Let us pray. Gracious god, sovereign lord of history, thank you for the exemplary impact of senator Daniel Ken Inouye on our national history. Lord, we are grateful for the excellence that distinguished his significant career for the quiet grace and dignity with which he represented the aloha state. And for the gift of discernment that enabled him to serve you faithfully for the good of america. As we express gratitude for the laudable footprints he left in the sands of time, give us your power to persevere impromptly doing what is right. May the memory of senator inouyes indefatigable faithfulness provide a benchmark for the lives of all who labor for liberty. Lord, intensify our dedication to make sacrifices for the good of our nation and world as we put our trust in you to do for us immeasurably, abundantly, above all that we can ask or imagine, according to your power working in and through us. We pray in your sovereign name. Amen. Senator dan inouye was a noble soul. One of the finest men ive ever met. United States Senate and entire country are poorer for his loss. Im honored to join senator inouyes family, people of hawaii, and all americans in paying final respects to an American Patriot and hero. Senator ioway was one inouye was one of the deluxe senators to ever walk the hallowed halls of this great building. He leaves behind a legacy of public leadership and private kindness that will not be forgotten as long as these walls stand, as long as histories are written. Its fitting he should lie in state beneath the enduring symbol of our democracy, the dome of the capitol. And its proper he should rest upon the lincoln platform upon which abram ham lincoln, president john f. Kennedy, rosa parks, and 26 more of this nations luminaries have lane in state. Layne in state. Dan inouye was an institution and deserves to spend at least another day in this beautiful building in which he dedicated his life. As the second longest serving senator in our history, dan inouye represented our 50th state from the first day it was admitted to the union. But senator inouyes tradition of Service Began long before he came to the united States Senate. He was just a boy when he heard the war planes over oahu, saw the bombs drop on pearl harbor, and ran to give aid to the wounded. He was still a teen when he volunteered to serve this nation overseas even though his people have been declared enemy aliens. And im reminded looking at secretary norm mineta here who served in one of those internment camps. Senator inouye became a member of the famed 442nd reg mental combat team, the most highly decorated unit in the history of the United States military. That says it all. After being gravely wounded in italy, senator inouyes arm was amputated. He spent 21 months recuperating from his wounds in an Army Hospital in michigan. There he met a lifetime friend, future majority leader bob dole, another young g. I. Who had been also wounded in the european theater. Senator dole told senator inouye he planned to go to law school and eventually serve in congress. Dan inouye was elected to congress in 1959 as hawaiis first congressman. Bob dole was elected to congress a year later. Senator inouye always joked, i went with the dole plan and i beat him. Three years later, dan inouye was elected to the senate and hes been a soft and powerful voice for the people of hawaii ever since. Although senator inouye was an unabashed progressive democrat, he always put his Country First and his party second. Dan was a vibrant and vital presence in the senate and in death hell remain a legend. His last words on earth, aloha. And it is with a heavy heart that i and we bid aloha, goodbye, i love you to a friend and legend of the senate, Daniel Ken Inouye. Good morning. On behalf of the United States house of representatives, i extend sincere condo lenses to senator inouyes condoences to senator inouyes family, colleagues, and constituents. In late 1963 a young freshman senator stood under this splendid dome as we do now in vigil and prayer. Years on Daniel Inouye could still recall how quiet this ever boisterous rotunda became when president kennedys casket arrived. All i heard, he said, was the shuffling of feet. That day absorbed in his thoughts, the son of hawaii and veteran of 442nd couldnt have imagined he would spend another five decades passing through this hall. He couldnt have fathomed all the good that he would do here, helping to build a new state, gaining rights and benefits for veterans, supporting agriculture , speaking out against injustice, and becoming one of the most revered senators in our history. He couldnt have fathomed it, and unassuming as he was, he wouldnt have tried. Dan inouyes first thoughts were always for the nation he loved, and the state that he served to his last breath. While this may be a quiet ceremony for a quiet man, it will endure long after the respects are paid. For when this rotunda returns to life and the tour guides give their pitch, they will always speak of Daniel Inouye, the gentleman from hawaii, and one of freedoms most gallant champions. I reason, jennifer, ken, i said to ken what my father would have said, look at ken, said kid, you got good blood. Jessica. Henry clay, thaddeus stevens, charles sumner, hubert humphrey, robert byrd, admiral dewy, general macarthur, 10 president s, 31 in all lay in state, only 31. In the history of the United States of america. Under this dome. This is an honor to state the obvious that very few americans, some truly great americans, never, ever received. And each and every american who has been granted the honor accorded to danny today, they have been granted it because they possessed a particular quality that we view as uniquely american. And its thoroughly appropriate that our friend, danny, is granted this honor because he was in every sense the qui at the sention quintessential american. He possessed in my view every virtue that we like to ascribe to our country. The dawn of dannys life, the country was emerging from a great war, a war that left the rest of the world in ruins but placed america squarely in the senator center of the world leadership for the first time in history. Getting on the horizon was the greatest economic depression