those causes which he exemplified. but he never got all he wanted. and i hope that that's also an example. an example is that, sure, you do not belong in politics unless you have a set of ideals. you don't have any business trying to gain influence over others unless it's to make this world a better place. . but once you have those ideals, the obligation is not to preach those in the way that makes you feel good, it's a way to get them accomplished. i don't think in american history, over the time of his senate career, that anybody did a better job for people of all incomes, for the victims of discrimination, whether it was based on race or sexual orientation or gender, for the whole concept of what we think is the genius of america, namely that when you're born, you're

born with a chance to maximize your potential and the economic circumstances or the prejudice of others or anything else don't hold you back. this nation is enormously endebted to senator edward kennedy for the work that he did, for the example that he set. i thank my colleague for leading this special order. >> i thank the gentleman very much. and i turn to recognize now a good friend of the senator, phil delahunt. mr. delahunt: thank you. i just want to pick up on a theme that barney touched on. you know, ted kennedy might have had adversaries but they were never his enemies. he treated everyone with respect and with dignity and that

character, that d.n.a., if you will, was the approximate cause of his success as a senator who championed all of the great causes in the past 50 years. you know, o'neal said that all politics is local. well, with ted it was personal. it was based upon those perm relationships -- personal relationships. i'm sure that there are literally thousands that consider ted kennedy a dear and close personal friend. i know i do.

i had the fun of being ted kennedy's congressman. and as you all know, being from massachusetts, we had our own shtick. it was a great been aer to -- banter. and he would leave me messages on occasion on my cell phone at night reminding me that the grass hadn't been cut and that the snow hadn't been shoveled down in the court. i sailed with ted kennedy frequently. our colleague and his son patrick, his eldest son, teddy jr., and his sister, kara, and his devoted wife and soulmate,

vickie kennedy. he was an exceptional friend. i miss him terribly. but i know that my experience with him was multiplide by the thousands. he -- plult plied by the thousands. he had -- multiplied by the thousands. he had a way of communicating with people that was unique. you could reveal to him your concerns, you could share with him your secrets and you could always be assured that the advice that you received was sound and it was in your best interest. i was sad ed by his death, those of -- we were saddened by his death, those of us who served with him, those of house

considered him a dear and close friend. but i guess for me the gift of that friendship was something that was so special that it overwhelms the sadness that we all share. and that so many share. we were indeed fortunate not just to serve, but probably, well at least the most prolific senator that served in the united states senate, 25,000 bills, i'm not going to touch on his public record, 2,500 bills, rather than 25,000. but we know that his record speaks for itself. but what many in this country are only beginning to discover

is that for ted kennedy it was not about himself, it was about others. he had his share of pain and tragedy in his own life and that provided him with an incredible capacity for empathy and to understand others better than anyone i've ever met in public life and to help and assist. so let me conclude by saying, i mess you terribly, teddy, but i know you're still with us dfment -- i miss you terribly, teddy, but i know you're still with us. sail on. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from worcester.

mr. mcgovern: thank you. i thank my colleague for arranging this special order to honor an incredible leader and an incredible friend, ted kennedy. you know, in the mcgovern household, the kennedy name has always been magic. our family admired and respected president kennedy, we all supported and were committed to robert kennedy and the causes that he stood for. and we always felt it a very special privilege to be represented in massachusetts by ted kennedy. all of us, especially the massachusetts delegation, already miss senator kennedy. we miss his humor, his friendship, his advice, his leadership. i tell my colleagues from outside of massachusetts that i'm proud to call myself a ted kennedy democrat and a ted kennedy democrat is somebody who is a believer in dynamic and efficient and bold and effective government. somebody who believes it's

important to stand up for human rights and for civil rights and senator kennedy did so with incredible integrity and with incredible character. you know, i believe as has been said here, that he is the greatest legislator in the history of the united states senate. on health care, every piece of major health care legislation that's been enacted into law has ted kennedy's finger j prints all over it. there are millions of children all over america today who have health care because of ted kennedy. and education. every major education bill to expand education opportunities for people of every background as a result of ted kennedy's leadership. in the area of workers rights, a strong champion of organized labor. somebody who promoted and enacted major legislation that protected workers and workers' rights. in the area of civil rights you're going to hear from our

