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PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JERRY LEWIS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from California
(Mr. Calvert) for 30 minutes.
General Leave
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to our esteemed former colleague, Jerry Lewis, the longest-serving California Republican in the history of the House, who on a personal level, was my good friend and mentor.
On July 15, Jerry passed from this life into the next. For the last 86 years, Jerry lived a full life. He made an extraordinary impact throughout the Inland Empire community he loved so dearly, leaving it in a far better position than when his decades of public service began.
When I was first elected to this body in November of 1992, Jerry was one of the first people I turned to for guidance. As I embarked on this new path, it just so happened that this exciting time in my life coincided with a rare low point for Jerry, who just lost his leadership position as Conference chair following the election.
Well, Jerry's loss turned out to be my gain as I was able to hire a number of Republican Conference staff members. From that moment forward, our offices shared a very tight bond, both personally and professionally, that would endure for decades.
Personally, I couldn't have asked for a better person to learn from. Jerry possessed a deep understanding of the needs of his district, and he methodically found opportunities to align Federal resources that could help address them.
In order to achieve his goals, Jerry recognized the importance of working across the aisle and being bipartisan, the realization that was, no doubt, aided by Jerry's first 16 years in the House as a member of the minority party. Jerry worked with whoever he needed in order to deliver results for the people who sent him here.
He demonstrated that if you don't care how it gets done, or who gets credit for it, you can actually get a lot accomplished around here. Jerry's community benefited in countless ways because of his leadership. Thanks to his efforts, veterans and other residents have received better care at the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System and the Loma Linda University Medical Center.
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Students have greater opportunities, thanks to his support for STEM education at the Apple Valley Science and Technology Center, which was later renamed the Lewis Center for Educational Research. The entire region is safer, protected from flooding, thanks to the construction of Seven Oaks Dam. I could go on and on.
Jerry may no longer be with us, but the tremendous size and scope of his life will endure and continue to make impacts for many years and many generations.
In 2005, Jerry became the first Californian to serve as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. He was incredibly proud to fill this honored position.
Jerry understood his time in that role was finite. He was determined to use that precious time to make a difference for his country, State, and district.
In May 2007, I was fortunate enough to join Jerry as a member of the Appropriations Committee.
In addition to his affection for the district, the body, and the Appropriations Committee, Jerry had a deep appreciation for his staff. His office was like a family. Jerry had many longtime staff members, a clear sign of mutual admiration.
Jerry's greatest love, of course, was reserved for who he always affectionately referred to as ``his bride,'' Arlene. Along with their dog, Bruin, the couple was inseparable.
I will always treasure the time I spent together with Jerry and Arlene, especially Wednesday nights at the Capitol Hill Club for prime rib night and our regular get-together for Mexican food at La Lomita here on Capitol Hill.
I extend my heartfelt condolences to Arlene, the Lewis family, and all the former Lewis office staff members. Like all of you, I simply cannot imagine our lives without Jerry and the incredible influence he had upon me.
I know he is looking down at all of us with that smile and chuckle, saying: ``Enough now, get back to work, Kenny.''
Godspeed, Jerry. We will take it from here.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Calvert for calling this Special Order in honor of our former colleague, Jerry Lewis.
As fellow Californians, we were his friends and know what a loss it is to us that he is now looking down on us. Maybe that is what is needed. That is the plus.
Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues from California--again, thanking Mr. Calvert--to honor a fierce and fearless champion of the Golden State, our late cherished colleague, Congressman Jerry Lewis.
Jerry Lewis lived a life dedicated to California, from serving on the San Bernardino City School Board to his decade in the California Assembly to his 34 years representing Inland Empire communities in the U.S. Congress.
It was when he was in the assembly that I got to know him over 40 years ago. I was the chair of the Northern California Democratic Party, and he was on the committee of jurisdiction that was viewing legislation of concern to voter participation in our State.
He always had that smile. He was always very inviting of ideas, very welcoming. I was brand new in the political arena, had hardly been involved in California politics, and so his warm welcome then is something I always remember. When we served together in Congress, we both remembered it well. Jerry and I were friends, again, for a long time.
Then, in Congress, we served on the Appropriations Committee, where he took great pride in being chair of the full committee. How could it be that he was the first chair of the committee from California? He described it as a milestone beyond his wildest dreams.
Mr. Aguilar, who is here for bipartisan remembrances of Jerry, is part of the Appropriations Committee, and we had our own culture and bipartisanship there over the years.
