[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8136-8143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD ALI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, one of the great joys of representing 
Louisville in the House of Representatives is that I get to constantly 
claim that I represent Muhammad Ali and the home of Muhammad Ali. It 
has always been a source of pride not just to me, but to all of my 
fellow Louisvillians that we could say that the Louisville Lip, the 
greatest of all time, called Louisville home.
  Now one of the brightest lights in the world has extinguished. 
Muhammad Ali passed away last Friday after a long and courageous battle 
with Parkinson's disease, and the world has experienced a collective 
grief period. The joy

[[Page 8137]]

of his accomplishments, the recognition of his commitment to peace, to 
tolerance, to respect, to love, all of those things, have come from all 
over the world.

                              {time}  1800

  So tonight, some of my colleagues and I have come to the floor to 
talk about Muhammad Ali, his life, his legacy, personal stories, the 
impact that he has had on our lives and on this country's life and on 
the world. He will be laid to rest this Friday in Louisville. Former 
President Clinton will eulogize him, and many leaders from around the 
world will be there to pay their respects.
  But I go back many, many years. When I was 16 years old, living in 
Louisville, having watched him--then, Cassius Clay, an 8-to-1 
underdog--upset the great, terrifying Sonny Liston in Miami, and then 
going to the airport the next day to welcome him home.
  I stood outside the airport. There weren't a lot of people there that 
day. And as Cassius Clay emerged from that terminal and looked around 
and drew himself up, I said I had never seen a more beautiful human 
specimen in my life.
  So when he called himself not just the greatest of all time, but the 
prettiest of all time, I was not going to argue with him. Of course, I 
wasn't going to argue with him about much.
  That was my first personal exposure to Muhammad Ali. He was a man who 
gained fame in a violent game, but he earned his immortality as a kind, 
gentle, and caring soul. In the later years, when I got to know him 
better and spent more time around him, that is the one thing that 
always came through: his wonderful soul.
  I don't know that I have ever known a person or seen a person who got 
more joy out of making a child smile as Muhammad Ali. And there was 
never a time when he was in the presence of children where he didn't 
make an effort to stop, joke with them, play with them. That was a 
source of incredible joy for him.
  So, as we remember Muhammad Ali tonight, we remember not just his 
boxing prowess. We remember the courage he showed outside the ring.
  He came to age in a very, very turbulent period in American history: 
during the civil rights demonstrations, when America was experiencing a 
convulsion over how to deal with the issue of race. And then the 
Vietnam war--a war whose opposition Ali paid a dear price for in 1967--
refusing to be drafted into the armed services, knowing that it would 
cost him his boxing career, understanding that he might well go to jail 
and never fight again, but willing to stand for principles. And in 
doing that, I think he turned the country around and made them view the 
Vietnam war in a different light. It wouldn't have happened, but for 
Muhammad Ali. He was not the only one, of course, but he was the most 
prominent one.
  Later, who can forget lighting that torch in the Atlanta Olympics in 
1996, shaking from the Parkinson's disease that he had, but inspiring 
millions. And, again, making a statement about disabilities that meant 
so much to so many.
  So tonight, as we hear from various Members about Muhammad Ali, I 
think what will come through is not just, again, his skills as an 
athlete, but his contributions as a citizen of the world and someone 
who has left a lasting legacy, not just on people's lives individually, 
but on the civilization as a whole.
  I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
  Mr. COHEN. I want to thank Mr. Yarmuth for putting together this 
hour. I think it is important that we recognize icons in our society 
and people who have contributed so much, as you well expressed, to 
American culture and to the thinking in our country about war, about 
race, and about people with disabilities. Those are three very, very 
major areas that Muhammad Ali had a great impact on.
  You related back to when you were 16 years old. I was not quite 15 
years old. At that time, my family had moved to Coral Gables, Florida. 
We lived there from 1961 to 1964. During that period, Muhammad Ali's 
second home was Miami Beach and the 5th Street Gym.
  During that period is when Ali, as Cassius Clay, had won the Olympic 
gold medal--and I remember him winning the Olympic gold medal in 1960, 
in Rome--and when his professional career started. He probably started 
in Louisville, but he was quickly in Miami Beach fighting.
  So he was on the news all the time in Miami Beach and on the sports 
shows and whatever else, but always on TV and a personality in Miami 
Beach.
  My granddad gave me $20, which was a lot of money, on February 25, 
1964, if I remember--and I went to that fight. I was sitting probably 
in the highest seat in the Miami Beach Convention Center and watching 
that fighting by myself. My dad wasn't so much into it, but my 
grandfather gave me that $20 and I went to it.
  I have got my docket. It's a great looking Clay-Liston ticket, in 
good shape, and a couple of programs from that event, which I am proud 
to have. I have been a fan of his, and I know how much of an impact he 
had on our world.
  I was also a boxing fan of Floyd Patterson. Floyd Patterson was a 
previous champion. The first time that Floyd fought Muhammad Ali, I 
have to admit that I was cheering for Floyd. Floyd didn't do too well. 
He hurt his back and was taunted by Ali. He wanted him to say his name. 
And he punished him pretty good through 12 rounds.
  But the second time they fought, which was in the early seventies, 
Patterson did a lot better. They stopped the fight at the end of the 
sixth or the beginning of the seventh. And it was closer to even. After 
the fight, as I understand it, Ali told the referee not to stop the 
fight because Patterson is fighting so well and he should be able to 
continue fighting and it wasn't fair to stop it.
  I saw an interview with then-Cassius Clay with Steve Allen from 1963 
that is on the Internet. In that interview, they said something about 
Floyd Patterson. First, Clay made a joke and he said that Liston 
knocked him out twice in one round. And Floyd's jaw was somewhat 
challenged. He said his leg should sue his body for lack of support. 
And then he kind of stopped and laughed and chuckled and said: I 
shouldn't say that; I like Floyd. Of course, that was before. Floyd 
didn't recognize his new name.
  Louisville was the home of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. One of the 
great attractions in Louisville is the Muhammad Ali Center, which I 
have had the opportunity to visit and go through. You can sit and watch 
all of Ali's fights, any one of them. Sit in a chair and push a button 
and there it is. And just watch any fight. I watched that second 
Patterson-Ali fight. Floyd was doing pretty good through those six 
rounds.
  It is more than for boxing. It is a center. And it is about what he 
did for children and there are a lot of displays about what he did for 
children and what he did for peace and his efforts around the world. I 
think that is the great thing about Muhammad Ali. They didn't build a 
boxing museum. They built a center about all of his desires for freedom 
and for helping people around the globe and showing we are all one.
  As he said back in I think January of this year, his religion of 
Islam was not about San Bernardino and Brussels or Paris or any other 
place there have been attacks. Islam was a religion of love, and it 
should be that way. And it was not the religion he knew. Anybody who 
thought it was that way and wanted to discriminate against people based 
on their religion were wrong, because it wasn't that type of religion.
  So he was still, up until this year, taking positions of conscience 
to try to steer people in the right direction.
  I keep under my glass on my office desk a quote from Muhammad Ali. It 
is on a postcard that I got at the Muhammad Ali Center. It shows 
Muhammad Ali in the ring kind of dancing around. And it says: ``The 
fight is won or lost away from witnesses--behind the lines, in the gym, 
and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.''

