Ron Kind: “I rise today to take this moment to pay tribute to my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Vic Fazio), and to…”

“I rise today to take this moment to pay tribute to my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Vic Fazio), and to congratulate him on a terrific career in public service, and to personally thank him for the leadership he has given our party and to me personally, as a freshman Member of this great democratic institution. In fact, his retirement is not only a great loss to this House, but it is also a tremendous loss to future freshmen classes who will not benefit from his leadership, his wise counsel and advice, his timely wit, and the force of his example, which has been nothing less than the highest form of integrity and respect for this institution. I have watched him time and time again unite our caucus and keep us from taking ourselves a little too seriously sometimes and unite this House by working in a bipartisan fashion. I know I have benefitted from his presence here, just from what I have learned from him. He is one of the great examples of why term limits would, on occasion, hurt the function of our democracy. I know one of the secrets to Vic's effectiveness. It is not just the charm and the wit, the grace and the intelligence, but it is his smile.”