Tom Lantos: “it is truly a pleasure for me to join our colleagues in paying tribute to our colleague and my friend, Congressman Lee…”

“it is truly a pleasure for me to join our colleagues in paying tribute to our colleague and my friend, Congressman Lee H. Hamilton of Indiana, for his distinguished service to our nation as a Member of Congress for 34 years. I can think of few members who can rival his intelligence, wit, integrity, and commitment to public service. For the past 18 years that I have been a Member of this body, I have served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs/International Relations, and during that entire time I have served with Lee Hamilton. For well over a decade, I sat next to him on the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, which Lee chaired for two decades. When Lee served as chairman of the full Committee on Foreign Affairs, I headed one of the subcommittees, and in that capacity we worked closely together for two years. Mr. Speaker, it has been truly an honor to serve with Lee over these many years, and to admire his commitment to democracy and America's international interests in the broadest and most positive sense. From the cold war to the collapse of the Iron Curtain to the serious challenges of the post-cold-war world, Lee has stood as a pillar of principle in defending the values that we in America cherish.”