[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 13, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE SERVICE OF REP. JAMIE RASKIN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DEAN PHILLIPS

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 13, 2021

  Mr. PHILLIPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of my 
friend and colleague, Rep. Jamie Raskin, in the face of tragedy and 
tremendously difficult circumstances, by offering a column written by 
one of my constituents, Kurtis Meyer.

                [From the St. Ansgar Enterprise Journal]

                           (By Kurtis Meyer)

       Until recently, I hadn't paid much attention to Congressman 
     Jamie Raskin from Maryland. I had seen him a few times on TV 
     news programs, but the House of Representatives generally 
     rewards seniority instead of ability. Since Congressman 
     Raskin was first elected in 2016, he was lacking in the 
     category that often earns Washington status and power.
       Several months ago, in late 2020, Congressman Raskin's 
     world was altered suddenly and dramatically. His son, Tommy, 
     a second-year law student at Harvard, one of three Raskin 
     children, took his life, succumbing to depression. His burial 
     was on January 5th.
       We all know what happened in Washington the next day, 
     January 6th, when Congressman Raskin, his daughter and his 
     son-in-law were in the Capitol, awaiting the historic moment 
     when Electoral College results would be read. After literally 
     fearing for their lives, in the aftermath of what--the 
     uprising? the insurrection?--Speaker Pelosi asked Jamie 
     Raskin to serve as the House's lead impeachment manager, a 
     process rooted in the events of January 6.
       I track closely on politics. It's has been an animating 
     force in my life for four decades. While political campaigns 
     are too long, too expensive, and too contentious, I engage in 
     these battles, advocating on behalf of candidates I hope will 
     serve our community, our state, and our nation with 
     integrity. Today, however, I seek not to shed light on a 
     political race, but rather to shine light on the human race, 
     specifically, the strength, courage, and resilience of 
     Congressman Jamie Raskin.
       Last New Year's Eve, he gained membership in a club no one 
     ever hopes to join: those who experience the loss of a child. 
     This tragedy grew out of perhaps the least understood cause 
     of death, soul-crushing depression. I didn't know 25-year old 
     Tommy Raskin but have read tributes to him by those who did, 
     including his family. Here's an excerpt from their capture of 
     this young man's life:
       Tommy entered the world like a blue-eyed cherub, a little 
     angel (and) grew up as a strikingly beautiful curly-haired 
     madcap boy beaming with laughter and charm, making mischief, 
     kicking the soccer ball in the goal, acting out scenes from 
     `To Kill A Mockingbird' with his little sister . . . teaching 
     other children the names of all the Justices on the Supreme 
     Court, hugging strangers on the street, teaching our dogs 
     foreign languages, running up and down the aisle on airplanes 
     giving people high fives.
       He hated cliques and social snobbery and never had a 
     negative word for anyone but tyrants and despots, and opposed 
     all malicious gossip, stopping all such gossipers with a 
     trademark Tommy line--`forgive me, but it's hard to be a 
     human.'
       Tommy had a perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously 
     outrageous and relentless sense of humor, and a dazzling 
     radiant mind. He began to be tortured later in his 20s by a 
     blindingly painful and merciless disease called depression 
     that became unbearable for him, despite very fine doctors and 
     a loving family. In a brief note to his parents: `Please 
     forgive me. My illness won today. Please look after each 
     other, the animals, and the global poor for me. All my love, 
     Tommy.'
       I struggle to fathom the devastation caused by a child's 
     death. I have watched, from both near and far, as others have 
     faced this horrific challenge and am in awe of those who 
     endure with grace and determination. Earlier this month, 
     during a remarkably difficult time in our country's history, 
     Congressman Raskin and his colleagues advanced the case for 
     impeachment with dignity and reason. With the shadow of death 
     still all too fresh, Jamie Raskin was a model of character in 
     service to our nation.
       As the Congressman is fond of saying, ``Change is made by 
     people who show up.'' Under the most difficult circumstances 
     imaginable, Jamie Raskin showed up. I know of no better 
     example of an elected official responding to duty, of placing 
     service before self. In doing so, Congressman Raskin cast a 
     bright ray of hope . . . that despite myriad challenges, our 
     great country can continue as a beacon of enlightened 
     democracy.

                          ____________________