[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8316-8319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            MOURNING THE PASSING OF SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Brooks of Indiana). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2013, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, last week New Jersey lost its 
senior Senator, and the Senate lost its last remaining World War II 
veteran when Senator Frank Lautenberg passed away at the age of 89. He 
died from complications from viral pneumonia in New York Presbyterian 
Hospital.
  Since then, on this floor on multiple occasions, in the United States 
Senate, throughout the State of New Jersey, and, frankly, across the 
Nation, all of us have paused to express our deepest respect for 
Senator Lautenberg and sorrow on his passing. To Senator Lautenberg's 
family--his wife, Bonnie, his six children, and his 13 grandchildren--
please accept our deepest condolences and our prayers.
  Senator Lautenberg served five terms in the U.S. Senate on behalf of 
the people of the State of New Jersey. He was first elected to the 
Senate in 1982, reelected in 1988 and 1994. After a brief retirement, 
Senator Lautenberg made an unexpected comeback and won a fourth term in 
2002 and was again reelected in 2008.
  In December 20ll, he cast his 9,000th vote and now holds the record 
for the most votes ever cast by a New Jersey Senator.
  While serving in the Senate, Frank Lautenberg became a leader of 
public health and safety issues. He led the effort to ban smoking on 
airplanes with the enactment of Public Law 101-164, and will forever be 
remembered for his efforts to protect individuals and children from 
secondhand smoke.
  Frank Lautenberg also fought for transportation improvements and 
chemical plant safety. As the author of the Lautenberg amendment, he 
worked to assist members from historically persecuted groups with a 
credible fear of persecution to qualify for refugee status, including 
religiously persecuted Soviet Jews. He also fought for relief for the 
victims of terrorist attacks, including the first responders who 
experienced health complications after the 9/11 attacks, and for the 
families and communities across our State recently devastated by 
Superstorm Sandy.
  Senator Lautenberg was the last veteran of World War II--part of the 
Greatest Generation--to serve in the U.S. Senate. The son of poor 
immigrants, he enlisted in the Army to serve his country in uniform, 
went to school on the GI Bill, began a successful business, and then 
ran for the Senate to, in his words, ``pursue a career in public 
service and to give back to the country that helped give him so much.''
  Senator Lautenberg has been a mainstay of New Jersey politics for 
decades, and with his passing, the Senate and our State has lost a 
dedicated public servant.
  I now yield to the former mayor of Paterson, a good friend and 
colleague, Congressman Bill Pascrell.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, Congressman Smith, for your great service to 
your State and your country.
  Madam Speaker, we've lost a great man. When Senator Lautenberg passed 
away Monday morning, last Monday, I lost a good friend. The Silk City 
has produced many great individuals and characters alike, but few, if 
any, have a life story like that of Frank Lautenberg.
  Like me, Frank grew up on the streets of Paterson--literally. Both of 
us came from families of immigrants who came to Paterson, like 
pilgrims, like Plymouth Rock. It was Paterson/Plymouth Rock. That's 
what it was, when you come down to it.
  We had the same dreams. Many thousands in our city had the same 
dream. Through hard work and determination, we learned that you could 
provide your children with a better life and a successful future. 
Despite all their dreams for their young son, I don't think that Sam 
and Molly Lautenberg, Frank's dutiful parents, deceased, ever could 
have imagined all that Frank would eventually achieve. Only in America.

[[Page 8317]]

  But then again, Frank never forgot the sacrifices family made for 
him. He learned what real hard work was from his father, who labored 
into the silk mills of Paterson to provide for his family. He learned 
how to persevere from his mother, who raised him in the face of 
poverty. They lived in four or five different places in Paterson as 
they moved around.
  His dad passed away when his dad was 43 years of age. In the face of 
poverty, at the age of 19, Frank Lautenberg had to summon all those 
lessons and more when his father passed away leaving him to support the 
entire family. He never forgot those hard lessons. They served him well 
throughout all the journeys of his life.
  He spoke about those journeys every time he came before a classroom 
in Paterson, New Jersey. He visited, revisited, and revisited and 
brought computers. He brought computers. And, of course, ADP was one of 
the great corporations in America, formed in a garage in the back of a 
house in Paterson, New Jersey.