Jerry took great pride in running the committee because he knew of its power to make a difference in the lives of the people he represented. It was always important to him to reach across the aisle because, in his words: ``The more we can talk to each other as individuals and human beings, the better off the institution is going to be and the more responsive it is going to be.''
When we look around California, we see Jerry's legacy. We see it in the cancer research center he established at Loma Linda University Medical Center; in San Bernardino National Forest, which he helped to protect; and the Lewis Center for Educational Research, exploring the night sky. We see his monument in so many tributes that bear his name throughout his community, from Redlands to Riverside, Highland to Hesperia.
It is fitting that Californians were able to say good-bye to Jerry at the University of Redlands Chapel, in the community he so loved.
Jerry's unique voice, core values, and belief in the promise of America have made a difference for California and, indeed, for our country.
May it be a comfort to Jerry's wife, Arlene; their children, Jenifer, Jerry Jr., Jeff, and Dan; their grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Jerry's brothers, Ray and John; and all of their loved ones, that so many people mourn with and pray for them at this sad time.
We will always remember Jerry as a great American and a great Californian.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart to pay tribute to the memory of that longtime friend of ours and colleague on the Appropriations Committee, which he chaired, former Congressman Jerry Lewis from California, who passed away July 15, 2021.
After working in the insurance industry and serving in the California State Assembly, Jerry was first elected to Congress 2 years before me, in 1978, and served his southern California district honorably until his retirement in 2013.
Serving together on the Appropriations Committee for 30 years, Jerry and I became friends due to our respect and admiration for this body, the committee itself, and our singular focus on doing all we could to serve our constituents back home in our respective districts.
Jerry was a true believer in our committee, its wielding the power of the purse, and ensuring that we were spending taxpayers' hard-earned tax dollars wisely.
He also prided himself in his ability to steer Federal funding to his district, including funding for critical, lifesaving flood control projects, important cancer research, protecting his southern California district from wildfires, and much, much more.
Jerry believed that one of the jobs of being a Federal Congressman was to be sure that his constituents' voices would be heard here on whatever problem they may be having and that we should spend Federal tax dollars fairly on those projects and matters.
Jerry and I actually found ourselves in direct competition twice, each vying for the gavel as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Though he won in 2004, I won in 2010. I succeeded him as chairman. But we never let those races affect our friendship. It was never personal. Regardless of the outcome, we continued to work together for the betterment of the country and our constituents.
I thank the gentleman from California for hosting this Special Order, a fellow member of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Calvert, especially because of the fact that he is the ranking Republican on the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, a key slot, fulfilling, I think, the thoughts from Jerry Lewis himself, that this gentleman from California has a great future in this body. He is living up to it.
I also want to send my thoughts and prayers as well to Jerry's bride, Arlene, and the rest of Chairman Lewis' family as they go through this very difficult time.
There have not been many Members of this body that were as motivated with good thoughts than Jerry Lewis. He was a gentleman. He was a forthright spokesman for his district in California. He was a patriot who believed in a strong U.S. defense and helped to achieve it.
We will not see the likes of this man, I think, again in this body. He was super and superior. I consider his friendship as one of the golden jewels that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Godspeed, Jerry Lewis. Our thoughts are with you.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Aguilar).
Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Calvert can attest, Jerry Lewis was a larger-than-life figure.
Over the course of his four decades of public service, Jerry was able to rise through the ranks here at the House to become the chair of the House Appropriations Committee. I notice a lot of appropriators here with us today, sharing their memories and paying their respects, as well.
Mr. Lewis earned the respect of Members from both sides of the aisle and worked tirelessly to promote our national defense, care for our veterans, and ensure folks back home in my community and his community of San Bernardino County received our fair share of resources.
Jerry was quick to remind people that he was a kid from San Bernardino. Maybe that is why he liked me a little more than he should have, because I was a kid from San Bernardino as well. But that kid went on to serve his community by advocating for it in Sacramento and eventually here in these halls.
Too often, our region in California is an afterthought. Smaller than our neighbors to the west in Los Angeles and Orange County, the Inland Empire, my home, was always Jerry's home, and we have always had to fight for our fair share of resources.
But Jerry dedicated his career to delivering resources for our community, and his impact can still be felt on the ground today and through the years ahead.
He served as my family's representative in Congress for many years. Later, I had the opportunity to represent him, first as his mayor and then as his representative in Congress.
