Tribute To The Honorable Lane Evans, Member of Congress
TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE LANE EVANS, MEMBER OF CONGRESS -- (House of Representatives - December 07, 2006)
Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to pay special tribute to our beloved colleague from Illinois, Congressman LANE EVANS.
Truly, LANE has been a man for others throughout his entire life; a patriot, a marine, someone who began his career after serving in Vietnam as a marine as a legal aid lawyer. He was always there for others. He truly is a beloved Member of this House, probably one of our most humble Members, and yet heroic throughout his service; a very, very strong human being.
I was privileged to be elected with LANE back in 1982 as we became classmates in the 98th Congress of that year. It was quite a large class, over 60 new Members at that time. I can remember meeting him at the very beginning, another son of the working class of people who came here to make a difference.
LANE ultimately became a leader in veterans affairs, a leader in fighting for better jobs with wages and pensions that people can depend upon, and taking on causes that were close to his heart, obviously representing rural Illinois. He cochaired the Ethanol Caucus long before we had the kind of attention paid to it today.
But in his capacity on the Veterans Affairs' Committee where he served from the very beginning, he was successful in spearheading efforts to pass legislation to compensate Vietnam veterans for diseases linked to exposure to Agent Orange.
I can remember the debate in those days back in the 1980s when the scientists would come up and say, Well, you know, we can't really prove why those cancers are caused, all these soft tissue cancers related to Agent Orange. The committee, with LANE's leadership and personal experience, came to conclude that there is a difference between doing what is morally right and what is scientifically provable, and LANE EVANS always stood for what is morally right.
Many words come to mind when I think of LANE: his honesty, his trustworthiness, his likability. He was a man of his word, a really good human being, and a good humored human being. He always had a joke. He was kind to all of us, intelligent, persevering and very, very unselfish.
He won passage of a law that delivers health and compensation benefits to children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange who were born with spinal bifida, a crippling birth defect. It represented the first time children of veterans received that benefit. And he led efforts to expand services to women veterans and pushed for increased help for veterans suffering from PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder, and crafted legislation to direct services to the large numbers of homeless veterans.
I can remember his efforts to set up the storefront homeless centers all across our country so that homeless veterans would feel comfortable. Many of them were not going into the traditional veterans facilities. He understood that. He played a leadership role in helping us to recognize the health needs of First Gulf War Syndrome.
In 1995, he rose to become ranking member on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and he was the chief House sponsor of legislation to ban the use of anti-personnel land mines. He knew a lot about that, having been a veteran himself.
In recognition of his outstanding leadership, Congressman Evans in 1990 was awarded the Vietnam Veterans of America first annual President's Award for Outstanding Achievement, and then in 1994 he received the AMVETS Silver Helmet Award, called the Oscar of veterans honors.
LANE is the son of a firefighter and a nurse and has been a tireless advocate and champion of the rights and needs of working Americans, from fighting for higher minimum wage, to seeking affordable health care for all Americans, to protecting good jobs at good wages in Illinois and throughout our country. Throughout our two decades here, that has been a monumental struggle, and he never let up on his persevering efforts.
I want to thank the people of Illinois tonight for sending such a great human being to this Congress.
Eight years ago, LANE EVANS contracted Parkinson's disease. As he has served with us and we have sat by him and worked with him, he never complained once. We watched him as it became more difficult for him to smile and to lift his arms and to come here to the floor, and he has done that through his 24th year.
I can remember when he started the basketball games over at Georgetown to raise money for philanthropic causes here in the Capitol for the needy. He was always helping others, and he did not pay that much attention to himself. In fighting Parkinson's disease, which he is still fighting, he became a model to all of us on what the words ``Semper Fidelis'' mean.
So, LANE EVANS, I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Ohio and on behalf of your colleagues here in the House. You truly have been a worthy servant and it has been an honor to serve by your side. We wish you Godspeed, and we thank you so very much for making us better by knowing you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://thomas.loc.gov/