[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13270-13274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CONTINUING THE TRIBUTE TO PETER RODINO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Marchant). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne), for making the arrangements for this evening and 
for everyone who has joined in this testimonial to the work of Peter 
Rodino.
  I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman), who has 
served on the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
yielding to me. I want to first thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Payne), for leading this wonderful effort that serves a 
lot of different purposes, not just to acknowledge the life and works 
of Peter Rodino but, as I will mention in a few moments, really sets an 
example, shows Peter Rodino as an example of the kind of heroic action 
that any human being is capable of but, in particular, any new American 
is capable of, or any American from humble circumstances.
  After all, Peter Rodino was the child of immigrants, living and 
growing up in poverty in New Jersey and, as was said before, his 
ascension to chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary was not 
something that people might have guessed would happen when he was born 
in Newark.
  But what did he do with that historic opportunity and what came 
forth? What came forth from Peter Rodino was a gentleness, but 
firmness, scholarship, great intelligence; I believe, having grown up 
around many Italian-Americans in my life, a reflection of the Italian-
American culture and heritage for honoring one another, respecting one 
another, living by a code of fairness and decency, and that is the way 
he approached the great task that was set before him; whether or not 
this sitting President of the United States was going to be impeached, 
with a Committee on the Judiciary equally divided, with a country 
uncertain as to what the consequences would be if the President was 
impeached.
  Yet, because of his extraordinary ability, his extraordinary dignity 
and fairness, and capacity to bring people together and to touch 
people, he achieved consensus.

                              {time}  2145

  It was a unanimous decision ultimately to impeach Nixon. I had the 
unique opportunity, well, when I first saw him was on television when I 
was in college, and I watched the Watergate hearings, the impeachment 
hearings. And I was so incredibly proud to be an American, to see how 
this gentleman, a true gentleman was going to lead this committee step 
by step in the most fair and judicious process to find the truth. And 
that is what they did. And that is what he did.
  Who would have thought that several decades later, the grandson of 
immigrants would make it to Congress, and find myself on the House 
Judiciary Committee faced with a sitting president being brought up on 
charges that would have called for his impairment and removal?
  But, that is what happened in the effort to remove President Clinton 
from office. I called Congressman Rodino, asked if I could speak with 
him. He was incredibly gracious, as you might imagine. And he said, 
``Sure, come on over to my office.'' He had an office in the law school 
in Newark.
  And he showed me some of his memorabilia and we went over some of the 
allegations. And we were in some agreement about what the Constitution 
meant when it said that the only elected official elected by the people 
of the United States, all of the people, the President, could only be 
removed by an act of treason, bribery, or a high crime or misdemeanor.
  And when we weighed the allegations against President Clinton, we 
kept in mind all that we thought those words meant when they were 
written by the founders of our country and the drafters of our 
Constitution. But in the end he said, Steve, be fair, keep an open 
mind, and do what you believe is right. And I did.
  And it was a once in a lifetime experience to have been in his 
company, because as I mentioned earlier, he was one of those people, 
you know, they say one person can change the world, one person can make 
a difference in the world. He really was that kind of a person. True of 
humble origins, but with a dignity and intelligence and a wisdom and a 
courtesy and kindness that had him rise above even in the difficult 
circumstances to lead his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do 
what was right.
  And I think it is an example for everyone in America, whether your 
family has been here for a long time or your family just got here, that 
there is a place for everyone in America. And there may come a time 
when you will be called upon, maybe not in the impeachment hearings, 
but in your own home, in your own neighborhood, in your own town, in 
the States in this country to be ready to lead the way Peter Rodino 
led, with courage and with wisdom, and that you too can make the world 
better as one human being like Peter Rodino.
  I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to Chairman 
Rodino's wife, Joy, and his children and grandchildren, his legacy will 
live on. His example will live on. And I believe, thanks to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Congressman Payne) and the others who have 
spoken, and I hope that his example will inspire every American to rise 
to the highest levels of their own ethics and integrity, even when 
faced with partisan issues of the most challenging sort, just like 
Peter Rodino.
  Mr. HOLT. I thank the gentleman for those good words. Peter Rodino 
offered many of us kindness and generous, wise counsel, and that is why 
we are here tonight, not just celebrating one aspect of his career, but 
the totality of this career of this great public servant.
  And I would now like to recognize my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for bringing us 
together tonight. This is a deed worth repeating. And we honor a man 
who honored everyone regardless of what they looked like, how they 
cooked their food, or what ethnicity, what religion they professed. He 
could be considered a rare person, but, a person for our time, a person 
who we can look to throughout this great institution because he 
believed in this institution, Peter Rodino.
  So to his wife, Joy, to all America, in this time of reality TV, it 
is time for us to deal with reality. Peter Rodino understood that we 
are all born equal. And that governments exist to protect and defend 
that equality. Governments do not give us our rights, governments do 
not give us our freedoms. They basically guarantee those rights and 
those freedoms. If we understand that, Alexander Hamilton said, we will 
understand the very basis of this great, great Nation.
  William Livingston, David Brearly, William Paterson, and Jonathan 
Dayton were the ratifiers of the Constitution from the State of New 
Jersey in 1787, September 17. They were the original ratifiers from the 
State of New Jersey of the Constitution. I would add to that list, and 
there are many people we would probably add to the list down through 
the years of those who ratified and reratified the greatest document 
that the world has ever known with regard to governments.
  So in many ways, Peter Rodino was a ratifier of the Constitution. I 
come here tonight not to speak of impeachments, Peter Rodino was more 
than a figure in a snapshot of history during a period of time when we 
impeached the President. No, he was bigger than that before he was on 
the Judiciary Committee, and before those articles of