He often called me ``my mayor.'' He would say: ``How is my mayor doing today?'' when he would see me around town, usually when he would see me at his favorite spot downtown where he was grabbing lunch with his bride.
I have never shared this story with Mr. Calvert. Jerry and Arlene were the first individuals to call me after I was appointed to a city council vacancy a bunch of years ago. The council appointment happened in the evening, and they called early in the morning Pacific time. They didn't quite wake me up, but it was a morning hour on the West Coast. They congratulated me on the appointment, and Jerry talked about the importance of local government making an impact in our daily lives. He reminded me that serving was a huge honor but also an immense obligation and responsibility.
While our politics, at times, were different, and he was quick to remind me of that, I will always be grateful for the advice, for the friendship, for the time he and Arlene spent with me over the years, meeting in his Rayburn office, back in town, or at community events. He was always measured; he was always professional; and he always put his community first.
It is a testament to his legacy that his colleagues from both sides of the aisle are here today to remember him.
My thoughts continue to be with Arlene and the family. I appreciate his contributions and his friendship.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for this Special Order.
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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the Democratic leader, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, if you mention Jerry Lewis from California, our Jerry Lewis probably wouldn't be the first one you would think of. You would think of Dean Martin's sidekick.
When I first met Jerry Lewis some 40 years ago, I guess, now--how long has Jerry been gone? Thirty-two years plus however long he has been gone--I thought of Jerry Lewis. ``Oh, Jerry Lewis, yes, he is on the committee.'' I thought of the comedian Jerry Lewis.
To some degree, Jerry Lewis was a comedian. He was a wonderful guy, wonderful spirit, a wonderful person. I served with him, as I said, for 32 years, both in the House of Representatives and on the Appropriations Committee. Actually, that is not really right. I served with him 32 years, but I was only on the committee for 23 years before I became the majority leader in 2006 and then went off the committee.
Jerry Lewis is coupled in my thoughts with a guy named Vic Fazio, who was also from California, who was also on the Appropriations Committee, who was one of my closest friends and still is. I think about the two of them because Jerry Lewis and Vic Fazio, for a number of years, headed up the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee together. They were a team, a positive team, a team that agreed that this institution was worth protecting and worth serving.
As I think of Jerry Lewis, I lament the fact--and in doing so, I want to thank Ken Calvert, also a member, for seeing me in the hall and saying, ``Are you doing this Special Order?'' Mr. Speaker, if he hadn't talked to me, I wouldn't have known, and I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity to speak.
Much has been said of what he did, but what Jerry Lewis and Vic Fazio represented were Members who thought about the institution, not about party. They were representative of a large number of people in this body who served when I came here in the 1980s and the 1990s who shared that view. Tom Cole is sitting here. He is one of those Members that shares that view.
As I think of Jerry Lewis, I lament the fact that we have lost the Jerry Lewises--not all of them, but too many--who made this body a collegial body, not a confrontational body.
That doesn't mean we didn't have severe disagreements. I remember Jerry Lewis, at one point in time, said, as chairman of the committee, he was going to move Goddard Space Flight Center, which is in my district, some 3,000 or 4,000 people, to California. We had a little tussle about that. The good news was that Barbara Mikulski chaired the committee in the Senate, and the chances of that happening were zero. But we had a tussle about that. It was a friendly tussle, and I really don't believe he was real. He was just sort of getting a little leverage.
Jerry Lewis was a man of this institution, the Congress, and of the Constitution. He cared about this country; he cared about this institution; and he worked positively and constructively for both.
The fact that he was a Republican and I was a Democrat was somewhat irrelevant. That doesn't mean it was not relevant in terms of our having differences. The parties had differences, and there were contentious times. At that point in time, he was on one side, and I was on the other.
I am, I like to think, a man of the House, but I am also a man of the Appropriations Committee. I love the Appropriations Committee. I love the Appropriations Committee because it was a committee where compromise, frankly, was easier.
Philosophical differences are tougher to compromise on. Money is not so tough. We have $100. I am in the majority, so I get $60, and you get
$40. That is relatively easy. It is much, much more complicated than that, but it is a committee in which you can decide priorities based upon where you want to put your money. I think it is a little easier than on issues that are deep, philosophically held beliefs.
I wanted to speak, and I thank Ken Calvert for giving me a heads-up that this Special Order was happening, because we need to get back to the Jerry Lewises and Vic Fazios. I lament the fact that we are so contentious in this body. I lament the fact that there is so much tension in this body.
