Paul Tonko: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I stand in tribute to Congressman John…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I stand in tribute to Congressman John Robert Lewis this evening. Brother John, your imprint on my heart and soul is forever. The loss of John Lewis has left us with a deep, unanswerable sadness, and a resolve that will echo in this Chamber and within all of our hearts forever. Time and again, John gave us the gift of his courage and lit our path with a humble but fierce moral light. He risked everything to teach us, to remind us what it really means to fight for liberty and justice for all; and why we must fight on, even after our great champion has fallen. My thoughts, my prayers, and my heart go out to John's family, to Michael, and his staff, his community, and all who knew and loved this giant of a man. May John's light always fill the halls of our Capitol. May his hope guide our hands, and his vision for a more perfect Union continue to inspire us with timeless faith and purpose. Of late, when I would talk to Brother John, he had a concern that those wheels of progress toward a more perfect Union might roll backward. We cannot tolerate that. Brother John taught us that; that we will only go forward. So if we truly loved this man, if we truly want to honor his spirit, let us make certain that those wheels of progress toward a more perfect Union, in fact, go forward and upward. God bless you, my friend. You walked so humbly with your God. Rest in peace.…”