Over here in the front row is a big bouquet of white flowers. Its in the place where john usually sat in the front row of a section that many of the members of the congressional ack caucus held forth, conspired sometimes, plotted, and made progress for the American People. Its appropriate that we have those flowers there. Where john sat. For so many years. John meacham who is writing a book on john lewis told us yesterday on a caucus call that when john was born he was born into a garden. He loved to be in the garden. He loved to be with the chicks, as we know, little chickens. And he loved to see things grow. Loved to see things grow. And he lived his life in that way. He loved to see progress grow, he loved to see love and peace grow. He loved to see ideas grow. And he loved to see a more Perfect Union grow. Many of our colleagues will have many things to say this evening and because of the because its the personal order i dont have my usual one minute which is endless so ill be briefer and save some remarks for another time but heres what i want to say. Just to say job has always been about non john has always been about nonviolence. That was his spirit and everything he did was respectful of other views and respectful of other people. In the spirit of nonviolence, that was dr. Lawson, reverend lawson taught that to him, to dr. King and the rest, and it was much of it in the spirit of gandhi and the nonviolence that he put forth. In san scrit, gandhis language, the word for nonviolence, its [speaking foreign language]. That word means two things. Nonviolence. And insistence on the truth. And john lewis, nonviolently always insisted on the truth. Whether it was a lunch counter, the truth of equality, whether it was upholding the constitution, the truth of our founders, whether in everything that he did. It was about truth and peace and love. And so im going to submit my statement for the record because, again, im not used to not having endless time as a speaker of the house. But i do know that our colleagues have a great deal to say. I just want to say this one thing. Again, one more thing. At the end of his life, end of his time in washington, d. C. , right before he was preparing to go back to atlanta, just a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of the night he decided, early in the morning, 4 00 a. M. , that he was going to go to black lives matter on the street. So one of the last official or public photos that we have of john lewis is with the mayor of washington, d. C. , and then alone, standing on that beautiful tapestry, black lives matter. His connection the connection from john, the boy from troy, to black lives matter, the future of a movement. He was so much a part a movement he was so much a part. May he rest in power. May he rest in peace. I yield. The nation lost an icon. The house lost its most respected member. And the Congressional Black Caucus lost our most Senior Member of our family. The Congressional Black Caucus is known as the conscience of the congress. But john lewis was known as the conscience of our caucus. One of the greatest honors of serving in congress was that i had the possibility of serving with him. I yield to the majority whip from the state of south arolina. Mr. Clyburn i thank the gentlelady for yielding me the time. You know, mr. Speaker, i cringe often when i hear people talk about the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement. I always put an s on that. The rebellion was in 1739. It was a Civil Rights Movement. The insurrection was 1822. That was a Civil Rights Movement. The Niagara Movement that led to the creation of the naacp more than 100 years ago was the civil right was a Civil Rights Movement. John lewis and i met in october, 1960, at a Civil Rights Movement. Or as long as there are people held in suppression, there will always be a movement for civil rights. Wever, in any movement there will be a few, sometimes only one, that rises head and houlders above all others. And so it was with my good friend, John Robert Lewis. When we met the weekend of october 13, 14, 15, 1960, on the campus of morehouse college, there was a little bit of an insurrection taking place. The College Students felt that we knew how best to do things. We were not listening to Martin Luther king jr. And a few others. And so we asked king to meet with us. And he did. We went into the meeting around 10 00 in the evening. We did not walk out of that room until 4 00 the next morning. Came out of that room i came a of that room having had saul to paul transformation. Ive never been the same since. But, listen to kings plea for nonviolence, i decided, along with most others, to accept nonviolence as a tactic. But not john lewis. He internalized it. It became his way of life. After going through a few issues of the 1960s, you know, john snc in ted president of 1966. D was dethroned in but john then joined the effort, Voter Education project, where he directed the response by the Southern Regional council. As he served as director of the Voter Education project headquartered in atlanta, i became the chair of the Voter Education project in charleston, South Carolina. And we continued that relationship. He got married to a librarian. I got married to a librarian. Though i did so before he did. And they became fast friends. Lillian and emily became fast friends. Will never, ever get John Robert Lewis out of my system. Because he succeeded where i failed. It was a tactic for me. It was a way of life for john lewis. And i yield back. Ms. Bass madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the special order. I now yield to the speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Bass thank you. I now yield to representative