Keep California Congressman Tom Lantos in Your Thoughts and Prayers

Readers, I ask that you please keep Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) in your thoughts and prayers. His office released the following statement today:

"Routine medical tests have revealed that I have cancer of the esophagus. In view of this development and the treatment it will require, I will not seek re-election.

"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.

"Throughout my adult life I have sought to be a voice for human rights, civil liberties and social justice, both at home and around the world. My wife, Annette, and I look forward to continuing this vital work with purpose and verve every day for the remainder of my term.

"Annette is my full partner both in Congress and throughout my life; she has dedicated herself to promoting human rights, and she sustains me daily.

"I am fortunate beyond measure to be surrounded by loving family members, including two daughters and sons-in-law, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren."

Tom Lantos was elected to Congress in 1980 and is in his 14th term in office. His Democratic colleagues elected him chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2007. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, Tom is the founding co-chairman of the 24-year-old Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which Annette has directed as a volunteer since its inception.