Frank Pallone: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker; and I want to continue making this tribute and joining my colleagues, Congressman Lance and…”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker; and I want to continue making this tribute and joining my colleagues, Congressman Lance and Congressman Holt, in this tribute this evening to John Adler, a good friend and one of our colleagues. I don't want to repeat some of the things that my colleagues have already said, but I would like to talk a little bit about some instances of my own life that also involved John. I think Mr. Lance mentioned how difficult his political life was in the sense that he was always running in areas that were primarily or historically Republican. When he was elected to the State senate back in the early 1990s, he won in an upset against an incumbent. Of course, when he ran for the congressional seat which adjoins mine in the south in Ocean County, he was very much running against the odds. That seat had been held by Congressman Saxton, who was also a good friend for many years, and was Republican as far back as anyone can remember. And he still won. I think he won by 51 or 52 percent of the vote. He just always faced challenges like that. It was mentioned when he was growing up that his father died also of a heart condition at a young age, I think 47 years old; and I don't even know if John was in high school at that time.…”