[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                    HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 22, 2020

  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, All week America has been in mourning--as 
we will be for so many weeks to come--as we grieve the passing of one 
of the greatest heroes of American history: Congressman John Lewis, the 
Conscience of the Congress.
  Thank you, Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, for arranging this tribute to 
John's beautiful life.
  John Lewis was a titan of the civil rights movement. His goodness, 
faith and bravery transformed our nation--from the determination with 
which he met discrimination at lunch counters and on Freedom Rides, to 
the courage he showed as a young man facing down violence on Edmund 
Pettus Bridge, to the moral leadership he brought to the Congress for 
more than 30 years.
  In the halls of the Capitol, he was fearless in his pursuit of a more 
perfect union, whether through his Voter Empowerment Act to defend the 
ballot, his leadership on the Equality Act to end discrimination 
against LGBTQ Americans, his work as a Senior Member of Ways & Means to 
ensure that we invest in our values or his commitment to health justice 
as he fought for the Affordable Care Act.
  As John declared 57 years ago during the March on Washington, 
standing in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial: ``Our minds, souls, and 
hearts cannot rest until freedom and justice exist for all the 
people''--words that ring true today.
  How fitting it is that even in the last weeks of his battle with 
cancer, John summoned the strength to visit the peaceful protests in 
Washington, D.C.
  At Black Lives Matter Plaza, he stood with the newest generation who 
poured into the streets to take up the unfinished work of racial 
justice; helping complete the march that he began more than a half a 
century ago in Selma.
  His visit with the Mayor of Washington, D.C., painted an iconic 
picture of justice: an image that will endure, and will inspire our 
nation for years to come.
  John Lewis believed that every person had a spark of divinity making 
them worthy of respect. To honor John Lewis's life, we must maintain 
his fight, persisting and resisting until the rights and dignity of all 
are respected.
  What a perfect tribute it would be for the Senate to pass voting 
rights legislation to safeguard the right to the ballot that John 
risked his life and dedicated his strength to defending.
  Many of us remember how John, a man of goodness and faith, was so 
moved by the visit of Pope Francis to Washington and by his Joint 
Address to Congress, to which he felt a great link.
  John later said, ``Though I was reluctant to openly shed tears, I 
cried within to hear his words. I was deeply moved to realize I had a 
connection in some way with some of those he mentioned [including] 
Thomas Merton, a monk whose words I studied during non-violence 
training in the Civil Rights Movement.''
  ``It was amazing that the Pope mentioned the Selma-to-Montgomery 
March because during the first attempt to March to Montgomery, now 
known as Bloody Sunday, I carried one of Thomas Merton's books in my 
backpack.''
  Thomas Merton, a force for non-violence and peace, like John, once 
wrote, ``We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace 
with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are 
not at peace with God.''
  But John Lewis was a heavenly man who was at peace--with himself, 
with his fellow man and with God. When I spoke with him the day before 
he passed, he told me that he was ready to go home.
  God truly blessed America with the life and leadership of John Lewis.
  Here in the Congress, John was revered and beloved on both sides of 
the aisle and both sides of the Capitol. We knew that he always worked 
on the side of the angels--and now, we are comforted to know that he is 
with them.
  May John's goodness be an inspiration that moves us not to hate, but 
to hope; may his strength inspire us not to fear, but to fight for what 
is right--and to, in the face of injustice, make ``good trouble, 
necessary trouble.''
  And may it be a comfort to John's son, John Miles, his entire family, 
Michael Collins and his entire staff that so many mourn their loss and 
are praying for them at this sad time.

                          ____________________