Sections Obituary-Memorial Sec. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), 1928-2008
| Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), 1928-2008 |
he Filipino-American community is in mourning. Filipino Americans are paying tribute to Rep. Tom Lantos of California. He passed away today. Congressman Lantos was a great friend of the Philippines and the Filipino-American community.
Congressman Lantos, 80, died this morning at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland.
Mr. Lantos, a Democrat, chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He disclosed last month that he had cancer of the esophagus. To read an earlier article about Mr. Lantos, please go to Rep. Tom Lantos, a Friend of the Philippines, Will Retire Due to Diagnosis of Esophageal Cancer
Congressman Lantos served well his constituents. His district has a modest Filipino population in Northern California, which is in the southwest portion of San Francisco and suburbs to the south including Congressman Lantos' home of San Mateo. He supported the Filipino Veterans’ equity and the reunification of veteran families’ bills.
Representative Lantos assumed his committee chairmanship last year, when Democrats retook control of Congress. He conducted House hearings on human-rights violations in the Philippines last year. To read more of Mr. Lantos and his legacy, please go to http://www.lantos.house.gov/
In the Senate and House hearings, the United States Congress found the Philippine government responsible for the spate of political killings in the Philippines and tied US
military aid to the human-rights situation in the country.
Mr. Lantos was a survivor of the holocaust in Hungary under Nazi Germany and considered himself "an American by choice." Thus, his holocaust experience resulted into his human-rights advocacy. He was elected to the House in 1980 and founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983. In October 2007 he became the Foreign Affairs’ Committee chairman.
Congressman Lantos defied the Bush administration’s opposition to a measure that would have recognized the World War I-era killings of Armenians as genocide. He moved the measure through his committee. The pending resolution is vehemently opposed by Turkey, a strong American ally. The resolution has not passed the House.
This online publication extends its condolence and sympathy to the Lantos Family and his staff members and urges its readers, especially Filipino Americans, to include Congressman Lantos in their prayers. # # #
I thank you very much for writing about the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, a great Hungarian-American who had escaped twice from being sent into the gas chamber or death camp in Germany during World War Two.
Congressman Lantos was all life long humane rights activist and social causes including the plight of the Filipino and Filipino american veterans of World War Two era.
I was quite sad to read and hear in about his death from cancer on Feb. 11, 2008.
At this time, I would like to send my heart felt condolences to the Lantos family. I do remain
Very truly,
M. Matthews, sunnyside, NY
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