[[Page 13271]]

impeachmnet were examined. He believed in the equality of everybody in 
this House. He respected people for who they were, their character, as 
Martin Luther King said, their character, we are already joined 
together by the character in each individual.
  This common ground, we feel and we sense with each other. And when I 
hear what goes on on the floor of this House since I have been here, 
January of 1997, I said God, do we need a Peter Rodino. Do we need 
somebody from Newark, New Jersey or Patterson, New Jersey, or Los 
Angeles, California? Do we need someone to bring sensibility, to bring 
us together even when we disagree.
  The integrity of this institution was a goal while he served in this 
House. Congressman Rodino was the son of an Italian immigrant, and I 
often remember the words of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), our 
good friend telling us when, as he grew up in Alabama, and he fed the 
chickens, he remembered when he was 3 and 4 years old feeding the 
chickens, if someone were to stop him at that moment and say some day 
you will be in the United States Congress, he would have turned and 
said, you are crazy, or when he was beaten on the bridge, if we froze 
it in time, do you know some day you are going to be the Congressman 
from the State of Georgia, he would have thought he was crazy.
  This is the reality of America. And Peter Rodino is a reflection of 
that and all of us should remember not that we say words tonight to 
soothe the hearts of those who knew him closest, but that we remember 
that in this House, this House that can become so cantankerous, this 
House that can become so treacherous, that we remember a person who 
rose above it all, who was a guidepost, who was a beacon, a lighthouse 
for finite men and women.
  He was a beacon. He never questioned anyone's patriotism. He was not 
a man who while religious, was religiously self righteous. He never 
played ethnic politics on this floor or any floor. His voice is needed 
now more than ever. Many have gone back to what he wrote and what he 
said. Many go back to his words, which are so soothing, sweet words of 
charity from a person of immigrants who came to the floor of this 
House.
  So beyond any NAIF, beyond the Italian American Members in the 
Congress of the United States, he is a man who we should continue to 
honor, not by speaking his words or his name necessarily, by reflecting 
his character and upholding the integrity of this institution.
  He believed in the common man, and he believed in the integrity of 
each person. And he believed in parity. He believed in the person who 
was downtrodden. He provides a message for our own party. He does, Mr. 
Speaker. He should be a model for own own party. We should be here to 
do the work of the downtrodden, of the least of these, of the voices. 
Then, then the meaning of Peter Rodino will be known throughout the 
United States of America.
  What a hero. Joy, we join you in saying farewell, farewell to our 
station master, to our leader, God bless you all for coming here 
tonight.
  Mr. HOLT. I thank the gentleman for putting in context much of Peter 
Rodino's life and interpreting the message for us even today.
  You know, I am told that Chairman Rodino prayed that the Judiciary 
Committee could exhonorate Nixon, but he discovered that the evidence 
allowed nothing other than the articles of impeachment.

