[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 19 (Monday, January 29, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MOURNING THE LOSS OF PAUL BOOTH

  (Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I come before this body today with a heavy 
heart. A dear friend of mine, Mr. Paul Booth, we lost him 12 days ago 
to leukemia. Mr. Booth was a man who dedicated his life to the simple 
idea of fairness--fairness for workers, fairness in all aspects of 
life.
  Paul Booth was a leading adviser to nearly every union president over 
the last several years at the American Federation of State, County and 
Municipal Employees. He also worked hard to lift up dignity in all 
aspects of his life.
  He was a student organizer and brought attention to the folly of the 
U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war, and he had been active in making 
Americans' lives better his entire life.
  He understood the very simple idea that working people have dignity 
and that they must be treated to reflect that dignity by their 
government. He also understood that the linkage between hard work and 
prosperity should always be close and tight. He recognized that, in our 
country today, you can work very hard and still only make it. That is 
why he was one of the first people to work for a living wage policy in 
this country. He was fighting for a living wage before it was popular.
  Paul Booth also happened to have a marvelous partner. Her name is 
Heather Booth, and everybody knows Heather.
  But I just want to say, when people who make a life of service pass 
from this life, it is important that we recognize the tremendous debt 
we owe them.
  I want to thank Paul and Heather Booth for their mentorship of me and 
for their service to our country.

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