Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart to pay tribute to the memory of that longtime friend of ours and colleague on the Appropriations Committee, which he chaired, former Congressman Jerry Lewis from California, who passed away July 15, 2021. After working in the insurance industry and serving in the California State Assembly, Jerry was first elected to Congress 2 years before me, in 1978, and served his southern California district honorably until his retirement in 2013. Serving together on the Appropriations Committee for 30 years, Jerry and I became friends due to our respect and admiration for this body, the committee itself, and our singular focus on doing all we could to serve our constituents back home in our respective districts. Jerry was a true believer in our committee, its wielding the power of the purse, and ensuring that we were spending taxpayers' hard-earned tax dollars wisely. He also prided himself in his ability to steer Federal funding to his district, including funding for critical, lifesaving flood control projects, important cancer research, protecting his southern California district from wildfires, and much, much more. Jerry believed that one of the jobs of being a Federal Congressman was to be sure that his constituents' voices would be heard here on whatever problem they may be having and that we should spend Federal tax dollars fairly on those projects and matters.…”