this nation had faced or has faced since. His mother, his mother, the first of her generation in hawaii, his father, an imgray imigrae from japan, at a time there was a strong and real prejudice that existed in america. A man who came of age as the second great war burst upon the scene and that very prejudice against japanese americans reached a crescendo. December 7, 1942, as majority leaders alluded to, on the way to mass, on the way to church with your grandfather, listening to the radio about the bombing that was taking place at pearl harbor, at first as danny told the story, over several times, at least i heard it, he thought it was ans oron orson wells thing. They looked on the horizon and could see, could see pearl harbor. The bombs bursting. He was then labeled an enemy alien. He was labeled an enemy alien, as his family was. Because of his japanese ancestry. But he fought, he fought for the chance to fight for his country. He had to fight for the chance to fight for his country. Not just to prove that he was a loyal american, but because, because he knew, he knew what was at stake, because it was the right thing to do. My mom, as i was telling my colleagues and before we came out used to have an expression, she would say, joey, youre defined by your courage and youre redeemed by your loyalty. Youre defined by your courage and redeemed by your loyalty. In the 40 years that i have served here and where i still in the senate serving out that term i would be senate pro tem, i would be the most senior person in the senate, which is a frightening thought to think im that old. But i never met a man or woman in that period with as much physical and moral courage as danny inouye. I never met a man with as much loyalty to his country, to his family, and to his friends. Some who served with him a long time will remember he was one of the few people that would stand on the floor to defend a colleague who was under siege, without ever considering the political consequences to him back home. He always just did the right thing. He always had the moral courage to do the right thing. He had a compass that always directed him to his true north and resolved to do truly extraordinary things. Things that few women or men ever contemplate and able to consider doing. We all know that on april 21, 1945, and i had the privilege of being with him when the 50th anniversary of dday we stopped, we went and was with bob dole as well. He and bob dole on a mountaintop, you go up literally as the crow flies, i think it was only about two miles from one another, on the same time, same day, both mortally wounded fighting for their country. Just above the bridges of tuscany, but because of dannys sense of honor, thats the only thing i can ascribe it to when you hear the story, when you look at the record, his loyalty first and foremost to his platoon, to the men he had sworn that he would protect. He would do everything in his power to protect them. This is a man who kept fighting on that ridge even after his arm was severed. Prying a grenade from the hand of a severed arm, prying it out of that hand and charging the next machine gun northwest. Nest, taking it out in the process, saving his men. A man who was awarded the medal of honor for his incredible bravery, but he didnt do it because he was brave. He did it because he was loyal, he did it because of his sense of duty t he did it because this was his country. Robert endersol could have been talking about danny when he said when will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate , when honor scorns to compromise with death, that is heroism. Danny inouye in every sense of the word was a hero. If thats all he had done for his country, he would have contributed more than 99. 9 of all americans have contributed to their country, but his fight for his platoon, his fight for his fellow hawaiians, his fight for his country didnt stop. After 21 months in that hospital being rehabilitated, with two other men he came to know and love who had incredible character and courage as well, one has already been mentioned, bob dole, we all know and those who served with him love, and phil hart, one of the finest, most decent men i have ever had the privilege of knowing. I had a great opportunity being elected here as a young kid. There were still giants, still giants, and theres still giants here. Giants in the senate. Imagine the three of them spent 21 months together during the bulk of that time in rehabilitation. Danny went home and joined the movement for statehood. He returned to his beloved hawaii with a heart as full as when he left, which is the amazing thing to me. When hawaii was admitted to the union in 1959, his first representative, as youall know, was danny inouye. From the very outset his colleagues knew this was a special man. Danny earned almost immediately what every one of us who ever served in either of these great houses long for, the uncompromising respect and admiration of every one of our colleagues. No one, no one in the 40 years i served with danny ever, ever, ever, ever, ever once doubted he would do what he said. Never once doubted his word. Never once wondered whether or not he would keep whatever commitment he made. That, that is the most valuable capital any man or woman who has ever served in this place can possess. He had it from the outset. No one, as i said, was alive can state that danny inouye ever said something to me that he did not do. Thats why he was so successful. No one ever doubted dannys motives. We all spent too much time in both these chambers doubting the other mans motive. You can doubt their judgment but you shouldnt doubt their motive. But no one ever doubted his motives. The love of the people of hawaii had for him extended across the pacific, across the continent into these halls for danny. People not only listened to, respected, and liked danny, almost all of us who got to know him loved danny. How many of our colleagues can you say that about . You can turn and say i mean it, i loved this man. I loved this woman. For all danny had come through, from the stinger prejudice to his physical injuries to the depravations he suffered to the losses he had, he would have been forgiven by all who knew him if he had