Katie Porter: “I rise with my colleagues to commemorate the passing of one of my good friends, Hamilton Fish, Jr. Together with my…”

“I rise with my colleagues to commemorate the passing of one of my good friends, Hamilton Fish, Jr. Together with my family, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Ham's family and urge them to be strong in this time of loss. Ham was a respected Member of this institution and a mentor to me when I was a young Member of this body. He was respected by all who knew him for his deep and abiding respect for the Constitution, his knowledge of the law and his wisdom as a legislator, his sense of decorum and the importance of this institution, and for his ability to work on both sides of the aisle to find consensus on controversial issues. Ham was also a fighter for the things he believed in, a fighting spirit that was demonstrated in his courageous battle against cancer. Unfortunately, he has now lost this battle. As chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee, I want the Members of this body to know that I take the heart the courage shown by Ham in his battle against cancer, courage that too many Americans facing this dread disease must muster every day. And I want the Members to know that I will continue to do all that I can to bolster research funding for the National Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute, in the hope that we can make greater progress against this disease and, by so doing, honor Ham's memory and the memories of those who, like him, have shown such courage.”