The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE OF ALCEE HASTINGS
(Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, it is my solemn duty to rise today on behalf of the Florida delegation as we continue to grieve the passing of our colleague and our friend, Alcee Hastings of Florida.
Congressman Alcee Hastings was more than a colleague; he was a dear friend to me and to my family. Madam Speaker, my brother, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, served with Alcee Hastings on the Rules Committee; and, through him, I also developed a very special relationship.
Along with Congresswomen Carrie Meek and Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings was the first African American from Florida to serve in Congress after more than 100 years.
Alcee Hastings dedicated his life to serving others and to fighting for human rights. You know, Alcee lived by Dr. Martin Luther King's phrase, ``An injustice anywhere is an affront to justice everywhere.''
Alcee Hastings' brilliance, his perseverance, and his charisma, along with his ceaseless fight for human rights, built a lasting and meaningful legacy. And even during that last battle of his, the one that ultimately took his life, he continued to serve with passion, with great heart, and always with that special spark that he had, that smile of his that he always had.
We are truly heartbroken by his passing, and we offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family and all of those who knew and loved him.
Florida and Congress really lost a trailblazer.
Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank one very special person, Lale Morrison, Alcee's longtime chief of staff, for her service to the people of Florida and equally as important, her dedication and her friendship to Alcee Hastings.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).
Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Florida for yielding.
It is with great sadness that I rise on behalf of the Florida delegation, and you can see we have many new Floridians in our delegation today because we had such great love, respect, and admiration for our colleague Congressman Hastings.
Congressman Hastings was a towering figure who always stood up for the little guy. He fought for civil rights. He fought for voting rights. He fought for affordable healthcare. He was tireless.
Now, Alcee did not suffer fools or malarky, and he was unafraid to point it out. And he did so with relish. And let that be a great example to all of us who have this tremendous responsibility to stand up every day for the people who send us here, especially the voiceless and the vulnerable.
But Alcee served with great intellect, with passion, with flare. He loved the House of Representatives. He loved the State of Florida. He wanted it to be better, and he worked on that every single day. But I think we are all better for his service and his example.
Madam Speaker, I think Alcee would have appreciated the fact that you are in bright orange today, the color of his beloved Florida A&M University. Go Rattlers.
On behalf of the great State of Florida, we also send our love, prayers, and condolences to Lale, his chief of staff, his entire team, his family, his devoted friends, and I would respectfully ask that we recognize his life with a moment of silence, but ask and invite you all to join us in a celebration of his life that we intend to hold next week.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 64
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