colleague from georgia, john lewis, a hero in the civil rights movement who will talk to you about the fact that ted kennedy was the leader in the area of civil rights in the united states senate. and on the iraq war. i have a special admiration and respect for his courage for the stand he took against that war when it was not popular to do so. but he took that stand because he believed it was the right thing to do. he thought that war should always be a last resort, not a first resort. and i think he was right on that war. but to all of us in massachusetts he was our senator who assembled the best staff you could possibly imagine. when somebody lost their social security check, they called ted kennedy in his office. when a veteran needed help, they called ted endy. when a local official needed funding for a local college or a hospital or project, they called ted kenky's office. all phone cause were returned,

whether it was from the green of england or mrs. owe leery who lived in a three-decker. but more than that, i appreciate very much his personal touch. i was grateful for that personal touch. the notes and the calls when somebody was sick in your family, you got a phone call. when you got special recognition or if you won an election, you got a note. if something great happened to you, he was the first to call. when my son was born, the very first call we received was from ted kennedy. even before my mother and father called the hospital. the very first gift that we received was from ted kennedy, a blanket that had my son's name stitched into the blanket with the word love vickie and ted. the same thing happened when my daughter was born a couple years later. those are things that i will never forget and always treasure. you know, nobody, when he died, when he died, i said that nobody

can ever fill his shoes but must try to follow his footsteps. i really believe that. you know, one of the things that senator kennedy said was that the great unfinished goal of his life was health care. he believed that everybody in this country deserves health care. he thought it was a national scandal that tens of millions of americans are without health care. he believed that we could provide belt -- better health care to people, that we could put a better emphasis on preventative care, we believed we could come up with a health care system that would control costs so that families and small businesses wouldn't go broke trying to provide health care for their families or for their workers. and so while he is no longer with us we need to continue his work. he was the conscience of our country and i believe that we need to continue to be inspired about -- by his example.

we need to continue to stand up for what's right, we need to continue to fight for what's right and i will say as my colleagues have said, i feel it has been a special privilege and an honor for me to be proud of this delegation that for so many years was led by senator kennedy. a great leader and a great friend and the world is going to miss him and i already do. and i thank my colleague for yielding me the time and i yield back my time. >> we thank the gentleman for his excellent comments. mr. markey: let me turn now and recognize the gentleman from massachusetts.

mr. olver: i thank the gentleman for yielding time. i was still making changes to what i was intending to say and usually do i that all the time. in any case, i rise tonight to remember and honor the life and the life's work of a dear friend, senator ted kennedy. there are few americans alive today whose lives are not affected in some way by senator kennedy's vast body of legislative achievements. he's credited with hundreds of laws enacted over his 47-year senate career, many of those laws making up fundamental tenants of the social contract that is our modern society. one of the best examples of senator kennedy's impact on society can be seen in his groundbreaking americans with disabilities act which opened the door to jobs, housing,

transportation, communication, better life for millions of citizens. it also fundamentally changed the way people viewed others who lived with disabilities. providing opportunity was a great thing of senator kennedy's work as evidenced by his contributions to strengthening public education. throughout his career he fought for better teachers, better schools, more funding and better methods to enhance learning for america's children. for wage-earning americans, ted kennedy will perhaps be best remembered for his refusal to accept minimum wage levels as they fell further and further behind in their purchasing power. when others balance ed or faltered on the issues, senator ken tchi a knack for pushing through the deal to get everything he could for workers as soon as it could be achieved. on the international front, when the great debate over america's waging a preemptive war arose at

the outset of this decade, senator kennedy used his stature and status as a national news maker to oppose the president and the congress' transgression as he saw them with the use of america's military power. there are many other important accomplishments one could list but the issue senator kennedy himself labeled as the cause of his life, health care, probably stands out as his greatest area of achievement. . he eliminating pre-existing condition restrictions for workers in group insurance plans. he fought for and won uncommon allies in his crusade to provide health coverage for all children, which he considered a moral obligation. he created the family and medical leave act and the ryan white care act for americans living with h.i.v. and aids. although the cause of universal health care is one he did not

