[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING ALCEE HASTINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2022

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the one-year 
anniversary of the passing of Representative Alcee Hastings, a civil 
rights advocate and active leader of the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) for more than twenty 
years. His work included promoting principled foreign policy, human 
rights, strengthened democracy across Europe, domestic and 
international election observations, and diversity and inclusion at all 
levels of government and foreign policy decision making. Alcee Hastings 
passed away on April 6, 2021.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  April 6, 2022, on page E360, in the second column, the following 
appeared: Mr. COHEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize the one-year anniversary of the passing of 
Representative Alce
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. COHEN. Madam 
Speaker, I rise today to recognize the one-year anniversary of the 
passing of Representative Alcee


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  As a U.S. Helsinki Commissioner, Rep. Hastings served as Ranking 
Member, Co-Chairman, and twice as Chairman from 2007-2008 and 2019-
2020. He was the first African American Chair of the Commission, and 
over the full span of his time on the Commission, visited all 57 
participating States (pS) of the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 11 Asian and Mediterranean OSCE Partners 
for Co-operation countries, and attended over three dozen meetings of 
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).
  In addition to holding various leadership positions at the U.S. 
Helsinki Commission, Alcee Hastings also held offices with the OSCE PA, 
including Rapporteur of the First Committee on Political Affairs and 
Security, Vice Chair of the First Committee, Chair of the First 
Committee, Special Representative of Mediterranean Affairs, Vice 
President of the OSCE PA, President of the OSCE PA, and President 
Emeritus of the OSCE PA. Alcee remains the only American to hold the 
office of President of the 323-member body.
  Alcee brought attention to several issues throughout the OSCE region 
and pushed to legitimize U.S. authority on human rights standards. He 
was a staunch opponent of Russian attempts to undermine security and 
stability in Europe and beyond, holding hearings as Chair on Russia's 
support for separatists and introducing legislation aiding Georgia 
following the 2008 invasion by Russia and supporting Ukraine's 
democratic gains since the 2004 Orange Revolution. He was an outspoken 
supporter of Europe's largest ethnic minority, the Roma, and he led 
efforts to address anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish violence in OSCE pS. 
Alcee was deeply engaged in the Middle East peace process, improving 
relations with Mediterranean partners, protections for minorities in 
the Kosovo independence plan, and strengthening democracy and expansion 
within the European Union. Thanks to his efforts stressing the 
importance of having election observers monitor U.S. elections, the 
OSCE PA held its first election observation mission in the U.S. in 
2002.
  Representative Hastings believed that diversity and inclusion in 
foreign policy was critical for upholding democratic values. This 
included equal representation across different racial, ethnic, gender 
identity, sexual orientation, religious and geographic communities, 
including youth participation. He held hearings, introduced 
legislation, supported programs at the State Department and fellowship 
programs geared towards promoting minority participation, and worked 
with European partners on initiatives to meet this end.
  Alcee Hastings was born in Altamonte Springs, Florida and received 
his bachelor's degree from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and 
his law degree from Florida A&M University. Prior to serving in 
government, he tirelessly fought racial injustice as a civil rights 
lawyer and activist. In 1979, Representative Hastings became the first 
African American Federal Judge in the State of Florida when President 
Jimmy Carter appointed him to the bench. When elected to Congress in 
1992, he was one of the first three African Americans to represent 
Florida since the reconstruction era. He has long championed the rights 
of minorities, women, the elderly, children, and immigrants.
  It was an honor to serve with Representative Alcee Hastings in 
Congress and to have the privilege to work with him on the Helsinki 
Commission. He was the reason I sought appointment. I am proud to have 
called him my friend and will be forever grateful to him for 
introducing me to the Commission on which I now serve as Co-Chairman. 
He is remembered by all here and at the OSCE PA. His was a life well-
lived.

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