[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE MIKE FITZPATRICK

  (Mr. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McCARTHY. Madam Speaker, I rise in remembrance of Congressman 
Mike Fitzpatrick who passed away 3 weeks ago after a 12-year battle 
with cancer.
  Mike was a public servant in the best sense of the word, a tireless 
champion who loved his community and always worked to improve the lives 
of his neighbors.
  His long list of accomplishments--from the conservation of public 
land as a county commissioner to the creation of the Washington 
Crossing National Cemetery where he now rests, are achievements that 
any Representative would be proud to have.
  But one cannot accurately capture Mike's legacy without talking about 
the kindness that motivated his 20 years of public service.
  Years ago, a county park officer called Mike about a homeless man who 
was living in the park and needed a place to stay. The shelters in town 
were full and the park officer didn't know what to do. But Mike 
Fitzpatrick did. He let the homeless man stay on his couch for the 
night until he found him shelter the next day.
  Not everybody here knows that story. But for those who know Mike, it 
comes as no surprise. Mike never stopped trying to help his neighbors, 
even after retiring from Congress and while battling a very terrible 
disease. He was focused on what the late columnist Charles Krauthammer 
called ``the things that matter,'' such as one's family and community.
  For Mike, politics wasn't a career, but public service was a never-
ending commitment--a passion to do good that was rooted in values like 
patriotism and faith and was shaped by his upbringing in Levittown.
  Certainly, Mike will be remembered for his willingness to cross party 
lines. That is fitting. He believed the measure of a person went beyond 
their partisan label. His bipartisan spirit has united this body many 
times before, and it is uniting us once again today, even in one of the 
most divided times in recent memory.
  He did not apologize for being a Republican or a conservative. But in 
truth, those were not the titles that mattered most to him. It was 
titles like: ``father,'' ``Catholic,'' and ``brother'' that mattered.
  He was faithful and he was honest. He lived with integrity and honor. 
He turned the toughest moments in his personal life and career into 
examples of courage, grit, and grace. Most importantly, he never shied 
away from asking in the words of the old prayer: ``Lord, make me an 
instrument of Your peace.''
  In this body, we remember people and their legacies by portraits, and 
I am sure there will be public memorials for him, but legacies of 
change last so much longer. In fact, it grows from generation to 
generation, like compounding interest or a snowball rolling downhill.
  Mike's legacy is right here in Congress and back home in Bucks 
County. They will be more than a tribute to one man. It will be an 
internal reminder of the values he stood for, the hard work, the faith 
in God, and never giving up.
  I want you to join me in expressing our deepest condolences to his 
family. His wife, Kathy, is here; his mother and father, Mary and Jim; 
and we all know his brother Brian, living in his legacy. May God bring 
us comfort and strength in this difficult time.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, Kathy, members of the Fitzpatrick family, 
and Members on both sides of the aisle from Pennsylvania who have lost 
a dear colleague with whom they served; he served with honor. He served 
with civility. He served as an example.
  Madam Speaker, at a time when rank partisanship has become sadly 
pervasive in Washington, Mike Fitzpatrick shone a bright light of 
consensus building, civility, and respect.
  He was an example that all of us could follow. I was sad to learn of 
his passing. My thoughts, of course--and I know I speak for all of us, 
not in a partisan sense, not in a Democratic or Republican sense, but 
in a human sense--are with his wife, Kathleen, their six children, and 
his entire family which includes our colleague, of course, Brian, his 
brother who succeeded him representing Pennsylvania's Eighth 
Congressional District.
  Madam Speaker, it speaks volumes that Mike had so many friends here 
on this side of the aisle in addition to his own side. The words that 
the Republican leader spoke could be spoken by all of us. That is 
because he looked past party labels and saw in all of us fellow 
Americans, drawn to service like he was, eager to do right by our 
constituents, as he was.
  Our colleague from Washington State, Mr. Denny Heck, shared a story 
about a bill he and Mike were working on together in 2013 when 
Republicans were in the majority. Mike was the lead sponsor. His party 
was in charge. But because the bill would have a better chance of 
getting on the suspension calendar if it were a minority bill, he gave 
over the lead sponsorship to Denny, giving up the greater measure of 
credit in order to get the bill done.
  That is who he was: getting things done; not taking credit, but 
getting the substance realized. That was leadership--responsibility and 
focusing on substance and achievement rather than politics and process.
  That was Mike Fitzpatrick. During his two periods of service in this 
House, Mike made a real difference to keeping children safe online, to 
help those affected by the housing collapse, and to track and stop the 
financing of terrorist groups around the world.
  He will be remembered by all who served with him, by his 
constituents, all of his friends, and, certainly, his family; 
remembered for the kind person that he was, for the thoughtful person 
he was, for the courteous person he was, and as an effective 
legislator, for his good nature and his integrity.

  I want to thank my friend, the Republican leader, for leading this 
tribute, and I want to thank all of those on both sides who have taken 
the time to share stories about Mike and the impact he had on us, on 
this House, on Pennsylvania, on America.
  The SPEAKER. The Chair now asks all present to rise and observe a 
moment of silence.

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