Everybody in this body has been elected by their neighbors and friends and people who don't know them because that is the only way you can get here. I, therefore, believe that everyone in this body is due respect, even those I vigorously disagree with, because they have been sent here by the people.
But we have lost that sense of camaraderie, and we have lost the sense that, for the most part, we are going to work together.
I came here when Ronald Reagan was elected President. I came here in a special election. Even though we had contention, and we had the Boll Weevils, et cetera, the overwhelming majority of the House, Democrats and Republicans, felt like working together.
I will close with this. I loved Jerry. He was my dear, dear friend. What he represented, I think, was so important. But we have lost the sense that we are all working together for the country, for the people.
I don't mean we have lost it individually, but it seems to me that the camaraderie and cooperation that existed for a long time that I have served in this body is very tenuous at best now. Very frankly, I think it was made even more tenuous in the last administration.
I don't think we are going to get back there. Part of it was because the Democrats, when I came here, had been in charge for about 20 years, and there wasn't a real sense that everything one did would change the complexion or the control of the House of Representatives. Now that is the case, so it is a lot more contentious. People are thinking, ``If we do this or do that, maybe we will win the majority.'' That was not the case then.
I want to thank Jerry Lewis. I want to thank Arlene. I want to thank their family for being the kind of people who made those of us on the other side of the aisle feel like that was just an aisle but we were Americans together, Members of the House of Representatives together, working on behalf of our country and our people and to make the House of Representatives the kind of institution of which the American people could be proud.
Thank you, Jerry Lewis. God bless you.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana
(Mr. Scalise), the Republican whip.
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, as we remember the life of Jerry Lewis, I remember the first time that I had the opportunity to meet with him. It was back in 2005. I was a State representative from Louisiana, and Hurricane Katrina had ravaged the whole New Orleans region.
Thousands of people were out of their homes. The city was decimated. The whole region was decimated, and we were starting to work on a plan to rebuild New Orleans.
Obviously, there was a big Federal role to be played. President Bush had committed to help us, but it took action from Congress to ultimately make that happen, to rebuild the levees so that the communities could be protected, to help people get back in their homes. And that brought me to Jerry Lewis.
He met with me and a few other people, and he committed to do the things that needed to be done to help us get back on our feet at our lowest point. That is who Jerry Lewis was.
The city of New Orleans, the people of the New Orleans region, owe a great debt to Jerry Lewis for the things he did, the real action he took to help build New Orleans back after Katrina.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I think it says everything about Jerry Lewis if you look at who has come to speak on his behalf. We have had the Speaker and the majority leader of the House from the other party. You have a man he squared off against twice for the chairmanship of the full committee. You have colleagues on both sides. It tells you he was a very unusual man with very broad appeal.
I first met Jerry Lewis as a staffer. I was the new executive director of the NRCC, and I got a call out of the blue from one of the most important Republicans in Congress who said, ``Hey, have you got time to come over and meet?'' I thought, ``Boy, I am either in trouble or something is serious and big.'' It turns out that his deputy chief of staff, Letitia White, was married to the brother of a good friend of mine. They happened to meet at the wedding, and he said, ``Hey, there is this kid from Oklahoma coming up. You need to get to know him.''
Jerry Lewis was the kind of guy who reached out to you no matter what. We became firm friends from there, long before I was in this institution. I used to bring people by, particularly clients who were running for Congress, to meet him because he always helped them and always gave them good advice.
Then, by happenstance, I had the opportunity to come to the Congress of the United States. The first person who helped me was Jerry Lewis, and the first person who gave me good advice said, ``Tom, become an appropriator if you possibly can.'' It was Jerry Lewis. Then, he helped me get to that spot.
He was the ranking member, our Republican leader on the committee, and guided the decisions I made in terms of what positions I would choose, where I would go, and what subcommittees I would serve on. I always got great advice, always got tremendous help. There was always wisdom in any observation that he had.
Like my friends, I am going to miss him very, very much. I extend my sympathies to Arlene and the family, but this institution lost a great champion. We lost a great American.
God bless him wherever he is now. Actually, I know where he is now. God bless him.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCarthy. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bid farewell to Congressman Jerry Lewis, who passed away last week at his home in Redlands, California. He was 86.
His impact on his district, his state, and his nation are enormous and will not be forgotten.
Jerry approached the responsibilities of public service seriously.
He was one of the longest-serving and most influential Californians in this chamber's history--serving a total of 34 years.
He was the chair of the Republican Conference, a cardinal, and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Through it all, he was tireless and effective, delivering for the people he represented.
