Veteran US lawmaker Frank Lautenberg, the oldest member of the US Senate, passed away on Monday at the age of 89 due to complications from viral pneumonia, according to his office.
Lautenberg, who was the Senate’s last remaining World War II veteran, had said in February he would not seek a sixth term next year, setting up a major battle for the seat.
Lautenberg is well-remembered and regarded in the Jewish community as a champion of the rights of Jews to emigrate from the Soviet Union, and as one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in the Senate. Just last week, he was honored by the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus life, for his contributions to Israel and Jewish life. Unable to attend the event due to his health, the event was broadcast via computer to his home.
In 1990, Lautenberg sponsored and passed a special law that relaxed immigration requirements for refugees. The law, called the Lautenberg Amendment, was passed just months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and facilitated the immigration of tens of thousands of Jews to the U.S.
Lautenberg’s is a classic “rags to riches” story. Lautenberg was the son of poor Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants. He joined the U.S. Army when he was 18 and served in Europe in the Army Signal Corps during World War II. He graduated from Columbia University and eventually became a millionaire, establishing Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the first payroll processing company in the U.S.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will appoint a temporary replacement for Lautenberg. His seat will go up for election next year. The race to fill his New Jersey seat will be among the most closely watched in the 2014 elections, with the popular and charismatic Newark Mayor Cory Booker seen as a frontrunner.
Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell called Lautenberg a “patriot whose success in business and politics made him a great American success story and a standout even within the fabled Greatest Generation. The entire Senate is saddened today,” McConnell said in a statement.
Lautenberg, a member of President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party, championed gun control and was at the forefront of a failed effort earlier this year to ban assault rifles and limit the size of ammunition magazines. He wrote the law that set the national legal drinking age at 21 and pushed legislation through Congress to reduce the blood alcohol limit that defined drunk driving.
In a statement, the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) said that the organization “extends its deepest condolences to Senator Frank Lautenberg’s family, friends, and the people of New Jersey. The late Senator leaves behind a distinguished record of public and Jewish communal service that distinguishes him as a giant among American Jewish political leaders. He was a staunch defender of progressive ideals and a stalwart advocate for the State of Israel and the American Jewish community. Lautenberg was a true friend to NJDC and we will forever miss his wisdom and insight.”
Lautenberg is survived by his wife, six children and 13 grandchildren.
