Mike Thompson: “In my time in Congress rarely have I participated in Special Orders, but tonight, this is more than a Special Order.…”

“In my time in Congress rarely have I participated in Special Orders, but tonight, this is more than a Special Order. John Lewis was one of the greatest men to have ever served in the Congress of the United States of America. He devoted his entire life to helping others and to making our country a better place. It was an incredible honor to serve with him in Congress and on the Committee on Ways and Means. My wife, Jan, and I walked with him over the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. That was 50 years after John was almost killed on that bridge after peacefully protesting discrimination that disenfranchised Americans in our country. He visited my district, and hundreds of my constituents came out to see him. One man came in a wheelchair, pushed by his daughter. And his daughter said: My father was a Freedom Rider and marched with John Lewis. And he checked himself out of the hospital tonight so he could be here to see John Lewis. After they said their hellos, he got back in the wheelchair and said: Take me back to the hospital. I am thanked to this day for bringing John to our community. When you would pass John in the halls of Congress, and he would greet you with, ``Hello, my brother,'' he made you believe that you were actually his brother. We must all commit to working harder to be a little more like John Lewis. Good-bye, John, and thank you. Godspeed, my brother.”