BROOKLYN, NY – U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke issued the following statement to commemorate the career of U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey who died today at eighty-nine years of age and to express condolences to his family.

“Our prayers are with the family of Senator Lautenberg, especially his wife, Bonnie and his children,” said Representative Clarke. “His exemplary work has established the standard of public service in Congress .”   

“Senator Lautenberg was a leader on the issues that were important to the people of New Jersey, particularly public transportation, preventable disease, and the protection of victims of domestic violence,” said Representative Clarke. “His life was the pursuit of the American Dream—born in Paterson, New Jersey to a mother and father who were immigrants from Eastern Europe, he attended Columbia University on the G.I. Bill and eventually became the chairman and chief executive officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.” 

Senator Lautenberg was a member of the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II. He was elected to the Senate in 1982, where he represented the people of New Jersey for almost three decades and was the last remaining World War II veteran.

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations; Ethics; and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents several neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which includes Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Ocean Hill, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.