sadness ma nelson thisla has passed from world but it is very much the tame kind of story that tom lantos talked about so much. we come together because of that blazer.inary trail a man admired from san mateo to pest.gton to bud da as much as we are all in awe of awe of his family and what a wonderful big family it is. if you spend more than five minutes talking to him you knew all about his 17 grand children two daughters and he would even include his dogs from headht the years in the count from benji and gigi to matsko. when asked how he defined andelf tom said first foremost i think of myself as the husband of a remarkable woman. [ applause ] the nearly 60 years they spent married together only brightened that twinkle in his eye. me at thisor having special event and for our friendship. we maintained that through the years we traveled together a lot. for everything that you do to make sure that the human rights that tom lit with you lit. he had a unique call to conscience of permanent vigilance against genocide,tion, oppression and antisemitism. democracy's staunchest defender and that

that nelson mandela has passed from this world, but it is very much the same kind of story that tom lantos talked about. we come together because this extraordinary tear -- trailblazer, a man who was admired from washington to budapest. as much as we are in all of tom, tom was in awe of his family and what a wonderful big family it is. if you spend more than five minutes talking to him, you knew all about his 17 grandchildren and two daughters and he would even include his dog. mosco.gi to but when you talk to tom he says he thinks of himself as a husband of a remarkable woman. it was so clear how much he loved and that more than anything. for nearly 60 years they spend married together only bright and that twinkle in his eye and so thank you and that -- thank you annette. we have traveled together a lot. for everything that you do to make sure that the human rights torch that tom latham with you stays lit. tom once said that he was a humble worker in the vineyard of the enterprise to make this world a saner place. you all know the truth, that he had a unique call to conscience, a permanen

as we think about nelson mandela it brings to mind very much to meet tom lantos because here were two men who had seen the worst that humanity can offer. who had been objectified, denied their right to be in hungary during the holocaust or a black man in south africa during apartheid. they had every reason to come out if not embittered, cynical, believing that for the rest of their lives the only thing that would matter was acquiring powee their influence, especially as against those who had denied them the right to be who they were. what always struck me about nelson mandela and tom lantos was the joy, the curiosity, enthusiasm for life that they brought with them out of the dust of such suffering. .. facing the kind of fear that comes with standing up for you're and your fellow men and women. so we honor two great men by being here today. two men with unconquerable souls. and we also have just acknowledged other brave human rights activists who have received this prize and who stand before us. because each of them has also known what it is like to come up against governments and pow

that nelson mandela has passed from this world but it is very much the same kind of story that tom lantosalked about so much. we come together because of this extraordinary trailblazer, a man who admires from washington. as much as we're awe of tom., tom was in awe of his family. what a big family it is. if you spend more than five minutes talking to him, you knew all about his 17 grandchildren and two daughters. he would include his dog. when asked about how he define himself, tom said, first, and foremost, i think of myself as the husband of a remarkable woman. it was so clear how much he loved annette more than anything. the nearly 60 years they spent married today, only bright ended twinkle in his eye. thank you annette. for everything that you do to make sure that the human rights torch that tom lit with you stays lit. tom said he was a humble worker in the vineyard of the enterprise to make this world a saner place. we all know the truth, that he had a unique call to conscious, a permanent vigilance against discrimination, genocide, oppression and anti-semitism. as annette, he was d

as we think about nelson mandela, it brings to mind very much to meet tom lantos because here were two men who had seen the worst that humanity could offer. objectified, denied their right to be a jew in hungary during the holocaust or a black man in south africa during apartheid. they had every reason to come cynical.t embittered, believing for the rest of their lives the only thing would -- that would matter is acquiring demonstrate able to their influence, especially against those who had been denied them the right to be new they were. aboutlways struck me nelson mandela and tom mentos curiosity, thee enthusiasm for life that they brought with them out of the depths of such suffering. people that heny had to learn to forgive and he had to leave his anger behind when he walked out of risen on the viewer 11 1990 or he would have remained in -- or he would have remained a prisoner. a prisoner of his own feelings, of his own resentments. escaped thewho worst example of humanity decided to become an advocate who isryone anywhere thatg the kind of fear comes with standing up for yourself