Eleanor Norton mahomes from the district of columbia. The state of the district of olumbia. Ms. Norton i want to thank the gentlewoman from california, karen bass, for leading this special order to our good colleague and friend, john lewis. John and i were elected to the house of representatives about the same time. Actually he was elected a couple of years before i was. But we were colleagues before either of us could have hoped to become members of congress. We were kids together in the student nonviolent coordinating committee, the youth arm of the Southern Civil rights movement. The difference between john and me is i was in law school, so i went in the summer and john was a fulltime member who left snic order to join snlc. And that came out of lunch counters. Ella baker called us all together because it was clear the Civil Rights Movement was developing a youth arm, and ella baker, the great elder of Civil Rights Movement, decided all of us should become we really should become an organization. John was not the first head of snlc. Marion berry was. Because he was a lot more political than john. And hes remembered today more for his politics than for his civil rights ac ac men. When john was acmen. When john was selected chair thrmbings nothing political about it. His qualification was not that he was the strongest, or the most articulate or whatever you want to call it. His strongest qualification was that he was the bravest. Pure and similar. Simple. It is almost impossible to took in the risks john the more than 40 times he was arrested. Because today were so used to civil disobedience. People right now are lying down on pennsylvania avenue, on the george after the george floyd killing. So were used to that. So i really want to call to your attention what it meant when john led young people to be rrested. Everybody has seen the film of him being knocked down as he marched in the front of the line. He had a concussion as a result of that. E never knew , as he led these marches, whether he would come out alive. Let me tell you about these marches, when sncc would kneel down and assume other nonviolent posture the postures. On the other side were not counterdemonstrators. The other side were not people, other people who were confronting us nonviolently. On the other side were the police leading white mobs. I must tell you, they were befuddled by the tactics of sncc and the Civil Rights Movement. Because when you kneel down, nonviolent, they didnt know kuwait what to do with you or about you quite what to do with you or about you. John of course will always be remembered as maybe of the house of representatives. But as i close, i must say, it will be difficult even for john to have done more in the house than he did in the Civil Rights Movement. To do more in congress than he did for his country. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Ms. Bass his legacy to our country is that he devoted his life to fighting for justice, fighting for justice and being a moral compass to our nation. Id like to yield to representative bobby scott from the great state of virginia. Mr. Scott thank you, and i thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. Speaker, i rise today for a solemn occasion. Tonight we honor our friend, brother, colleague, the conscience of the congress, a true american icon, congressman john lewis. Words cannot convey the loss to this body, as well as to the nation. But very few can claim to have altered the course of American History the way that john did. He was a Guiding Light to all of us and was a leader trying to make america a more Perfect Union. His steadfast moral leadership will be deeply missed, particularly at this complex time in our history. Those of us here today are standing on his shoulders. His historic life and legacy will undoubtedly live on. But we must be sure to continue his lifes work, particularly when it comes to Voting Rights and restoring the Voting Rights act. We must make some good trouble to honor his enormous legacy. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. Ms. Bass congressman john lewis spent his life fighting racism and injustice wherever he confronted it, from boy cotts, sits in and other protests in the streets, to championing bold, progressive policies in congress, including the Voting Rights act. I now yield one minute to the representative, Sheila Jackson lee, from texas. Let me come back to you, representative lee. Id like to yield one minute to representative dani davis from the state of illinois. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Bass one minute. Everyone has one minute. The speaker pro tempore for one minute. Mr. Davis i want to thank the gentlelady. You know, to every man there is a way, a ways, and away. The high souls take the highway. And the low souls take the low. While all the rest on the misty flats drift to and fro. But to every man, there is a way, a ways and away. And each man decided which way his soul shall go. John lewis always took john lewis always took the high road. Always giving of himself in such a way that you knew that he was gracious and kind. John like john i grew up in rural america. Went to a oneroom school. Never had a new school book. John had the faith of a muss starred mustard seed. Said if you want to move a mountain. If you have faith you could move a mountain and if it wouldnt you get yourself some dynamite, some nitroglycerin, some t. N. T. , and ble that sucker up. That was john lewis, may he rest n peace. Now that he is no longer here we must live up to his example. I now yield to representative Sheila Jackson lee from texas. One minute. Ll speakers have one minute. Ms. Jackson lee we are all heart broken. We all are speechless. All are committed