                              {time}  1920

  And I say, Madam Speaker, how many people must be kicking themselves 
for not having invested way back when they thought it was a wild idea, 
taking care of people's payroll.
  It's not easy to grow up on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. Take 
it from me personally, Congressman Smith. You have to fight for every 
inch in order to get ahead.
  Frank truly embodied what it means to be a fighter. That's what made 
him such a successful representative from New Jersey. You've heard the 
Congressman, Congressman Smith, specify all of the issues that he was 
involved in; and when he was involved, he was totally immersed in the 
subject therein to help Americans.
  It didn't matter what nationality, what ethnicity, what color. It 
didn't matter what religion. It mattered that you were a human being in 
the greatest country in the world. He talked about it often.
  When he came back from the service, he talked about it. He served his 
country in the Second World War.
  Regardless of how you feel on issues, you don't take on the gun lobby 
to ban firearms for domestic violence offenders, you don't take on Big 
Tobacco to ban smoking on airplanes without getting a few scars in the 
process.
  The thing Frank's opponents didn't realize was that he got his scars 
long ago, growing up on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. His roots 
are exactly what made Frank so successful, first in the Army, then in 
the private sector, and, finally, in the hallowed Halls of the U.S. 
Senate.
  But despite all that he achieved, he never forgot where he came from. 
That's the secret. When you forget where you come from, when you forget 
your roots, when you forget the street you lived on, the guys and the 
gals that you talked to, your mom and dad, how they sweated it out 
every day, I mean, when you worked in those silk mills it was no day at 
the beach, not by any stretch of the imagination.
  We, many times, forget our roots, Congressman Smith, and you know 
that. We forget where we came from. We think we're better. If you're a 
Congressman, oh, God. He never forgot where he came from. Despite all 
that, what he achieved, he knew his roots.
  One of the proudest moments of my career was standing shoulder-to-
shoulder with him when we were able to successfully pass legislation to 
finally establish the Great Falls National Historic Park in Paterson, 
New Jersey. It's our Yellowstone. It's our Grand Canyon. It doesn't 
take up nearly the amount of space, but it meant so much to not only 
Patersonians, but people in that area, Paterson, the third largest 
city, first industrial city.
  Alexander Hamilton knew what he was doing. Frank Lautenberg knew what 
he was doing.
  We'd been pushing many, many years for Federal recognition. In fact, 
I still have a picture hanging in my office of Senator Lautenberg and 
me touring the Great Falls when I was the mayor of that city. In the 
true Paterson spirit, despite opposition from the Park Service--we 
weren't getting off to a good start--and opponents in Congress who 
never wanted to see an urban national park, we never stopped fighting.
  And just a few years ago, we finally reached our dream to get the 
Great Falls the Federal designation it deserves. Members of both sides 
of the aisle came together. And on that day, when Secretary Salazar was 
there, Democrats and Republicans joined together where industry started 
in this great Nation.
  The park is now in the first stages of its development, and I believe 
one day it will be a crown jewel in the National Park System, thanks in 
no small part to our great Senator. It's a fitting legacy for him to 
leave to the city he loved so much.
  These last few months, with his health getting weaker, necessitating 
long absences from the Senate, Frank never lost his passion for the 
issues he had spent his entire life defending. Despite his health, he 
came to Washington to cast a critical vote on a bill to expand 
background checks. No one was going to stop Frank Lautenberg from 
fighting to make this world a better place. Even the limitations of his 
own body couldn't hold him back.
  I join my friends and neighbors in Paterson, where he used to cut his 
hair, Pasadena Pete's, where he used to stop at the markets, and he'd 
stop in to a coffee shop downtown. We mourn this tremendous loss of one 
of our favorite sons, one of our patriots.
  He was a person first. He was a legislator second. He was the same 
man on the street that he was on the Senate floor. You always got the 
genuine article.
  Frank Lautenberg was not a spectator to life. Frank Lautenberg was a 
leader, a loving husband, a loving father, a trusted friend, and a true 
Patersonian.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Pascrell, I want to thank you for your 
eloquent, very eloquent remembrances of Senator Frank Lautenberg and 
for your wonderful insights, especially as the former mayor and someone 
who has known him so intimately and so well for so many years. Thank 
you very much for that.
  I'd like to now yield to my friend and colleague, Mr. Payne.
  Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. I want to thank my colleague, Congressman 
Smith, for hosting this Special Order today.
  Madam Speaker, I come before you today saddened by the passing of a 
fellow New Jerseyan. He was a dear friend and colleague, the honorable 
and venerated Senator from New Jersey, Senator Frank Lautenberg.
  If anyone could embody the actual definition of the American Dream, 
it would be Frank Lautenberg. Born the son of Russian and Polish 
immigrants in Paterson, New Jersey, he grew up during the Great 
Depression.
  When war hit our shores, he bravely served the country he loved in 
World War II, and he was the last of our Senators to do so.
  When he returned home from war, Senator Lautenberg earned his degree 
on the GI Bill, which he later staunchly advocated for the extension of 
for our current men and women in uniform.
  And never taking for granted the opportunities that lay before him, 
after his graduation, he and three of his friends, with just an idea 
and an entrepreneurial spirit, began an extremely successful company, 
ADP. If you get a payroll check these days, it is likely ADP printed 
your check. I guess you could say Senator Lautenberg was the proof that 
anything is possible if you firmly believe in what you're doing and 
what you put your mind to.
  Later, he seamlessly transitioned from CEO of ADP to public servant, 
often demonstrating determination, grit, and leadership throughout his 
time in office that came to define Frank Lautenberg.
  Throughout his five terms in office, Senator Lautenberg never forgot 
his roots. He was a committed advocate for the working middle class 
that he was the product of. As Senator Lautenberg knew best, We've got 
to open doors and not slam them shut. And he always practiced this 
outlook, no matter what he set out to achieve.

