constitution, our Constitution, was the soul of our Nation, and 
that is where he embedded himself--in the Constitution and in the 
subcommittee that did its work to always reinforce and establish the 
constitutionality and make the Constitution live for people who it had 
not touched yet.
  If there is anything that would be noble, I think that that is, and 
the record that he built was one where he was the foremost champion of 
civil rights, having drafted every civil rights bill in the House of 
Representatives for two decades. What a record. What a magnificent 
record.
  He loved his community. I remember when he announced that he was 
retiring. He thanked his constituents for the patience that they had 
extended to him because, I think, many times in the debate about what 
is constitutional and how to extend rights to people, it is not always 
very popular in the beginning.
  We love our history once it has been made, but we struggle very hard 
and don't always recognize the opportunity at hand in that history is 
being made. In his gentle, elegant way, he thanked his constituents for 
the patience that they had had with him in that they had stayed with 
him so that he could do the work that he did on their behalf.

                              {time}  1900

  He famously said, in the 1982 extension of the Voting Rights Act: 
``If you can't vote, you are not a real citizen.'' So he understood 
where the nub of the dignity of citizenship rested: voting. I don't 
think he could really comprehend why the Voting Rights Act is not being 
brought up today so that we can all vote on it and improve what is so 
essential in the life of the citizens of our country.
  I think, Mr. Speaker, that Congressman Edwards would be very proud of 
his colleagues in the California Democratic delegation today, starting 
with our chair, Zoe Lofgren, who not only worked side by side with him, 
but now chairs our delegation.
  The values that he carried, the values that he loved and that he made 
so real and shared with everyone in the House, whether colleagues 
agreed or disagreed with him, they drew a great sense of joy from him 
because they knew the love of our Constitution and of our country that 
he carried, and so they respected him. What he carried and did here, I 
think he would be very proud of his fellow Californians for carrying 
those traditions on.
  I want to pay tribute especially to Shary Farr, Congressman Sam 
Farr's wife. As I said to Shary, because she was there when Don took 
his last breath, I feel that we were all there with him because she 
was. She did so much in seeing to the great care that was given to him 
until he took his last breath.
  There is a poet that wrote: And so he passed on, and all the trumpets 
sounded on the other side.
  God bless you, Don Edwards, for what you gave and created for our 
country. We bless your name, and we thank you for your service. It is 
an honor to honor you. We love the Edwards family, and we always will.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you, Congresswoman Eshoo.

[[Page H7085]]