                              {time}  2200

  He was not vindictive. He was dutiful. And it was important that he 
did not go into this with a blood thirst, but with actually a deep love 
for the country.
  I now would like to recognize another of my colleagues from New 
Jersey, from a neighboring district, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pallone).
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I also thank the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for allowing us all to be here 
tonight to share some thoughts about Congressman Peter Rodino.
  I listened to all the debate and all the comments by my colleagues 
tonight, and basically everyone I think did a very good job in 
explaining the significance of Peter Rodino's life. And as I sat here, 
though, and I was going through some of the obituaries and comments 
that were made after Congressman Rodino died, I saw a section of one 
article that was in the Bergen Record which kind of summed up the way I 
feel about Peter Rodino. And I just wanted to, if I could read, a 
couple of paragraphs from this article in the Bergen Record on May 17 
of this year and then maybe comment a little more on it. It was written 
by Mike Kelly.
  It starts out by saying: ``It was personal with Peter Rodino. Yes, he 
was a Congressman for 40 years. Yes, he shepherded all the major civil 
rights bills through Congress in the 1960s. Yes, he was responsible for 
the `under God' line in the Pledge of Allegiance and championing 
Columbus Day as a national holiday. And, yes, he brought a grandfather 
steady calm to the Watergate crisis 31 years ago when he headed the 
House Judiciary Committee that brought Articles of Impeachment against 
President Richard Nixon.
  ``But there was more. Or as Paula Franzese, the Seton Hall law 
professor who eulogized him, put it: `None of us will ever forget Peter 
Rodino because of the way he made us feel. He made us believe.'''
  And I just wanted to comment a little bit about that personal aspect 
of Peter Rodino and what it meant to me. Because I think many of us 
have, of course, talked about all of the great things he accomplished, 
and they were great; but I really remembered him as someone who cared, 
someone with a heart, someone who was willing to reach out to, in my 
case back in 1988, someone who was running for Congress and running for 
office as a Congressman for the first time.
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) knows that the two of us 
ran in 1988 at the same time, and we both came to Congress at the same 
time as freshmen, and I knew Congressman Rodino because he was just 
leaving then. It was his last year in Congress, and it was about to be 
our first year after he left.
  I remember, I guess it was about 6 months or so before the election, 
I, of course, had known about Peter Rodino and watched the impeachment 
trials at the time. But it was suggested by some of the Italian-
Americans who were friends of mine, who lived in the Long Branch area 
where I grew up but who had previously lived in Newark or in the north 
ward or in various parts of Essex County, that I give Congressman 
Rodino a call because he could give me some advice about running for 
election.
  I know that Peter Rodino used to spend his summers down in Long 
Branch. I think he actually lived in West Long Branch, if I am not 
mistaken. I used to see him from time to time up at the shore at 
various restaurants or different places around. So I called him up and 
said, Congressman, I would like to run for Congress and it was a 
contested race. I was running in a district that leaned Republican at 
the time, and a lot of people thought I was not going to win. And he 
gave me advice that first day, made me feel that it was possible to 
win, gave me ideas about who to call to help me out for advice, for 
fund-raising, to organize leading up to election day.
  And for the next 6 months leading up to the campaign which I, of 
course, won, he was constantly available. He would call me up from time 
to time and say, well, I understand this is happening and I can give 
you some advice about what to do. And then within a couple of days 
after I won, he called me and congratulated me. And I had the chance to 
come down, the gentleman knows, because I was actually elected in a 
special election so I actually had a chance to come down and be a 
Congressman the next day after I was elected. And I saw Congressman 
Rodino and even in those couple months or so before I was finally sworn 
in in January when I served a special term, he was constantly giving me 
advice about how to set up the office, how to go about hiring people, 
all these little things.
  I mention that because when I read the Bergen Record today and it 
said it