hillary received a human rights award earlier today, an advocacy group founded by tom lantos. he was a holocaust survivor. this is about 15 minutes. [applause] my goodness. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thek you, and first to extraordinary lantos family, this is a great honor and an havese personal leisure to tom lantos around my neck. office or onin my asking me what i was going to do about something or offering to partner with me on an issue of human rights. and as all of you who are here no because you recognize the significance of the work that he his public career, he was a man of great courage and compassion with a wonderful partner and his wife. and a fabulous support system for his daughters. i think we should give a round of applause for the entire lantos family. [applause] when the proceedings began, it was said we meet on the day after the loss of a giant among us, someone who by the power of his example demonstrated unequivocally how each of us can choose how we will respond to those injustices and grievances, those sorrows and strategies that afflict

as we think about nelson mandela, it brings to mind very much to me tom lantos, because here were two men who had seen the worst that humanity can offer. those who had been objectively denied their right to be a jew in hungary during the holocaust or a black man in south africa during the apartheid, they had every reason to come out, if not embittered, cynical, believing that for the rest of their lives the only thing that would matter was acquiring power, being able to demonstrate their influence, especially as against those who had denied them the right to be who they were. what always struck me about lantosmandela and tom was the joy, the curiosity, the enthusiasm for life. they brought it with them out of the depths of such suffering. people that heny had to learn to forgive and he had to learn to leave his anger behind when he walked out of prison on february 11, 1990. or he would have remained a prisoner. of his own feelings, of his own resent men's. -- resentments. tom lantos, who escaped the worst example of inhumanity, advocateo become an for anyone anywhere who was fear that

>> clinton said it was fitting he be remembered during a ceremony held for the late congressman tom lantos. you can read what former u.s. presidents and leaders are saying by going to www.nbcwashington.com. our web team compiled their statements. you can see photos of nelson mandela throughout his life. >>> late this afternoon, a judge set bond for a d.c. police officer charged with taking naked pictures of a 15-year-old girl. to be released, he has to surrender the deed to his house, stay on house arrest and wear a tracking bracelet. he's charged with child important. this is one of two scandals. coming up, pat collins joins us with the latest details of a prostitution race. we'll have reaction from chief cathy lanier. >>> the tree lighting is less than an hour away. we go live as we wait for the first family to join the celebration. >>> it could be your chance to cash in. why so many are talking about mega millions on this friday. >> veronica is tracking the nasty weather coming our way. >> of course the weather we get on sunday, a winter storm watch for sunday through monday morning. in

as we think about nelson mandela, it brings to mind very much to me tom lantos, because seenwere twoo had the worst that humanity can offer. , --had been object of hide objective five, the night there right to be a jew in hungary during the holocaust or a black man in south africa during the apartheid. to come every reason embittered, cynical, believing that for the rest of their lives the only thing that powermatter was acquiring , being able to demonstrate their influence, especially as against those who had denied them the right to be who they were. . .

jean claude is one of the individual cases of the tom lantos human rights commission which seeks members of congress work for their rights and freedom. sadly, cases such as these are far too common in areas of the world where people can be imprisoned for simply exercising their basic human rights. i call upon the cameroonian authority to live up to their obligation, to respect and protect the rights of jean claude and all cameroonians. i pledge to follow his story and do what i can to secure his safety. i hope my colleagues will take up cases from the defending freedoms project and ensure justice for wrongly imprisoned individuals all across the world. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? >> i ask unanimous cop sent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> the number of americans who support updating our electronic communication privacy laws is growing. just today "the

i'm proud to be the co-chair of the tom lantos human rights commission, dedicated to promoting humanand educating our congressional colleagues on the importance of standing up for human rights. through hearings and initiatives, we have focused on some of the most critical human rights challenges around the world. this year we began the defending freedoms project, where members of congress can adopt prisoners of conscience. i congratulate those members who have adopted prisoners and advocated for their release and i invite all my colleagues to join the commission and the defending freedoms project. the u.s. congress has a long history of standing up for the disenfranchised and the abused. it has stood on the side of immigrants and championed the rights of whose governments prevented them to emigrate. it has worked on behalf of the disappeared in chile and the gulags of the former soviet unions. it has stood up for journalists and other human rights defenders. i hope future congresses will not abandon that history but will continue to stand up for the rights of the disenfranchised, not