  You know, it is a small community that we have in Santa Clara County, 
even though we have millions of people who live in the region.
  After Don Edwards was elected, there was a young mayor called Norm 
Mineta who wanted to run for Congress. We went to the max trying to 
help Norm Mineta trying be elected to Congress, and he ultimately was.
  Later, Norm Mineta helped a young fellow to the max get elected, and 
we were so proud that that young legislator was also successful in 
being elected to Congress, actually in the seat that overlapped that 
was formerly Norm Mineta's seat.
  I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), my colleague in 
Santa Clara County and also southern Alameda County.
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. I just 
want to thank her for putting this event together this evening.
  Tonight, we heard many words described by folks who have known Don 
Edwards personally in work and part of his life. We are here tonight to 
honor my friend Congressman Don Edwards.
  Also, a native San Jose, Don was really a true statesman, the likes 
of which you don't find often these days. Today, we work to further the 
modern progressive agenda that he believed in. Our work would not be 
possible without standing on the shoulders of giants such as Don 
Edwards who came before us. Don was one of those people that I stood 
upon his shoulders.
  When I first ran for Congress, I went to him and I asked for his 
advice, because I never had the opportunity to work him. I did work 
with his sons, and one especially, Len Edwards, who was a judge.
  As a school person, I could see the kind of impact that Don has had 
on his son, Len Edwards, who was a judge. Len was the kind of guy that 
extended himself, also, as did his dad. He used to run truancy court in 
the school site that I was a principal of, which is really unique. And 
this is the kind of legacy that Don Edwards has left behind, a 
uniqueness of the kind of person that he was.
  Don was never afraid to take a stand if he knew it to be right. At 
every turn, he stood up for what he believed in.
  When I ran for Congress, I asked him for his advice, and he just very 
comfortably looked at me and said: Just do the right thing.
  I think that, here in Congress, we often are challenged to do the 
right thing and not the political thing. Sometimes to do the right 
thing means to stand in the face of popular winds, knowing that you are 
doing the right thing in spite of the fact that other folks, other 
dynamics are trying to move the ship in another direction.
  He was the kind of person that was really a stalwart, a true champion 
of civil and constitutional rights in his nearly three decades in 
Congress. In 1963, in his first year in Congress, he voted to abolish 
the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He went on to be the 
champion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 
1965. And as early as 1972, he was effectively working to protect our 
environment, authoring a bill to establish the National Wildlife Refuge 
in San Francisco Bay.
  Although he was a self-described liberal Democrat, Congressman 
Edwards consistently worked across the aisle, including the passage of 
the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and the Civil Rights Act of 
1991, which bolstered employees' rights.
  Because of his fearlessness, today we are able to work for more 
progressive change. Because of his leadership and his modeling, I have 
been able to use him as my compass in making the right decisions and 
understanding, to do the right thing. We have to stand up to fear-
mongering and seek to ensure that all people are free of fear from 
bullying, persecution, racism, and sexism. We talk today about equality 
for women and the need for equal pay for equal work.
  As an educator myself and a principal for over 30 years, I am really 
grateful for the legacy that Don left in the field of education. 
Himself a product of California public schools, he started the 
conversation that I now proudly bring my voice to, and that is the need 
to preserve the civil and constitutional rights for all people.
  I know that he agreed that education is also a civil right, and we 
must find a path to a quality education that is equitable for each and 
every child.
  I thank my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Lofgren, for hosting 
this Special Order. It has been said that her experiences and her life 
experiences are entwined with Congressman Don Edwards. She knew Don 
better than most of us. Not only was she one of his staffers, but she 
went on to hold his seat in Congress, as it was said before.
  I think that Don would look upon her work and her leadership and her 
stalwartness and say she is doing the right thing, she is doing it the 
right way, and she is a person of conscience. I think that would make 
him very proud.
  Not long ago, I was incredibly honored to have someone tell me that I 
come from a place of fairness and equality. That is our area. That is 
the area that all of us represent: Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Zoe 
Lofgren, Leader Pelosi, myself, and others.
  Congresswoman Lofgren has said once that Congressman Edwards had a 
tremendous sense of fair play, and it is my hope that, together, my 
colleagues and I can honor his legacy not just tonight, but as we 
approach our work. When we stand up for religious liberties, true 
equality for women, for American workers, I think Don might look down 
and smile upon the kind of work that we are attempting to do.
  I learned one thing also from Don Edwards: the importance of giving 
voice to those who don't have one.
  It was mentioned that Norm Mineta was one of the folks that Don 
Edwards has maxed out for. When Norm Mineta was leading the effort to 
pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Don Edwards was right there with 
him to make sure that the mistake that this country had foisted upon 
Americans of Japanese descent in 1942 was recognized. Because of his 
work and his leadership, along with Norm Mineta, they were able to be 
successful in the 100th Congress passing H.R. 442, which was signed 
into law by President Reagan.
  That was done because there was an intense understanding of the 
Constitution and the violation of the Constitution back in 1942 that 
our government had consciously foisted upon 120,000 members of its own 
country. That effort took over 10 years here in Congress. So it is 
persistence and an understanding that to do the right thing, sometimes 
it takes persistence and educating other people who would not otherwise 
have thought about what happened in 1942.
  So I am here because of that work. I am here because of that 
tremendous effort to make sure that people of different backgrounds, 
although they may look different, have different religions, different 
upbringing, different language, different culture, different foods, 
that they also are accepted as Americans. He gave a voice to us, and 
that voice allowed us to be able to become participating Members of 
this Congress.
  So, in that modeling, when folks in my own district come up to me and 
say, we know that you didn't have a voice and someone gave you a voice 
afterwards, we need a voice in Congress also, that sort of led me to 
understand and to move in the same direction that Don Edwards would 
want us to and to be a voice for those who don't have a voice.
  For the Ethiopian community, we became a voice. For the Sikh 
community, we became a voice. For the Muslim community, we became a 
voice. For those who have been bullied day in and day out because of 
who they are, we became a voice. This is the legacy that Don Edwards 
has left with us, and it is an unfinished business that we need to 
continue to move forward on. It was because of his consciousness, his 
leadership, his firm belief in doing the right thing in every instance, 
in spite of the fact that it may not be popular at the moment but it is 
constitutional, that we continue to move forward.
  So I just want to end with thanking my friend, Congresswoman Lofgren, 
for hosting this hour. I am truly honored and privileged to stand here 
today and pay tribute to the long legacy of our friend, Don Edwards.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Honda for that 
statement and for his leadership in following the example of Don 
Edwards.
  You know, when Don Edwards announced he was going to retire after 32 
years in Congress, I called him--actually, I heard a rumor--and I 
begged

