Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, let me, at the outset, as Chairman Shimkus did, express how special it was to watch a chairman and a staff director work, I think I daresay, as peers, as a team. That is very unusual in a place where titles seem to matter more than they ought to and more than they do other places. I did have the opportunity to know Ray a little bit when I was on the North Dakota Public Service Commission, and he served on the Oregon Public Utility Commission. In fact, our terms mirrored exactly one with the other. A lot has been said about Ray's commitment to service, and I think it is undeniable. I think of the things he could have done and probably could have made a lot more money doing, but he chose, instead, to serve people. He serves as a testimony, frankly, in many respects. This opportunity we have tonight to pay tribute to Ray and his memory is a furtherance of his testimony, that we here, even in Washington, D.C.-- yes, even here in the swamp; yes, for all the people who watch us wondering if there is any decency among us, we really are a family. So our tribute tonight is testimony to that because it is really testimony to his life. He served as such a great example to all of us. A lot has been said about Ray's sense of humor. Until you get to know him, he could make you off guard a little bit every now and then. I always appreciated, though, that Ray had an ability to take a serious moment seriously, take a serious issue seriously, but never take us too seriously.…”