[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H3686-H3688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PAYING TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Woodall) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the time tonight 
to honor one of Georgia's favorite sons.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. 
Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, one of the greatest honors of my life 
has been to serve alongside John Lewis in this House of 
Representatives. John was my friend, and I know that thousands of 
people say the same thing, and guess what? They are all right.
  John was my leader. I sat down in the well of this House with him in 
the morning, and we didn't get up again until the next morning because 
we were fighting, with him in the lead, to end gun violence. I got 
arrested with John Lewis, he probably for the 60-something time and me 
for the first, because we were fighting for immigration reform.
  My husband and I had the honor of walking behind John to cross the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge three different times at a place where the State 
troopers in Alabama nearly took his life.
  Over the years in our Democratic Caucus meetings, there was a tone 
that would get gloomy sometimes, and those were John Lewis moments. 
John would stand up and, in no uncertain terms, he would remind us of 
our mission. What people really wanted to hear from us, he told us, was 
hope, and no one could deliver hope like John Lewis.
  I give you his words, words we needed to hear: Do not get lost in 
despair. Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Our struggle is not a struggle of a 
day, of a week, of a month, or of a year. It is the struggle of a 
lifetime.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Schneider).
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, I count among my life's greatest 
blessings the distinction of being able to call John Lewis my colleague 
and my friend.
  Martin Luther King said the moral arc of the universe bends toward 
justice. John Robert Lewis spent his entire life working to accelerate 
and complete that bend fully committed to justice, to nonviolence and, 
in his own words, to good trouble.
  John Lewis' incredible capacity for love, his steadfast belief in 
nonviolence, and his limitless humility inspired all of us, Democrat 
and Republican, to be better. His singular character established him as 
the conscience of the Congress.
  I have too many personal stories to share in a short 1-minute speech, 
enough stories, in fact, to more than fill the entire hour. I will hold 
each of these treasured memories in my heart for the rest of my life.
  I join with my colleagues to honor his legacy and together hope we 
will continue his work bending that arc toward justice.
  Rest in peace, John, knowing your memory will be a blessing to your 
Nation and to all whose lives you touched.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Brady), the former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the 
committee on which John Lewis did so much of his important work for the 
great State of Georgia.
  Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, John Lewis was many things. He was a 
father. He was a Congressman. As you know, he was a civil rights 
pioneer who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a husband. He 
was a son of the South, one who walked in the wind to bring equality to 
America and is now walking in the heavens with his Creator. He was a 
colleague.
  John was all these extraordinary things, and he was also my friend. 
We are a better Nation and a better people because of him. This 
institution, of all of our country, will miss him dearly.
  I always struggle to explain back home just what an extraordinary 
person he was. To know John was a blessing. To get to work with him on 
so many important issues on the Ways and Means Committee, including the 
first reform to the IRS in over two decades, making important 
improvements to Medicare for our seniors and those who need our help 
the most, that was an honor of a lifetime.
  I served with him on the Ways and Means Committee for many years. He 
was a warm, needed, inspirational presence in that storied committee 
room. When I look down the dais, I will be sad to miss my friend. But I 
will always be proud to have had the privilege of working with such a 
remarkable spirit.
  Each day he walked in these halls, we all witnessed firsthand his 
remarkable integrity, his intelligence toward the complex policy issues 
we debate, and his willingness to work across the aisle if it means 
Americans will have greater dignity, opportunity, and equal rights.
  God loved this remarkable servant, and I know John is walking hand-
in-hand with God and his beloved Lillian today.
  I miss you, John. Cathy and I will continue to pray for you and all 
those who call you family. May you rest in peace and rise in glory. God 
bless you.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Levin).
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of our 
friend and colleague, Congressman John Lewis.
  With every march, every sit-in, every time we reject unjust rules and 
institutions designed to oppress any group, we honor the legacy of John 
Robert Lewis.
  A record number of Americans have stood up, spoken up, and laced up 
their marching shoes in recent weeks. Millions of them are too young to 
know about the man in whose footsteps they are following as they make 
what he so rightly called good trouble.