[[Page 8138]]

  And it made me think about what we do in politics. Our elections are 
generally not won--if you are serious about your job and your 
constituents--right before elections. It is done during your term of 
office and what you do for your constituents and how you vote and what 
you do for folks, which is the same thing as a fighter being out there 
in the gym and on the road doing roadwork, hitting the bag, and 
training.
  So Ali is what I look at when I sit down. It is right underneath my 
desk. And I see that and he kind of guides me--and he guides 
everybody--in that way, if you think about that. That is what life is 
about: preparation and having a plan and taking action to implement the 
plan.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Larson).
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman from Louisville for 
organizing this Special Order this evening.
  I can't think of an athlete who more impacted my life and certainly 
the lives of people in our generation.
  The gentleman from Louisville started in 1960--or maybe it started 
when you were 16--but watching then-Cassius Marcellus Clay in the 1960 
Olympics in Rome--a legendary Olympics that produced so many highlights 
of American athleticism, from Bob Hayes to Rafer Johnson and, of 
course, this young, boyish-looking, but eloquent and masterful heavy-
weight that moved like nothing else I had ever seen or would ever see 
since.
  My father worked three jobs. About the only time he was home on a 
Friday night, we would watch the Gillette Sports Hour, which was the 
boxing matches that would occur.
  My dad loved to follow boxing. He was a big Joe Louis and Rocky 
Marciano fan. Of course, my dad's generation, when Cassius Marcellus 
Clay came along, were not happy with his poetry and braggadocio manner. 
As a kid, we thought it was the coolest thing. And I would always 
remind my dad that he never made a boast that his fists couldn't back 
up.
  And the poetry. He was ahead of his time in terms of rap, but he also 
was ahead of his time in terms of what he brought to the sport.
  As the distinguished gentleman from Louisville pointed out, when he 
stepped into the ring with Sonny Liston, we all feared for his life. 
But as it turned out, he had that speed and that endurance and his 
incredible skills. He did everything that a boxer shouldn't do, but he 
was able to do it because of the exceptional ability.
  How do I know this? We are fortunate to have in this Chamber somebody 
who was in the ring with Muhammad Ali. He was in the ring with him, 
Sonny Liston, and Joe Frazier. Bob Brady of Philadelphia was a sparring 
partner and used in the ring.
  As you all know, Bob Brady is a pretty big guy. And he also can move. 
He maybe doesn't look so nowadays, but he still looks pretty fierce. I 
wouldn't want to get in the ring with Bob Brady.
  But I asked him once to explain what that might have been like. And 
he was dear friends with Joe Frazier. He said: But you wouldn't get in 
a ring with Sonny Liston unless you had a lot of people around you. He 
said he was the meanest person he ever met or got in the ring with in 
his life.
  And I said: What about Muhammad Ali? He said: There is nothing like 
him. He said he was a freak. I said: What do you mean, a freak? He 
said: A freak of nature, because of what he was able to do with his 
speed, with his grace, and the simplistic thing of just being able to 
move away, from skills that, when you watch these films today, you are 
in awe of them.
  I can remember coming in and talking about the Ali shuffle when we 
saw him do that against Cooper in England. No one had ever seen 
anything like that. And when he came back and he got in the ring and he 
would dance, you just knew that he was going to win--the confidence 
that he always exuded.

