On the recordDecember 20, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of New Mexico's great leaders, New Mexico Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, who passed away Tuesday night after his battle with lung cancer. Speaker Lujan is the father of our colleague, and my friend, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan. First elected to the State legislature in 1974, Ben Lujan served as speaker of the house from 2001 until 2012. Throughout his tenure in the House, Speaker Lujan showed that he was a champion for working families, a tireless advocate for his constituents, and an absolute master of legislative strategy. At the beginning of this year, when Speaker Lujan spoke to the legislature of his battle with cancer, he encouraged everyone to make their time on Earth worthwhile and to ``make a difference for the children, our working families, and for the elderly.'' Speaker Lujan has inspired me and so many New Mexicans to do just that. Our good thoughts and prayers are with his wife Carmen, with Ben Ray, and with the rest of the Lujan family. ____________________