live to see enacted, we are where we are today because of kennedy's lifelong commitment to that cause. in a sense the effort is still his effort. the gains of congress will eventually pass will also be a part of his legacy. back in my part of massachusetts senator kennedy was always a good friend to the first congressional district n recent years he chand the development of the university of massachusetts pioneer valley life sciences institute and helped holy oak hospital, a critical health services provider in the connecticut valley. he was ever willing to exercise his seniority in the senate when massachusetts companies needed it. and when campaign season came around, no one could bring out and motivate as many workers as senator kennedy. his stump speeches in remote corners of massachusetts for state or local candidates were always an oratorical treat for

those lucky enough to hear them. to me personally, senator kennedy was an aspiring and thoughtful friend i could always count on an immediate and passionate response to whatever was on his mind and on my mind and his attentive friendship came with a warm smile, a sense of humor, and a caring heart. senator kennedy's breadth of leadership was unmatched in the congress. he was a tireless worker for his constituents and all humanity. and i'm honored to have known him and served with him. i yield back. mr. markey: we thank the gentleman so much for his words. next we recognize another great friend of the senator, john tierney from the state of massachusetts. mr. tierney: i thank the gentleman for recognizing me. patrick, i know you're going to speak late, but i hope that

this is somewhat fulfilling for you. it can never replace the loss of your dat but hope at least let you know how much the people who served with him had the honor and american sure of doing that and loved doing it and appreciate him every day. and my colleague, bill delahunt, was more than a congressman for the senator. i extend my sympathies to you as well. were you a friend. probably even closer than most of us were because were you there so often and spent so much time with him. i express those condolences to you. it's a loss to all of us, the dean of the delegation, mr. markey, served many years with the senator. i looked at a fack toyed that senator kennedy was born on the 200th anniversary of george washington birthday. i thought if that's accurate, i assume it is, how interesting it was because nobody apreshated history more than senator kendy. nobody appreciated his role in history more than that. i can remember ed markey at one point at a function introducing senator kennedy as one of the best united states senators only to be corrected by the

senator to say, one of the best, the best. while he was joking, i think he turned out to be right on that because he certainly has a record that you have heard from john olver and others here that's phenomenal. and jimmy mcgovern expressed as well. i won't start to enumerate all the things the senator did. we would be here far too long. after hearing my colleagues most people start to appreciate wherever you were in life you benefit interested him whether you were cleaning hotel rooms or doing some other job that was difficult like that, you benefited from the minimum wage, health care, education, all the things we care about. frankly when we are all looking to try to have the honor of serving here, listening to people in our constituentscies, talking about those things that matter to them. the bread and butter issues of whether or not they are going to have a job, whether or not it pays well. whether they can keep their family healthy and whether they can give their children opportunity. and this great senator epitomized all of that. one thing i don't think has been mentioned that i want to hit on is the fact that the

senator used to tell a story about being lectured by his father when he turned 21 or so about the fact he was going to be the recipient of some resources that other people didn't have the benefit of and he could choose to be idle and do nothing with his time or choose to be of service. and we all knew which route he took. that remains an inspiring story to all people. during the course of the summer when the president had his service to america campaign going on, many of us had the opportunity to go and visit a lot of organizations that have volunteers. when you would remind them of that story and tell them about the edward m. kennedy serve act, that was signed earlier in the year, and now their role in stepping into his belief of service and doing something for their fellow citizens, doing something for america. no matter how small or large, no matter where it was, you could see the inspiration they got from the senator, from his life, from his acts, and from the fact that this law had

passed because he motivated people to pass it and get it through. this will remain as one of those great legacies. the fact he spent his life serving others. that he was selfless in that regard. and that while he was serious about the business that he did, he was also never taking himself too seriously and always willing to make people feel comfortable and to see the lighter side of things and see the better part of humanity. even people who were political opponents, he saw a good part of. he was able to draw out of them a response that made them accept him and others and work on issues together. i can remember being with the senator when we would go out particularly to senior citizens places where he just couldn't resist singing a song, particularly an irish song, couldn't resist getting out and dancing if there was a ballroom dance going on. of course i guess i must take myself too seriously how bad a singer or dancer, i was always looking for the door. he would never let that happen. he would force you on the