[[Page 13272]]

was personal with Peter Rodino, that was a side of him that I think was 
so important, how he was willing to help people. He helped his 
constituents. He helped a freshman Congressman. He helped someone like 
me who was trying to run.
  Whenever you talked to his constituents or people who knew Peter 
Rodino, that is what they would always say. They would always say you 
could call him up, he would be there for you, you could ask for his 
advice, you could ask him to do a favor, and he would always be there. 
I just admired him so much for that because although we all think of 
ourselves as doing constituent service and helping people and that is 
why we come down here, here was this very powerful chairman of the 
committee who had served in Congress for 40 years, who had been 
exalted, if you will, because of so many of his activities; and yet he 
was willing to spend the time with me.
  I cannot yield back without saying another thing. I know that he was 
a person who cared about everyone regardless of what their racial or 
ethnic background was. But I have to say that Italian-Americans in New 
Jersey were very proud of Peter Rodino. He was always involved with all 
the Italian organizations. And I guess it sort of went back to what 
some of my colleagues said before which is that as Italian-Americans 
growing up, people would make bad associations and think that if you 
are an Italian-American you must be involved in something shady or 
something of that nature. And because Peter Rodino was such an honest 
person and was such a clean person and was so above corruption, 
Italian-Americans really admired him even more so because he stood 
really for what was best as Italian-Americans, family, service to the 
community, and really looking to always look out for the little guy. 
That was his M.O.
  So I am very proud to be here tonight. I think that my colleagues 
really summed up in many ways what his life was about and why he was 
important to all of us on a personal level as well as a national icon.
  Mr. HOLT. I thank the gentleman for those fine comments. There are 
some words running through the discussion tonight that we hear over and 
over again: fairness, dignity, patience, caution, incorruptibility, 
judiciousness, courtesy, strength, a sense of duty. Those are some of 
the words that I think can describe Peter Rodino who gave so much to 
this country over the years and from whom we can draw so much even 
today.
  Now I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) for helping to continue this 
tribute, and I thank my colleague and friend, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne), for convening us at the very beginning.
  I rise tonight as an admirer, someone who watched from afar as a law 
student and did not for a moment think that ultimately I would wind up 
as a Member of the United States Congress and then to serve on the 
Committee on the Judiciary where Peter Rodino gave his all and gave his 
service. So my words are to come and express my admiration, to thank 
him for his life and his works.
  For those of you who were in Congress, many of whom we have heard 
from today, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman), that world was a separate world from those of us who looked 
from afar at this thing called impeachment. We understood there was a 
democracy and a Constitution, but we did not understand the intimate 
parts of what might happen through the process of an impeachment. But 
then this very calm and distinguished gentleman rose to the forefront 
of the national landscape as the media focused intensely on the hearing 
room.
  There sitting was Chairman Rodino, someone who had a balanced 
temperament and seemingly gave comfort not only to the Nation but to 
the world. As law students, we remained glued to the whole series of 
Watergate hearings, all the processes in the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  I happen to represent the 18th Congressional District in Texas and 
all eyes were on a young woman by the name of Barbara Jordan. It seemed 
that the chairman and this young lawyer from Texas, now a Member of 
Congress, worked hand in glove together. Congresswoman Jordan would 
make mention, as I have heard the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) 
say, that they were on the bottom tier, row. They were freshmen. They 
were the new members of the committee. But my understanding was that 
there was not one single member, Democratic or Republican, that the 
chairman did not make feel part of this very serious and grave process.
  We heard my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Holt), state that the chairman prayed that there might not be a 
conviction or that there would be a vindication of the President. That 
showed the temperament of this chairman. But he led the committee in 
that way by allowing dissent on both sides of the aisle, by allowing a 
full hearing, by making sure that all the witnesses were able to be 
heard extensively and over an extended period of time.
  And so although I know that there are many personal anecdotal stories 
that have been told tonight, I want the Rodino family to know that for 
this law student who looked in horror at this process, tried to make 
sense of this constitutional proceeding, concerned about the survival 
of this Nation, that there could not have been a better teacher, a 
better leader than Chairman Rodino who guided us through a real 
constitutional crisis.
  I think even then studying law it became more real to me, and I 
admired both the law and the process and the Constitution more as I 
watched our government go through it and survive it and as I have 
watched in admiration the Honorable Barbara Jordan and so many others 
that worked so well by reaching out and working with the chairman in an 
orderly fashion.
  Who could have done it but this very well-tempered and kind gentleman 
from New Jersey, a man who started serving in 1949, at a time that 
America was heavily segregated, and he rose as an easterner to fight 
for the civil rights of all people as a strong advocate for racial 
justice in America, a man of many talents, and a man who might have 
been considered ordinary coming from an immigrant's background. But yet 
he rose for these extraordinary times. A man ordinary, but becoming 
extraordinary in himself and leading his Nation in an extraordinary 
way.
  So I thank you for allowing me to share my admiration and 
appreciation for Peter Rodino and as well his family, and to thank him 
for the kindness that he showed a young Congresswoman from Texas, the 
honorable Barbara Jordan, and the way he guided us through a 
constitutional crisis. I also thank him for his early commitment for 
racial justice, for his commitment to the 1965 Voter Rights Acts, the 
1964 Civil Rights Acts, leveled to the creation of southern districts, 
one of which was the 18th Congressional District in Texas. Many others 
sprung up across the South because of his willingness and his passion 
to lead.
  Might I also thank him very much for his continuing abilities to 
teach. For although he could have left Congress and done many other 
things, I know that the students whom he taught law to over the years 
are forever grateful that they were able to have this giant amongst 
them. This giant, the calm and even-handed spirit was able to do so 
much.
  I also want to thank him and make note of the fact that as he stayed 
in Congress, he never wavered from being out front on immigration 
issues. It might have been very popular during those times, but he was 
a person who believed in reforming immigration and understanding its 
value to America and to Americans.

