House and we were the First Committee to have airing on the scandal. They were the seventhlargest corporation in america and had been pictured in newsmagazines, all of the leaders of enron. It was voted the best company to work for, the company of the 21st century, on and on, and a lot of people bought stock. Most people who were selling stock were brokers and if they did not recommend enron could sued could probably get for malpractice. It was a very popular company and early in 2001 they came out with what they called the strongest code of ethics of any company in the history of america. By that summer, they have filed a restatement of earnings and by december it filed bankruptcy. Our committee, we were in a lameduck session, we had the first hearing on enron and we came back early in 2002 and introduced the corporate accounting billet he carta. Ability that was something clever they thought of, like magna charta. We had passed the legislation. If you recall on will calm, they really blew the lid enron world,co worldcom was larger than enron. I had to fire a subpoena for Scott Sullivan to appear before my committee and they took the and they bailed me out of a particular situation when ernie ever started to get a speech claiming his innocence and then decided as the fifth amendment right i think a lot of members on the committee were very furious, as i was, and thought that we were going to challenge him that he waive the fifth amendment right. I think we thought that under the circumstances we wanted to keep our eye on the ball and not get into a sideshow over whether bernie ebber violated his fifth amendment right. We had those hearings and it was quite remarkable. I finally got a chance to work with paul and he had taken over chairmanship of the Banking Committee windy senate changed became anffords independent and paul ended up as chairman of the Banking Committee. When the legislation went over to paul, they dealt with it over there and that is how we ended up working together on this legislation. A lot of people say it was passed in haste. It was a long eight months that we worked on that legislation. Admittedly, that is fast by congressional standards, but it wasnt something that was a number of periodicals saying that it was rushed through. We had a lot of fun with it and we worked very hard. The outcome has been that we have not had a major accounting scandal in nine years since the act was passed and signed by president bush. I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish with more transparency and accountability. I have to tell us story, first of all. The senate, is the greatest deliberative body in the world and they do it very well. Paul was very meticulous about Holding Hearings and he held a number of hearings on the issue of accounting fraud and one of the hearings was on accounting principles and they had like 3 panels talking about accounting all day long. If any of you have been a witness or a member of sitting i amthird panel know what talking about. Its the closest thing to hell that you are going to find. Paul tells the story about this last hearing that was droning on talking about these arcane accounting principles and one of the senators forgot his microphone was live and he sighed and said this is the most boring hearing i have ever been involved with. At which point, mike ansi, senator from wyoming, a freshman, and the only cpa in the senate came to the microphone and said i beg your pardon, this is the most fun i have had since i have been in the u. S. Senate. So i guess where you stand is where you sit. I had a chance to go into the that nextomic forum year, 2003, the winter of 2003 a dinner speaking at and they had a reception ahead we all had our nametags and this young fellow came over and he looked short and he kept staring at my name tag and he came over and offered to d and said i want announcer the new Congress Starts tuesday. Watch the opening events and activities on cspan. We are live starting at 7 00 a. M. Eastern. You will meet new representatives and hear from returning members. Opening day business includes the election of the house eager, his address to the whole house and debate and rules for the new congress. One rule in particular is getting attention, a proposal to find members who live stream video from the house floor. It is in response to last summers democratic sit in that was streamed by several democrats. On cspan 2, live coverage of senate start that opening day continues on cspan3 with live coverage of the ceremonial swearingin of members of congress. I want 00 p. M. Eastern, Vice President joe biden presides over the swearingin of individual senators and at 3 00, paul ryan swears and members of the house. We will have a full replay of opening day at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan and cspan2. An interface Memorial Service for muhammad ali was held in his louisville, kentucky. He died in june at the age of speakers included sports caster 74. Brian gumbel. Actor and comedian billy crystal. Former president clinton. And mohammed alis widow and dollars widow and daughters. Representing the president of the United States and mrs. Obama, miss valerie jarrett. [applause] good afternoon, on behalf of president obama and mrs. Obama i wish to express their regrets that they couldnt be here as we celebrate the extraordinary life of muhammad ali. I first met muhammad ali 45 years ago through his friendship with my uncle gene dibble. He was so touched that his son gene is a pal bearer today. Thank you, lonnie. Because of my family connection, the president and first lady asked me if i would read this tribute to you penned by president obama. It was 1980. An epic career was in its twilight. Everybody knew it. Probably including the champ himself. Ali went into one of his final fights, an underdog. All of the smart money was on the new champ, larry holmes. And in the end, the