                              {time}  1815

  Then, as John Yarmuth pointed out, he became so much bigger than the 
sport itself because of his conviction, and he did it during a 
tumultuous time.
  The sixties will probably go down and forever be remembered as a 
great crucible for the history of this country when, converging at the 
same time were the civil rights movement, an education movement that 
was spawned by the launching of Sputnik, the civil rights movement that 
also spawned the antiwar movement, that spawned the woman's movement, 
that spawned the ecological movement--all came about during this 
tumultuous time.
  And who was one of the leaders? One of the most recognized faces in 
America, beyond perhaps John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, was 
Muhammad Ali, and he brought so much more because of his conviction.
  I remember my experience of meeting him for the first time in East 
Hartford, Connecticut, working at Woodland Auto Body, putting tire 
black on cars. If you ever had this luxurious duty, you would not 
appreciate it.
  All of a sudden, this gold Toronado pulled into Woodland Auto Body. 
Now, most of the people who worked at Woodland Auto Body were of 
African American lineage. I saw this Toronado pull in--and if you know 
anything about a Toronado, it has one long window--and when they rolled 
down the window, there was Bundini Brown. He said: Do you know how to 
get to WINF radio station?
  I said: Well, yes, sir. It's just up the street here.
  I looked in the back, and there was Muhammad Ali, and I said: The 
champ.
  I said: Wait right here. And I went inside because I knew my 
coworkers, who certainly enjoyed seeing me have to put tire black on 
cars--I came running in and I said: Muhammad Ali is out here. The champ 
is here.
  And they looked at me and said: Yeah, right, and Santa Claus is 
coming also.
  But they came out. And emerging from this gold Toronado was this 
unbelievably gracious human being, of course, at 6 foot 3, certainly 
towering above me, and even among some of the brothers who were out 
there talking. But we couldn't believe that he was actually there in 
our midst.
  If you believe there is a certain aura that people have around them, 
he had it. He was given a gift, and he used it.
  That picture that appeared in The New York Times, with so many 
athletes of the period, the legendary Jim Brown and Bill Russell all 
sitting at that table, understanding what this youthful but spiritual 
individual had done not just for Black America, but what he did for the 
world in terms of speaking truth to power.
  I will always remember that grace and elegance and rooting for him, 
and even being scared to death, in the Rumble in the Jungle, that 
George Foreman might do him harm, and said, ``Oh, my God. What is he 
doing, hanging on the ropes?'' which later became famous for rope-a-
dope.
  But he was the most unique athlete that I have ever observed in my 
life. And beyond that unique talent that he brought to the ring, and 
those skills that he brought to bear with unprecedented grace and 
ability, he also made the world a better place, as the gentleman from 
Louisville pointed out, and distinguished himself far beyond what he 
accomplished in the ring by his simple pleas to America.
  I was so happy to see him, in his later years, atone for some of the 
cruel things he had said during his life to Joe Frazier and to other 
people and some of the taunts that he did. It just showed the depth and 
the character of someone we so admired.
  I thank the gentleman so much for allowing me the opportunity to 
share that reminiscence about The Greatest.
  Mr. YARMUTH. I thank the gentleman, and since he referenced the 
poetry and the facts that Muhammad Ali is sometimes actually considered 
the godfather of rap, I would like to read one thing that he wrote. 
This is right after the Olympics in 1960:

     To make America the greatest is my goal,
     So I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole,
     And for the USA won the medal of gold,
     Italians said, you're greater than the Cassius of old.
     We like your name, we like your game,
     So make Rome your home if you will.
     I said, I appreciate the hospitality,
     But the USA is my country still,

[[Page 8139]]

