[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING FIRST TWO RECIPIENTS OF CONGRESSIONAL PATRIOT AWARD

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to congratulate 
Congressmen Sam Johnson and John Lewis for being named the first two 
recipients of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Congressional Patriot 
Award.
  This prestigious award was established to biennially honor two 
Members of Congress who have placed the interests and the goals of 
nation above all other concerns.
  As a former U.S. Air Force pilot, Sam Johnson truly understands what 
it means to serve one's country. He flew combat missions in both the 
Korean and the Vietnam wars, and he spent nearly 7 years as a prisoner 
of war in Hanoi after he was shot down over Vietnam. I commend Sam 
Johnson for his tireless work to support America's men and women in 
uniform as well as for his efforts on behalf of all veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I also have much praise for another wonderful colleague, 
John Lewis. John's record of fighting for civil rights and civil 
liberties dates back to the 1960s, when he was named chairman of the 
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and served as the youngest 
keynote speaker alongside Dr. Martin Luther King at the March on 
Washington in 1963.
  Congressmen Sam Johnson and John Lewis have both lived lives of 
distinction, and I expect that tomorrow night's inaugural ceremony at 
the Library of Congress will be a great testament to their life of 
service.

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