Elder Statesman of Republicans in Congress Dies in Bethesda

Rep. Bill Young, R-FL, one of the longest-serving members of Congress, died Friday at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda. He was 82.

His family released a statement saying Young had complications from a chronic back injury. In 1970, the year he was elected to Congress, Young was in a serious small-plane accident.

Young had recently announced his intention to retire.

"It's only been a week since we began trying to imagine the House without Bill Young - an impossible task in its own right - and now he is gone," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement. "In our sorrow, we recall how not a day went by without a colleague seeking Bill's counsel as he sat on his perch in the corner of the House floor. Looking out for our men and women in uniform was his life's work, and no one was better at it. No one was kinder, too."

President Obama issued this statement:

"Michelle and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Congressman C.W. Bill Young.  For over 50 years Bill served the people of Florida, both in the state legislature and as the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He will be remembered for his advocacy and support for the armed forces, service members, and their families as well as his statesmanship and long history of working across the aisle to keep our country moving forward."

For more on Young's life, see his obituary in The Washington Post.