Political Quotes

“As I said, Mr. Speaker, we want to recognize two colleagues whom I served with. Congressman Hultgren mentioned Phil Crane and Congresswoman Kaptur mentioned Lane Evans. Both were colleagues of mine that I was fortunate to serve with, so I am going to talk about both of those at this time. Lane was born in Rock Island, Illinois. On August 4, 1951, he joined the Marines at the age of 17. He had orders for Vietnam, but he served in Okinawa, Japan, as a security guard because his older brother was already deployed in the war. In 1982, Lane was first elected from his western Illinois district and served for an additional 12 terms. He worked for more than a decade after his Parkinson's diagnosis, but announced in 2006 that he wouldn't seek reelection because of his deteriorating health. As a Congressman, he fought for the rights of veterans and became the senior Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. He pushed legislation to help those exposed to agent orange and to give former servicemembers' rights to judicial review in pursuing their benefits. He also campaigned for veterans grappling with post-traumatic stress disorders and other health problems. As I know Lane, he was very adamant and focused on serving the veterans. He also was one of the first to start talking about the concerns of veterans in finding jobs after their service. President Obama credited Lane Evans with aiding his own political rise, saying once that he wouldn't have made it to the U.S.…”