[[Page 8318]]

  He tirelessly worked to make health care and higher education more 
affordable for working and middle class families. Even into his later 
years, Senator Lautenberg was one of the leading progressives on social 
issues. Thanks to Senator Lautenberg and his tremendous environmental 
work, we have cleaner water to drink and cleaner air to breathe.
  He also recognized early on the proliferation of gun violence in our 
communities and the damage it was doing to our children and families. 
As a champion of gun-safety legislation, he made our neighborhoods a 
safer place to work and live.

                              {time}  1930

  And nothing was going to keep Senator Lautenberg from casting a 
critical vote on background checks on gun purchases this past spring. 
Though the late Senator did not get to witness the successful passage 
of this legislation, the fight in Washington will continue as we carry 
out the work of Senator Lautenberg's vision to keep our families and 
our children safer.
  In closing, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Bonnie, his 
daughter who I was able to meet last week, and his grandchildren. I had 
the honor of attending Senator Lautenberg's final tribute last week, 
and it was clear from that beautiful ceremony the incredible impact 
Senator Lautenberg has had on so many lives.
  Senator Frank Lautenberg had a love of life and a commitment to the 
people in New Jersey that will be deeply missed in the Halls of 
Congress and in New Jersey. He was a great mentor to me, especially as 
the newest member of the New Jersey delegation. I will forever be 
grateful for his guidance and for all his tremendous work he did for 
New Jersey and our great Nation. We owe him an immense debt of 
gratitude for making New Jersey a better place to live. There is no 
doubt Senator Lautenberg will certainly be missed.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Payne, thank you very much for your 
moving words and sentiments expressed today.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I would ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to join my colleagues 
from New Jersey in paying tribute to our late senior Senator, Frank R. 
Lautenberg.
  For the past several days, America has been reintroduced to Senator 
Lautenberg, and it is a story worth repeating here.
  He came from a family of working-class immigrants from Eastern 
Europe--Russia and Poland.
  When he was 18, during the middle of World War II, Frank Lautenberg 
enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served with distinction in the 
Signal Corps.
  He was very proud of his military service. In fact, when he passed 
last week, he was the last World War II veteran serving in the United 
States Senate.
  When he came home from the European Theater, he attended Columbia on 
the GI Bill--just as so many other Americans did.
  What distinguished him from many other returning soldiers is that 
through hard-work and perseverance he founded his own company. And 
under his leadership, that firm, grew into the largest computing 
company of its kind in the world.
  So working his way from humble beginnings to a prosperous career as a 
chief executive in New Jersey's private sector, he lived the American 
Dream.
  But Frank Lautenberg's true calling was public service and giving 
back to his community, our State, and our Nation throughout his life.
  In this regard, New Jersey lost a tireless advocate on June 3.
  For many years, we worked together as New Jersey's Appropriations 
team--looking out for our state's needs on Capitol Hill. I was proud to 
work with him on issues so important to the citizens of our state--
transportation, homeland security and open space. In fact, in his final 
months, we worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that New Jersey has the 
resources to recover from an historic storm.
  Yes, we owe much to this dedicated public servant. We have lost a 
great fighter who lived a life from which we all could learn.
  May the tributes and prayers of so many of his colleagues here today 
be a source of strength to his family.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Senator 
Frank Lautenberg, who spent his life serving this nation and the people 
of New Jersey as a member of the military and a five-term Senator. With 
Senator Lautenberg's passing, the Senate has lost its last veteran of 
World War II.
  Senator Lautenberg served his country proudly during World War II, 
earning distinction in the United States Army Signal Corps. After being 
deployed overseas, he came back home and founded Automatic Data 
Processing, a company that grew to become a giant in the payroll 
industry.
  First elected in 1982, Senator Lautenberg was a champion of the 
middle class and left the state of New Jersey stronger for his years of 
service. Policies he championed, including public smoking bans, raising 
the drinking age, and lowering the DUI limit saved countless lives. 
Senator Lautenberg was also a longtime advocate of Amtrak and 
transportation infrastructure in New Jersey, helping to grow the state 
economy.
  Madam Speaker, I stand with the rest of the New Jersey Congressional 
delegation in remembering Senator Lautenberg for his dedication and 
tireless work. His death has left a void in the Congress, the state of 
New Jersey, and the nation. For Senator Lautenberg, service was not 
just a buzzword--it was an ethos and a purpose. All of us gathered in 
these hallowed chambers should remember not just the man, but his 
legacy, and his example. We join the people of New Jersey and the 
United States in remembrance of Senator Frank Lautenberg, an 
extraordinary public servant.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and 
accomplishments of Senator Frank Lautenberg. I have known Senator 
Lautenberg for decades and I have been honored to call him a colleague 
and friend. My heart and thoughts go out to his wife Bonnie, his 
children and grandchildren.
  Senator Lautenberg always believed that the Congress should be there 
for people in need and that there were a lot of problems out there, but 
Congress needed to work together on a bipartisan basis to solve those 
problems. In this era of partisanship, it was always refreshing to have 
Senator Lautenberg there to bridge gaps and get things done.
  Over the years I had the pleasure of working with him on a number of 
critical issues that helped people in New Jersey and across the 
country. For example, when I first came to Congress in 1988, Senator 
Lautenberg and I worked together to close ocean dumping sites off the 
Jersey coast so the water millions of people swim in would be cleaner.
  We also worked together on Superfund and Brownfields issues. The 
Senator always fought to ensure that polluters, and not taxpayers, 
would foot the bill when it came to cleaning up toxic waste sites in 
New Jersey. Through his advocacy, numerous toxic sites in New Jersey 
have been cleaned up and redeveloped, creating jobs and cleaning the 
environment.
  I always admired Senator Lautenberg's commitment to helping `the 
little guy' and the way he fought to make sure all Americans were on an 
equal ground to work toward the kind of success he achieved in his 
life. I particularly respected his tireless efforts to improve the 
safety and security of all Americans by working to end gun violence. I 
was proud to stand with him in that effort and supported his initiative 
to keep our communities safe.
  I enjoyed working with him to provide health care for 9/11 first 
responders. We both worked hard to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act of 2010, which pays for the monitoring and 
treatment of health conditions that resulted from the 9/11 World Trade 
Center attacks for first responders and community residents.
  And most recently, he worked tirelessly to advocate for rebuilding 
our state after the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. He fought hard to 
make sure New Jersey got the disaster relief funding it deserved so 
that we could rebuild and recover. He was able to accomplish all of 
these things because of the hard work that he put into everything he 
did.
  Like all New Jerseyans, I am grateful for Senator Lautenberg's 
service to our state and our nation. I will miss him dearly and will do 
my best to continue working on the issues that were so important to 
both of us.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I thank my friends and colleagues in the New 
Jersey delegation for organizing this tribute to the late Senator Frank 
Lautenberg.
  This is a personal loss as well as a loss for New Jersey and for this 
Nation. I don't think

