[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 5, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1630
MOMENT OF SILENCE HONORING AND REMEMBERING CONGRESSMAN SYLVESTER TURNER

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, it is a shocking blow to lose the strong 
voice of Congressman Sylvester Turner. I have known him for over 40 
years.
  As an attorney, he worked to represent the most vulnerable. He served 
27 years in the Texas House of Representatives. As a lifelong 
Houstonian, mayor for 8 years, he always put Houston and Houston 
concerns about education and opportunity at the forefront.
  Emanuel Cleaver, who is right behind me here, and I represented the 
House just a few weeks ago, the night before we were all sworn in, at a 
celebration that Sylvester organized for Houstonians who were here for 
this event.
  It was really a joyous celebration. There were so many Houstonians 
there who were proud of his service as mayor. He had much of the same 
staff who worked with him as mayor who had signed on to work with him 
either here or in Houston. It was clear that he was prepared to hit the 
ground running as a new Member of Congress.
  He brought an immense amount of personal experience and experience 
working with people of all political affiliations and none.
  His life has been cut abruptly short.
  He demonstrated a tenacity and courage that we can all emulate.
  Only last night, he was sitting just a few rows back here, yet today 
he is gone. It is a reminder of all the uncertainties that each of us 
face in life.
  For me, it is a reminder of an oft spoken prayer by John Wesley, the 
founder of the Methodist Church, who said:

     ``Do all the good you can,
     By all the means you can,
     In all the ways you can,
     In all the places you can,
     At all the times you can,
     To all the people you can,
     As long as ever you can.''

  Sylvester lived that prayer.
  We send our prayers and condolences to his staff, who I know are 
shocked by this; to his family; and to the countless lives that he 
touched in Houston and elsewhere.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher), 
one of his best friends.
  Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, Sylvester Turner personified what it 
means to be a Houstonian, to believe in possibility, to work for it, 
and to share it with others.
  In his presence, you could always feel the love for the city that we 
call home and for all of the people who live there.
  We were lucky to have his service to our community for decades as a 
representative in the Texas Legislature, as our mayor, and now 
representing the 18th Congressional District of Texas.
  We were lucky to have his example to learn from, and I was lucky to 
have him as my friend.
  As our hometown paper said today: ``Sylvester Turner's life embodied 
the American Dream and Houston's history like no other.''
  May his memory be a blessing and his remarkable life an inspiration 
to us all.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Fletcher for her words.
  It is great to have all the members of our delegation here.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), the 
dean of the Republican members of the Texas delegation.

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, you see gathered together Texans but 
friends, friends of not only a man who was with us last night but we 
were shocked to hear of his demise today.
  We bring not only the presence of love and care for Sylvester but 
also for the things that he stood for, most of all.
  He came to Washington to represent people with his views, ideas, and 
spirit. He will be missed.
  We join with this entire body to say today that we will not only miss 
him, but we wish his family the very best and Godspeed.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I would ask for a moment of silence to 
honor Congressman Sylvester Turner and to ask that when the House 
adjourns today, that it adjourn in his memory.
  The SPEAKER. The Chair asks all of those in the Chamber as well as 
the staff in the Capitol to rise for a moment of silence in remembrance 
of the Honorable Sylvester Turner.

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