In Memory of Congressman Raul Grijalva

Floor Speech

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Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside his colleagues in the Arizona delegation, alongside members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, alongside members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and so many others, to mourn the loss of a political and social justice giant, Congressman Raul Grijalva.

Raul's story is the American Dream. He was the proud son of a bracero cowboy from Mexico who went on to become the president of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board, chairman of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, an 11-term Member of the United States Congress, and the dean of the Arizona delegation.

His accomplishments in this body are too numerous to list. We would be here all night, but it is his legacy of fighting for environmental causes that stands out. As chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Raul led the charge to protect America's public lands, including and especially the Grand Canyon, to protect our most precious resources, including our water, and he stood up firm for Tribal sovereignty.

He has been a mainstay in these Capitol hallways for more than two decades, but he remained an activist at heart. He never forgot where he came from or the people who got him to where he was.

Raul brought the lessons he learned as a Chicano activist in Tucson in the 1970s to Washington where he led the Progressive Caucus for more than a decade, leading the charge for immigrants and working people.

He spoke truth to power, but in his quiet way and always with good humor. Perhaps Raul's greatest legacy is the generation of Latino leaders that he mentored, many of whom stand inside this body and many more that fill city halls, county seats, and school boards back home in Tucson. As Raul would say: ``It is all about the love.''

He spent more than a half-century working on behalf of southern Arizona until the very end. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife, Ramona, his three daughters, and the community of Tucson who will dearly miss him. Rest now, my friend.

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Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Gosar for those kind words. When you and he disagreed, Raul was normally right.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues at this moment to join me in a moment of silence for our departed colleague.

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