[[Page 8319]]

there has been, nor do I think there will ever be, anybody quite like 
Frank Lautenberg in the United States Senate.
  What stands out to so many about Frank is that he never forgot his 
humble beginnings. He was the son of immigrants who was born and raised 
among the silk mills of Paterson. His father died while he was serving 
in the Second World War--and ``serve'' is the right word. He saw 
service as his duty, as his life--serving other people, never 
forgetting the common person and the common good. The GI Bill sent him 
to Columbia University, and he always felt grateful for that and felt a 
need to pay back.
  Much has been said in recent days about Frank's successful business 
career. And it certainly was a success. The qualities that drove Frank 
to be a successful businessman also made him an exemplary legislator. 
Frank was dogged; he was persistent. His colleagues in the Senate would 
sometimes laugh or smile about that--``Here comes Frank again to try to 
twist our arms.'' Frank did his homework; he knew what he was talking 
about, and he just kept fighting for equality of opportunity, for 
fairness, for safety, for ever-expanding access to the American Dream.
  Frank's legislative legacy will remain relevant for generations to 
come. He fought tirelessly to keep trains and buses safe, to promote 
public health, to safeguard chemical plants, to keep cigarettes out of 
airplanes, and so much more. But what stands out in my mind is what 
Frank did to prevent drunk driving. As part of his transportation work, 
Frank established limits on blood alcohol levels and raised the 
drinking age. Today, you could fill several football stadiums with 
people who are alive only because of Frank Lautenberg--and not one of 
them knows who they are.
  Throughout his time in the Senate, Frank was always thinking about 
the ordinary person. He never forgot that they were the people who had 
sent him to serve, he never stopped fighting, and the people of New 
Jersey knew that. They knew they had somebody in the Senate who was 
looking out for them.
  Frank and I worked on a number of important issues together. From 
strengthening and securing our rail system to combating bullying with 
the Tyler Clementi bill. I always relished the opportunity to work with 
such a premier legislator as Frank was. I feel this loss very 
personally.
  I again send my most heartfelt condolences to Bonnie and to Frank's 
children and grandchildren. I hope they find comfort in knowing that 
his ideas and his legacy will live on through the many lives he saved 
and touched.

                          ____________________