                              {time}  2100

  May we all model his grace, courage, kindness, and commitment to 
nonviolence as a way of life and continue the good trouble he started 
even when--especially when--it is unpopular.
  I feel so much gratitude to have learned from this giant of history, 
this singular American genius, and to have served, however briefly, 
alongside him. His loss is devastating. His memory everlasting.
  Rest in power, my beloved brother.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield to the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).
  Mr. COOPER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  No one loved Nashville, Tennessee, more than our friend and colleague 
John Robert Lewis.
  As a young man, he arrived in Nashville on a bus with a ticket 
purchased by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King wanted 
young John to attend American Baptist College.
  For anyone wondering how to honor John Lewis and his legacy, think of 
his alma mater, American Baptist, and remember also the historically 
Black college and university that he later attended, Fisk University. 
If you want more John Lewises in the world, think of his beloved 
training grounds, American Baptist and Fisk.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon 
(Ms. Bonamici).
  Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life of Representative 
John Lewis, whose passing is a tremendous loss for Congress and for the 
entire country.
  I will always remember walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with 
him on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. I took my son with me on 
that trip, and when John passed last weekend, my son said this: ``He is 
the most memorable person I have ever met. I will never forget what it 
feels like to be in the same room as him.''
  We will never forget what it felt like to serve in the same Chamber 
as him.
  And as the Nation reckons with centuries of systemic racism, we owe a 
great debt to John Lewis and the ``good trouble'' he made in the civil 
rights movement, past and present. If we only had half his courage.
  We as a Congress and we as a country would be better if we all 
exemplify his kindness, his passion, and his stoic ability to remain 
calm in any kind of storm. I can hear his voice urging us: Never give 
up, never give in, and always keep the faith.

[[Page H3687]]

