Melvin Watt: “Thank you, Mr. Fattah, for convening us here and for coordinating this. I'd like to rise and pay tribute to the memory…”

“Thank you, Mr. Fattah, for convening us here and for coordinating this. I'd like to rise and pay tribute to the memory of Bill Gray also. Unlike our leader, I never had the pleasure of serving with Bill Gray. Maybe people will wonder why so many people have flocked to the floor to pay tribute to him. We put him in the same category that we put Shirley Chisholm, with whom I never served, or George H. White, with whom I never served, or many other people who came before us; because we stand on their shoulders and recognize that, but for the contributions that they made, we would not be here. And I come because Bill Gray was a friend, even though I never served with him. He regularly checked in with those of us who served just to call and say hello and encourage us to stay committed to the task that we are sent here to undertake. He regularly checked in with me because he knew I also played tennis and loved tennis and that I'd been to Wimbledon before. So I guess the great thing about it is that he died in the middle of making a trip to do something and observe something that he really loved--and with a member of his family. I want to thank Representative Fattah for convening this Special Order, and I extend my condolences to Bill Gray's family. We'll remember him forever and ever. Amen.”