Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday the House of Representatives lost one of its own and New York City lost a great civil servant when Congressman Thomas J. Manton died at the age of 73.
Mr. Manton embodied the American dream and his story is one of integrity, hard work and dedication to community service.
The most important lesson we learn from our former colleague is that you don't have to be born into a political or influential family, nor do you have to have lots of money to succeed in politics. Mr. Manton's formula for success was honesty and coalition building.
His parents, Thomas Manton and Margaret Manton emigrated from Ireland in search of a better life. On November 3, 1932, they had their first and only son, Thomas J. Manton in a Manhattan hospital.
Mr. Manton's father supported the family working as a plasterer and the family moved from Manhattan to the borough of Queens where Mr. Manton lived until he passed away.
Mr. Manton demonstrated his commitment to public service very early on hen he served our country as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.
Upon returning, he worked his way through law school, serving the city as a police officer with the New York Police Department.
In the same spirit of service he was elected to the New York City Council and served there for 14 years.
In 1984, the voters from the 7th Congressional District chose Mr. Manton, to represent their interests in Washington. He served with distinction on the Commerce Committee and as Co-Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs.
As the son of immigrants, Mr. Manton never forgot what makes this country great. As Chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, he embraced the growing diversity in Queens and recruited candidates of all ethnicities, including from the Asian and Hispanic communities.
Mr. Manton maintained his position as District Leader for the Anoroc Democratic Club in his home district until the day that he died, which further demonstrates his commitment to being accessible to the public and the value he placed on being in touch with the community.
Over 2 million people are lucky enough to call the borough of Queens home. Queens is an exceptional borough largely because of Thomas J. Manton, and we can all only hope to do what he did--leave the world a better place than we found it.
I, with the entire City of New York, mourn the loss of the honorable and distinguished Congressman Thomas J. Manton and send my heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife Diane, their four children, and four grandchildren.