                              {time}  2215

  So I say to the family, thank you for allowing him to serve, thank 
you for

[[Page 13273]]

allowing those of us who were just students of the law to watch the law 
operate and practice. Might I just say that in his loss may we all 
commit ourselves to guiding ourselves and doing the business of this 
House the way the chairman did it during the most troubling times.
  Might I say to my Committee on the Judiciary colleagues chairman, 
ranking members and all of us, could we do as well as this chairman of 
that committee during those very tumultuous times?
  To my friend that passed, as I call on my friend for his leadership, 
might you rest in peace and might your family know that you are a great 
patriot, a great American, and you have laid down a marker in the 
United States Congress that all of us can be grateful for and grateful 
to be able to implement and to follow. May God bless you as you rest in 
peace. May God bless America and your family.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about former Chairman of the House 
Judiciary Committee Peter Rodino. As a body, we have gathered to 
commemorate his life and his works, but as an individual I personally 
appreciate being able to share in the honor, because of his life and 
his works. Although Chairman Rodino is well known for his seminal work 
in the Nixon impeachment, he was also a primary advocate for the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act (1965). Given his work in 
both racial equality in the United States, and the presidential 
impeachment, it is clear to see that his heart was forever committed to 
justice and truth.
  During the most difficult times of the Civil Rights movement he was 
one of the few leaders able to stand up and fight for a better 
America--against a sea of bigotry and racial prejudices. As a 
Congressional leader willing to look past racial politics he was at the 
forefront of the struggle for civil rights. Wanting to fulfill this 
country's standing as a democratic nation, he was also willing to bring 
to justice those leading our country.
  It is also important for me to mention that Chairman Rodino was a man 
of integrity and humility who served our nation with great dignity and 
honor. By conducting the Watergate impeachment hearings with fairness, 
he ensured that the rule of law prevailed during one of the gravest 
Constitutional crises in our history. All Americans will be forever 
grateful for his courage and defense of the Constitution.
  In closing, while Chairman Rodino is most renowned for the service he 
rendered during the Watergate impeachment hearings, he also left a 
lasting imprint as a distinguished Chairman of the House Judiciary 
Committee and author of significant legislation, ranging from civil 
rights to immigration reform to protecting consumers.
  It gives me great pleasure to speak on the life of such a great 
leader.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her words from the 
perspective of the Committee on the Judiciary and joining us in paying 
tribute to the Honorable Peter Rodino.
  Representative Rodino served the United States and the people of New 
Jersey faithfully, and that is a good word to use, for 40 years, and we 
mourn his loss and celebrate his contributions, and try to extract 
lessons for today for ourselves, for America, from his service.
  He was relatively unknown to the public outside of New Jersey before 
the Watergate hearings, which led to the resignation of the President. 
His professionalism and fairness and dedication to the rule of law 
characterized what he did, and he was able to demonstrate throughout 
those hearings the characteristics that thrust him into the kind of 
prominence that he neither sought nor coveted.
  The genius of the American government, as created by our founders 
over 200 years ago, is that our government is self-correcting. It is a 
self-correcting system, and Peter Rodino, who carried a copy of the 
Constitution with him every day of his professional life, understood 
that. At a critical time, he helped that ingenious machine, that 
ingenious mechanism work. It does not work by itself. It works if we 
make it work. It works if we believe it works.
  Peter Rodino served as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee 