[[Page H7086]]

him not to do it, that we needed him in Congress.
  He said, there are some new guys on the Judiciary Committee. You 
don't have to worry about civil rights and civil liberties because they 
are in good hands, and one of those people was Bobby Scott.
  I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
giving me the opportunity to speak in honor of the recently departed 
Congressman William Donlon ``Don'' Edwards, a civil rights champion, 
supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, defender of the Constitution.
  I am proud to say that, as a freshman in Congress, I had the honor to 
serve with Congressman Edwards on the Committee on the Judiciary. I 
would just like to say a few words about his work on that committee.
  Congressman Edwards was the living embodiment of the phrase ``Equal 
Justice Under Law,'' the words etched above the main entrance of the 
United States Supreme Court Building. When he arrived to Congress in 
1963, he noted: ``11 States in the Old South practiced apartheid. There 
was a House Un-American Activities Committee. And the FBI was out of 
control threatening individual liberties.''
  As a freshman, he wasted no time adapting to his new role in Congress 
because he recalled that, when he arrived on Capitol Hill, ``Black 
people couldn't vote in large parts of the country, and if they did, 
they'd get hanged.''
  After visiting the American South where his son Leonard worked to 
register African Americans to vote, he wrote a letter to Dr. Martin 
Luther King, telling him that he understood ``the absolute necessity 
for the immediate passage'' of the Civil Rights Act, and he told Dr. 
King that ``we stand ready to support your efforts here in 
Washington.'' With that, he proceeded to work to secure the passage of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  He rose quickly to the rank of chairman of the House Subcommittee on 
Civil and Constitutional Rights in 1971. In that capacity, he took on 
major issues, such as the Equal Rights Amendment, which fell just three 
States short of ratification.
  Congressman Edwards said, ``It is the irresistible impulse of 
government to assume more power. My role has been to say no.'' That 
statement perfectly captures his drive to eliminate the House Un-
American Activities Committee in 1975 and his disapproval of President 
Nixon's unauthorized use of government agencies to harass political 
opponents.
  Congressman Edwards worked tirelessly to gain the passage of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the Fair Housing Amendments 
Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
  He successfully fought to extend the Voting Rights Act in 1982 over 
the objections of President Reagan, who wanted to end the Justice 
Department's preclearance power. At the time, Congressman Edwards said 
simply, ``If you can't vote, you are not a real citizen.''
  Unfortunately, in 2013, the Supreme Court essentially struck down the 
Justice Department's preclearance powers under the Voting Rights Act in 
the Shelby County v. Holder decision.
  When Congressman Edwards retired in 1994, the late Republican 
Congressman and former chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 
Henry Hyde, said this of Congressman Edwards: ``He is relentlessly 
liberal, but that's not a vice. The battle for the fullest expression 
of civil liberties is losing a general, not a foot soldier.''
  Mr. Speaker, I was honored to serve, although briefly, with this 
great general who battled for equal justice and equal rights.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Scott for those 
wonderful words.
  We have quite a number of California Members as well as others who 
have asked for their statements to be put in the Record, as our time is 
expiring at this point, but I just would like to make a couple of final 
comments.
  We have talked about Don Edwards' legislative record, but it really 
was rooted in his values. He was someone who cared about people who 
didn't have enough, and when he rewrote the Bankruptcy Act, he was 
thinking about working people who couldn't actually make ends meet.
  When the service workers in the House were laid off every time the 
House recessed and without any ability to actually have a paycheck, the 
one person they sought for help was Congressman Don Edwards.
  I remember lobbyists came in to lobby in favor of discrimination 
against women, and I was on his staff. He said, ``Well, let me call in 
the young lawyer I rely on for this.'' When I walked in, that was sort 
of the end of the conversation.
  He lived a long time. He changed this world for the better. We loved 
him greatly. The fact that so many people went out to California to 
