[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 19175-19176]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MAYOR TOM MENINO

  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of the great 
leaders in the history of Boston. It might seem odd to describe a man 
who is still with us today, alive and well, as a figure in history, but 
in the almost 400 years since Boston was founded, a history that is 
filled with names known across this country--Winthrop, Adams, Lowell, 
Lodge--in this 400-year history, few have done more for Boston than our 
mayor Tom Menino.
  Looking back at his 20 years in office, it is clear how much Tom 
Menino has done for our city. Mayor Menino revitalized Boston. From the 
waterfront and Innovation District to Dudley Square and Roxbury, Mayor 
Menino led the resurgence of our neighborhoods, expanded parks and 
livable spaces, and created a city whose innovative potential is 
unbounded.
  Mayor Menino worked for Boston. With firm convictions, he cautioned 
against predatory lenders, starting the ``Don't Borrow Trouble'' 
campaign long before the great recession. With political will and 
courage, he improved education for all our kids, creating full-day 
kindergarten and making Boston schools some of the best in the country. 
With foresight of the next frontiers, he fought for hospitals and 
scientific research, giving Boston the world's leading health care 
institutions. With fierce moral clarity, he stood firmly for equality--
equal opportunity for immigrants, equal rights and equal marriage for 
the LGBT community, equal pay for women.
  Perhaps most importantly, Mayor Menino has been there for Boston. It 
is often said that more than 50 percent of Boston residents have met 
Mayor Menino personally. I do not believe this is true. I believe the 
number must be much greater. It seems as if the mayor attends every 
community event, every potluck dinner, every school play, and every 
soccer game. From Grove Hall to the North End, Bowdoin to West Roxbury, 
we know Mayor Menino will be there for us in our moments of greatest 
triumph--ribbon cuttings for new buildings and parks, World Series 
victories, a new Bostonian's citizenship, a child's graduation--and we 
know he will be there for us in our moments of great tragedy--the death 
of a loved one, terror in Copley Square.
  Of course, Mayor Menino could not have done it alone. By his side for 
all these years he has had Angela Menino. Angela is a devoted wife, 
mother, and grandmother. To all of us in Boston, she was not just a 
first lady but a first friend. Angela championed causes that often went 
unheralded in the press, supporting women and children, employment and 
education, and fighting to end homelessness. Today we thank Angela as 
well for helping make our city into a warm and thriving community.
  Almost 400 years ago, on a ship sailing from England to the New 
World, John Winthrop declared that the new city they would found, 
Boston, would be a ``city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon 
us.'' And if that experiment, our city, was to succeed, he said ``we 
must be knit together . . . we must entertain each other in brotherly 
affection . . . we must rejoice together, mourn together, labor and 
suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and 
community in the work, as members of the same body.''
  For 20 years Mayor Menino has made Boston into a city that all eyes 
can see

[[Page 19176]]

is a model for the country and for the world. He has succeeded because 
he knew all along that our fortunes depend on our work together--as one 
people, as one community, as one Boston.
  On behalf of a grateful people, Tom Menino, we thank you for your 
hard work, for your service, and most of all for your dedication to 
making Boston a better place.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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