floor, make a fool of yourself but have fun. that's the humanity of the man that he loved everybody, he loved having a good time with them, could get them to go along with him. when it's time to get serious he could do that in a heartbeat. could he make the case. he had great rhetorical skills that carried the day over and over and over again. and it truly is a giant. i know that the story of his life is jumping off the shelves right now because people are starting to remember all that he did. and sometimes in the hustle and bustle of political jargon, people making attacks and going back and forth, people forget that when you separate that out whether are you are a conservative, whether are you a liberal, whatever your political -- there are things in your life that you have that you're grateful for that are the result of the work of senator kennedy. i think that's the bottom line in all of this is this senator was a great senator for america. he was a great friend to all of of us. he was a great father and brother for people in massachusetts. we sorely miss him. but none of us regret at all

having had the opportunity to know him and serve with him. i yield back. thank you. mr. markey: i thank the gentleman very much. and the gentleman's so right. i could call senator kennedy one of the greatest senators in history. i could call him one of the small handful of the greatest senators in history. but that would be inaccurate. that just wouldn't capture. not only how history will record him, but how he wants to be recorded by history, ok. there will be an accurate reflection of that, i think, as people, as the gentleman pointed out, continue to focus upon his life. let me -- before i turn to the gentleman from south boston, let me go back to the gentleman from quincy, mr. delahunt. mr. della hunt: if the gentleman would yield for a moment before our friend steve lynch makes his remarks, this conversation, the colloquy between yourself and john tierney, reminds me of an anecdote.

i wasn't present and maybe patrick could attest to its validity, but when ted kennedy was described as one of the two most significant united states senators, in that institution's history, the other being webster, that his response was, well, what did webster do? i yield back. mr. markey: i yield back. no place played a more important role in the history of massachusetts irish politics than south boston, the home of the next friend of senator kennedy, steve lynch from south boston, massachusetts. mr. lynch: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. i thank you my friend, mr. marky, the dean of the new new -- new england delegation for reserving this time to pay a

special tribute to our friend and colleague, senator ted kennedy. if you have been watching tonight, you'll notice that the members with the most seniority have been given the privilege to speak first. which is the way it works down here. the longer you're here the more you appreciate that. however i am one of the more junior members of the delegation and i'm like some of the fellows that have been around here forever, like mr. markey and mr. frank and mr. delahunt, i had a relatively short time, eight years, to spend working with ted kennedy. i cherish every one ever those years. in addition to working with ted as a colleague, ted could -- he could get it done. he could get it done. i was always amazed at that. but i also had a different perspective of ted kennedy. i saw him in action before i

came to this house. i grew up in the public housing projects in south boston. and i can tell you that whether you lived in the housing pro jects, or mission maine, or franklin field, if you grew up, if your family struggled to make ends meet in public housing, no one in public housing had a better champion, a more valiant and noble champion than ted kennedy. and that's really the first perspective that i had of ted kennedy as someone who was working for our benefit as a family growing up in public housing. and pretty tough circumstances. he was there for us. i also had a perspective of working as an ironworker for 18 years strapping on a pair of work boots.

becoming a union president for the iron workers. and i can say from that perspective as well, whether you were an ironworker like i was working in the bidding trades with a lot of my union brothers and sisters, or whether you worked on a factory floor or maybe you were a nurse going out every day working double shifts and overtime, or you are a policeman or fireman, no working person in this country had a more gallant champion to protect their rights and protect the knts on the job -- conditions on the job than we had in ted kennedy. and the outpouring of love that we saw during the memorial service and the wake and the funeral and even during ted's illness, it reflected that collective experience of not only the people of massachusetts but of new england and the united states.

and it was something to see. my mom raised us in public housing and when the motorcade came along carson beach, in the shadow of the housing project where we grew up, my mom and -- insisted that i help her down there. she's not as young as she used to be. but i help her down there to give respect to the kennedy family and to ted during that last journey, last part of his journey. there's a saying from the iron workers, especially in the steel mills, that the strongest steel comes through the hottest fire. really when you look at ted's life and saw what he accomplished and the challenges that he had, his brother, president of the united states, taken in violence, his brother,

