[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 196 (Monday, December 9, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H9384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING DAVID MIXNER

  (Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
honor my friend, David Mixner, the legendary civil rights activist, 
best-selling author, and humanitarian known throughout the world for 
championing LGBT equality, healthcare, non-violence, and human rights 
for nearly 60 years.
  I had the privilege of working and learning from David, an experience 
I will never forget, when I worked as White House staff secretary to 
President Bill Clinton. In the mode of our own   John Lewis, David 
inspired a generation of us with his pioneering work for equality and 
documented those struggles in his seminal autobiography, ``Stranger 
Among Friends.''
  David's leadership and wisdom shaped--indeed, made possible--my 
career and the careers of so many of us. He taught us to never tire of 
the fight and to always wage it with love.
  From his early work with Harvey Milk defeating discriminatory laws 
against LGBT teachers, to demanding real action in funding to combat 
the AIDS epidemic when our government was failing our community, David 
changed our Nation for the better. I know I speak for an entire LGBT 
community and our many allies in thanking David for his decades of 
activism.
  At this very moment, he is giving what may be his final public 
performance in New York City before beginning his retirement. While I 
so wish I could be there tonight, my presence here, in this Chamber, in 
many ways is itself a tribute to David's lifetime of work.
  And while the public phase of David's career may be drawing to a 
close, I know David's words and deeds will live on for many generations 
to come. He represents the best of America. He is a true patriot and a 
stranger no more.

                          ____________________