Witnessing up close Lantos’s commitment to human rights

During his 27 years of outstanding congressional service, I welcomed and will long remember working closely together with Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), a dedicated leader of our House Foreign Affairs Committee, our Government Reform Committee and our Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

Georgia and I traveled with Tom and Annette Lantos throughout the world in our joint efforts, championing human rights in numerous oppressive governments, including, among others, Burma, China, the Soviet Union and Tom’s homeland, Hungary.

We will remember accompanying Tom and Annette in paying tribute in Budapest, Tom’s birthplace, to the courageous Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued Tom and Annette, in addition to thousands of other Jews, from the Holocaust by issuing them Swedish-protected passports during the World War II Nazi occupation of Europe. And we will remember subsequently joining Tom and Annette in dedicating a statue of Raul Wallenberg in our Capitol and passing legislation naming Wallenberg an honorary U.S. citizen.

Tom Lantos will long be remembered as an outstanding legislative leader who became our nation’s champion of human rights; remembered by his congressional colleagues, by his California constituents, by our nation; by his devoted wife, Annette, and his two daughters; and by his 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

As our nation pays tribute to Tom’s notable career of public service, our heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to Tom’s family. May Tom’s significant contributions to our country be long remembered, and may God bless his work for mankind.

Washington

Burton makes fool of himself at hearing

From Jim Finn (regarding the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Feb. 13 steroids hearing).

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) should be ashamed of himself and his behavior. Mr. Burton, oblivious to the obvious, went at Brian McNamee full force and handled Roger Clemens with kid gloves. If I did not know better I would think that Mr. Burton had been paid by Clemens’s lawyers. But then, the missing of the obvious by our congressmen seems to be pretty common — that is why we cannot get the real serious issues taken care of in this country.

There are a lot of people in Congress who are going to wake up soon and be out of a job. Mr. Burton should be one of these people — I just thank God he does not represent me. Mr. Burton is a fool, and if I lived in Indiana (thank God I do not) I would help to put Mr. Burton back in a real job. What a disgrace to his office.

Chicago