Nancy Pelosi: “the members of the New York delegation have risen today with great sadness and with great pride in the life and service…”

“the members of the New York delegation have risen today with great sadness and with great pride in the life and service and leadership of our former colleague, Tom Manton. When Mr. Rangel announced to the body earlier this evening the sad news of Mr. Manton's passing, which, of course, has been heralded in the press because he was a big figure in New York, it brought back many memories for those of us who served with him. A big, strong Democrat, he served with great pride in this body as a way to serve the people of his district, which he loved and took great pride in. He worked in a very bipartisan way to get the job done for them. I had been a former Chair of the California Democratic Party over 20 years ago, so we shared that commitment to removing obstacles of participation in the political process through the Democratic Party organization which he led with great pride for so much of his political life. His policy contributions for his district are legendary, and that is why he was unbeatable until he just decided he wasn't going to run again, and we all know of the legacy that he sent us in the great service of Mr. Crowley in the Congress. Every person in America who cares about the environment in our country owes Mr. Manton a debt of gratitude. During seven terms in Congress, Mr. Manton was an important figure on the reauthorization of the Superfund program, which promotes the cleanup of uncontrolled and abandoned hazardous waste sites.…”