Brendan Boyle: “I would like to thank my fellow Pennsylvanian, Mr. Kelly, for yielding me time, and I thank Chairman Neal and the staff…”

“I would like to thank my fellow Pennsylvanian, Mr. Kelly, for yielding me time, and I thank Chairman Neal and the staff and everyone who put this together. I offer my personal condolences to all of the Pascrell staff. This has truly been a wonderful evening, and for anyone who may be at home watching on C-SPAN, I hope it gives you actually a taste of a part of the House of Representatives culture that you may not see, and you certainly don't see on cable TV news. There is a lot more heart and soul to this place than sometimes meets the eye. Billy was about a 70-mile drive up the New Jersey Turnpike from where I live in Philadelphia, but in so many ways we were from the same neighborhood. While Bill was one of a kind, there are many people similar to Billy in my community, that is for sure. We spoke the same language. I think tonight, if you didn't know Mr. Pascrell, if you didn't know Billy, you are getting a flavor for who he was, and truly, he was a character. But don't let that obscure this fact: He was a character with character. He had a lot of heart, a lot of tenacity. He knew who he was. He knew who he was fighting for. He was truly a special person. It might sound odd to say about an 87-year-old, but I am still in shock that he is actually gone. I have been here 10 years. I often sat next to or near Billy. This place is not the same now that he is gone.…”