an edge to him. If there was a continuing of bitterness, a touch of cynicism in his heart. He would have been forgiven for that. But the amazing thing to me was, there was none. There was none. I didnt know him his whole life, but i never once saw him even imply, why me . Why me . Danny had the most fulsome embrace of life with one arm that any man or woman could have with two. If you forgive, as you say in the senate, point of personal privilege, he came to campaign for me when i was a 29yearold kid campaigning for senate. He came to delaware and spoke on the eve of the election and ill never forget my mom saying, joey, i like that man. I said why, mom . She said, he likes you. I said, how do you know that, mom . She said, joey my mother used to have an expression. Highest compliment she could give you. She said he has a sixth sense. We all have five senses. Very few people have that sixth sense. That intuitive notion, the ability to look another man or woman in the eyes and understand them. To see them. To sense what they are thinking. When i lost my family shortly after that, before being sworn in, he was one of the first of my future colleagues at my side. He encouraged me to keep up, go down. Awful hard to look at man with one arm who had been through all he had been through and hes telling you to keep up and you say, no, no, i cant do this. Your dad did more for me than youll ever know. When i decided to seek the nomination for president , which i dont advise any of you to do, i didnt have to ask. We have an expression in my family, if someones really a true friend, the expression goes, if you have to ask, its too late. I didnt have to ask. I got a knock on my door, danny telling me, he would like to be my National Campaign chairman. That was the only time any of you started to question his judgment. When i left the race he stood by me when he was hospitalized for a long time at walter reed. He was with me. He supported me. But he did for me what i guess he may have done for a lot of you, because you never know the good deeds another man like danny has done except to speak to him personally. What danny did for me, danny gave me confidence. Danny inouye believed in me, i must be worthy of something. I know that sounds strange, but i literally mean it. I bet youall have had a similar experience in your life. Someone who you looked at and you knew was a better man or woman than you. You knew it. And they had confidence in you. I think the highest compliment a parent can give another man or woman is to look at their daughters and say, or their son and say, i hope you grow up to be like that man or that woman. Theres a lot of great men and women i have had the pleasure of meeting, but all of us, all of them, had some aspect of their personality like i have and everyone else does, its not particularly admirable, but there wasnt one single attribute of dannys character that i didnt want my sons to possess. Not one. Theres never been another man but my father who i have thought about in terms of my sons and danny. Maybe thats why when he passed away the first calls i got from my sons, beau in delaware, and my son hunter was overseas, they had heard before i did. They knew your dad. They knew your husband. What mattered most to them is, they knew he knew them. Matter of fact, it mattered so much to my grown son, hunter, when he did his senior paper at georgetown university, he went to danny and asked whether he could do it about the 442nd and would danny help him. I dont know how many times i have heard my son tell the stories to his friends about how he sat for several hours with danny hearing firsthand about the 442nd. You know, when you think of danny what struck my family, at least, both not just his physical encourage, eternal optimism, his embrace of life, his trammeled belief in the dignity of every human being. Danny is known for all the great things hes done, the physical courage hes shown, what hes done with the veterans. But what drew me to danny was the speech he made in 1968 at the Democratic Convention about civil rights. About human rights. Just as my son wrote about danny , future generations will write about danny inouye. Theyll learn of his physical fetes, but maybe the most important feats, but maybe the most important lesson of all theyll learn is dedication to country, engagement in public life, engagement in politics, being a member of congress, can and should be the most honorable profession of all. Danny made me proud to be a senator. Let us pray. O lord our god, we have been taught by the master that no greater love exists than that one lay down ones life for another. As we leave this place today, may we never forget this man of gentle, quiet strength who as a young man nearly, literally answered his masters call. For half a century senator inouye did lay down his life day after day serving those who looked to him to see to their security of their lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness. All of this, thousands of miles from home. May we all be such good and faithful servants. Bless us all, but bless especially his family who mourn the loss of so great a man, senator daniel k. Inouye, amen. Senator Daniel Inouye will lie in state all day today. The public viewing will begin at 11 30 eastern and will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until 8 00 p. M. This eastern. We will have coverage. You can follow that online at cspan. Org. The public funeral takes place in washington at the National Cathedral beginning at 10 30 eastern. Senator inouye will return home to hawaii on saturday. He died monday at the age of 88. The u. S. House will gavel in at 12 00 today. Addressing the pending tax hikes and budget cuts of the socalled fiscal cliff. They will vote on Speaker Boehners plan b which would raise tax rates for incomes above 1 million. Theyll also vote on a bill that would replace the sequester budget cuts scheduled to take place on january 1, and also a vote on the Defense Authorization conference report. Well have live coverage of the house beginning at noon here on cspan. And throughout the day. Well take you live just outside the u. S. House live to hear from majority leader eric cantor whos going to be talking about the pla