Nick Rahall: “today the House is honoring the life of one of it most distinguished Members, former Representative Peter Rodino of New…”

“today the House is honoring the life of one of it most distinguished Members, former Representative Peter Rodino of New Jersey. Congressman Rodino died on May 7, 2005, and is survived by his wife Joy Rodino, two children, three granddaughters and two great- granddaughters. By the time I entered Congress in 1977, Peter Rodino was a national figure, a household name and someone to whom I looked for guidance as a young Member. He had been one of the main sponsors and a driving force behind Civil Rights legislation in the 1950s and 60s. He was Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings of President Richard Nixon. And he participated in the Iran-Contra hearings during the 1980s. But his friends and colleagues remember more than the fact that he was involved in many of the most important matters that faced the United States in the second half of the 20th Century. Born in 1909, he was a member of the Greatest Generation--serving in the Army in North Africa and Italy during World War II. In war, he received the Bronze Star and was one of the first enlisted men to receive a battlefield commission as an officer. Prior to his service in World War II, Mr. Rodino received his bachelor's degree from the University of Newark and graduated in 1937 from what became Rutgers Law School. Following his 40 years of distinguished service in the House, Mr. Rodino taught at Seton Hall University School of Law.…”