[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EXPRESSION OF SORROW AT TRAGIC DEATH OF JOYCE CHIANG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, like the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) who spoke before me, and like the distinguished 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Lois Capps) who will speak after me, 
I rise to express sorrow at the tragic death and to commemorate the 
short but inspirational life of Joyce Chiang.

                              {time}  1445

  On January 9, Joyce was last seen in Dupont Circle, and she was not 
seen thereafter. A body was discovered on April 1, and yesterday that 
body was positively identified as being Joyce.
  Joyce lived a life of public service and public involvement, starting 
with her involvement with the student body government at Smith College, 
where she served as student body president, continuing here in the 
House of Representatives on the staff of the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Berman), and continuing to her service at the INS, where she 
spearheaded the implementation of the 1996 immigration bill.
  Joyce never stopped contributing, never stopped involvement in public 
life. And Joyce was an incredible human being to all who knew her. As 
everyone who I have talked to says, and we all say the same thing, she 
lit up a room every time she walked in.
  Those who knew Joyce were not surprised at what was an incredible and 
unprecedented outpouring from her friends when she became missing. I 
participated in the first of many vigils for Joyce held at Dupont 
Circle, and hundreds showed up to express their concern and their love 
of Joyce. And almost immediately, posters of Joyce appeared all over 
the City of Washington, urging people to contact authorities if they 
had any knowledge of her whereabouts.
  Not only her friends, but also and especially her family missed and 
worried about Joyce. Her family endured with courage and religious 
faith the unendurable 3 months knowing that their sister, their 
daughter was missing.
  Our heart goes out to her brother Robert, in Texas, and her brother 
Roger, who lives here in the District of Columbia and who spent so much 
time publicizing Joyce's absence in the hope that someone would be able 
to identify Joyce's whereabouts, hopefully to help us find her, help 
the authorities find her during her life.
  And I am proud to represent and my heart goes out to two residents of 
the San Fernando Valley, her mother Judy, who has spent so long and 
prayed so hard for Joyce, and especially to my very close friend, my 
successor in State government and Joyce's brother, John, who has lived 
through with his family what I just cannot imagine living through, 3 
months of Joyce's absence.
  Joyce will be remembered by so many. She was an inspiration to so 
many, and she will be missed by so many.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from California 
(Mrs. Capps).
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California (Mr. 
Sherman) for yielding.
  And with our mutual colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman), I simply want to join on this sad day to remember Joyce Chiang 
and send my most heartfelt condolences to her family and her many 
friends, her friends particularly here on Capitol Hill.
  As the mother of two grown daughters, I can only imagine the 
suffering of this family, and the anguish, over the past 3 months. I 
realize that mere words can be of little consolation at a time like 
this, but I do hope that the warm memories and very fond recollections 
that Joyce inspired will provide some comfort over time.
  I did not know Joyce like my colleagues, but I feel connected to her 
through her brother Roger, who has been the family's courageous public 
voice over these past several weeks. And Roger is from my family, that 
is, the University of California at Santa Barbara family. He was a 
student of my husband Walter, an active UCSB alumnus, and is a close 
friend of many of the young people who worked for Walter and work with 
me.
  To Roger and to the countless others who loved Joyce, my heart is 
with them today.

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