On the recordMarch 6, 2012
I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for leading this Special Order for our good friend and colleague, Donald Payne, whose passing leaves me shocked and deeply saddened after his 12 terms of outstanding service in the House of Representatives. Don was a friend. He was more than a colleague. He was the kind of friend you could always strike up a conversation with about matters technical or just matters at hand because Don was easy of manner but strong of conviction. Don was a real path breaker and history maker. He came to Congress as the first African American to serve in Congress from the State of New Jersey. He followed the great Peter Rodino, who had served Newark for decades. Newark had become a majority African American city, but Don grew up in a neighborhood that was as Italian as it was black and felt comfortable with people of all ethnic groups. When Congressman Rodino, who was then chair of the House Judiciary Committee, retired--this was, of course, before I came to Congress, but it was much commented upon--Don, who had run against him several times and was the logical person to win that seat, plunged into his work for a city that needed a man of his depth of understanding and conviction of their problems, their education, their health care, their housing needs. For Newark, when the Congressman came here 12 terms ago, personified, symbolized the great urban communities of our country and the upheavals that they were undergoing.…
