James Traficant: “Mr. Speaker, he was a liberal, he was a Democrat, but he was a great American. I have heard him called so many things on…”

“Mr. Speaker, he was a liberal, he was a Democrat, but he was a great American. I have heard him called so many things on the floor. I look back at the history of Ron Dellums, and what a great Member we had in our midst. What an orator. It is so fitting to see the gentleman from New York (Chairman Solomon), one of our great Members, discuss here some of the little anecdotes of Ron's great involvement in our Congress. Just in passing, I don't want to embarrass her, but Susan Brita of our staff at the Committee on Transportation, the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Economic Development, said she can remember the day when Ron Dellums brought the mayor in from Oakland, and he was lobbying to get free land to have this courthouse built, this very same courthouse, that will appropriately be named in his honor. I have had a few run-in's with Ron. I disagreed with him on troops on the border and I disagreed with him on some other issues, but I will tell you what: He was always straight up, looked you right in the eye and told you what he felt, right to your face, and you had to appreciate that.”