The Obituary and Funeral Arrangements of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
January 25, 1937 – August, 21, 2024
Bill Pascrell, Jr. was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a proud American, plain spoken New Jerseyan, a teacher, a veteran, a patriot, a local, state, and federal leader, and most of all a lifelong Patersonian. Each part of his life guided him for over a generation in the United States Congress.
Bill was friends with Presidents. He ate with Prime Ministers. He drank with Premiers. But he was happiest talking with neighbors in North Jersey. He delighted in holding court beside working men and working women. Bill loved his job every day because he loved helping people. He successfully represented one of the most diverse districts in all America because regular Americans of all ethnicities knew he was one of them.
Bill attended St. George’s Elementary School in Paterson and graduated from St. John the Baptist High School. He received an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master’s degree in philosophy, both from his beloved Fordham University. After college he became a teacher and taught in Paramus High School for 12 years. He later served as the President of the Passaic County Community College Board of Trustees.
Bill served his country in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. He received an honorable discharge in 1967.
Bill was a late bloomer to government service. Despite an unbeaten electoral record for decades, he did not start with victory. He tasted early defeat and worked hard to break through. He loved to tell stories about the rough-and-tumble days of Paterson ward politics and the personalities that were involved in Passaic politics in the sixties and seventies. Once rejected by the party bosses, Bill rose to become Passaic County Democratic Chairman, helping rebuild and reinvigorate the organization to great successes.
Bill first became an elected official in 1987 when he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, eventually rising to the position of Minority Leader Pro-Tempore. While in Trenton, in 1990 he was elected to his dream job: Mayor. He loved being Mayor of Paterson (with one T, he would remind people on a regular basis). He adored the city’s tapestry of streets and shops and residents and he toiled nonstop to help make all of them better.
Bill was elected to Congress in 1996. In office, he immediately brought a hands-on, local government approach to Washington. His colleagues called him “Mayor” and he was proud of that moniker. Sometimes they called him “Silky” after his hometown. His office gained and then held a reputation as a place where any person could come for assistance on any issue – missing Social Security, fraught immigration status, a pothole – and where none was ever deemed too small. Bill’s favorite events to attend may have been naturalization ceremonies. He smiled ear-to-ear whenever helping swear-in new Americans to our great country.
For nearly two decades, Bill was New Jersey’s only member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. On the committee, he was the foremost champion for tax fairness in America. He pushed for a working IRS that would stand up to rich tax cheats. Since 2017, Bill led his allies in New Jersey and New York demanding the end of the state and local tax deduction cap that has crushed our middle class neighbors. On the panel, especially as the Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee, he held corrupt actors accountable and always stood up for the little guy and gal. Bill routinely reduced cabinet secretaries and agency commissioners to stammering heaps under his intense questions. In his final Congresses, Bill was the lead sponsor of bills to close some of the worst loopholes in the federal tax code.
Bill was an original member of the House Homeland Security Committee. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our nation, Bill became a loud champion for the families who lost loved ones on that terrible day. For over 15 years, he sounded the alarm on growing domestic extremism and begged his colleagues to take notice. Bill was the leading voice in Congress in support of the Nonprofit Security Grant program. Through his hard work, Congress has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to protect countless churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other houses of worship under threat. That work continued through Bill’s last day in office.
Bill was a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in his early years in office. No state relies on its roads, rails and bridges more than the densely populated Garden State. Bill delivered, including for an improved interchange at 23/80/46, better bridges along Route 46, as well as new bus depots, revamped rail stations and community jitney buses. Safety was always Bill’s focus. After the tragic crash of Flight 3407 out of Newark, Bill worked closely with his colleagues to finally impose commonsense safety requirements to prevent the pilot fatigue that likely led to the accident. Since the enactment of the law, there has not been a single commercial airline crash in America in 15 years.
As mayor and as congressman Bill loved the police, the firefighters, and first responders. They were often his highest priority. Incredibly, Bill was the leader of both the Law Enforcement Caucus and the Fire Services Caucus in the U.S. House. Not many members of Congress have ever claimed both titles simultaneously.
