[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17950-17951]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING NEW MEXICO SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE BEN LUJAN

  (Mr. HEINRICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of New Mexico's 
great leaders, New Mexico Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, who passed 
away Tuesday night after his battle with lung cancer. Speaker Lujan is 
the father of our colleague, and my friend, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan.
  First elected to the State legislature in 1974, Ben Lujan served as 
speaker of the house from 2001 until 2012. Throughout his tenure in the 
House, Speaker Lujan showed that he was a champion for working 
families, a tireless advocate for his constituents, and an absolute 
master of legislative strategy.
  At the beginning of this year, when Speaker Lujan spoke to the 
legislature of his battle with cancer, he encouraged everyone to make 
their time on Earth worthwhile and to ``make a difference for the 
children, our working families, and for the elderly.'' Speaker Lujan 
has inspired me and so many New Mexicans to do just that. Our good 
thoughts and prayers are with his wife Carmen, with Ben Ray, and with 
the rest of the Lujan family.

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