Steny Hoyer: “I want to say that this House will be a lesser place for his loss. He and Lenny Donnelly have brought a true commitment…”

“I want to say that this House will be a lesser place for his loss. He and Lenny Donnelly have brought a true commitment to this institution, not just to us as individuals, not just to the pages and the Members, but to all of the people who have come in contact with this institution. The page system, I think, Mr. Speaker, is a uniquely important part of this institution. It allows young people to come from throughout the United States, spend some time not just in the Capital of their Nation but in the people's House, seeing day to day the operations of democracy, seeing, frankly, firsthand that the Members here on both sides of the aisle, liberals, conservatives, moderates, independent, work hard and care about their country, care about their oath of office. I think they carry back with them a special insight that they then impart to their peers who, I think, have a little better respect for their democracy, for the education that they received from our pages. Lenny Donnelly, Peggy, others who on a day-to-day basis deal with our pages, perform a great service for this institution, but, in a broader sense, a great service for our democracy. Lenny, we will miss you.”