Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the public service of Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding, and thank him for the service he has rendered to this body in the 6 brief months he's been here. He is certainly following well in the tradition of his father, who is a long-time friend of mine.

Let me also say how gratifying it is to be on the floor and have the manager of this bill which pertains to Tony Blair being managed by the distinguished Ambassador Watson, who does such an outstanding job as cochair of the United States-United Kingdom Congressional Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of this resolution. I was especially privileged to introduce it because as Tony Blair exits from the Office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he takes with him the admiration and the best wishes of all freedom-loving people throughout the world.

No one certainly has been a closer ally to the United States than Prime Minister Tony Blair. No one personifies the close links between the United States and Great Britain than Tony Blair; certainly follows in the tradition of Winston Churchill, who did more than anyone until his time to cement that relationship, and Tony Blair has even advanced it more. Whether it was President Clinton or President Bush, Tony Blair always stood as our strongest ally in Bosnia, in Kosovo, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the international war against terrorism, and standing up for democratic principles and values.

And certainly as a New Yorker, I will always remember the fact that he was the first foreign leader to come to New York, to come to Ground Zero to meet with the firefighters and meet with the police officers and express the solidarity of the British people toward the people of New York, and of course, to the people of the United States, and to all peoples who were opposed to international terrorism. And then, as Ambassador Watson mentioned, the fact that he was here in the House Chamber on September 20, 2001 when President Bush addressed the American people also showed his absolute commitment to the United States and to the war against terrorism.

As an Irish American, I have been involved for many years in the quest for a peaceful solution to the struggle in Northern Ireland. And depending on which historian you're talking to or which analyst you're talking to, this is a struggle that went back 800 years, 300 years, 80 years, 35 years. It really doesn't matter what timeline we're using, the reality is it was a seemingly unending struggle which was going to go on and on and on. And then the stars were properly aligned and Tony Blair became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Bertie Ahern became the Prime Minister of Ireland, and President Clinton committed himself to using the good offices of the United States as an honest broker to try to bring about a peaceful resolution in the north of Ireland. And through incredible hard work and perseverance and dedication, it worked. And not only did Tony Blair deal with Prime Minister Ahern and President Clinton, what he did even took more courage, and that was to reach out to historic enemies, if you will, of the British Government. He reached out to people such as Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness and Sinn

Fein, and he brought them to the negotiating table and sat down with them and worked with them. And he had them to 10 Downing Street and he broke down centuries of division and hatred. And at the same time, he worked with those on the other side, strongly on the other side, not just David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party, but also Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party.

And the Good Friday Agreement would not have been possible in April of 1998 without Tony Blair, but also the Good Friday Agreement went on for almost 9 years afterwards until it was finally brought to its ultimate fruition earlier this month. And it was done because Tony Blair never yielded. There were so many times between April of 1998 and May or June of this year that that agreement could have fallen apart, that it could have splintered, that it could have shattered if Tony Blair was not willing to take that extra step, and he did that.

And during this entire time that he was bringing peace to Northern Ireland and standing with us as our strongest ally, also Britain itself was under attack. And as Mr. Bilirakis and Ambassador Watson mentioned, on July 7, 2005, when the London underground was attacked by terrorists causing large scale carnage and loss of life, and Tony Blair again stood strong and stood firm.

So, this is a moment where it's seldom that we see giants in history, and it's important, I think, that we not wait 50 years or 100 years or several centuries to acknowledge them, but to acknowledge them in their own time as being prophets with honor.

So I, again, say I've had the privilege a number of times of being with Tony Blair. I was with him with President Clinton in Washington and in Belfast and Armagh City in Northern Ireland, and just last month, again, at the British Embassy. He certainly is a man of stature, he's a man of achievement and he's a man of courage.

I am proud to support this resolution, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First I would like to thank our distinguished colleague, Mr. Peter King from New York, for sponsoring this bill. He is the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, as you know.

I rise today in support of this resolution honoring the service of a true friend of the United States, Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Throughout his long career in office, more than a decade in total, Prime Minister Blair has been a strong champion of the trans-Atlantic alliance between the United States and Britain and the United States and the other states of Europe.

The U.S.-British relationship has indeed been made stronger due to Tony Blair, building an Anglo American alliance that has faced some of the darkest threats in the history of humankind. Our relations with all of Europe have benefited because of Tony Blair.

Just as Sir Winston Churchill inspired Americans in his time, the American people will never forget Blair's solidarity with the United States in visiting Ground Zero just days after the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed so many of our citizens. We recall that he sat in our House gallery just a few days later when President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress concerning the tragic results of that terrorist attack.

