Political Quotes

“I wish to rise tonight to pay tribute to a very good friend, Ron Lasch. I came as a staff Member to this body more years than I would like to think ago, and Ron was always a friend, whether I was a staffer, whether I was a Member of Congress, whether I worked at the White House or here on the Hill. For many years and many decades, in fact, Ron Lasch watched virtually every debate, every vote on this floor more than probably any other American, in fact. His retirement, his surprise retirement this week did catch a lot of us surprised because Ron Lasch was a good friend. He was a confidante, a member of the staff that would sit in the back that really did know everything. Yet, he did not tell everything unless he was asked. We would ask him about amendments. Today, as an example, I chaired a hearing on our nuclear labs and the security that has been lapsing at them out West, a hearing that literally took 8 or 9 hours today. Lo and behold, as we had a number of votes on the floor, a number of us came to find out what the order of the amendments were, what precisely they did. Ron Lasch was always one that could tell us. He had sat here during the debate. He knew what was going on. His word was his bond. You could rely on Ron Lasch to get the right information. It was a little trouble today sitting in the back trying to figure out which amendments were coming up and precisely what they did. It took a little extra time. We miss Ron.…”