Lantos posthumously receives Medal of Freedom

President Bush on Thursday posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom to Rep. Tom Lantos, praising the California Democrat “for a lifetime of leadership, for his commitment to liberty, and for his devoted service to his adopted nation.”

{mosads}Lantos, who died in February, was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. He chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and had distinguished himself as a human rights activist since his election in 1980. The lawmaker founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1984.

“On Capitol Hill, Tom displayed the energy and enthusiasm of people half his age,” Bush said. “When he was in his 70s, he said that he was at the midpoint of his congressional career.”

The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor a president can award.

“We miss his powerful voice and his strong Hungarian accent,” Bush said. “We miss his generosity of spirit. And we miss his vigorous defense of human rights and his powerful witness for the cause of human freedom.”