     Because they're waiting to welcome me in Louisville.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).
  Mrs. BEATTY. I thank my colleague, Congressman Yarmuth.
  Mr. Speaker, to the rest of my colleagues, it is indeed an honor for 
me to come tonight to share in the life and the legacy of The Greatest, 
of the champ, of Muhammad Ali.
  Like my colleagues, I followed his career and was mesmerized by his 
wit, his poetry, and, more specifically, his boxing skill.
  But for me tonight, it was a special honor when I became a Member of 
this United States Congress. It was during the 113th Congress and the 
44th Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative 
Conference. During that conference, each member of the Congressional 
Black Caucus can submit the name of someone they think has made a 
difference in the lives of others, whether it was for health care, 
whether it was for civil rights, or making a difference through 
philanthropy.
  As I thought about all of the individuals that I could submit, I was 
very proud that I submitted the name Muhammad Ali. It was even a 
greater honor when he received the most votes from my colleagues, and 
he received one of our Phoenix Awards, named after Ralph Metcalfe.
  So when I stood on that stage before thousands and thousands of 
individuals, including the President of these United States, President 
Barack Obama, and watched the video that his family sent because he 
wasn't able to attend that dinner, I sat there, honored and proud 
because this Black man made a difference in the lives of so many young 
children, so many adults. And today, we come here and we salute and we 
honor a great legacy.
  So I want to thank you, Congressman Yarmuth, for letting me make this 
small contribution.
  Mr. YARMUTH. I thank the gentlewoman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).
  Mr. MEEKS. I thank the gentleman from Louisville.
  Mr. Speaker, when I heard of the greatest of all time's passing, my 
heart was filled and heavy because he was very significant in my life. 
When you just think of him--and I got to meet him first as a young boy. 
I was about 10 years old.
  My dad was a professional boxer. He is one of 49, one of 49 
individuals to get knocked out by Rocky Marciano. But that also brought 
him into the area where he got to know many of the boxers in training, 
et cetera. He would train in the same gym in New York where Sugar Ray 
Robinson was, and where Bundini and Youngblood were, who were always in 
Ali's corner. So I got to see Ali, this Cassius Clay train at an early 
age, and fell in love with him immediately.
  Number one what you could do when you saw Muhammad Ali, at that time 
you saw a young man who was confident. And yes, as I hear my colleagues 
talking about his athletic ability and skills, he had all of that.
  But what I would like to talk about briefly tonight, what was the 
highest of esteem for Muhammad Ali was his brain. There is nothing that 
Ali did that he didn't think about. Everything that he did, there was a 
reason for it.
  When he first saw this wrestler and how people hated him, this George 
guy, but he saw how all the people were coming to watch and paying all 
of their money because they were talking, he was talking. He said 
here's a good way to promote myself and to make sure that he could make 
some money, and so he did that.
  Then he thought about calling and naming the round that he was 
calling people in and all of that. And so he did all of those things, 
but there was a reason for it. He was a promoter. He knew what it took. 
People at that time, many of them wanted to go see the Louisville Lip 
shut up, but each time he would win.
  What I just want to say about Ali, though, his brain and his heart, 
his brain and his heart. Because throughout my lifetime, I had several 
times to be with him and to get to know him a little bit. I will just, 
for brevity of time, talk about one real quick.
  I can recall I used to drive him at times when he was in New York. So 
I would get in the car, and he would get in the car. Of course, he is 
the funniest guy in the world. He would be telling jokes and doing 
everything else. So we were driving down the street in Brooklyn, New 
York. I remember it like it was yesterday. I stopped at a light. All of 
a sudden, Muhammad is looking around, and he jumps out of the car. He 
jumps. There were some kids on the corner. He jumps out, and he goes 
and starts shadowboxing with them. The kids are saying: Oh, the champ, 
the champ is here, the champ is here.
  He would just talk to them. He was encouraging them to go to school 
and encouraging them to do good things. I know because when you 
listened to all of the stories afterwards, individuals were giving 
personal stories. Never would you see an individual as popular and well 
known as Ali where an individual could actually talk about a personal 
story, because Ali wasn't one that was hidden behind bodyguards or this 
one or that one. He was one that always wanted to be the man on the 
street involved with people to make a difference in their life. He set 
an example for individuals.
  So I think of the example, too, because of the size of Ali, I heard 
somebody talking about the rumble in the jungle. I used to go up to the 
camp and watch them train in Deer Lake. I was there when he was 
training for George Foreman. I was there, stayed up there for about a 
week. There, again, talk about consciousness, he had these huge rocks, 
talking about all of the great African American fighters before him 
because he never forgot who he was or where he came from, but he had 
these rocks there, and he was in the gym training.
  I can remember he would get up on the ropes. He put his hands up, and 
Angelo Dundee would say: Get off the ropes, champ. Get off the ropes. 
Get off the ropes, champ. You are going to get killed on those ropes.
  About the second round of training, he went over, and he said to 
Angelo: Shut up. I know what I am doing.
  Nobody knew what he was doing, but he knew what he was doing. He 
always outthought everyone. He outthought them. That was the key to 
this thing, the greatest of all time.
  So, Ali, I say this--I say this because I remember you saying this 
one time to someone:

     If you want some gin, I'll get you in 10.
     If you like wine, it will be round number nine.
     If you think you're great, you'll fall in eight.
     If you want to go to heaven, it will be round number seven.
     But if you want to mix, I'll get you in six.
     Talk that jive, you'll fall in five.
     If you want to go like old Moore, I'll get you in four.
     Mess with me, I'll reduce you to three.
     If that won't do, you'll fall in two.
     If the crowd wants some fun, you'll fall in one.
     Why?
     Because I float like a butterfly, and I sting like a bee. 
           That's why nobody mess with Muhammad Ali.

  Ali, we love you. We thank you for your contribution not only to 
Louisville, not only to the United States of America, not only to 
African Americans and to Africa, but to everyplace on this planet. You 
are, indeed, God's gift to this great planet. We thank God for your 
life and times. You will live on forever as the greatest of all time--
and the prettiest.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Butterfield).
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky 
(Mr. Yarmuth) for yielding this evening.
  I am absolutely embarrassed to come after my friend, Congressman Greg 
Meeks.
  Why in the world would the gentleman put me on the schedule to come 
to the podium at this very moment?
  But I thank the gentleman, in any event, for his friendship, and I 
thank the gentleman for his extraordinary leadership. I was in the 
gentleman's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, a few weeks ago and 
absolutely enjoyed

[[Page 8140]]

going to church with him and meeting many of his friends there in 
Louisville. The gentleman is a great Member of this body, and I thank 
the gentleman so very much.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I stand with Congressman Meeks and Congressman 
Cohen and all of my colleagues today to recognize and to remember a 
great American, a true American hero. We honor and we remember this 
extraordinary life and the accomplishments and the countless 
contributions of Muhammad Ali.
  Born just 5 years before me in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius 
Marcellus Clay, Jr., was born to Cassius Marcellus Clay and Mrs. Odessa 
Lee Grady Clay. Those were his parents. On March 6, 1964, when I was a 
junior in high school, after joining the Nation of Islam, Cassius Clay 
became known as Muhammad Ali.