  Rest in peace, rest in power, John Lewis.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Barragan).
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Madam Speaker, like so many here tonight, I was 
inspired by John Lewis and his lifelong fight for our country to live 
up to its ideals to be more tolerant, more just, and more equal.
  He was fearless. He sacrificed his body, bloodied by billy clubs and 
beatings from police, in hopes that future generations of people of 
color would not have to.
  He was my hero. I called him ``Mr. Lewis'' when I first arrived to 
Congress, and I will never forget, he would say, ``Call me John.'' He 
was so humble and supportive.
  Hearing John Lewis tell firsthand stories of the fight for civil 
rights was a privilege. Walking the Edmund Pettus Bridge with him was 
something I will never forget.
  We will honor his life by continuing to, and as he said, cause ``good 
trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.''
  As he wrote: ``Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and 
each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just 
society.''
  We will try.
  Thank you, John.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington 
State (Mr. Heck).
  Mr. HECK. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Early in my service, I got out of the car in the parking garage to 
walk into Cannon, and Mr. Lewis walked up behind me. I turned and he 
said: ``Good morning, my brother.'' I opened the door to try to point 
for him to enter first, and he said: ``You first, my brother.''
  I often heard him refer to my colleagues as ``my brother'' or ``my 
sister,'' and for a while I actually was fooled into thinking that was 
because he hadn't yet learned our named. But that wasn't it. He knew. 
It was more a sign of respect and affection and mutuality.
  No one has ever walked in this Chamber on this floor, before, now, or 
in the future, who will ever command the love and reverence of him, 
because he was a great man.
  Godspeed to you in your journey, John Robert Lewis, my brother.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma 
(Ms. Kendra S. Horn).
  Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
for yielding.
  It is my honor to rise today to recognize, honor, and celebrate the 
life, legacy, and impact of Congressman John Lewis.
  Of those who have left their mark on history, the unique and 
indelible imprint of John Lewis stands in a category all its own. His 
strength, courage, commitment, compassion, kindness, and fierce 
determination to challenge injustice made the world a better place for 
all of us and truly bent the arc of history ever closer to justice.
  John showed us that being bold and standing up for those whose voices 
aren't heard are inextricably linked with the need for compassion and 
hope.
  Though I don't think any of us were ready to let him go--I know I 
certainly wasn't--I simply cannot imagine the world had he not been in 
it. And it is one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to have 
served with him and to call him a colleague and to join him on the 
civil rights pilgrimage last year, as I know many voices have said 
before.
  And it was on this journey that I had the opportunity to share with 
him a blessing that had been bestowed upon me that I believe embodies 
the life and the lessons and the legacy of John Lewis that I will share 
today in his Honor.
  ``May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, 
half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth 
boldly and love deep within your heart.
  ``May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and 
exploitation of people so that you may tirelessly work for justice, 
freedom, and peace among all people.
  ``May God bless you with a gift of tears to shed with those who 
suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they 
cherish so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and 
transform their pain into joy.
  ``May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you 
really can make a difference in this world so that you are able, with 
God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.''
  Thank you, Mr. Lewis, for living those lessons and those words. 
Godspeed.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), a cardinal on the Appropriations Committee.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  In October 1995, the Black clergy in my community asked if I could 
get Congressman John Lewis of Georgia to come to New Haven for our 
local elections. I was honored to welcome John to my hometown. Here is 
what I said about him that evening.
  ``John Lewis is a true hero of the cause of progress. It is often 
said that John Lewis is `one of the most courageous persons the civil 
rights movement ever produced.' The most astonishing thing about that 
sweeping statement is that it probably doesn't go far enough to 
describe the heroics of the man you see before you. John Lewis has 
dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing personal 
dignity, and building what he likes to call `The Beloved Community.' 
His display of ethics and morality has won him rare admiration from 
both his House colleagues and from leaders around the world over.''
  He thanked me for the introduction, and he said to the congregation, 
``I love my sister Rosa DeLauro.''
  And I loved that our offices, when I first came to the Congress, were 
next to each other.
  I served with Congressman John Lewis for 30 years, and I consider 
myself blessed. My grandchildren, Teo, Rigby, Sadi, and Jasper, met 
John Lewis. He signed for them his book, ``March.''
  John Lewis' ``March'' tells the story of a poor sharecropper's son 
who transformed America and so much more. There are few in the world 
who change it. John Lewis changed it.
  The Black clergy in my community, my grandchildren, my family, you 
can be sure we will carry on your work, John Lewis. Count on it.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton).
  Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  When I was younger, we seemed to have a lot of American heroes 
around, from the Greatest Generation that won World War II to the civil 
rights leaders of the 1950s, to the men who walked on the Moon. To call 
one of them a colleague was one of the greatest honors of my life, and 
it hit me every day I saw John Lewis on the House floor.
  ``Good morning, sir,'' was may usual greeting. Not because of my 
Marine background or his age--most people in Congress are older than 
me--but simply because there is nobody in Congress who had more 
respect. Nobody.
  But he was much more than just a towering figure. He was a loving, 
caring, indefatigably optimistic friend and mentor, especially to young 
people like me.
  John and I took bets on the 2017 Super Bowl, with the winner 
committing to visiting the loser's district. After the Patriots had the 
greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, we started talking dates for 
his trip to Massachusetts. But with a few conflicts and his getting 
older, I proposed an alternative: a visit to some of the civil rights 
sites in his hometown.
  Through all the turmoil of the last few years, there are only two 
times I have cried in Congress: visiting the prison in Hanoi with John 
McCain and visiting Atlanta with John Lewis.
  If you ever doubt what a hero John and his fellow American patriots 
were, spend some time in Atlanta or Birmingham or Selma, where he came 
within an inch of his life fighting to uphold a nation's ideals even 
when the nation said they don't apply to you or your family.
  I found myself wondering if I would have had the courage to join in 
those protests to be a freedom fighter, to change a nation. That is 
what John Lewis did. He changed America, and in so doing, he changed 
the world.
  And he never lost faith in either as he did it.