Prime Minister Blair has backed up his words with real commitment in the struggle against extremism that may well determine the future of our modern civilization, a civilization that has been built on the principles of rational thought and the liberty of men and women rather than on extremism.

Indeed, British troops today stand beside our troops in the major conflicts of the struggle. Moreover, British law enforcement works in close cooperation with American law enforcement agencies, cooperation that has produced important results, as we saw in the successful prevention of terrorist plots, including the planned attack on U.S.- bound passenger jets in 2006.

Mr. Speaker, on a separate issue of great importance to many Americans, we recognize that in responding to the strife of Northern Ireland with the Good Friday agreement, Prime Minister Blair's contribution was nothing short of remarkable. He and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern inherited a divisive, violent conflict that has continued for half a century and that has, unfortunately, taken over 3,000 lives. Many had tried earlier to resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland, but none achieved the extent of progress that Prime Minister Blair has during his time in office.

Rather than resigning himself to the status quo of senseless violence, Prime Minister Blair chose to commit himself fully to this endeavor, collaborating with his Irish counterparts and working towards achieving real progress toward peace in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Speaker, let us take this opportunity to reflect on Tony Blair's accomplishments and to reaffirm our gratitude.

I ask my colleagues to voice their support for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from New York, Peter King, the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, there was nothing hesitant about Prime Minister Blair's resolve to fight back and send a message to terrorists that the United Kingdom, like the United States, would not succumb to ideology that espouses violence and death.

Like Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher before him, who stood shoulder to shoulder with President Ronald Reagan to bring down the greatest dark force of the 20th century, communist, Mr. Blair stood with President Bush even when few others would accept the challenge to eliminate the dark force of this new century.

Mr. Speaker, as all the previous speakers have suggested, this is most worthy resolution for a most worthy leader. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in congratulating Prime Minister Tony Blair for his remarkable tenure as Prime Minister of the U.K., and for his steadfast support of the United States, and our invaluable alliance with Great Britain.

We look forward to his successor, Mr. Gordon Brown, following in Mr. Blair's footsteps by maintaining and building on our transatlantic alliance so we can stand strong and together face the uncertainties of a troubled world.

I would like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank Ranking Member King for bringing forth this resolution. And also Ambassador Watson, I thank you very much. Tony Blair is a true statesman, a man of principle.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 416) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the public service of Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of this resolution. As one of the co-Chairs of the bipartisan United Kingdom Caucus, I am honored to have the opportunity to speak in support of H. Res. 416, a resolution saluting the public service of Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

I would first like to commend our distinguished colleague, Mr. Peter King of New York, for introducing this timely resolution that pays tribute to the remarkable political career of one of America's strongest allies.

Two days from now, Prime Minister Tony Blair will leave 10 Downing Street for the last time. He will be leaving behind a legacy of domestic reform and international activism. His successor, Gordon Brown, praised his accomplishments and told him that ``Whatever we achieve in the future will be because we are standing on your shoulders.''

Mr. Blair was first elected to Parliament in 1983 and served as Prime Minister for over a decade, securing a place in the record books as the only Labor leader to have won three successive elections.

Mr. Blair has been a strong and steadfast ally of the United States throughout his time in office. No American will ever forget the solidarity he expressed on behalf of our British cousins in the days following the devastating terrorist attacks of

9/11, when he announced, ``We were with you at the first. We will stay with you to the last.''

Mr. Blair was the first foreign leader to visit Ground Zero. He further demonstrated his support by sitting in this Chamber during President Bush's speech before a joint session of Congress 2 weeks later.

American hearts went out to Mr. Blair and the British people in July of 2005 when cheers of celebration over London's successful Olympic bid turned to tears of mourning following the devastating terrorist attack on the city's public transportation system.

Domestically, Mr. Blair was unwavering in his commitment to securing a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Blair aided the negotiations that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998. This momentous agreement brought all communities into the governmental process, providing a framework in which the ballot box replaced the bomb as a means of political expression.

During his final months in office, Mr. Blair witnessed the fruits of his labor as age-old enemies Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party and Martin McGuiness of Sinn Fein took their places as first and deputy first ministers in the restored Northern Ireland Assembly. Mr. Blair welcomed the opportunity for Northern Ireland to ``escape the heavy chains of history'' and ``make history anew.''

It is appropriate that this House recognizes the outstanding public service of Tony Blair during his decade as Britain's Prime Minister and thank him for his unfailing friendship during our Nation's time of greatest need.

I strongly support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.