[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13899]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   MOURNING THE LOSS OF SHIMON PERES

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join the world in mourning the loss 
of Shimon Peres, former prime minister and president of Israel and one 
of the country's last surviving founding fathers.
  Peres dedicated his life to the difficult challenge of establishing a 
lasting peace for Israel and its neighbors. He negotiated the landmark 
Oslo Accords and, in 1994, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his 
work and commitment to ending ongoing violence.
  Near the end of his presidency, I had the honor of sitting down with 
President Peres at the Peres Center for Peace on a trip to Israel. I 
was struck by his vision for the future and his commitment to peace no 
matter what the obstacles.
  For seven decades, Shimon Peres has been a trusted partner to the 
United States and helped to forge the unbreakable alliance between our 
two countries.
  Two years ago, we held a ceremony here in the Capitol to award him 
with the Congressional Gold Medal--the highest civilian award Congress 
can bestow and the first to go to a sitting president of Israel.
  As the world mourns the death of this visionary leader, let us ensure 
that his legacy lives on and recommit ourselves to a lasting peace for 
Israel and our entire world.

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