the attorney general, candidate for the presidency, taken from us in the same way, the huge challenges to ted, they were unthinkable. unimaginable. yet he worked through it. not only did he overcome that but he also reached out to other people and shared a strength that he gathered from those experiences. i'll never forget, just nigh only -- just my only ted kennedy story i'll relate tonight, but i was a freshman -- very early in my career as state representative and we had six of our brave firefighters killed in a terrible fire in worcester, massachusetts, and we all went to the worcester centrum for that ceremony and the families were there and every seat was taken and every

bit of space on the floor was taken, and the place was filled to the rafters. and that's where i was sitting. far above the floor. but i'll remember ted's remarks, here's a family that just -- six families that just lost their loved ones, and ted kennedy, you know you could have heard a pin drop in that centrum that day, he basically said to the family, i'll never forget his words, he said from my own experience, i have found that every once in a while life breaks your heart. . even though there were thousands of people in that sent trum that day, in reality it was just ted and it was just those six families and he was helping them through that. and that's a gift. i mean, we all go to wakes and funerals and try to help families through tough times but

i never saw anybody carry it off with the grace and the profound empathy and love that ted was able to accomplish. and i just want to say that i'm delighted that we had an opportunity tonight to say our thoughts and to share our concerns for ted's family, patrick and the entire family, we know what they're going through. i think the test of all of us who were born on this earth, the true test of our time, however short it is on this earth, is whether the work we do while we're on this earth is going to live after us. and is it going to positively affect the people that we leave behind? and by any measure, by any test, ted has passed that test with

flying colors and he has left the power of his example for all of us to try to follow. i want to thank you, the dean of our delegation, for the opportunity to share my thoughts and my prayer and the -- my prayers and the prayers of my family go out to the kennedy family. thank you. mr. markey: we thank the gentleman so much for his words. in 1974 paul was elected to the united states congress and today , these many, many years later, sonkas, i'd like to recognize the gentlelady from, nick j tsongas. sonksonk i'd like to thank -- ms. tsongas: i'd like to thank

the gentleman. week of heard some wonderful remembrances this evening, i was looking back to the early 1960's when i was, like so many of us, a student in high school, a beginning student in high school. i hate to give away our age, but the inspirational figures of the kennedy family, in particular president john f. kennedy and my husband paul used to say that he was inspired by that presidency to seek public office, but he had grown up in what he dolled a disadvantaged household. his apparents were republicans and it was the presidency of john kennedy who inspired him and so many either to become a democrat or to seek out public office. little knowing that some years later we would be serving with the man we remember tonight. my first rec legs, -- recollection, though, of senator kennedy is in 1974 when paul was a can candidate for the seat i now hold.

senator kennedy agreed to come to lawrence, massachusetts, to campaign for paul who was part of the great watergate class in which there were many democrats running across this country and paul was running against an incumbent republican. senator kennedy came to lawrence, massachusetts, to st. mary's church, he was accompanied by barbara who these many years later still serves as his state director at the time. i think she was an advanced person who i remember her utter professionalism in keeping ted on track. we've heard tonight what a great speaker he was, how he could really connect with the crowd and so he did that evening and while ted was speaking, paul looked at me like, now, what on earth do i do? because he knew he could never compare with ted kennedy and he didn't even try. but you could see then how fundamentally ted connected with people because they trusted him and they knew that he was working on their behalf. i remember again ted in 1978

when he supported paul against an incumbent united states senator, somebody who was his colleague, a republican, as he did so often, kept his word, supported his colleagues, whether they were seeking the presidency, as they in turn supported him. well, i haven't had the opportunity to serve, unfortunately, with ted as long as others here, do i have a couple of remembrances from the past several years. one was when he did agree to come and campaign for me, again in lawrence, massachusetts, the cities of the fifth district of massachusetts. this time, though, he came with a van, he brought sunny and slash, the dogs, robbie who was with him in 1974 was there at his side, yet again, along with vickie. and we started out, we went to an old diner that was owned by a greek-american family, barbara's mother brought pastries that she cooked, ted sat there with a glass of coffee, ate the

