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Hoyer Floor Remarks Honoring Senator Paul S. Sarbanes

December 8, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC - This evening, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered Floor remarks during a Special Order Hour honoring the life and legacy of Senator Paul Sarbanes. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

Click here to watch a video of his remarks.

"Madam Speaker, we were saddened to learn of the passing this weekend of a wonderful human being with a great intellect, a wonderful wit, a sense of decency, great integrity, and a profound love for our country and its people: Paul Sarbanes. He was a gifted legislator, a wise advisor to all who sought his counsel. He brought great courage to his efforts for the people and great compassion for all who struggled to survive and succeed in their pursuit of happiness.

"I know that all of us serving in this House express our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his son, our colleague Rep. John Sarbanes. A son of whom his father was extraordinarily proud.

"A number of us had the wonderful opportunity to serve with Sen. Sarbanes in the Congress. I had the privilege of serving with him for four years in the Maryland General Assembly and for thirty-years in the Congress. My friendship with Paul went back to the time when we were elected to the Maryland General Assembly in the same Freshman class of 1966. Paul was elected to the House, and I was elected to the Senate.

"Serving together in the Maryland Congressional Delegation, we continued our partnership working for the people of our state and standing up for the principles we shared. And Paul was, at his core, a man of principle. Raised with the ethics of his immigrant parents, the foundation of his Greek orthodox faith, and the values of his Baltimore neighborhood, Paul believed his first responsibility as a legislator was to ensure that government was always accountable to the people it served.

"He never wavered in that mission. When he saw evidence of obstruction of justice by President Nixon, he was the first to file articles of impeachment. In the Senate, he was an architect of what is now known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which sought to protect investors from fraud in our financial markets. Transparency, accountability, and ethics were his watchwords.

"Paul was also a champion for a cleaner and healthier Chesapeake Bay. He understood that the Bay is one of Maryland's, and America's, greatest treasures and most extraordinary asset. I was proud to partner with him on efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay, as well as on so many other issues important to our state, including robust investment in education, protecting civil rights, and making quality health care more affordable and accessible.

"Paul will be remembered as a man of substance and principle; of decency and warmth; of insight and vision. He left an indelible mark on the institutions in which he served – and on the millions of people in Maryland and across our country whose lives he improved. As Dean of the Maryland Delegation, it is my honor to open this hour of tribute and to yield to my friend and colleague, Rep. John Sarbanes, to share his reflections of his father Paul Sarbanes."