during one of the most disappointing and politically divisive times in 
our history. As we have heard tonight, he was tasked with the 
unenviable job of officiating the Nation's second impeachment hearings 
of a sitting U.S. President. It was not obvious that he would get that 
job.
  Most observers expected these potentially vitriolic proceedings to be 
characterized by partisanship and animosity and grandstanding. Peter 
Rodino did none of that. He would have none of that. He brought an 
honest and workmanlike demeanor to this difficult job. As the son of a 
workman, maybe workmanlike is the right word here.
  Peter Rodino led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to approve three 
articles of impeachment in July of 1974, and the conduct of his 
Judiciary Committee really was a silver lining in a dark cloud.
  Tonight, we have heard words like ``unlikely'' or ``improbable'' and 
``unexpected'' hero. Well, maybe a better word is ``untested'' in the 
public forum, but we should not forget what sort of person this was. He 
had enlisted in the Army, served in north Africa and received a rare 
battlefield promotion to captain. He was no slouch. Earning the Bronze 
Star, he came home and practiced law and then ran for Congress.
  It is important to understand that he did not just suddenly rise to 
the occasion. He had studied and he had thought, but even he recognized 
that when he was given the gavel for the impeachment hearings, he was 
not yet ready. He said he had not even questioned a witness in direct 
examination in 30 years because he had been serving in the legislature, 
but typical of his workmanlike manner, he studied. He read this 
enormous Watergate record. It was already enormous by that time. Three 
times over he read the history of the impeachment and the trial of 
President Andrew Johnson. He studied the writings of the political 
philosophers, all this in preparation for the impeachment hearings. In 
fact, he worked himself to exhaustion.
  He hired a staff of 105, including some bright young lawyers, and he 
began to steel himself so that when the pressure came to modify the 
hearings, to accelerate the pace, to show a little partisanship, he 
never backed down. He knew where he was, and it is, I think rightly, 
what he will be remembered for best.
  His political legacy extends far beyond that tumultuous time. He 
worked tirelessly and successfully to defeat ill-advised constitutional 
amendments that would have criminalized abortions or disallowed 
organized school prayer or prohibited school integration through 
busing. He fought tirelessly for civil rights for all Americans. He was 
one of the main congressional sponsors of civil rights legislation and 
principal author of fair employment practices legislation. He was 
instrumental in extending the Voting Rights Act. The impact of this 
legislation that he participated in is enormous.
  We should not forget his representation, the representation he 
brought to the people of New Jersey's 10th District. Despite evolving 
demographics and four decades of social change, it was a tough time in 
Newark. Peter Rodino's dedication to his constituents never faltered. 
It was not by accident that he was reelected through 40 years.
  Since his death, Peter Rodino has received some of the attention he 
deserves. We are tonight remembering the way he guided Congress and the 
country through a tremendously difficult period in our political 
history.
  Even until recently, into his nineties, he remained active at Seton 
Hall, looking after the interests of students and, yes, the citizens of 
New Jersey. We all frequently got phone calls from him suggesting this 
or that that would be beneficial to the people.
  Tonight especially I think serves as a reminder that our self-
correcting system of government works because Americans believe it does 
and because Americans rise to the occasion, each occasion.
  We may think that Peter Rodino lived in a different era and his life 
has little relevance, his service has little relevance for us today, 
but perhaps the lesson is that we, that all Americans, are called or 
will be called to do our civic duty.
  Peter Rodino prepared himself for that, accepted the duty 
unflinchingly, distinguished himself, distinguished this body, 
distinguished America

