Cliff Stearns: “I also stand here in the well to remember our dear colleague, Bill Emerson from Missouri. I can still see him in the…”

“I also stand here in the well to remember our dear colleague, Bill Emerson from Missouri. I can still see him in the back row, all the way in the back in the last aisle, standing there talking. And many of us used to go back to talk to him and ask him, Bill, what are the nuances of this vote and would he explain it. He was very knowledgeable about different bills on the House floor. But he would also give you a sense of humor, a point about the bill that would make you chuckle and laugh, knowing that sometimes Members were forced to vote on things they did not like, because within the whole bill there would be a small something you did like. But Bill Emerson had that way. And I also want to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that many times I spoke to him during his illness and encouraged him and gave him several articles, articles which talked about other Americans suffering from cancer and how they met this disease and the type of mind frame they put themselves in and tried to encourage it. But he did not need to be encouraged in terms of a positive attitude because his entire relationship that I had with him and saw on the House floor was one of optimism, one of being a positive American and showing other Americans, through his leadership and through his personality, the purpose of all of us is that we are to be caring and helpful for our fellow man.”