Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I also thank Donna Christensen for her leadership in bringing us all together this evening. This is a wonderful way, when this Record is read of this Special Order for Donald Payne, for everyone to know the depth of the love and respect that we all had for this great and gentle human being. He was a committed public servant and a true champion for social and economic justice at home and around the world. He had a global perspective that helped teach us that all of the 6.4 billion people on Earth are connected and related. So when I was asked to campaign for his first run for Congress that I knew about, which was in 1988, I was pleased to do so. I traveled to Newark and joined with him in that victory. I remember being struck by his deep desire to help people, and I had no idea that he would grow and develop into this leader whom we mourn and praise here today. Through his work as a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he led the fight to address inequities in every realm of existence. He was a great proponent for peace. I must say that I am convinced that he had the spirit and the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that he lived and demonstrated every single day of his life. He is the one Member of whom I can say I never saw angry, I never saw upset.…”