[[Page 13274]]

through his service. It is right that we should recognize him tonight.
  To close, I would like to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Payne), my colleague who put this together for this evening and to whom 
we also owe gratitude.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from New Jersey 
for leading the second hour for the Special Order for Congressman Peter 
Rodino. Congressman Rodino would have enjoyed talking to him. He was an 
intellectual himself. He would have encouraged the gentleman to 
continue to push for science and technology and to try to improve our 
natural habitat and preserve it. So I thank the gentleman very much.
  Let me thank the speaker who has conducted this Special Order in such 
a dignified manner and the appreciation of us for having the second 
hour because it is very rare in this place that people stay to express 
themselves. Most Members are very busy, especially those in leadership, 
but to have the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our minority 
leader, take time and express her appreciation for having served with 
Mr. Rodino; to see the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), our 
minority whip, come and spend time; to hear the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Conyers), the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and actually 
second longest-serving Democrat in the House, who so eloquently 
described those days on that committee; to hear the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rangel), ranking member for the Committee on Ways and Means; 
and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and on and on I think certainly says it all.
  Mr. Rodino was the right man at the right place at the right time. 
Let me, as we conclude, just say that he was just a gentle person, 
running up Aqueduct Alley, living in the area near the old first ward. 
I lived several blocks away from that while he served in World War II, 
where I was a student at the school right near there, where he attended 
St. Lucy's Church, with Father Grenada or Monsignor Grenada, who is 
still there, and the McKinley School that he went to in elementary in 
World War I still looks the same. Nothing has been done to the school. 
I passed it recently.
  Barringer High School, the same high school I attended a few years 
after Congressman Rodino did, then he moved up to 205 Grafton Avenue. 
It was an address we all remember, because when I got old enough to 
carry petitions around, I remember that address being on the petitions 
so we knew where to turn them in.
  We knew Tony Serrantos who worked for him for decades. As a matter of 
fact, when I came and replaced Mr. Rodino, I brought Mr. Serrantos into 
my office to run my office for the first term that I served in 
Congress. It was funny, because Mr. Serrantos kept Mr. Rodino's picture 
up in his office, like he should have. It took him almost the end of 
the second year before he found a little place in the corner in the 
dark for a small picture of me.
  So there was really the great love for Mr. Rodino and Joe Benuchi, 
who became the postmaster, and when Mr. Rodino was brought down with 
Colonel Kelly, who was then Democratic county chairman, preceding 
Chairman Dennis Carey, these were days that the clubs on First Avenue, 
the Capa Soleus and other clubs, that were political clubs that Mr. 
Rodino felt as comfortable in those clubs, as he would in the basement 
of a Baptist church where the NCAAP, Newark branch, would be meeting.
  So the Rodino auxiliary group, women who were at the funeral, who 
wanted the press to know that they were the Peter Rodino Ladies 
Auxiliary, they were so proud. They served him so long.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. Speaker, as we conclude, it was really the right time. Elizabeth 
Holtzman was important because in the redistricting in 1972, she 
defeated Mannie Celler who was then chairman of the Committee on the 
Judiciary. She did not serve long in Congress. However, Mr. Rodino then 
took the chairmanship of that committee and moved it through the 
impeachment proceedings.
  As it was said at the funeral that was attended by Monsignor Shering, 
president of Seton Hall University, Monsignor Joseph Grenada, and the 
great eulogy that was given by Ms. Paula Franzese who talked from her 
heart, and the president, dean of the law school, Patrick Hobbs, all of 
us were there. Even our law professor Mr. McQuade, Acting Governor 
Richard Codey, Senator Sarbanes and Elizabeth Holtzman all came out to 
show their respect.
  There was legislation like the Simpson-Rodino Act, which paved the 
way for immigrants to have a better future back in 1986, one of the 
last important pieces of legislation that Mr. Rodino passed.
  So as we conclude here, I mentioned the beautiful Cathedral of St. 
Lucy where the funeral was held, to all of us who remember the 
Congressman for so many years. He was proud of being a member of the 
Columbian Society. He was inducted into the Knights of Malta, and he 
wore on his lapel that symbol for decades. He was so proud of his 
heritage.
  Once again, let me say what an extraordinary night it has been to 
have several hours expire even as I speak now. Let me once again thank 
all of the Members who participated. It is a great day for the Rodino 
family, but it is also a great day for America for us to remember one 
of the true heroes of this land, the late Congressman, Peter W. Rodino, 
Jr.

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