[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H7164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         HONORING HENRY LOZANO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Gomez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Madam Speaker, on July 19, surrounded by loved ones, the 
city of Los Angeles lost a giant. His name was Henry Lozano.
  Madam Speaker, I simply don't have enough time to recount all of 
Henry's achievements or the profound impact he had on our district and 
on the Golden State. His list of accomplishments is pretty impressive.
  He was a Korean war veteran, serving as a Marine corporal in the 
1950s; a fierce workers' advocate as a labor leader for UAW Local 509; 
chief of staff to Congressman Ed Roybal; an adviser to Xavier Becerra, 
the current attorney general of California and the former Congressman 
for the district I now represent.
  Congressman Ed Roybal was the first Latino elected to Congress from 
California since the 1800s, a founder of the Congressional Hispanic 
Caucus. Oftentimes, I say I stand on the shoulders of giants, and 
people think I am referring just to the elected officials who came 
before me; but, more often than not, it is the people who surround 
those elected leaders, like Henry Lozano, the ones who are their 
advisers, their confidantes, the people who try to keep them true to 
their word and to their core and to their principles.
  Henry was that type of individual. He cared deeply about the Latino 
community and empowering them in a time where we oftentimes felt 
marginalized. He came up during the seventies and the eighties and the 
nineties.
  I did not work with Henry directly, but I got to know him. Back in 
2004, at the Democratic National Convention, I was introduced to Henry 
by a mutual friend, and he said that Henry was a legend within the 
Latino community on the east side of Los Angeles. He said he was the 
one who helped, really, mentor countless elected officials and wannabe 
elected officials like myself.
  I befriended Henry, and Henry gave me quite a bit of advice. Most 
importantly, he wanted to make sure that I would remain truthful and 
remain committed to the community that I would one day represent.
  I got to visit him just before he passed in the hospital. He looked 
pretty good to me. We talked, and the first thing he asked me about is 
what did I think. I thought he was referring to the Presidential 
election, but, in the end, it was really about a local city council 
race.
  He said that politics is always local, and you should always think 
about the people first.
  Henry will be missed. He had a profound impact on a lot of folks, and 
I am one of them. So I hope that we will keep his memory alive.


                        Honoring Barbara Torres

  Mr. GOMEZ. Madam Speaker, I have sad news to report regarding someone 
else we lost on the east side of Los Angeles.
  She was a labor union leader, an activist, and a daughter of East Los 
Angeles. Her name was Barbara Torres.
  Barbara passed away at the young age of 39, but she left a life of 
meaning. She was always around, even though she didn't have a car. She 
gave so much to people who had so little, even though she didn't have 
much herself.
  She fought against the biggest opponents, even though she was small 
in stature. She would often be the first one into a fight because she 
always had one saying: ``If we fight, we win.'' That really sums up 
Barbara Torres.
  She was the champion of the little guy and the underdog, because she 
was the little guy and the underdog. She understood that the system can 
sometimes be against the people who need the most help, but she was 
always there and never gave up faith.
  She valued her community, but we also valued her in return.
  Yesterday, we put Barbara Torres to rest. At her funeral service was 
the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, myself, Los Angeles City 
Council President Herb Wesson, State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, as 
well as Assembly Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer and the head of the 
California Democratic Party, Rusty Hicks.
  For somebody who did not have a title in the end, who was not of 
wealth or means but was just somebody who showed up every single day 
for every fight, she left an impact. She will definitely be missed 
because we know that she made California, Los Angeles, and this country 
a better place to live.

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