to John Robert Lewis beloved community. Ch of us have been touched without ceasing for the spirit he led us in acknowledging even beloved that there was community. He loved his wife and his family and his extended brothers and sisters all the way from alabama to georgia. Im reminded of his ability to love dr. Martin luther king. It is a testament of a mans that able to extend love and not to show envy but to learn an to seek knowledge. John did that. Which allowed him to carry that all the way to the fights of today. John robert lewis, dr. King said, are you the boy from troy . He loved to tell the story. He loved to tell that he preached to the chickens. But his voices for herd by kings and queens. John robert lewis, a saint walking on earth. Im reminded of our days in front of the south african embassy, arrested against genocide. Or fighting against the children in cages. John never stopped his fight. So i come today to honor him in this brief moment that we have to be able to say isnt it good that a saintly man walked on this earth and reminded us of the beloved community. I am very glad to say that i knew and the world knows John Robert Lewis, the boy from troy. With that, i yield back. Ms. Bass i now yield one minute to representative Gregory Meeks from new york. Mr. Meeks John Robert Lewis was short in height, yet he was a giant. John robert lewis was a humble man but fierce for justice. John robert lewis talked softly, but roared like a lion when it was time to fight for freedom, justice, and equality for all humankind. He said there was one race, the human race. Can an individual that make a nation change to make it better. His voice will echo in this chamber forever. It was my honor and pleasure for 22 years to serve with the honorable John Robert Lewis. May he rest in peace. And rise in power. Ms. Bass i yield one minute to representative scott of georgia. Mr. Scott thank you very much. His lewiss mother and afterother named him john john, the apostle. The disciple the scripture said whom jesus loved. John the beloved. And john himself, lewis, dedicated his life to building the beloved community. And one more thing. John lewis being named after must besus apostle, it was that the apostle john the youngest of the disciples. John lewis was the youngest of our civil rights leaders. Who spoke at the momentous march on washington. God blesslewis and we thank god for sending him our way. Ms. Bass i yield one minute to al green, representative al reen of texas. Mr. Green thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise to say thank you to a friend and a great warrior. I thank you, dear brother, for being the sermon you preached. You walked your talk. It is said that a great person will always rise to the occasion but its also said that the greater person makes the occasion. He was an occasionmaker and he rose to the occasion on the Edmund Pettus bridge. For this, many of us here onight are here because he marched into brutality. So tonight, i thank you dear brother for being able to withstand what many of us could not and would not. I rise to just say thank you and to let you know that we will never forget you and we will always make it clear that we are here because you were there. Yield back. Ms. Bass i yield one minute to representative Yvette Clarke of new york. Ms. Clarke mr. Speaker, today i se to honor a great man, representative john lewis. This past friday, july 17, our country lost one of our its greatest hero a true patriot who literally put his life on the line in the pursuit of justice and fairness in our society. The honorable john lewis was a hero who embodied the struggle for human rights and dignity. He was a fierce civil rights warrior who refused to abide with the jim crow laws of the south. He embodied what it meant to be a public servant, putting his life on the line and the people above his own selfinterest. Im honored and privileged to have served with John Robert Lewis. John robert lewis who was a dancer. A man who loved to have fun but was convicted for the right to vote. Convicted as an activist for civil rights and civil liberties. I will forever hold dear the miami that we landed in ghana together, invited by the president of ghana for the right to return, to see the wonderment in his eyes of visiting a space where it all began for all of us, 401 years ago. May he rest in peace an rise in power. The honorable john lewis will never be forgotten. We all hold on to his legacy. Ms. Bass to honor mr. Lewis the first thing we need to do is pass legislation restoring the Voting Rights act and get it signed. With eknow the credibility of our elections has shown early signs of concern during several state primaries an Voter Suppression cases coupled with the fact that people are going to have to vote in dangerous conditions can not be ignored. I know if mr. Lewis were still with us, he would be leading that fight. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to representative hank johnson from georgia. Mr. Johnson i thank the speaker and i thank the gentlelady from california. R. Speaker, much has been said about my friend, teacher, and mentor, john lewis. He was a family man, married to lillian for 44 years and to that union bore a son, john myles who is with us today, along with john Lewis Brothers and sisters, he was number three of 10. Hes got a large extended family. And that family entrusted john to the world. And for 33 years he was our colleague. For 14 year he was mine. I just want to say to the family that we here in congress feel your pain, we appreciate your sacrifice in allowing john to do what he did for the world and for congress. I want you to know that we stand with you, we feel your pain, and we will never forget your