help him--former staffers, people like Jim Copeland and Debbie 
McFarland, who actually went out to make sure he had what he needed--
was a tribute to the kind of person he was.
  As has been mentioned, he was very liberal, but he got along with 
people who were very conservative. I remember he and Henry Hyde, as 
ranking member, got along quite well and had a great deal of respect 
for each other.
  At this point, I would just like to say that we miss Don Edwards. We 
honor his life and contributions. We know that we cannot mourn him. For 
his 100 years, he made a difference, he made our country better, and we 
love him for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
Congressman Don Edwards, a champion for civil rights, a defender of 
civil liberties, and a tireless advocate for the residents of 
California.
  Congressman Edwards dedicated his life to public service, from 
serving as a naval officer during World War II, to his time at the FBI, 
to his decades of work in the House of Representatives on behalf of his 
constituents.
  Through all of the phases of his life he remained true to his 
principles, fighting for underserved and underrepresented communities 
no matter what the cost.
  A San Jose native and graduate of Stanford University, Congressman 
Edwards entered the House of Representatives in 1962, ultimately 
participating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  In the following decades, the Congressman diligently defended, and 
led efforts to preserve, this critical legislation so that all 
Americans can today better exercise their Constitutional rights. As 
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights in the 
House Judiciary Committee he was dedicated to increasing legal 
protections for women and minorities. His work to level the playing 
field continued with his leadership in the House Judiciary Committee on 
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which ensured that 
citizens with disabilities have access to the same opportunities as all 
Americans.
  Congressman Don Edwards was also instrumental in preserving some of 
our greatest national treasures in California. In the early 1970s, 
Congressman Edwards was one of the key leaders in the creation of the 
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which was later named in 
his honor in 1995. His dedication to environmental protection, 
specifically preserving urban wetlands, will ensure that generations to 
come will enjoy California's beautiful landscape.
  During his 32 years in the House of Representatives and as the dean 
of the California Democratic delegation, Congressman Edwards was always 
guided by a sense of justice and fairness; earning the respect of his 
colleagues and working with both parties to get things done for the 
people of California and the citizens of our great nation. His legacy 
will continue to serve as an example for us all in Congress and he will 
be greatly missed.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of former 
Congressman Don Edwards, a man this body remembers as a champion for 
civil rights and American workers, and I remember as a kind and 
compassionate mentor.
  With civility and dignity, Congressman Edwards fought the most 
important civil rights battles of our generation. He challenged 
discrimination against African-Americans, women, people with 
disabilities, and others seeking equal protection under the law.
  He was also a strong defender of free speech and a fierce advocate 
for the environment, well before protecting the environment was a 
common or popular cause.
  Congressman Edwards fought for the little guy and everyone knew it. 
In fact, when Congress would routinely fire all the food service 
workers on Capitol Hill as a quick fix to budget issues, the workers 
would appeal to the Congressman from California to stand up for

[[Page H7087]]

them--even though he wasn't on the committee that made the decision.
  He truly was the conscience of the Congress.
  My most vivid memory of Congressman Edwards was in 1992, when I 
narrowly lost my first race for the House. He was the dean of the 
California delegation at the time, and I was attending the orientation 
for new Members of Congress, not knowing whether I would ultimately be 
elected.
  In those moments of great anxiety, he showed me great kindness. He 
walked with me, distracted me from the election news and demonstrated 
the class and sincerity that he was known for.
  Congressman Edwards had a tremendous impact on me and many other 
people across the country. His legacy is a reminder of Congress' 
capacity to do great things.

                          ____________________