Chaka Fattah

Thank you, Madam Leader, for coming and sharing with us profound reflections on the life of President Mandela. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, who has done a lot of work in this House today.

I thank the gentleman. I now yield to the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

I thank the gentlelady. I thank not just you, but all those who hail from your part of the country who helped in this struggle. I will yield to the Congressman from the city of Newark, the State of New Jersey, Congressman Donald Payne…

I thank the gentlewoman for her extraordinary contributions to this remarkable occurrence in our lifetime, to see Mandela and his transformation from prison to President. I will have something more to say about that as we close. But I want…

I thank the gentlelady from the great State of Texas. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected President. It is not of the same historical importance, but I was elected to the Congress that same year. But I am reminded that every day we are…

I thank the gentlelady from California. I yield to my colleague from the United States Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

I met President Mandela on a number of occasions, both in Philadelphia and here in Washington, and when I traveled to Africa with then-President Bill Clinton when Mandela was leading some peace talks in a country that was involved in a…

I thank the gentlewoman, and I thank her for her leadership on this House floor on behalf of not just the people she represents in Ohio, but throughout the country. I now yield to someone who is no stranger to struggle. Nelson Mandela…

I thank the gentleman. It was said by Ben Hooks on one occasion that we're all passing one by one and we should not get caught with our work undone. So Bill got his work done. I yield to the gentlelady from the great State of New York…

I thank the gentleman. The Sunday after Bill Gray left Congress, he preached a sermon, where he said that he was chasing his mission. And his mission wasn't money. It wasn't being in Congress. It was serving people. And he was leaving the…

I thank the gentlelady, and I thank her for her leadership in this House and her own extraordinary career that continues as we go forward. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

I thank the gentleman. Bill Gray, for myself and my wife, for my parents, for tens of thousands of Philadelphians, was just a wonderful human being who did so much to help so many. And I think it is appropriate that the Democratic leader…

I thank the gentleman and also would like to thank all who have assisted the family at this time, including the United States Department of State, which assisted in dealing with some of the issues around the death of Bill Gray in another…

Thank you. All of us have expressed our condolences to the Gray family, his lovely wife and three sons, but I want the Members to take note that we have with us this evening a number of Bill Gray's former staff members who are here and…

I thank the gentleman. It is true that Bill Gray traveled a great distance in his life--born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to his date of expiration in London--but he did so much in that period of time to make this world a better place. I…

I thank the gentleman for that recitation of God's prayer. Now you'll hear from someone who actually served with Bill Gray, who was his colleague in more ways than one, because Bill Gray was also a member of the greatest college…

I thank the gentlelady. Representing the city of Philadelphia was something that Bill Gray was born to do. He was just an extraordinary Member. We have one of my colleagues who knew Congressman Gray and worked with him from her earliest…

I now yield to the gentlelady from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, for an opportunity to talk about Bill Gray and his service to our Nation.

Let me first thank the House for setting aside this time to appropriately reflect on and to celebrate the life of service of William H. Gray--Bill Gray, as we know him--who represented my hometown of Philadelphia so very well in this…

Thank you. I ask for the House to stand for a moment of silence. ____________________

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to our ranking member.

There is no more important subject matter.

The VA means so much to so many of our fellow citizens in terms of the range of its services.

The work that you have done has been extraordinary given the challenges that the VA faced when you walked in the door

I support the veterans' courts.