[[Page H3688]]

  During the impeachment trial, I asked him if he had ever seen it this 
bad. And while he told me never, not even during the civil rights 
movement, because he said there was more hope, more movement, he 
nonetheless maintained his characteristic optimism and looked at me 
confidently like a preacher to his Sunday school student and said: But, 
don't worry. We will get through it. Keep the faith, brother. Keep the 
faith.
  We miss you, John.

                              {time}  2115

  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I would inquire how much time remains.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia has 8 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).
  Ms. DEAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, like many others in this Chamber, the last time I 
heard Mr. Lewis' voice was on a Caucus call recently. Congressman Lewis 
implored us: Be bold. Be brave. Keep the faith. Keep your eyes on the 
prize. Keep working. There is much work to be done. Don't get weary. 
Continue the work.
  John Lewis was a hero to all of us for causing ``good trouble'' and 
for standing on the right side of history, for standing for our common 
humanity.
  His humility, strength, and belief in the greatness of this country 
never faltered. What a blessing it has been to me to serve with him.
  I had the privilege of being with him on a visit in Florida to the 
detention camp where immigrant children were kept separated from their 
parents, and through an interpreter, he spoke to the children.
  He had two messages. So whether he was speaking to us in Congress or 
to a President or to children, his message was the same, and the same 
was: Believe in the promise of America. Keep the faith. Be bold. Don't 
be disturbed.
  His other message, his second message, was one of welcome, and the 
beaming children loved that. He said: Welcome to America. We welcome 
you.
  His was a memory of kindness and humility and optimism for a better 
place, an America that was promised in our founding documents.
  On many occasions, we have fallen short, short of the American 
promise of equality and justice for all. Mr. Lewis' scars revealed 
that.
  His memory will be a beacon for justice and equality and for the 
unfinished business of the people to be a country of mercy, of decency, 
and of love.
  Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Lucky us to have passed this way with you.
  Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I didn't have the 52-year relationship 
with Mr. Lewis that Sanford Bishop talked about earlier. I wasn't even 
born when that relationship started. This very powerful and imposing 
face beside me, I have very little association with.
  If Mike Collins goes back and looks in the files, I believe he will 
find that they turned down a young man named Rob Woodall for a job back 
in 1994. It wasn't that I didn't try to get a good mentorship from John 
Lewis, I just didn't meet the John Lewis bar at that time.
  But my experience with him has been Biblically based, as so many 
have. But mine has been: Let the children come to me. Do not hinder 
them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
  If I could arrange it, I would walk down the steps behind John as he 
was going down the Capitol steps after a vote, because children from 
all over the country would come running up, ``Mr. Lewis, Mr. Lewis,'' 
just wanting to say hello.
  Whether it was the steps of the Capitol, the busiest airport in the 
world at Hartsfield International, or anywhere in between, I never once 
saw John in too much of a hurry with too much on his mind to take the 
time to make sure the next generation understood what happened in the 
last generation and the difference they could make for yet another 
generation.
  The story has already been told that staff members would say the only 
thing they want to do on Capitol Hill is meet Mr. Lewis before they 
leave.
  Time and time again, that is the story of any Georgia Member because, 
growing up, Mr. Lewis was Mr. Lewis. He always says, ``Call me John,'' 
but he is always Mr. Lewis and always will be.
  So much of the story that we have heard told about John tonight, 
Madam Speaker, has been about John the fighter. It is so meaningful to 
me that the other half of the stories we have heard tonight are about 
John the embracer.
  We have plenty of fighters in this institution, and we have our fair 
share of embracers in this institution. We don't have as many folks who 
are every bit as good at embracing as they are at fighting.
  We will miss John's leadership in that respect in the great State of 
Georgia, Madam Speaker, and we will miss him here in this institution.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for coming out tonight, I know, 
to honor their friend and their colleague, but certainly to honor our 
great son from Georgia.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________