pastries and thoroughly enjoyed the morning. then we travel on to a -- traveled on to a small school where we were going to read, it was an early reading program, very, very good one, one that's really a good model going forward and ted, this remarkable senator, who has met with every imaginable world leader, sat and sang, "itsy bitsy spider." he had a remarkable ability to connect with all of humanity. my last conversation with him was around a piece of legislation that we both jointly sponsored. it was to protect a farm called baritz farm. we know what a lover of history he is but i represent two national parks. the minuteman national parks anded th local national parks and barits farm is a farm that played an important role in the beginnings of the american revolution. it housed munitions thereat minutemen were going to use and

the british, learning of the munitions, decided to march on lexington and concord, prompting paul revere's ride to warn that the british were coming, they got the minutemen -- got to the farm, hid the munitions and by the time the british arrived, the munitions were safely set aside where they could be used as we advanced our revolutionary war effort, but the shot heard round the world that changed the history of this country. so we've worked hard, my former congressman had initially filed legislation, i followed up on that, emerging with senator kennedy, the bill finally was signed into law and last april this april, i was sitting in my office and i get a call, it's senator kennedy on the line and i picked it up and he goes, isn't it grand? he could celebrate that small legislative act that protected such important history with the same joy and commitment that he did the grandest of efforts.

senator kennedy's legislation has shaped american lives in ways we cannot even know. every day our lives are different for all that he did and we are so fortunate to have had his service, to have the great legacy of the kennedy family and to be serving to date with representative patrick kennedy who continues that legacy as well. we will miss him, we will miss him forever, but we will always remember him in the large acts and small kindnesses of his life. mr. markey: a number of members have alluded to him, the great civil rights leader who knew the kennedys in the 1960's and now serves here in the house of representatives, congressman john lewis from the state of georgia. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i want to thank my colleague, mr.

markey, and members of the massachusetts delegation for holding this special order in honor of senator kennedy. i rise today just to say thanks to senator kennedy and to the kennedy family. during the years, i had an opportunity to meet president kennedy in june of 1963 when i was only 23 years old. and then to see him at the end of the march on washington when he invited us back down to the white house and got to know robert kennedy, the attorney general, meeting with him in his office and campaigning with him in indiana, oregon and california.

i've known senator ted kennedy for a long time. he was a very special man, a very special friend. i remember long before i came to washington as a member of congress on an occasion we needed him to speak at a fundraiser for nonpartisan voter registration efforts in the south. he answered our call without hesitation. he spent time among us, honoring men and women. everyday people and their children. senator kennedy, this extraordinary man, was an elegant man who walked with kings but never lost the common church. as a colleague he was generous and committed, he was our leader, our champion, our

shepherd. he took up the cause with those who were week and -- weak and tried to make them strong. he stood tall and spoke with passion for all of those who had been left out and left behind. the people who had no voice in america. ted kennedy never lost hope. he demanded justice for people of color when it came to civil rights and voting rights. he also took a stand for seniors and for those with a different sexual orientation and for the disabled. senator kennedy was a man who lived his faith and tried to act on his -- this every single day by doing good to help the least among us. and for the most tragic and difficult moments in this nation's history, senator kennedy had the capacity, had the ability, to gather his strength and lead us toward a

more hopeful future. as a nation and as a people he encouraged us to deal upon the inspirational leadership of his two brothers and use that to leave a legacy of social transformation that left its mark on history. i will say tonight, mr. speaker, and to members of the massachusetts delegation and to patrick and other members of the kennedy family, senator kennedy was so thoughtful and so considerate. he was one of the most sharing, caring, giving human beings that i ever met. during the july, 2006, when the senate was about to re-authorize the voting rights act, he invited me over to the other side of the capitol to be his guest on the senate floor. when the last vote had been

tallied he gain of me a copy of the tally sheet. then he suggested that we walk out into an adjoining room and he showed me the desk where president lyndon johnson had signed the original act on august 6, 1965. he had a photographer to take a picture of the two of us standing there at that desk and a few days later i received the most beautiful copy of that picture with an indescription from senator kennedy. it is hanging on the wall in my home in atlanta. i will cherish it as long as i live. i remember in 1977 senator kennedy came to atlanta, we hosted a section for him at my home. he met a few of our friends, my wife, lillian and our son, and he spent so much time playing and talking with my young son