odd makers were right. A few hours later, at 4 00 a. M. After the loss, after the fans had gone home and the sportswriters were writing their final take. A sportswriter asked a rest Room Attendant if hed bet on the fight. The man, black and getting on in years, said hed put his mony on ali. The writer asked why. Why . The man said. Why, the man said, because hes muhammad ali. Thats why. He said misters, im 72 years old, and i owe the man for giving me my dignity. [applause] to lonnie and the ali family, president clinton and an arena full of distinguished guests, you are amazing. You could not have made him up. And yes, he was pretty, too. He had fans in every city, village, ghetto on the planet. He was vetted by foreign head. The beetles invasion took a detour to come to him. It seemed sometimes the champ was simply too big for america. I actually think the world flocked to him in wonder, precisely because, as he once put it, muhammad ali was america. [applause] brash, defiant. Pioneering. Joyful. Never tired, always game to test the odds. He was our most basic freedoms, religion, speech, spirit. He embodied our ability to invent ourselves. His lights broke to our origins in racial discrimination, and the journey he travelled helped to shock our consciousness and lead us on a roundabout path towards salvation. Like america, he was always very much a work in progress. To causea disservice up his story to talk only of to gauze up his story, to talk only of floating like butterflies, and stinging like bees. Ali was a radical in a radical of times. A loud and proud, and black voiced in a jim crow world. [applause] his jab knocked sense into us. Yes, they did. Pushing us to expand our imagination and bring others into our understanding. There were times when he swung a bit wildly. He wound up and accidentally may have wronged the wrong opponent, as he was the first to admit. Through all the tryouts and failures, he seemed to achieve the enlightenment and inner peace that we are all striving towards. In the 60s, when other young men his age were leaving the jail, heo avoid war or was asked why he did not join them. He got angry and said he would never leave. Arepeople and his words here. The millions struggling for freedom and justice and equality and i can do a lot of help in jail or not, right here in america. [applause] he had had everything stripped from him, his titles, his standing, his money, his fashion, very nearly his freedom. Ali still chose america. I imagine he knew that only here in this country could he have when it all back. So he chose to help perfect the union where a descendant of slaves can become the king of the world. [applause] process, lend some dignity to all of us. Maids, porters, students, and elderly bathRoom Attendants, and help inspire a young mixed kid with a funny name to have the audacity to believe he could be anything, even the president of the United States. [applause] muhammad ali was america. Muhammad ali will always be america. What a man. What a spirit. What a joyous mightful champion. God bless the greatness of ali, god bless his family, and god bless this nation we love. Thank you very much. [applause] peace be with you everyone here and on behalf of ali family i want to say thank you to louisville, kentucky. All the love that you have shown us in our lives has been unbelievable. Also, i want to thank the entire globe. My father was loved all over. The processional today was overwhelming. It was so beautiful. We want to say we love you, like you love us. Thank you very much. [applause] as you know, my father loved poetry. He was rhyming, and promoting fights, he had poems of the heart. Spiritual poems and poems to promote and i wrote a piece in honor of him on behalf of my sisters and brothers and everyone that loved my father. Its called thank you our dear father. My heart was sore when your sick spirit soared. Your physical body is no more. But my mind tells different tales of all you taught me. Your family and the masses. Most importantly, the belief in god who created humanity, to thrive in quality. You fought for a person to purpose to uphold the principle that we as the people have divine human rights. Staring into the eyes of oppression, you proclaimed your beautiful complexion, your godgiven skill, your independent will, and the freedom of your faith. As your daughter, im grateful for all our conversations about men, women, and relationships. Guiding me to first have a loving relationship with self. Refusing anyone to chip away at my esteem and expect the respect of a queen. [applause] thank you, our dear father for asking us to think about our purpose and showing us the beauty of service to others. Your sincere love for people as you treated all who approached you with dignity. Whether they were rich or poor, your kindness was unconditional. Never perceiving anyone as been beneathe nice you. So many shared personal stories about what you have meant to them, as you exemplified qualities that enhanced their lives. If i had every dollar for every story, i could pay for the sky. Your family is proud of the legacy you left behind. I hope that the history of you can help turn the tide of self hate and violence, because we are overwhelmed with moments of silence for tragic deaths. [applause] this soil, american soil, in the mes in the middle east, or anywhere else in this world, we crave for peace. The peace that you rest in now. We will forever cherish the 74 years you graced this earth. Youll be greatly missed. Now, we send you off in celebration of long kiss and prayers. As you enter your final round. Gods last boxing bell will sound in heaven. I love you, we all love you. Thank you very much. [applause] announcer ladies and gentlemen, rashita ali walsh. [applause] rashita we are so honoured that you have packed this room with your love. Thank you all. [applause] thank you so much for being here today to celebrate our father. You were the greatest father to us and it was gods will to take you home. Your family will try our best to make you proud and carry on your legacy of giving and love. You have inspired us and the world to be the best version of ourselves. May you live in paradise, free from suffering. You shook up the road in life. Now you are shaking up the road in death. [applause] daddy is looking at us now and saying i told you all you were the greatest. No one compares to you, daddy. You once said i know where im going and i know the truth, and i dont have to be what you want me to be, im free to be who i am. [applause] now you are free to be with your creator. We love you so much, daddy. Until we meet again. Fly, butterfly, fly. