Date: 2009-05-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. this Is the definition of bittersweet. Bitter because Jack Kemp was one of my best friends. sweet because we are here marking a remarkable person. a remarkable history. and a remarkable contribution to this House of Representatives. Jack Kemp. yes. served with distinction in this House. But more than that. he gave this House life. As I was saying to another Member who served with him. as did I. when you talk about Jack Kemp. a smile comes to your lips. not because he walked with the swagger or arrogance of a former athlete. but because he walked with the grace of a former athlete who extended that grace to his public service. Jack Kemp was a remarkable man. Jack used to say that he probably showered with more AfricanAmericans than most Republicans had met. Jack was referring to his service as a member of the AFL. American Football League. and then* . member of the AFC. where he gained the respect of his teammates no matter what their color. As a candidate for Vice President of the United States. Jack became one of the very few people in the history of the United States to run for that office who had been the founder of a union and president of a union. He helped found the AFL Players Association and worked with John Mackey. who was the president of the NFL Players Association. to try and make more equal the bargaining position of players versus the owners and the league. Jack took great pride in that. But more than anything else. Jack Kemp was a family man. His family never came second to him in anything he did. He told me one time that he was trying to inspire his children and he would leave notes on their pillows af night. One of the notes he would write would say "be a leader." I took that as an example for myself. and as my children were growing up.. I would say to them as they went to bed "be a leader" or sometimes leave them a note that. said that. That was something I got from Jack Kemp. Jack was also a man of the House: If you listened to him in various settings. he would repeat that phrase. I remember it very well .when I was privileged to be among those in the crowd in the Cannon caucus room when Jsck launched his ultimately unsuccessful but nonetheless inspirational race for President of the United States. As he bid the House goodbye. he said. "I may be leaving the House. but I will for the rest of my life be a man of the House." And I believe he was to the very marrow of his bone. to his last breath. Jack loved this House. He understood what this House represented. He understood that this place is. yes. an institution for the people of America. But he understood that it was populated by human beings. He understood that politics was not only policy. but it was people. He understood that in order to make a compromise. you had to know the person across the aisle. You had to hava some empathy for them and the lives they lived and the families they had. And in a very real sense. Jack elevated this House because he understood thefoundations of this House. Jack. yes. became famous for his enunciation of the principles that underlie supplyside economics. but it was much more than that. If you knew Jack. you knew it wasnt about the theory. as the impact of the theory. Jack believed fundamentally that in order to help our neighbor. we had to respect our neighbor. In order to try and bring people up from their bootstraps. you had to recognize their basic humanity. He understood that government. yes. stands for the purpose of helping people. but we needed to help people help themselves. If you look at his Ideas. his thoughts. his work on enterprise zones. it was rooted not in political philosophy. It was rooted in his love of his fellow man. He actually believed every single person was in the image of God. He actually believed that. whether you were black or white or Hispanic. whatever you were. you were of equal value in the sight of God. and that was Jack Kemp to the core. So if you listened to him argue on the floor. he would implicitly and explicitly articulate the vision that every single person was worthy. And that motivated his philosophy and that motivated his debate and that motivated the bills that he supported on the floor. He was for enterprise zones because he thought that you could unleash the power of the individual. He thought that one way of elevating the downtrodden in our society was to give them opportunity. He believed in opportunity. He thought he was the embodiment of opportunity. and he wanted to extend opportunity to every single person in this society. Jack was an inspiration to those who knew him. He wasnt perfect. he would tell you that. Sometimes he acted like a quarterback and you would have to tell him that we werent in a huddle. And thank God for his wife. Joanne. because Joanne could tell him there wasnt a huddle going on. and he would get that halfcrooked smile on his face and he would chuckle and listen. And he would incorporate your ideas and he would always be welcoming of them. and sometimes later you would hear him talking and you would hear one of your ideas being expressed by Jack Kemp in that vibrant way. Mr. Speaker. you might get the idea that I thought a lot of my friend Jack Kemp. because I did. But it was more than just friendship. it was brotherhood. This place is a better place because Jack served here. This place would be a better place if we had more Jack Kemps here. This place is a greater institution because of his service here. and we will be an even greater institution if we dont just memorialize him. but we embody many of the traits that he brought forth to this floor. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.