Sanford Bishop: “I come to the House Floor today to pay tribute to our beloved colleague, dear friend and one of our nation's preeminent…”

“I come to the House Floor today to pay tribute to our beloved colleague, dear friend and one of our nation's preeminent humanitarian icons--the late Congressman Donald Payne. I first met Congressman Payne nearly two decades ago and I will always remember him as a kind, welcoming and intellectually gifted individual. In serving in this distinguished body with Congressman Payne over the past few decades, I had the pleasure of seeing him excel in multiple rolls and often under challenging circumstances. As a former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and more recently Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, I observed firsthand his relentless and passionate advocacy on improving the standards of living for disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities of color all around the world. And anyone who knew Donald Payne well, knows that one of his biggest priorities was doing all he could to improve the educational standing of our nation's students and young scholars. As a former teacher, he understood better than most in this body, the insurmountable tasks that our educators have in simultaneously instructing and mentoring our future leaders. He used his senior position on the U.S. House of Representatives Education and the Workforce Committee to aggressively advocate on behalf of America's children.…”