[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4456-S4457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering John Lewis

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, as we finally begin negotiations on the 
next COVID bill, I note that Democrats were ready to come to the table 
with a sense of urgency at least 2 months ago, when the House passed 
the Heroes Act.
  Before I begin my remarks on education today, I want to pay tribute 
to the life and work of an extraordinary public servant, my friend 
Congressman John Lewis.
  John was a remarkable man, whose deep convictions and concerted 
actions made an indelible mark on American history, and we could 
certainly spend hours chronicling his contributions to public life, 
from his speech at the March on Washington and the march across the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday to his leadership on gun safety, 
civil rights, and voting rights during his time in Congress.
  John meant so much to our country, but he also meant a lot to each of 
us

[[Page S4457]]

who had the privilege to call him a friend and colleague. Almost 
everyone who served with John in his three-plus decades in the House 
has a story or two to tell. I certainly do.
  I fondly remember traveling with John to Ireland as part of a peace 
and reconciliation summit organized by the Faith and Politics Institute 
in 2014. During our trip, I remember how young Irish activists 
connected with John's powerful work as a civil rights leader committed 
to nonviolent resistance to oppression and peaceful reconciliation.
  The following year, I proudly marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 
with John to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. One of the 
most cherished pictures in my office is one of John, me, and the late 
Hawaii Congressman Mark Takai from that day, and we were all wearing 
lei flown in from Hawaii.
  Mark, whom we also lost too soon to pancreatic cancer 4 years ago, 
and I organized the delivery of hundreds of lei that day to commemorate 
the gift from Hawaii's Rev. Abraham Akaka to Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr., 50 years ago for the third march in Selma. News footage from that 
time showed Dr. King and other leaders wearing the white carnation lei 
sent by Reverend Akaka, the brother of the late Senator Dan Akaka.
  Over the years, that photo of the three of us in our fresh lei has 
always brought a smile to my face.
  I know many of my colleagues have similar stories to share, and it 
has been meaningful to hear so many people on both sides of the aisle 
recognize John's life and work in statements and speeches.
  It is certainly appropriate to honor John with our words, but it 
would be better if we honored John through our actions, because while 
John was certainly a gifted orator, he was also a man of action--of 
``good trouble.''
  The best way for us to honor John's extraordinary life's work would 
be for the Senate to vote on and pass the Voting Rights Advancement 
Act, now renamed in John's honor. Action, not just words.