who was not quite a year old. senator ken tchi a heart full of grace -- kennedy had a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love and never forget the spark of the divinity, no matter whether you were his closest friend or his fierce adversary. a brilliant light has gone out that uplifted not just america but the entire world community. but during his life, senator kennedy pierced so many of us with his brilliant life. he touched members of congress but also ordinary people. he touched our president and the leaders of tomorrow. the spark of light that he gave to each one of us will burn brightly and it is our duty, our obligation, to continue his legacy and pass that light on to unborn generations. senator kennedy will be deeply

missed but not forgotten and his legacy will live on in all of us . he was a wonderful fri was a wonderful friend, a wonderful colleague, he was like a brother. thank you. . mr. markey: for me i had the honor of serving for 33 years outs of the 47 that ted kennedy served in congress here as his colleague. it was my great honor for each of us there are too many stories to retell. but for me it all begins with ted kennedy running for the senate and from that moment on whenever he spoke about the war in vietnam or health care or energy or injustice to any

person no matter where they are in the world, i listened. and not only did i list yield back the balance of my time but tens of millions of other people listened as well because he took us on a journey. a journey to issues and people we did not know of but he wanted us to know about and to respond to. that was really his greatness that when he spoke he was true north. he was someone who knew he was speaking from his heart and speaking for issues that really only he has the capacity to draw the attention to. and he used his power to do so. he used his special gift that he had been given to accomplish those goals. i remember at the democratic convention in 1980 senator kennedy had asked me and henry royce over here who was chairman of the banking committee to introduce his

energy bill which would be counter to the incumbent president's energy bill. and it called for solar and wind and conservation and higher fuel economy standards and a different technology direction for our -- technological direction for our country, and although his candidacy failed and energy was the big issue at that time, i got a call to come up to his room right after he gave that great dream shall never die speech. up in his room with his family, patrick was there and others, in that room there was not a defeated man. there was someone who had been a great victor. there was someone who brought all these issues to the american people. in 1983 as ronald reagan had pulled out of all arms control negotiations with the soviet union the first time in a generation, he called me and he said, eddie, you know what i would like to do? i would like to work with you on a nuclear freeze resolution

to end all production of nuclear weapons in the world. do you know a good idea? why don't we have it at american university where my brother gave his speech to end all spheric nuclear testing. then one month later there was an attention brought to this issue that changed that whole issue and three months later one million people were in central park calling for an end to the nuclear arms race. on every single issue he talked about in his entire life, it changed the whole dynamic of that issue because ted kennedy stood up and spoke to it. and he inspired me and he inspired i think millions of people across the planet to change the course of their lives. and so it's been great honor for me and all the rest of our delegation to be able to work with them. it's an especially great honor

to have as our concluding speaker this evening his son, his son who is our colleague here in the house of representatives. who in and of himself is a great united states congressman and who continues the kennedy tradition of fighting for those causes that other people do not want to fight for. and to bring the attention to those who are most in need of health in our -- help in our country and world. it's my honor to recognize the great congressman from the state of rhode island, patrick kennedy. mr. kennedy: i want to thank my good friend and colleague, ed markey, for organizing this special order and all of my colleagues for the wonderful tribute that they have given my dad tonight. and i can just say he loved people in public life because

they were willing to go out and face the elements and weather the scorn of public opinion in order to stand up for what they believed in. and that's why he really admired political figures and especially in a time that when political figures aren't very revered. they are pretty much down at the bottom of the public opinion polls in terms of most professions. but he knew what a difference it meant to have people of good faith and conviction be involved in the political process because he knew what a difference it made in terms of getting good policy done for the american people. and he knew how easy it would be for most people to sit back and make criticisms from the sidelines, but it took a really special person to put

themselves out and sacrifice a big part of their lives, because it takes enormous sacrifice of their private lives to be a public life today. especially. so he always really got so much energy out of the people that he served with. they were the one that is sustained him so much because he felt like he was part of a team effort and there's nothing that he loved better than being part of a team whether it was playing sports or whether it was just being part of a family team, being part of a family. and that was his politics. his politics was simple. it was being part of a group and making sure that nobody in the group was left behind. i think that's a great kind of spirit that he brought to his politics. it was a family spirit that i saw over and over again in

every issue that he faced. and that was he wanted to treat everybody else the way he expected to be treated if he were a member of a family and that was included and the way that he was brought up to believe in and that was that everybody had dignity and a place. when i was growing up in my family we all had a place. a lot has been said about his believe and everybody having an opportunity in society. well, in an anecdotal way i can tell you in my life he always made sure that i had an opportunity to participate. and i think that the timing is probably --

