Press Releases
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
06/11/2008
Pelosi Statement on Tom Lantos Posthumously Receiving Presidential Medal of Freedom
Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush’s decision to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom next week to former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, who passed away this past February:
“The House lost one of its most talented, courageous, and compassionate leaders when my friend Tom Lantos died earlier this year. I thank the President for recognizing one of America’s greatest champions of human rights by posthumously awarding Tom Lantos the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
“As the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, Tom Lantos devoted his public life to shining a bright light on dark corners of oppression. From his earliest days in House, when he founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, to his final days as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom used his powerful voice to stir the consciousness of world leaders and the public alike.
“Tom Lantos was a statesman and a gentleman. We miss his leadership in the Congress and I personally miss his friendship. I hope that his wife, Annette, who was so much a part of Tom’s work, his two daughters, Annette and Katrina, and the entire Lantos family can take some solace from this recognition of Tom’s achievements.
“I also congratulate the other recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom announced today. They represent the very best of American achievement and service and I particularly would like to recognize recipients Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has worked tirelessly to defeat HIV/AIDS, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who has dedicated her life to public service and improving health and education. They and the other Medal of Freedom recipients are more than worthy of this high honor.”