[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 748]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


             PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF DAVID L. LEVY

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 16, 2015

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life of David 
Lawrence Levy, a pioneering children's rights leader and advocate for 
joint parenting, who passed away last month. A longtime resident of 
Hyattsville, MD, which is in the Fifth District, David had battled 
cancer for several years with tenacity, determination, and infectious 
optimism. Sadly, he lost that battle on December 11, 2014, when he 
passed away at the age of 78.
  David co-founded the National Council for Children's Rights--now 
called the Children's Rights Council--in 1985 and served as its CEO 
until 2008 and President of its Board until 2009. During that time, he 
fought for policies at the local, state, and federal level that 
promoted shared parenting with joint custody of children after divorce 
and encouraged courts to place the needs and well-being of children 
first. The title of a book David edited in 1994 summed up well the 
mission of the organization he had built: ``The Best Parent is Both 
Parents.'' He oversaw the creation of the Children's Rights Council's 
access and visitation centers--including its flagship center in Prince 
George's County--which provide neutral locations for separated parents 
to drop off and pick up their children and a place where supervised 
visitation can take place. In October 2009, David was named as one of 
the ``25 Most Influential People in our Children's Lives'' by 
Children's Health magazine, alongside Secretary of Education Arne 
Duncan, Melinda Gates, and Taylor Swift.
  David was a native of New York and received his undergraduate and law 
degrees from the University of Florida before settling in Hyattsville, 
which is in Prince George's County. Early in his career, he spent 
several years working as a copyright lawyer at the Library of Congress. 
David was also an accomplished author, having published several works 
ranging from fiction novels to articles in the Washington Post and 
other papers. He served as President of the Beth Torah Congregation in 
Hyattsville and later was an active member of Tifereth Israel 
Congregation in Washington, DC, where family, friends, and local 
community leaders gathered on December 14 to pay tribute to David at 
his funeral service.
  David is survived by his wife Ellen, their daughter Diana and her 
husband Danny, his son Justin and his wife Ilana, and his granddaughter 
Corina. He also leaves behind many friends, neighbors, and extended 
family who will fondly remember David for his warmth, his sense of 
humor, and his enthusiasm for life. I join in offering my condolences 
to his family, in mourning this loss to our community and our country, 
and in celebrating his extraordinary life.

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