WHEREAS, Tom Lantos was born in 1928 in Budapest, Hungary, and was 16 years old when Nazi Germany occupied his native country; and
     WHEREAS, Mr. Lantos survived the war after escaping from a labor camp, even as most of his family members died and most Jews in his community were sent to Auschwitz; and
     WHEREAS, Mr. Lantos was awarded an academic scholarship to study in the United States and arrived in Seattle in 1947; and
     WHEREAS, Mr. Lantos received a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, Mr. Lantos was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980, representing the 12th Congressional District of California, where he served for 28 years; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos is the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the United States Congress; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos had a strong record on protecting our natural environment, fighting for reform of our nation's energy policy, and supporting public education; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos cared passionately about human rights issues, founding the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983 and serving as the Cochairman of the Human Rights Caucus from 1983 to 2008; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos, as the Chairman of the United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee, was a strong voice for responsible international involvement, for human rights wherever they were threatened, and against global poverty and HIV/AIDS; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos called himself "an American by choice"; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos passed away on February 11, 2008, leaving behind his wife Annette, two daughters, seventeen grandchildren, and two great grandchildren; and
     WHEREAS, Representative Lantos is a symbol of what courage, hard work, and perseverance can achieve in one's lifetime;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate remember and honor Representative Tom Lantos for his service, patriotism, and dedication to his family, country, and human rights around the world; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the family and the congressional office of Representative Lantos, the University of Washington, and the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.