Senator Lautenberg was the ‘Very Best of the Greatest Generation’

Jacob Miller — June 6, 2013 – 9:27 am | Congress | Democrats Comments (0) Add a comment

On Monday morning Senator Frank Lautenberg passed away. Here are some of the things that are being said in remembrance on Senator Lautenberg’s accomplishments:

From President Barack Obama:

The son of working-class immigrants, Frank joined the Army during World War II, went to college on the GI Bill, and co-founded one of America’s most successful companies. First elected to the Senate in 1982, he improved the lives of countless Americans with his commitment to our nation’s health and safety, from improving our public transportation to protecting citizens from gun violence to ensuring that members of our military and their families get the care they deserve.  Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to Bonnie, the Lautenberg family, and the people of New Jersey, whom Frank served so well.

From Vice President Joe Biden:

Frank Lautenberg’s work created immediate benefits for tens of thousands of Americans and he was one of my closest friends in the Senate. The son of working class immigrants, Frank served honorably in World War II, went to college on the G.I. bill and came back to build one of the most successful companies in America. He’s the reason why people can’t smoke on airplanes, why domestic abusers can’t possess guns. He worked tirelessly against drunk driving, and co-wrote the new G.I. Bill because he knew first-hand what it could do. I consider it a privilege to have known him, to have worked with him, and to have called him my friend. Jill and I will truly miss Frank. Our hearts go out to his children and his wife Bonnie.

From New York Senator Charles Schumer:

Frank Lautenberg was the very best of the greatest generation… Our transportation system in the Northeast and the nation would not be as up-to-date and efficient were it not for Frank. And countless people are alive today because of his fight against smoking and Big Tobacco. He was a relentless warrior for common sense gun safety legislation, and so much more. The list of his accomplishments would take many pages. Frank was a close and loyal friend who never put on airs and said what he thought, when he thought it. And he had one of the most endearing senses of humor ever possessed by any public servant…America is a better place for having benefitted from his long and rich service.  

From AIPAC:

AIPAC mourns the passing of Senator Frank Lautenberg - a tireless champion for the US-Israel relationship and the human rights of Jews and persecuted peoples throughout the world.  Senator Lautenberg’s leadership will be sorely missed because of his passion and effectiveness in taking a stand for America’s democratic ally and human rights.  He consistently and persistently made his voice heard in defense of Israel.  Senator Lautenberg stood up for the Jewish community of the Soviet Union when it suffered in the darkness of tyranny and assisted its liberation into the light of freedom.  Although he is no longer with us, Senator Lautenberg’s legacy of commitment to the Jewish people and human rights will long endure.  AIPAC extends our sincere condolences to the Senator’s family and his many friends around the world.

From the Jewish Federations of North America:

The Jewish Federations of North America today expressed its deep sadness on the passing of Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, a giant of the Senate and former United Jewish Appeal Chair, who died today at age 89… Sen. Lautenberg was a longtime Jewish communal leader on the national and local levels… Sen. Lautenberg was a major supporter of maintaining strong relations between Israel and the U.S. He first visited Israel in 1969 and went on more than 100 trips there since.  Among his greatest legacies was the Lautenberg Amendment, which allowed Soviet Jews and other persecuted minorities from the U.S.S.R. to immigrate to the U.S. and helped open the flow of Soviet Jewry to freedom. The law continues to ease the immigration of refugees to this day. 

Yesterday Vice President Joe Biden and Former Secretary of States Hillary Clinton both spoke at Senator Lautenberg’s funeral remember his contributions. Vice President Biden remember Lautenberg’s dedication to the Senate:

Even when his health was failing, he never quit anything. He never gave up. He never gave in. He never complained about what life threw his way. “It was not his health he was concerned about; it was the health of the people of New Jersey. The health of the people of this country.

Hillary Clinton said:

He dared greatly, and he led boldly…As Frank would say, `You know it is not where you sit that counts it is where you stand.’ And there was never any doubt where he stood. He did stand with those families who keep their children safe from toxic chemicals, from smoking, from drunk driving. He stood with the victims of gun violence and HIV AIDS.

Ron Kampeas from JTA highlighted Senator Lautenberg’s commitment to the Jewish community:

Lautenberg gave prodigiously to Israel and was its champion in the Senate. But he also was outspoken in criticizing the state when he thought it erred, said Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center…Despite his firebrand reputation, Lautenberg was avuncular in person. Jewish staffers on Capitol Hill called him “zayde,” Yiddish for “grandfather,” recalled Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of American Friends of Lubavitch. Lautenberg was a regular at holiday events, and if he noted Jewish officials in the halls, he would stop and chat.

Gil Hoffman from The Jerusalem Post remembers Senator Lautenberg’s work for Israel:

When the Senate voted 99-0 two weeks ago to support Israel should the Jewish State be compelled to take military action in self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, many wondered who was the mystery anti-Israel senator who did not vote.

They were surprised to find out that it was New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who under normal circumstances would have been the first senator to back such a resolution.

Knowing Frank personally, had he known he would miss that vote it would not have helped his health. I saw his love of Israel first-hand on his frequent visits here in my role as Israel correspondent for the New Jersey Jewish News.

The New Jersey Jewish News highlighted Senator Lautenberg’s contributions to the Jewish community:

As a five-term senator from New Jersey, Lautenberg was one of the Senate’s staunchest supporters of Israel, visiting the country at least 100 times after his first visit in the late 1960s.

Among his foremost accomplishments, in 1989, was an amendment carrying his name that allowed Jews and other religious minorities from the former Soviet Union to immigrate to the United States. The “Lautenberg Amendment,” according to the senator’s own estimate, allowed 350,000 to 400,000 Soviet Jews to enter the United States, and benefitted evangelical Christians from the USSR as well.

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