                              {time}  1830

  Mr. Cohen, I remember it like it was yesterday.
  His interest in boxing began at the age of 12 after he reported a 
stolen bicycle to a local police officer named Joe Martin, who was also 
a boxing trainer. In 1959, Muhammad Ali was the National Golden Gloves 
Light Heavyweight Champion and National Amateur Athletic Union 
champion. After winning his first 19 fights--and that was absolutely 
incredible, winning his first 19 fights--including 15 knockouts, 
Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964, to become the 
World Heavyweight Champion.
  Muhammad Ali would then become the World Heavyweight Champion in 
1964, 1974, and 1978, making him the first fighter to capture the 
heavyweight title on three separate occasions. In 1981, Muhammad Ali 
retired from professional boxing and dedicated his life to promoting 
world peace, fighting for civil rights, hunger relief, and just basic 
human values.
  His humanitarian work included helping secure the release of 15 U.S. 
hostages. Many of my colleagues may have forgotten about that, but 
Muhammad Ali helped to release 15 U.S. hostages held in Iraq during the 
first Gulf War, four hostages held in Lebanon, and conducted goodwill 
missions to Afghanistan and to Cuba. Muhammad Ali even had the distinct 
honor of traveling to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela following 
President Mandela's release from prison.
  Ali received numerous awards in his life following his boxing career, 
including being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 
receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award by ESPN, the Essence Living 
Legend Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 by then-
President George W. Bush. The footage of that ceremony has been all 
over the news for the last few days, and I would encourage all of my 
colleagues to look at it if you haven't. He was given the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom in 2005 by President George W. Bush and the Otto Hahn 
Peace Medal for his work with the U.S. civil rights movement and the 
United Nations.
  Mr. Speaker, I have used enough time this evening. I will simply 
close. I cannot close like my friend, Congressman Greg Meeks, did a 
moment ago. That was a masterpiece, and I cannot wait to see the video 
of his closing on another day. It was extraordinary.
  But I will conclude by saying that Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all 
time, was not only a champion in the boxing ring, but a champion of 
human rights and civil rights, who, during a difficult time in our 
Nation's history, stood on principle to end racism and bigotry in this 
country.
  Muhammad Ali, we love you. May God bless you, and may God bless your 
family.
  To the fans of Muhammad Ali all across the world, I thank you for 
supporting this great American, and I thank you for allowing us to come 
into your homes and be a part of this tribute this evening.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Butterfield).
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush).
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both of my colleagues for 
allowing me to come before this body to speak on behalf of the people 
of the city of Chicago, the people of the First Congressional District.
  Mr. Speaker, I must say that although Muhammad Ali was and is a 
native of Louisville--that is his birthplace--I must also claim that 
Chicago is his adoptive city. He spent many, many years in Chicago. He 
bought a home on South Kenwood Avenue in my district.
  Mr. Speaker, as a young man, a young civil rights activist myself, I 
can't even express the pride that I had when I would travel down the 
street and point out to my young sons and anybody else who was with me 
that that is where Muhammad Ali lives. He was a man of the 
neighborhoods in Chicago. He touched many people--young people, old 
people, and people who didn't necessarily share his same political or 
religious ideas, but he touched them anyhow.
  Mr. Speaker, Muhammad Ali was a man for all seasons. Yes, he achieved 
prominence in the boxing arena, in the sweet science of boxing, but he 
achieved greatness because of the life that he led both inside of 
boxing and outside of boxing.
  Mr. Speaker, on Saturday afternoons, many of us who had few heroes 
would gather around television sets and watch Muhammad Ali fight in the 
heavyweight division against other fighters and other boxers. One of 
his predictions came true when he defeated and knocked out his 
opposition in the time that he said he would, and there was a 
collective cheer that you could hear throughout the neighborhoods of 
Chicago.
  He meant something to me. He meant something to others. Muhammad Ali 
not only achieved, worked hard, and sacrificed for excellence, but he 
also inspired excellence in others.
  Muhammad Ali would walk down some of the main thoroughfares in 
Chicago: 47th Street, 79th Street, and Madison Avenue. He would walk 
down those streets, and the crowds would just gather around him and 
follow him. His beam in his eyes, the halo and the charisma that he had 
just made for an exciting time, a grand time for all of us.
  Mr. Speaker, Muhammad Ali not only was a great boxer, but he was 
indeed a man for all times. Look at his following not just in 
Louisville, not just on the south and west sides of Chicago, but all 
across the Nation, all across the world, foreign countries, African 
countries specifically. The same kind of enthusiasm that he inspired, 
the same kind of reverence that he inspired to the young men and young 
women in Chicago, you could see the same kind of inspiration ran up in 
the Congo, in Nigeria, in Zaire, and in other places all across the 
world.
  Mr. Speaker, when he retired, I remember as a freshman here in 
Congress when we had a session and we honored the 50 greatest athletes 
of the century. Here were some great athletes, but the one who I wanted 
to be with, the one who I was most excited about, the one who I wanted 
to be photographed with was only Muhammad Ali. Bart Starr, Kareem 
Abdul-Jabbar, and many, many others were here; but Muhammad Ali was 
here, and he kind of sucked the air out of the room.
  Later, Mr. Speaker, when I chaired the Annual Legislative Conference, 
for the dinner, the gala--I chaired the gala--I was so honored that he 
came to me to accept an award from the Congressional Black Caucus with 
his lovely wife, Lonnie; another great time, another great memory.
  But, Mr. Speaker, the greatest honor, the greatest moment of 
inspiration, my most profound memory of Muhammad Ali was when he 
refused to go to fight in the Vietnam war. I think, in my humble 
opinion, had he just been a great champion--we have had other great 
champions who are African American: Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray Robinson, 
and many others, many, many others who are great champions. But 
Muhammad Ali wasn't just a boxer. He didn't just inspire others to take 
up boxing.
  I was a political activist in the sixties, and Muhammad Ali spoke to 
the quintessential aspect of all my activism when he said: Hell no, I 
won't go.

