[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15640]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
          HONORING THE LEGACY OF FORMER CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Bustos) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to honor the legacy of 
former Congressman Lane Evans who passed away just this past week.
  Lane Evans served the 17th Congressional District of Illinois, the 
district I now have the privilege of serving myself, and he served it 
with honor, dignity, humility, and hard work for more than two decades.
  A Marine Corps veteran himself, Lane Evans was a steadfast champion 
for our men and women in uniform. A veteran of the Vietnam war era, he 
served on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee from the time he 
arrived in Washington, to rise to the position of ranking Democratic 
member, a post that he held for a decade.
  Lane Evans' record on behalf of veterans earned him praise and 
respect from veterans service organizations and his colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of 
former Congressman Lane Evans by designating the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic located in my congressional 
district in Galesburg, Illinois, the Lane A. Evans Community-Based 
Outpatient Clinic.
  I first got to know Lane when I was a young newspaper reporter 
covering our region. Lane was always warm, friendly, and accessible, 
and as a rookie reporter, I always appreciated that.
  I interviewed him many times about a variety of topics, and while he 
was young and with his trademark boyish haircut, his quiet courage and 
drive made him seem older than his age.
  Through my interactions with him over the years and with those who 
worked with him and those who he touched through service, I learned a 
lot about the man and what he stood for.
  A proud native of Rock Island, the son of a firefighter and a nurse, 
and an Alleman High School and Augustana College graduate, Lane truly 
represented everything that is right about public service. He will be 
sorely missed by all those he touched, but his legacy of service will 
never be forgotten.
  The dedication of a veterans facility in the heart of the district he 
represented is a fitting tribute and acknowledgment of his career-long 
fight to ensure all veterans get the care and the benefits that they 
have earned and deserve.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting this bipartisan 
legislation to honor the memory of Lane Evans.

                          ____________________