Pete Stark: “I rise to remember and honor my friend and distinguished former colleague Bill Lehman. Bill Lehman represented South…”

“I rise to remember and honor my friend and distinguished former colleague Bill Lehman. Bill Lehman represented South Florida in the House of Representatives for twenty years beginning in 1972. Bill and I came to Congress together that year. It is with sadness that I stand to pay tribute to him today as one of the last remaining members of the class of '72. Though Bill left Congress in 1993, he and I kept in touch. It was less than a month ago when we last corresponded. He noted my name in an article in the Miami Herald and wrote to encourage me to keep up the fight. I'm going to miss those notes and his many years of friendship. Bill was unique. He was special among those who've served in this institution. He was an individual of great principle and compassion beloved by the community he represented. As his hometown paper the Miami Herald eulogized him, Bill Lehman was a 'legendary figure of South Florida politics considered a visionary on racial issues and public transit.' Bill Lehman was legendary in this House where he served ten years as Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. He was a tireless advocate of progressive causes at home and abroad, known for taking principled stands on international and constitutional issues. Bill Lehman had another distinction, too. He's the only politician I ever met that, when compared to a used car salesman, he was proud to be a used car salesman.”