[[Page 8141]]

Hell no, I won't go. No Vietnamese have ever called me the N word.
  And he said it. I don't want to say it on the floor, but he said it.

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. Speaker, from that moment on, he solidified his appeal, his 
essence, his relationships; he solidified himself with all of the 
struggling people of the Nation, of the world.
  Let me just say this: I thought about Muhammad Ali when I heard of 
his death, and I thought of trying to recapture some of my memories of 
him--how he walked, his gait, how he talked. I remember his size. I 
remember the face that was also a beautiful face. He was proud of how 
he looked.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I guess what inspired me most about Muhammad Ali 
was how he did not surrender his faith, surrender his belief, surrender 
his core values to the U.S. Selective Service which drafted him.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't remember the names of the men who were on that 
Selective Service committee. I don't remember anything about them. They 
thought that they were destroying The People's Champion, but they could 
not destroy The People's Champion. He rose even above all of those 
people who were officially appointed to bring him down. Nobody could 
knock out Muhammad Ali, in a real sense.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for 
yielding, and I thank all of my friends.
  We are friends when we come to celebrate someone as potent and 
powerful and, certainly, symbolic. But we should really recognize that 
The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, who had many homes--many of us can claim 
having had the privilege of him walking through many of our streets--
was a husband, father, grandfather, and son to all of his family 
members that loved him.
  Today I offer my deepest sympathy to his beautiful wife who worked so 
hard to create the Muhammad Ali Center, all of his children who gained 
his magnificent talents in many different forms and capacities, to be 
able to now not only suffer this loss, but mourn someone who probably 
in their life created such a space for so many years.
  I rise today to join in celebrating--for that is what I would like to 
do--The People's Champion. He was truly the voice of a generation, 
advocating for the ending of inequality regarding African Americans, 
but as well, I believe he stood for opposing injustices all around the 
world.
  The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion helped define the 
turbulent times in which he reigned as the most charismatic and 
controversial sports figure of the 20th century. We all know that he 
was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
  Over the past 30 years, he had his own boxing battle. I believe that 
time after time he knocked out Parkinson's disease because he lived 
with it, he let others know that they could live with it, and he worked 
every day to support the advocacy groups who were trying to battle 
Parkinson's.
  I am reminded of a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and 
being crowned the World Heavyweight Champion so many times. As I had 
watched him over these past years, the admiration and affection and 
respect grew much more looking at him as the iconic figure, the real 
spirit of can-do, the best of America, a man whose faith was very 
special to him, so much so that he was a conscience objective which was 
not understood. That Selective Service committee was right in Houston, 
Texas. He walked those streets, his case was tried there, and victory 
came because he refused to yield on his principles.
  As one of his noteworthy opponents, Floyd Patterson, told author 
David Remnick some years ago: ``I came to see that I was a fighter and 
he was history.''
  Ali traded banter with United States presidents and world leaders 
alike, verbally sparring with musical greats--The Beatles--and shaking 
hands with Mother Teresa.
  His greatest triumph lies in his legacy as a champion, leader, social 
activist, and humanitarian, but also a mentor by distance of so many 
boys and girls, particularly our young men.
  In my own hometown, a young boxer by the name of Eric Carr, first met 
him with one of our great sports figures, Lloyd Wells, down at the 
Hyatt Regency. He said that when the champ met him, the champ treated 
him like a longtime friend. He played around with him, maybe boxed with 
him. I may be adding something to it. But Eric Carr, as the day went 
on--it was in the boxing beginnings of his life--told him he wanted to 
be a champ just like him. Eric Carr went on to win boxing 
championships, but he will always remember how real Muhammad Ali was.
  Let me say that as he fought for the future, he envisioned that we 
all would enjoy. I love to hear the bantering because it was wisdom of 
a philosopher.
  His greatest triumph, as I indicated, was a humanitarian. At the apex 
of his career, lauded for his unparalleled physique and mesmerizing 
moves--I wish I could do a few of those right now--but he is more than 
a sum total of his athletic gifts.
  His agile mind, buoyant personality, brash self-confidence, wouldn't 
you love him?
  I often remember some of those words that he said:

     Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit 
           what his eyes can't see. Now you see, now you don't. 
           George thinks he will, but I know he won't.
     Don't count the days; make the days count.
     I'm young; I'm handsome; I'm fast. I can't possibly be beat.

  But then he said:

       Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on 
     Earth.

  And so his inspiration continues.
  I would often say that as he lived his life, we took joy.
  As I close, Mr. Speaker, let me offer you these words, and let me 
thank him for the life that he has lived. Let me borrow from 
Shakespeare and say of Muhammad Ali:

       He was a man. Take him for all in all. We shall not look 
     upon his like again.

