[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMEMORATING REPRESENTATIVE DONALD PAYNE, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 17, 2025

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise, to commemorate the work 
of my friend and colleague Donald Payne, Jr. on what would have been 
his 67th birthday had he not passed away far too soon.
  As we remember Donald Payne, we first and foremost recall that he was 
a kind man and compassionate lawmaker who cared deeply for the people 
of his district, our State, the country, those in need, and especially 
the sick.
  Like his father before him--Congressman Donald Payne, Sr., who I 
served with--Donald, Jr. was a dedicated public servant.
  As a diabetic, he fought to lower the cost of insulin. He wrote the 
House-passed Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act and 
the Amputation Reduction and the Compassion Act which would provide 
full coverage for peripheral artery screening tests for patients at 
risk of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) to help reduce PAD-related 
amputations.
  I was proud to work with him on his Payment Choice Act that would 
ensure retail stores accept cash--which is the only available payment 
option for millions of Americans.
  His TEST for Lead Act was designed to protect children from lead-
contaminated drinking water in schools, and he wrote the DHS 
Interoperable Communications Act that became law in July 2015.
  As chairman and then ranking member of the House Railroads, 
Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, Donald helped lead the 
charge to improve America's transportation infrastructure, played a key 
role in securing the Gateway project for New Jersey and New York, and 
was a powerful ally of Amtrak.
  Before coming to Congress Donald Payne served two terms on the Newark 
City Council, including as president, and beginning in 2005, three 
terms as an Essex County freeholder, which we now call county 
commissioner.
  We are grateful for his public service, and offer our continued 
prayers for his soul and our continued support to his wife, Beatrice, 
and their children, Donald, III, Jack, and Yvonne.
  Donald Payne, Jr. is deeply missed. May he rest in peace and may 
God's perpetual light shine upon him.

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