For too long, firefighters often held bake sales to buy gear and pay for resources. This offended Bill and he did something about it. Bill wrote the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act which established the first federal program that delivers grant dollars directly to fire departments. Because of Bill’s work, America’s fire departments in communities across the nation have obtained billions to purchase equipment, training, and vehicles needed to serve their communities and save lives. Bill also crafted the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant program that was signed into law in 2003 and which provides additional federal support for local fire departments. He also helped secure federal funds for a new firehouse in the City of Paterson that now bears his name.
Bill led efforts in Congress to protect numerous law enforcement funding. When every Trump budget tried to defund COPS grants, Bill led opposition to save them. His bills signed into law provided bulletproof vests for police, cut red tape, and protected benefits for first responders who give their lives in service to others.
When police and fire leaders in Washington and across our country needed help, they knew Bill’s door was always open to them.
Today, Paterson’s Great Falls are a national park because of Bill. For years he fought in Washington to win the designation. The day it was voted on in Congress, he prowled the floor and worked closely with friends on both sides of the aisle to secure the votes. When it passed, it was one of the proudest moments of his life.
Bill has always fought to protect our environment and combat climate change. He authored laws to support renewable energy, delivered funds to provide clean and safe drinking water, and facilitated the clean-up of contaminated sites through northern New Jersey.
Another proud moment came in the spring of 2012. Facing a brutal primary fight that most so-called experts predicted he would lose, Bill built one of the most impressive coalitions our state has ever seen. He won a landslide. After winning on a Tuesday night, somehow, Bill was back in Washington on Wednesday morning to manage a bill on the House floor. When Bill walked in, he was given a standing ovation from his colleagues. That recognition was one of the sweetest moments of his career.
Bill wore his Italian heritage on his sleeve and his pride informed his leadership. He served for years as the leader of the large Italian American delegation in the Congress. He used his post to strengthen the bond between the U.S. and Italian Republic and raised his voice to ensure no one ever forgot the role of Italians in America’s past and its future.
Bill was proud to invoke his experience as a public school teacher wherever he went. Up to 2024, his office would regularly hear from Bill’s former students now living in New Jersey and far-flung places. Their memories of his classroom were always warm and fondly recalled.
Even though Bill was one of Congress’s oldest members, his voice was one of its loudest. He acknowledged change and he embraced evolution. By the end of his career, Bill used social media better than most of his colleagues. His clear, passionate messaging was routinely used by the White House and congressional leadership.
Bill’s office was widely seen as one of the most responsive and most innovative for good reason. In Congress as in most places a staff is a reflection of its head. A poor boss will hire those in their image, a good boss will do the same. Bill demanded results and he hired scores of excellent staff members who delivered those results for the people of New Jersey and America. The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the Super Bowl victory record and epitomize excellence. Since 1969 they have had but three head coaches. In his near-three decades in Congress, Bill had three chiefs of staff.
Bill loved baseball. He loved coaching the Democrats’ Congressional Baseball Team. Sometimes his colleagues loved his wisdom, too. He watched the Yankees religiously. He enjoyed a rich cigar and often stayed out late. He savored great movies. He delighted in a nice meal and full conversation. He recently told a group of students his favorite Italian dish was a perfectly cooked artichoke.
With all of his accomplishments what he loved the most was his family. Bill was the beloved husband of Elsie (nee: Botto) Pascrell. Loving father of William J. Pascrell, III (BP3) and his partner Benemina Sancivieri of Roseland, David J. Pascrell and his wife Laura of Montclair and Glenn Pascrell and his wife Magdalena Buczek of Montclair; dear father-in-law of Kelly Pascrell and her husband Scott Farrar of Hawthorne; and dearest grandfather of William J. Pascrell, IV, Christopher A. Pascrell, Megan M. Pascrell, Aria Lia Pascrell, John W. Pascrell and Islay M. Pascrell. Bill is also survived by his sisters, Barbara Pascrell and Joyce Ferraro and his niece Jacqueline Ferraro. They were all truly the light of his life.
Friends may visit with the family from 3:00-to-8:00pm on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 381 Grand Street, Paterson. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 11:00am on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Interment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 52 Totowa Road, Totowa, New Jersey.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to:
Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey
Eva's Village of Paterson, New Jersey
Kessler Foundation
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