Political Quotes

“Thank you for yielding, and thank you, Madam Speaker, for the time. It was once said that a politician worries about the next election, but a statesman worries about the next generation. Don Payne was a statesman. To the Payne family, I offer my sincere condolences and prayers. Thank you for sharing your brother and your father with us. While I do not have as many personal memories as my colleagues of serving with Congressman Payne, I stand here as a beneficiary of his work over his 77 years. I can honestly say but not for Donald Payne, I probably wouldn't be here. I, along with others of my generation and the generations after me, not only in America but all across the world, stand on the shoulders of Congressman Payne. So I have the honor and the pleasure of serving with him, but I also have the obligation on behalf of those generations to say thank you to Congressman Payne for making this world a better place for us. If we can remember anything with his passing, we can rest assured that Donald Payne did what he was purposed to accomplish in his lifetime. So I can say right now without a doubt that Donald Payne earned the right to say exactly what Paul said to Timothy, and that is, ``I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.'' So, Madam Speaker, this body, this country, and the entire world lost a true gentleman in Donald Payne, and we lost a quintessential statesman.”