Rep Claude Pepper

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), 88, continued in "serious but stable" condition at Walter Reed Army Hospital Tuesday, suffering from a stomach ailment of an undisclosed nature, press aide Rochelle Jones said.

I think that the real reason the senators are out to get Cranston is his constant support of Social Security. Since the "greatest" supporter died, Rep. Claude Pepper of Florida, we need to back those on our side. THOMAS E. GRAHAM Santa Monica

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), the oldest member of the House and a champion of programs for the elderly, was described by an aide Thursday as being "very seriously ill" at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Pepper, 88, has been in the hospital since April 6 with what has been called a digestive disturbance.

--The Rev. Jesse Jackson reached for the teachings of the Bible in his call for statehood for the District of Columbia. In a packed church Sunday in Washington, the former presidential candidate and civil rights leader said the city, which has a population of 360,000, deserves "emancipation and empowerment." Although avoiding any mention of reports that he is considering a run for mayor, Jackson compared the drive for statehood to Moses' struggle to free the Israelites and the emancipation from slavery of blacks.

I think that the real reason the senators are out to get Cranston is his constant support of Social Security. Since the "greatest" supporter died, Rep. Claude Pepper of Florida, we need to back those on our side. THOMAS E. GRAHAM Santa Monica

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) is in Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment of a lingering stomach ailment, his office reported Tuesday. Pepper, 88, has been hospitalized for 12 days, said his press secretary, Rochelle Jones. She said doctors were not sure what caused the illness.

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) remains in "very serious, but stable" condition at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his press secretary, Rochelle Jones, said Wednesday. Pepper entered the hospital on April 6 with a stomach ailment.

President Bush on Sunday visited 88-year-old Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, where Congress' oldest member has been receiving treatment and undergoing tests for a stomach disorder. Bush made the unscheduled stop on his return to the White House after attending ceremonies in New York commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration.

Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass.) was elected to replace the late Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) as chairman of the House Rules Committee. Moakley, a committee member since 1974, was the second-ranking Democrat on the panel. Moakley said he would attempt to emulate Pepper's style, saying the Florida Democrat "probably was one of the most democratic chairmen up here." Once a committee approves a piece of legislation, the measure moves to the Rules Committee, which decides if and when the bill will be debated by the full House, how it will be debated and whether amendments will be permitted.

Is it any wonder the elderly in this country are treated with such disrespect? Jack Hawn spends the opening paragraphs of his article marveling that Carlton Morse is still ambulatory and not in a wheelchair or rest home at the age of 85 ("Heart and Soul of radio Days," April 19). How insulting. Doesn't he realize our President is only a decade younger? That a woman in her 80s ran in the Boston Marathon? Has he never heard of Rep. Claude Pepper? When are we going to stop treating old people like feeble relics?

Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass.) was elected to replace the late Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) as chairman of the House Rules Committee. Moakley, a committee member since 1974, was the second-ranking Democrat on the panel. Moakley said he would attempt to emulate Pepper's style, saying the Florida Democrat "probably was one of the most democratic chairmen up here." Once a committee approves a piece of legislation, the measure moves to the Rules Committee, which decides if and when the bill will be debated by the full House, how it will be debated and whether amendments will be permitted.

U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper, the beloved champion of the nation's elderly, was buried Monday in this city where he began his political career 60 years ago. "Claude Pepper never forgot his duty as an elected official to fight for the common welfare," Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) told about 1,000 mourners at First Baptist Church in the state capital. "His energy and his vision will be sorely missed as the Congress now moves to take up Claude Pepper's last testament--legislation to provide long-term care for America's elderly," Mitchell said.

Congressional leaders, clergymen and constituents welcomed Rep. Claude Pepper home for the last time Sunday, eulogizing him as a "guardian of the elderly" who left his mark in the hearts of the common people. The 88-year-old Democratic congressman, who died Tuesday in Washington, was praised in his downtown church as a shining example of U.S. citizenship, filled with passion and dedication to those who needed his help and influence the most. "He will never be replaced," said Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass.

In a Baptist church just blocks from one of the poorest sections of Miami, the rich and powerful gathered Sunday to eulogize Rep. Claude Pepper, a champion of the poor and elderly who died as the nation's oldest congressman. Four charter buses full of lawmakers gathered inside the Central Baptist Church near Overtown to give praise to the Florida Democrat, who died Tuesday of a heart attack caused by complications from stomach cancer. He was 88. "I appreciate the dignity Claude Pepper brought to old age," said the Rev. Steven Kimmel, pastor of the church where Pepper had been a member for decades.

Lines of tearful friends and relatives wound through the Capitol on Thursday to bid farewell to Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), whose body lay in state in the Rotunda. "Claude Pepper's death marks the passing of an era in American history," said Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell of Maine at a Rotunda ceremony. "His energy and his vision will be sorely missed." Pepper, who died Tuesday at 88 of stomach cancer, was to lie in state in the Rotunda until noon today. Only 26 other Americans have been so honored.

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), the oldest member of Congress and a man regarded by millions of elderly Americans as their personal champion, died Tuesday at the age of 88. Pepper had been hospitalized since April 6 with what was described as a digestive disorder. A spokesman in Pepper's office said Tuesday that he had been suffering from cancer. President Bush and his wife, Barbara, visited Pepper at Walter Reed Army Medical Center last week to present him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, in recognition of a long career defending "the vulnerable among us."

U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper, the beloved champion of the nation's elderly, was buried Monday in this city where he began his political career 60 years ago. "Claude Pepper never forgot his duty as an elected official to fight for the common welfare," Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) told about 1,000 mourners at First Baptist Church in the state capital. "His energy and his vision will be sorely missed as the Congress now moves to take up Claude Pepper's last testament--legislation to provide long-term care for America's elderly," Mitchell said.

Rep. Claude Pepper, who crusaded for Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s and was still championing the rights of the elderly a half-century later, died today at 88. He was the oldest member of Congress. Pepper had been hospitalized since April 6, suffering from an undisclosed stomach ailment. He died at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The Florida Democrat was elected to the Senate in 1936 and promptly made his mark as an architect of some of the nation's most enduring "safety net" programs, including Social Security, the minimum wage and medical assistance to the elderly and handicapped children.