Lynn A. Westmoreland: “Mr. Speaker, Charlie Norwood was a friend of mine, he was a friend of all Georgians, and he was a friend of every…”

“Mr. Speaker, Charlie Norwood was a friend of mine, he was a friend of all Georgians, and he was a friend of every freedom loving person in this world, because he fought hard for you. He was one of the original Republican revolutionaries that was elected in 1994, and he never really lost that spirit, that conservative fever. He agreed with Jefferson that the government that governs least, governs best, and he fought for 12 years in this House to make sure that regulations on business and individuals' lives were at a minimum. In fact, sometimes he called the government's reach into our lives oppressive. Once Charlie was quoted in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, as saying, "If I want to put bad wiring in my house and burn my family down, that is my problem, not the government's." That was typical of Charlie. He was a witty warrior. When he joined me in the Voting Rights Act, trying to modernize section 5, the renewal of the Voting Rights Act, I had come up with two amendments. One of them had to do with putting the whole country under it, going through the same scrutiny. I met with Charlie and Charlie said, "Lynn, I want the modernization amendment to be the Norwood amendment." I said, "That's fine, Charlie, but why?" He said, "Because I can do a better job than you can." That is the way he felt, and that is exactly the way he was.”