  May The Greatest rest in peace.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me. I still see 
that ``float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.''
  Muhammad Ali, again, rest in peace.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of boxing legend 
and social activist Mr. Muhammad Ali, whose words floated like a 
butterfly and punches stung like a bee, who died Friday at the age of 
74.
  The people's champion, was truly the voice of a generation, 
advocating for the African Americans battling racial inequality.
  The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion helped define the 
turbulent times in which he reigned as the most charismatic and 
controversial sports figure of the 20th century.
  The man who would come to be known as the ``Greatest of All Time,'' 
was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on Jan. 17, 1942 in Louisville, 
Kentucky.
  Despite baffling Parkinson's disease for 30 years Muhammad Ali would 
live a full and consequential life, winning the Gold Medal at the 1960 
Olympic Games in Rome and being crowned the world Heavyweight champion 
an unsurpassed three times.
  As one of his noteworthy opponents, Floyd Patterson, told author 
David Remnick some years ago, ``I came to see that I was a fighter, 
while he was history.''
  Ali traded banter with United States presidents and world leaders 
alike, verbally sparring with musical greats the Beatles, shaking hands 
with Mother Teresa.
  His greatest triumph lies in his legacy as a champion, leader, social 
activist and humanitarian.
  At the apex of his career, lauded for his unparalleled physique and 
mesmerizing moves.
  He carried into the ring a physically lyrical, unorthodox boxing 
style fusing speed, agility and power more seamlessly than any boxer 
before him or since.
  But, he was more than the sum total of his athletic gifts; he was a 
man of uncompromising principles.
  His agile mind, buoyant personality, brash self-confidence and 
evolving set of personal convictions fostered a magnetism that the ring 
alone could not contain.
  A masterful entertainer, Ali captivated audiences as much with his 
mouth as with his fists, narrating his life with a patter of inventive 
doggerel.
  He was targeted by his country when, in 1966, he exercised his First 
Amendment right

[[Page 8142]]

voicing political dissension and concern for humanitarian observation.
  Ali was a purposeful fighter, and even more so, a principled human 
being, once reminding us all that he would, ``Fight for the prestige, 
not for [himself], but to uplift [his] little brothers who are sleeping 
on concrete floors today in America . . . living on welfare, . . . who 
can't eat, . . . who don't [have] knowledge of themselves, . . . [and 
cannot see a] future.''
  Ali fought for the future he envisioned and that we all enjoy today.
  As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, he refused to be 
inducted into drafting leading him to be banned from the sport he loved 
at the height of his career.
  His inspiring courage and anti-war stance helped spearhead the 
growing anti-war movement of the 1960s.
  The press called him the Louisville Lip. He called himself the 
Greatest.
  Ali was the most important political-cultural figure to survive the 
deadly tumult of the 1960s and flourish during the 1970s.
  Ali reawakened the American consciousness stating, ``Champions are 
made from something they have deep inside them--a desire, a dream, a 
vision.''
  He eventually retired for good in 1981 and after being diagnosed with 
Parkinson's disease in 1984 as the only fighter to be heavyweight 
champion three times.
  In 2005 Muhammad Ali was presented with the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom by President George W. Bush.
  Ali received the President's Award from the NAACP soon after Obama's 
inauguration in 2009.
  In 1996, he was trembling and nearly mute as he lit the Olympic 
caldron in Atlanta, but his smile induced a thunderous roar in what was 
one of the most celebrated Olympics moments ever.
  His post-boxing humanitarian endeavors include putting his name to 
many initiatives for peace and humanitarian aid as well as anonymous 
donations of millions of dollars to a variety of individuals and 
organizations surpassing race and class barriers.
  Despite battling with Parkinson's disease for three decades, he has 
inspired millions of people.
  His work as a humanitarian has been immortalized in the Muhammad Ali 
Centre.
  Explaining his resolve later in life, Ali said that, ``All my life, 
growing up as a little boy, I always said that if I got famous I'd do 
things for my people that other people wouldn't do.''
  ``I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was 
given,'' he said.
  He was truly a legend--a statesman of the people.
  Muhammad Ali was a product of America but a citizen of the world, at 
first hated and misunderstood but eventually beloved for the way he 
carried himself in dignified decline.
  He will remain one of the most well-known and respected sports 
figures of all time--may his legacy be revered.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me borrow from Shakespeare and say of 
the Muhammad Ali:
  ``He was a man.
  Take him for all in all.
  We shall not look upon his like again.''
  May the ``The Greatest'' rest in peace.

         The Sayings of Muhammad Ali--The Greatest of All Time

       Muhammad Ali, considered to be the greatest heavyweight 
     boxer, died June 3, 2016 in a Phoenix-area hospital.
       He was 74 years old.
       Here is a list of some of his best quotes (in no particular 
     order):
       1. ``Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands 
     can't hit what his eyes can't see. Now you see me, now you 
     don't. George thinks he will, but I know he won't.''
       2. ``Service to others is the rent you pay for your room 
     here on earth.''
       3. ``I'm young; I'm handsome; I'm fast. I can't possibly be 
     beat.''
       4. ``Don't count the days; make the days count.''
       5. ``If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe 
     it--then I can achieve it.'' Jesse Jackson said this as early 
     as 1983, according to the Associated Press, and Ali used it 
     in his 2004 book.
       6. ``It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.''
       7. ``It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you 
     out; it's the pebble in your shoe.''
       8. ``If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up 
     and apologize.''
       9. ``Braggin' is when a person says something and can't do 
     it. I do what I say.''
       10. ``I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I 
     was.''
       11. ``Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated 
     can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the 
     extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is 
     even.''
       12. ``I'm so mean, I make medicine sick.''
       13. ``I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll 
     ever get licked.''
       14.``Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small 
     men who find it easier to live in the world they've been 
     given than to explore the power they have to change it. 
     Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not 
     a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. 
     Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.''
       15. ``He who is not courageous enough to take risks will 
     accomplish nothing in life.''
       16. ``A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 
     20 has wasted 30 years of his life.''
       17. ``If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they 
     can sure make something out of you.''
       18. ``I shook up the world. Me! Whee!''
       19. ``I hated every minute of training, but I said, `Don't 
     quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a 
     champion.'''
       20. ``At home I am a nice guy: but I don't want the world 
     to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far.''
       21. ``A man who has no imagination has no wings.''
       22. ``He's (Sonny Liston) too ugly to be the world champ. 
     The world champ should be pretty like me!''
       23. ``I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey 
     were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.''
       24. ``I've wrestled with alligators. I've tussled with a 
     whale. I done handcuffed lightning. And throw thunder in 
     jail.''
       25. ``Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it 
     doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain 
     wrong.''
       26. ``It's not bragging if you can back it up.''
       27. ``I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived 
     cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were 
     around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about 
     them.''
       28. ``It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound 
     the sand. I beat people up.''
       29. ``I'm not the greatest, I'm the double greatest.''
       30. ``Live everyday as if it were your last because someday 
     you're going to be right.''

