Benjamin Gilman: “I wanted to thank Mr. Quinn for arranging this time for us to pay tribute to an outstanding legislator, Rev. Floyd…”

“I wanted to thank Mr. Quinn for arranging this time for us to pay tribute to an outstanding legislator, Rev. Floyd Flake. We hope one day we will be calling him Bishop Floyd Flake. Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of regret that I know that many of us are here to bid good-bye to Floyd, but also we are happy to pay tribute to a colleague who is going to be sorely missed, not only by this body, but by his New York constituents, by the congressional delegation of New York, by the American people. Floyd Flake has decided to leave us to devote full-time to his first vocation, service to God, but in many ways he has served his congregation superbly throughout his 11 years in the Congress by being a constant reminder of decency, of tolerance, and of the American way. He has been a great role model for many in his community. Floyd brought to this Chamber a diverse background which reminded us all of the diversity of our Nation. He was a college administrator to two well-known, respected institutions, Lincoln University and Boston College. He enjoyed a successful career as a corporate marketer. But his role as pastor of the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church is perhaps the largest influence on Floyd's life, and he reflected this influence every day of his tenure here. Incidentally, that is no small congregation. It numbers in the thousands.”