Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we all lost a dear friend when Frank Lautenberg passed away a little over a week ago. He was a friend, he was a colleague, he was a mentor. In the last Congress I had the opportunity to sit next to him on the floor of the Senate. Our desks were back there in the last row. I had a chance to sit next to him. I tell you--you have heard this many times--but when we had those vote- aramas Frank kept me very much engaged. His sense of humor, his ability to use contemporary activities with a sense of humor kept us all going. We are certainly going to miss that humor. I also sat next to him on the Environment and Public Works Committee. He was a fierce defender of public health and the environment. I am going to certainly miss his advocacy. He was there to protect clean air. He chaired that subcommittee and took on every special interest in order to protect our children and to protect our communities. He was a fierce defender of the environment, recognizing we all have a responsibility to pass on the environment in a better condition to future generations. His story is a story about the success of America. Here we have a child of an immigrant family that came to this country and started anew with virtually no resources. It is very appropriate that I am talking about Frank Lautenberg on a day in which the immigration reform bill is on the floor of the Senate.…”