LARSON HONORS CONGRESSMAN JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2001

LARSON HONORS CONGRESSMAN JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) paid tribute today on the floor of the House of Representatives to U.S. Rep. Joe Moakley (MA-09), who recently announced that he is suffering from an incurable form of leukemia. Moakley has said that he will not seek another term in Congress due to his illness.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern (MA-03) introduced legislation in the House, H.R. 559, to designate the United States courthouse located in Boston, Massachusetts, as the "John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse," in honor of Congressman Moakley. The House passed the motion by a voice vote this afternoon.

Larson stated: "Joe Moakley is the quintessential Boston Irish public servant. For more than 50 years he has served his nation, his state of Massachusetts, and the hard-working men and women of South Boston in one form or another. In the long and inspiring tradition of such great men as former Speaker Tip O'Neill, Joe has been the kind of Representative that has shown time and time again that he is a leader on the national and international stage, yet has remained ever loyal to the people of South Boston and all of Massachusetts.

When I first arrived here as a freshman Member in 1999, Joe Moakley, who was then and is now Dean of the New England House delegation, was one of those remarkable people I looked to as a model of how I wanted to conduct myself as a Member of Congress. With character, dignity, devotion, and loyalty, Congressman Moakley continues to serve as a constant reminder that we are indeed part of a noble profession.

Joe Moakley's remarkable time in public service began when he was only 15 years old, when he enlisted in the United States Navy for service in the South Pacific during the Second World War. After graduating from college in Florida, and later law school, Joe Moakley ran for the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1952 where he served until 1960. And in 1964, he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate where he served until 1970. It was in 1972, after briefly serving on the Boston City Council, that he was first elected to the United States House of Representatives from the 9th District.

It was not long after he began his second term that he gained a seat on the House Rules Committee, where he still serves today as Ranking Member. In 1989, he was made Chairman of that Committee. As Chairman, he conducted himself with his characteristic sense of integrity and humor.

Through all his years of service, which he continues today, he has worked tirelessly for his District, giving them the same full measure of devotion that he gave to other matters, such as human rights abuses in Central America, which he helped investigate and report on. His actions helped expose injustice, and likely contributed to the end of a brutal civil war in El Salvador.

I've always believed that the measure of a person's life is not contained merely in the years they spend in office, but rather in how their actions in office continue to positively affect the neighborhoods, District and people they served, long after their time in service has drawn to a close. If a person's actions have improved the life of even one person, or one family, or one community, then there is no end or limit to what their service has meant to others. And for Joe Moakley, there is no end in sight.

No matter how long I spend as a member of this body, I am now, and will always be, proud to say that I served with Joe Moakley."

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