  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.
  I yield once again to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, there is so much that has been said 
appropriately about Muhammad Ali that people in this era might not 
realize that when he was fighting, all of America really looked forward 
to his fights and watched them. The eyes of the Nation were glued to 
the television to see him fight and to see afterwards Howard Cosell 
speaking the sports talk to him and reviewing those fights.
  He was a lot about Louisville. There is a street in Louisville named 
after him, Muhammad Ali Boulevard, and the Muhammad Ali Center.
  Nobody carries on and will carry on Muhammad Ali's love of Louisville 
more than you, Mr. Yarmuth. I appreciate you having this hour. He was 
to Louisville in such a great way, and he was a great man to America. I 
thank you for putting this hour together.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine 
Waters).
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Yarmuth for 
hosting this hour.
  Muhammad Ali was a good friend. He was someone that I had known that 
I had worked on some projects with. But more than that, my husband was 
one of those athletes. My husband was then the linebacker for the 
Cleveland Browns when Bill Russell and my husband, Sidney Williams, and 
Jim Brown all got together to support Muhammad Ali when, of course, he 
was not allowed to be a conscientious objector and was threatened with 
prison.
  I got to know him sometime after that. We used his home for a very 
special event. I got to know his former wife, Veronica, and his 
children. One of his children worked in one of my programs.
  This comes at a very difficult time for all of us. I loved him 
because he had courage. He had the courage to give up his career, had 
the courage to threaten to be imprisoned, and had the courage to fight. 
The Nation of Islam stood with him, and these athletes all stood with 
him. He was a great man. When he said he was The Greatest, he really 
was, because he was an unusual extraordinaire.
  I will be at the funeral on Friday. I will be there with the family 
and the rest of the athletes that are still living that are going to be 
there to honor him.

[[Page 8143]]


  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.
  I yield again to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for a 
quick comment.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank Mr. Yarmuth and say that I 
couldn't leave the mic without acknowledging that George Foreman is in 
Houston, and Evander Holyfield, only to say that the people that he 
fought became his dear friends. I know they would want me to say that.
  Thank you so very much for allowing us to pay tribute to The 
Greatest.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, as we wrap up this tribute to the life of 
Muhammad Ali, I just want to express what I know all of my colleagues 
would feel, and that is our outpouring of love and support for Lonnie, 
his wife of 25 years, his many children, and his extended family. 
Lonnie's love and dedication inspired and energized Ali, even when his 
body was failing him. I know that the hearts of this body as well as 
the world go out to her and the rest of Muhammad Ali's family.
  May he rest in peace. I thank him on behalf of everyone for his great 
contributions to humanity.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man who was a 
three-time heavyweight champion of the world, a victor at the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and one of the most remarkable men of the 
20th Century--a man who truly earned his title: The Greatest.
  Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, 
Kentucky on January, 17, 1942. By age 18, he was the Light Heavyweight 
Gold Medalist at the 1960 Olympics. In 1964, he won the heavyweight 
world title. He would go on to hold that title--off-and-on--for another 
15 years.
  But Muhammad Ali was not merely one of the greatest fighters in 
history--he was also a champion of justice in a country struggling to 
find its way. Like Detroit's own great champion, Joe Louis, he was a 
lightning rod for controversy. His success angered those who disagreed 
with the simple principle that a person's worth was never lessened by 
the color of their skin. He showed courage when he stood up for civil 
rights at a time when it was dangerous to do so. He never backed down, 
never allowed his voice to be silenced because of his faith or his 
race. He was an example for countless men, women, and children who 
needed one.
  Beyond his work in the ring and as part of the civil rights movement, 
Muhammad Ali was also an advocate for peace. He grew into his faith in 
a way that shows that Islam is a religion of peace and America is a 
place of tolerance when--at great personal cost--he spoke out against 
the Vietnam War. As a conscientious objector, he was stripped of his 
title and unable to fight for three years during his prime.
  Convicted of refusing to report for military service, he appealed to 
the United States Supreme Court, where he won a unanimous (8-0) opinion 
reversing his conviction.
  A champion boxer, a champion for civil rights, and a champion of 
peace--it is not possible to overstate Muhammad Ali's achievements. He 
was quite simply, The Greatest.
  We will mourn his memory going forward, and we will remember him for 
his work. Most of all, we will continue to draw strength and 
inspiration from a man who knew the true meaning of being a Champion.

                          ____________________