Barbara Lee: “I thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee for yielding. I also was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, so I thank my sister. Let…”

“I thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee for yielding. I also was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, so I thank my sister. Let me say tonight that I rise to celebrate the remarkable life of our dear friend, a dedicated public servant and a warrior for justice, the Honorable--he truly was the Honorable--Alcee Hastings. I thank Congresswoman Beatty for organizing this Special Order to honor our friend this evening. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Congressman Hastings' family; his wife, Patricia; his staff; all of his loved ones; his children; and his grandchildren. I know that this loss is deeply felt, and I am praying for the Hastings family and also for his constituents whom I had the honor to meet during my visits to his district. Congressman Hastings was a trailblazer, and he lived a life of firsts as the first African-American Federal judge appointed to the State of Florida and the first African American to lead the Helsinki Commission. I have had the privilege to travel with Alcee to Europe several times and to work with him to establish a transatlantic dialogue to improve social and political inclusion of people of African descent in Europe and the United States. This was a visionary idea that Congressman Hastings wanted to see happen in his lifetime, and he has made so much progress toward achieving that goal and his dream. Alcee's political and diplomatic acumen was strengthened by his very warm and caring spirit.…”