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, billy crystal. [applause] mr. Crystal thank you ladies and gentlemen. We are at the halfway point. [laughter] i was cleanshaven when this started. [laughter] family, friends, mr. President , members of the clergy, all the amazing people in louisville. [applause] this outpouring of love and respect proves that 35 years after he stopped fighting, he is still the champion of the world. [applause] mr. Crystal last week, when we heard the news time stopped. There was no war, there were no terrorists, no global catastrophes. The world stopped, took a deep breath, and sighed. Since then, my mind has been racing through my relationship with this man, which is now 42 years that i know him. Every moment i can think of is cherished. While others can tell you of his accomplishments, he wanted me to speak and tell him of personal moments we had together. I met him in 1974. I was Getting Started as a standup comedian and struggling. I had one good routine, it was a 3 minute conversation between Howard Cosell and muhammad ali. I would imitate both of them. Ali just defeated George Foreman and sports magazine made him the man of the year. A wonderful writer and editor was the editor for sport was going to host a televised dinner honouring muhammad ali. He called my agent looking for a comedian that did some sports material. As fate would have it, that comedian was not available. Is destinysaid it , she wisely said i had this young kid and he does this great impersonation of ali. He said okay, ill try him. If he stinks ill cut him out of the show. I couldnt believe it. My first time on television and it would be with ali. Was jammed and i met mr. Schaap. He said, how should i introduce you, nobody says who you are . I said just say one of alis , closest and dearest friends. My thought was i would get right to the microphone and get into my Howard Cosell and i would be fine. I nervously moved into the jam ballroom and thats when i saw him for the first time in person. Its very hard to describe how much he meant to me. You had to live in his time. Its great to look at clips and its amazing that we have them , but to live in his time watching his fight. , experiencing the genius of his talent was extraordinary. Every one of his fights was in aura of a super bowl. He did things nobody would do. He predicted the round that he would knock somebody out in and then he would do it. He was funny, beautiful, the most perfect athlete you ever saw and those were his own words. [laughter] [applause] a was so much more than fighter as time went on. With Bobby Kennedy gone, Martin Luther king gone, malcolm x gone. Who was going to relate when vietnam exploded in our face . There were millions of men in my age drafted for a war. All huddled on a Conveyor Belt that fed the war machine. Ali stood up for us by standing up for himself. [applause] after he was stripped of the title and the right to fight anywhere in the world, he gave speeches at colleges and on television that reached me. He seemed as comfortable talking to kings and queens as the lost and unrequited. He never lost his sense of humour, he was always himself. Willing to give up everything for what he believed in. And the passionate rhetoric about the life and plight of black people in this county. I grew up in a house dedicated to civil rights. My father was the producer of jazz in new york city and was jazz int to integrate the jazz musicians referred to 1950s. My dad as the branch rickie. My uncle and my family, jewish people, produced strange fruit. Billie holidays classic song describing the lynching of africanamericans in this country. I felt him. And there he was, a few feet from me. He seemed to glow. He was in slow motion, his amazing face smiling and laughing. I was seated a few seats from him. In the room, all of these athletes in their individual sports, great ones. Geno, and franco harris, Archie Griffin who had won the heisman, literary legends, neil simon, george on the dais, fawning over ali, who looked at me with an expression that seemed to say what is joan gray doing here . Mr. Shep introduced me as one of alis closest and dearest friends. Two people clapped. My wife and the agent. I rose, ali staring at me. I passed right behind him and got to the podium and went into the cosell. Hello everyone, harry cosell coming to you live. Some would it got big laughs. Ali. Hen i went into the everybody is talking about George Foreman, i talk about George Foreman, hes ugly, slow. And im fastest, 32 years of age. Im so fast i can turn off the light and be in my bed before the room gets dark. [applause] howard, i am announcing tonight that i have new religious beliefs. I am now an orthodox jew. The audience exploded. No one had done it before. Here i was a white kid from long island imitating the greatest of all times and he was loving it. When i was done, he gave me this big bear hug and whispered in my ,ear your my little brother which is what he always called me until the last time that i saw him. We were always there for each other and if you needed me for something, i was there. He came to anything i asked him to do. Most memorable