February 13, 2008
Lantos Remembered Ahead Of Clemens Hearing
Before inaugurating what was expected to be a tense day of testimony from Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, the former trainer who claims to have injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner numerous times with performance-enhancing drugs, House Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman took a moment to remember fellow California Democrat Tom Lantos.
"I think it's appropriate that as a longtime member of this committee and a very esteemed member of Congress, we recognize him and have a moment of silence," Waxman said, before allowing ranking member Tom Davis to say a few words.
"His keen intellect, indomitable spirit and wry insights left an indelible mark on all that he touched," the Virginia Republican said. "He will be missed and not forgotten."
Davis went on to invoke the Talmud, a rabbinical text, in his remembrance of the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in Congress.
"There are stars whose light only reaches the earth long after they have fallen apart," Davis said. "There are people whose remembrance gives light in this world, long after they have passed away. This light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow."
The hearing room, Clemens included, held a moment of silence.
Lantos, 80, passed away on Monday from cancer of the esophagus. He was the longtime top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
