Melvin Watt: “I think the thing that I probably most underestimated when I came to Congress 9 years or so ago was the extent to which…”

“I think the thing that I probably most underestimated when I came to Congress 9 years or so ago was the extent to which Congress is a family of people. It has the same kinds of personalities that all families do. Some of them are socially inclined and some of them are distant and some of them are friendly and some of them not so friendly. To some extent, to a great extent, we each individually have the opportunity to make our choice about how we become a member of this family. The family aspect of this, I think, for me was more personified by Joe Moakley than almost anybody else I know in this institution. He was a Member's Member, as a function of his position on the Committee on Rules, I am sure in part, but probably more as a function of his personality and who he was and how he chose to be a part of this family. He was always, always readily willing to share a joke of some kind every single time you had a conversation with him, and you never heard, at least I never heard, the same joke more than once. I just think that this tribute and Joe Moakley's life is a testament to this family nature of our institution.”