he was an , honorary chairman for a dinner at an important event where i was honoured by the Hebrew University in jerusalem. He did all of this promotion, came to the dinner. He sat with my family the entire evening and took photos with my family. The most famous muslim man in the world honoring his jewish friend. [applause] because he was there, because he was in there we raised a great deal of money and i was able to endow the university in jerusalem with something i had told them about and it was something he loved the theory of. It thrives to this day. Its called peace through the performing arts. Its a Theatre Group where israeli, eric, and palestinian andsraeli, arab, palestinian actors, writers, and directors work in peace creating original works of art. That doesnt happen without him. I sat next to him at Howard Cosells funeral. A very somber day, to be sure. Closed casket was on the stage. Muhammad ali and i were sitting next to each other and he quitely whispered to me little brother, do you think hes wearing his hair piece . [laughter] i said, i dont think so. Well then how will god recognize him . [laughter] [applause] chap, once he opens his mouth, god will know. We started laughing. It was a muffled laugh, but then we couldnt contain ourselves. Here we were at a funeral, muhammad ali and me laughing like two little kids that heard something dirty in church. We are just laughing and laughing and he whispered to me howard was a good man. One time he asked me if id like to run with him, do roadwork. I said that would be amazing, where do you run. He said at a country club in the morning, no one bothers me. I said, i cant run there, there club has a reputation for being restrict. What does restrictive mean . They dont allow jews there. He was incensed. Im a black muslim, they let me run there. Little brother, im never going to run there again and he didnt. [applause] my favorite memory perhaps was 1979. He had just retired and there was a Retirement Party for muhammad ali and 20,000 of his closest friends in los angeles. I performed a piece that i had created. The imitation had grown into a life story called 15 rounds and i play him from the age of 18 until he has 36 ready for the rematch with leon. Lastted on the internet week. Footage that no one saw, of me portraying ali, doing his life for him. All those years ago in 1979. There were 20,000 people there. I was doing it only for him. Its one of my favourite performances i have ever done in my life. I sort of got lost in him. I didnt know where i was. At the end of the performance, suddenly im backstage with another heavyweight champion richard pryor. , he is holding on to me crying, then i see ali coming. He has a full head of steam, he is looking only at me and he nudged mr. Pryor aside and whispered in my ear with a big bear hug. Little brother, you made my life better than it was. But didnt he make all of our lives a little better than they were . [applause] that, my friends is my history with a man that i laboured to come up with a way to describe the legend. He was a tremendous bolt of lightening, traded by Mother Nature out of thin air. A fantastic combination of power and beauty. We have seen still photographs of lightning bolts at the moment of impact. Ferocious in its strength and magnificent in its elegance. At the moment of impact it lights up everything around it. You can see everything clearly. Muhammad ali struck us in the middle of americas darkest night. In the heart of a threatening storm. His power toppled the mighty foes, and the light shone on america. We were able to see clearly in poverty,equality, pride, selfrealization, courage, laughter, love, joy, and religious freedom for all. Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. This fresh young man that thrilled us, angered us, confused, and challenged us ofame a silent messenger peace who taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls. [applause] friends, only once in a thousand years or so do we get to hear mozart or see picasso or read shakespeare. Ali was one of them and at his heart, he was still a kid from louisville who ran from the gods and walked with the crippled and smiled at the foolishness of it all. [applause] nevergone, but he will die. He was my big brother. Thank you. [applause] announcer ladies and gentlemen, bryant gumbel. [applause] mr. Gumbel the great maya angelo who was no stranger to , fame wrote that ultimately people forget what you said and people will forget what you did, but no one will forget how you made them feel. As applied to muhammad ali, the march of time may one day diminish his boasts and his poetry. Maybe even his butterflies and bees. It may one day dull the memories of the thriller in manila and the rumble in the jungle. I doubt any of us will ever forget how muhammad ali made us feel. Im not talking about how proud he made you feel with his exploits or how special he made you feel when you were privileged enough to be in his company. Im talking about how he tricked about how he would lift our hearts and souls in our conscience and made our fights his fights for decades. People like me, who are somewhat black, willand never forget what he freed within us. Some of us like him felt pride in being black, bold, and brash and because we were so unapologetic, we were in the eyes of many, way too uppity. We were way too arrogant. Yet we revelled in being like him by stretching societys boundaries as he did, he gave us levels of strength and courage we didnt know we had. Alis impact was not limited to those of a certain race or a certain religion or a certain mindset. The greatness of this man, for the ages, was that he was, in fact, a man for all ages. Has any man ever scripted a greater earth to his life . Wh does it say of a man, any man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his countrys most polarizing figures to arguably his most beloved. [applause]