You can see it in his work:
Improving health care;
Building dams and the environment;
Funding education and scientific research; and
Strengthening our national defense and industrial base.
Yes, Jerry was a serious legislator. But as everyone who knew him will also tell you, he never took himself too seriously.
He was always smiling.
He loved his wife, Arlene.
He was an optimist--in politics, in his personal life, and about the future of our great nation.
That is his legacy.
Mr. Speaker, the great Italian writer Petrarch said that, ``love is the crowning grace of humanity, the golden link which binds us to duty and truth, the redeeming principles that reconciles the heart to life.''
I don't know if Jerry ever read those words, but he certainly lived them.
He was a statesman and a public servant who worked hard for his district, his state, and his country because he loved them.
We should always remember that.
God Bless Arlene and his entire family.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of our former colleague Jerry Lewis.
My colleagues here have spoken to the mark he left on the House of Representatives. I'd like to take a moment speak to his legacy in the California delegation, where he was the longest serving Republican in our state's history.
Whether it was as my counterpart as Chair of the California Republican Congressional Delegation, during his tenure as Republican Conference Chair, or his time as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Jerry was always willing to work with his California colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the needs of our state.
If Jerry had anything to say about it, California was getting its fair share.
During his time in Sacramento he helped establish the South Coast Air Quality Management District. He understood the need to deal with the horrific smog that was plaguing much of Southern California, and particularly the Inland Empire.
George Miller once pointed out that Jerry and he were on opposing sides of legislation to create the Mojave Desert National Park, but that once the park was created, Jerry immediately turned around and worked with the delegation to ensure that the public had access and that there would be improvements to the park.
That's the kind of legislator he was--instead of being consumed by what divides us, Jerry like to move to the next problem to solve.
We've missed his presence in the House over the last decade. Our thoughts are with his wife Arlene and his children and grandchildren.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of our former colleague, Congressman Jerry Lewis. Throughout his career, Mr. Lewis was respected for his hard work, his in-depth policy knowledge, his commitment to his constituents and to his home state, as well as to his colleagues and the institution of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Lewis was best known for his commitment to the active work of the Appropriations Committee, where he served as Chairman--and he was equally well known for his friendship on both sides of the aisle in his role as the Dean of the California Delegation.
He played a leading role as Chairman of the VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee--supporting research, development and scientific endeavors including the space and aerospace sectors that for so long were major hubs of economic activity and cutting-edge technology in our home state.
Mr. Lewis was a believer in investment in education and in research institutions like the University of California system and in resources like the San Bernardino National Forest, which is located in one of the beautiful and distinctive snow-capped mountain ranges that backdrop the unique and well-known Los Angeles basin landscape.
A longtime resident of the San Bernardino area, including San Bernardino and Redlands, cities at the center of his congressional district in the diverse and vast Inland Empire, he was the product of public schools, graduating from San Bernardino High School and later UCLA. After college he served briefly on the staff of former Congressman Jerry Pettis, as a member of his local school board, and later operated a small business.
From 1969 to 1978 like many in this body, he served in Sacramento as a member of the state legislature where he helped establish a committee dedicated to addressing air quality, a major concern in Inland Southern California in the 1970's.
In 1978 he was elected to this body, serving as Chairman of the House Republican Conference in the late 1980's, before ascending to leadership positions on the Appropriations Committee.
I am honored to have known him as a mentor, as a fellow legislator and as a friend. I am grateful for his contributions and leadership in our delegation, for his unending belief in cooperation between parties and branches of government, and his faith in the leadership role of America in the world.
Mr. Lewis gave much of his life to serving our state, working to improve our nation, and to serving with distinction his hometown and home district--his legacy is an inspiration to all of us who have followed in his footsteps and proudly serve the state he loved, in the institution he revered.
Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Congressman Jerry Lewis, the longest-serving House Republican in California history.
Throughout his 17 terms in Congress, Congressman Lewis stood as an steadfast example of civic service.
Congressman Lewis knew how to work across the aisle and get things done for his community, our state and the nation.
He was known to all as down to earth and remarkably kind. When someone addressed him as `Congressman Lewis,' he would always reply with a smile--``My friends call me Jerry. You're my friend, so please call me Jerry.''
Jerry loved his hometown of San Bernardino and was loved back by the community.
His legacy of hard work, dedication to conservative values, humor and kindness will not be forgotten.
I hope you will all join me in keeping his family in your prayers during this time.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 129
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