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Rep. Tom Lantos, Friend of the Animals, to Retire

A great American and friend of the animals, Rep. Tom Lantos, 79, announced yesteday that he is retiring. A routine medical check-up revealed a cancer of the esophagus. Rep. Lantos is a holocaust survivor and an immigrant from Hungary. He is quoted, " It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress... I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country." Rep. Lantos is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is serving his thirteenth term in Congress, representing the 12th congressional district of California. His congressional website describes him as " a leader in the Congress in dealing with animal welfare issues. He is the founder and co-chair of "Congressional Friends of Animals," an organization of members of Congress that provides a forum for cooperation on matters of humane treatment of animals." For more information about Rep. Lantos' outstanding support for animal welfare, go here:

http://www.lantos.org/agenda-animal-welfare.php

Earlier in his life, Lantos was a professor of economics (1950-1980), an international affairs analyst, and also an economic consultant to businesses. His educational background is heavy in Economics. Tom attended the University of Washington in Seattle for his B.A. and M.A. in Economics. In 1950, Rep. Lantos began his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He also received his Ph.D. in Economics from UC Berkeley. In the fall of 1950 he started teaching economics at San Francisco State University.

Watch Rep. Tom Lantos grill a witness for foreign aid to Iraq:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH0QEvbOw2o&feature=related

Watch more of Tom Lantos at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlsl_FuObeU&NR=1

Rep. Tom Lantos on the futility of American involvement in Iraq:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQe3buQP0L4&feature=related

Sir, thank you for your service. God Bless You always.

UPDATE: Rep. Tom Lantos passed away on Feb. 11, 2008.

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