[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN REMEMBRANCE OF CONGRESSMAN HERMAN BADILLO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 10, 2014

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with grief to honor the passing 
of Herman Badillo, a great New Yorker, a great friend and a man that 
worked honorably for this country. I fondly remember walking down 116th 
street, the borderline of Harlem and East Harlem, as we shared the 
great plans we had for our districts and this great nation. Herman and 
I were part of the 1970 Congressional freshman class. Herman was also 
the man who gave Percy Sutton, David Dinkins, Basil Paterson, and me 
the special label: the Gang of Four. He was always driven and 
persistent, called himself ``the first Puerto Rican everything,'' and 
won the respect for being a fighter. Congressman Herman Badillo will be 
truly missed.
  My friend, Herman Badillo, will always be remembered as America's 
first Puerto Rican-born Congressman and a fixture in New York City 
politics for four decades, championing civil rights, jobs, housing and 
educational reforms. Born in Caguas, P.R., on Aug. 21, 1929, Herman was 
the only child of Francisco and Carmen Rivera Badillo. Upon moving to 
the continental United States, he learned English and was an excellent 
student at Haaren High School in Manhattan. Being a hard worker since a 
young age, he labored as a dishwasher, bowling pinsetter, and 
accountant and graduated with high honors from City College in 1951. 
Herman went on to graduate from Brooklyn Law School as valedictorian in 
1954, then settled into law practice in New York. Badillo served his 
community as a public servant on many fronts. Besides his election to 
four terms in Congress, he was a city commissioner, the Bronx borough 
president, a deputy to Mayor Edward I. Koch, a counsel to Mayor Rudolph 
W. Giuliani, a candidate for state and city comptroller, and for many 
years a trustee and then board chairman of the City University of New 
York.
  I was honored to serve with Herman during his seven years in Congress 
in the 1970s, when he pushed urban renewal, antipoverty programs, 
voting rights and bilingual education. Herman has been a treasure to 
the people of our community as well as a true testament to the American 
Dream. Herman Badillo will forever remain in our hearts.

                          ____________________