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. markey: to seek an additional five minutes with unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. delahunt: i yield the time to my friend and colleague, patrick. mr. kennedy: thank you. i just will conclude now because i know my friends and colleagues have their time to speak, but i don't want to say anything other than to each and every one of the folks that spoke tonight, thank you for your being here tonight to pay tribute to my father. to folks on both sides of the aisle that have been so generous to me, it's a great thing being part of this house. to have colleagues treat you as one of their own. as a part of a collegial family of sorts. in a professional way but also a personal way. the thing he loved so much

about serving over in the senate was the great friendships he developed there. i can tell you having been through what i have been through the last couple weeks i can appreciate personally what a difference it's made to have the friends that i have had in this chamber be so supportive of me through this time. and i want to thank all of my colleagues for their outpouring of support and affection from both sides of the aisle. it's times like these where you really get to appreciate the fact that you work in a place where everybody appreciates and respects one another. i think that that's the thing that my father would want most for our country right now is for people from very divergent points of view to respect one another and respect this country which was founded on

appreciation for difference of opinion and that's why he worked so well across the aisle on so many occasions on important issues. is because he understood this country can't move forward unless people work together in good faith. i think the thing he would find most distressing at any point in american history was when the country would stray from its foundation of believing that we could resolve our difficult problems through dialogue because i think he knew personally better than any other person in american history what happens when people don't resolve their problems peacefully but resort to violence. i think that my dad is one of those people who believed in the democratic process and at the end of the day people saw what a difference his work made in their lives because of the work that he did within the democratic process to make our country a better place for

everybody to live in. even though he was from a different station in life, from many people that he worked to help, he didn't look at it from the point of view of socioeconomic background. he looked at it from the point of view that we are all human beings and that we all have a spark ofdy vinity in us -- of divinity in us and we ought to treat each other with the same respect we want to be treated ourselves. the golden rule so to speak. and that's why it didn't matter what the issue was. he believed in fairness for everybody because that's the way he would think he would want his family to be treated. it was the same way he would want every other family to be treated. but there for the grace of god he was lucky enough to come from a family that didn't have to worry about paying for health care, education, housing, or pension to retire. he just knew if had he come from a different family he would hope that he wouldn't have to worry about the basic

necessities of life that too many americans have to worry about. i respect that about him because he showed me through the power of example that you could be be a person of conscience and really try to work to make lives of those who didn't have it as well off as you better through the work that you did in public life. and through that i think he showed himself as a patriot in more than one way. he not only wore the uniform of this country and the army, but he wore the uniform in the sense that he fought in the senate to advance the lives of people in this country through the policy work that he did as a united states senator. so again let me thank all my colleagues for their great tributes and look forward to paying the biggest tribute to them that we could pay and that is to make sure that the promise of health care for all is a prom -- promise that we ultimately achieve in this

session. mr. markey: thank you for sharing that with us, patrick. mr. delahunt: thank you for your service and know that we love you. speaking of reaching across the aisle, i'm going to expose him as someone whom had great love and affection for ted kennedy, your dad, and a wonderful guy for whom senator kennedy had the highest respect, even though they agreed on very little and that's the senior be republican of the house judiciary committee, lamar alexander. lamar smith. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend from massachusetts, congressman delahunt, for yielding and i also want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their forbearance

tonight and not enforcing strictly the time limits. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. smith: may i ask unanimous consent for additional five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. which gives me a second opportunity to thank my colleagues for their forebarons tonight. senator kennedy -- for bearence tonight. senator kennedy was a friend. as members of his family, including his son, who is here tonight. and it was a privilege to have known him in lots of different ways. my being a conservative republican from texas, the senator being a liberal democrat from massachusetts, many people wonder about this friendship. and therein lie many stories, but let me tell a couple tonight. the first one goes back to when i was a fairly junior member of congress and i don't remember what the meeting was about, but there was a meeting in the capital in a small room and i was late getting to the meeting and so was apparently senator kennedy. when i walked in there