Forging A Better Nation
Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the last time as a Member of Congress. For the past 6 years, it has been an extraordinary honor to serve the residents of central and northwest Connecticut as their Representative in the House. The title for…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the last time as a Member of Congress. For the past 6 years, it has been an extraordinary honor to serve the residents of central and northwest Connecticut as their Representative in the House.
The title for this job is a humble one: Representative--not emperor, not knower of all things, but Representative.
Congress was not my dream, but making a difference was. In 2005, my then 15-year-old daughter challenged me to either run for the local town council or stop complaining. I ran. I
found that I could get things done, first on the town council and then as a State representative.
I came to Congress with a desire to make a difference for people, to help solve their problems, fight for affordable quality healthcare, ensure education that addresses the needs of every child, work across the aisle for better jobs and better pay for Americans, and keep us all safe and free
Yet I arrived in Congress in the aftermath of the terrible shootings of 20 6- and 7-year-old children and six educators in the town of Newtown in my district, 6 years ago this coming Friday. My task immediately became how to truly care for and represent those families and be an effective voice for taking action to prevent gun violence. At the time, I did not even know how to find the elevator to get to my attic office in the Cannon House Office Building.
John Dingell, the longest serving Member of Congress, took me under his wing and helped me navigate these Halls. He gave me invaluable advice. He said:
Elizabeth, always remember this: What you do is very
important. But you are not important.
He also told me:
It is your job to know your district and vote your
district.
How right he was. I learned my district. My team and I worked with others to get lots of legislation passed to help veterans and their families, to support STEM education for women, girls, and children of color; to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure; and to fight the scourge of opioid addiction. We helped thousands of individuals at home cut through red tape and get much-needed support. By working with people, we were able to help government work for people.
Here are some things that I have learned:
The American people are good, great, and eager to see our democracy work better;
Sharing credit is not only the right thing to do, but it works;
If you listen to others, if you look for and build on common ground, you can get things done even with people with whom you disagree on many issues.
The first step is often the hardest. In politics, Mr. Speaker, you need to earn support. You are not entitled to it. You will fail sometimes. You will not meet your own high expectations. You will disappoint people. You will lose an election, but you get up the next day and you try harder.
If there is nothing you would be willing to lose an election over, you shouldn't run for office. Democracy needs people who are prepared to lose their job to make a difference.
Democracy is not about perfection. Democracy is about doing your best every day and bringing out the best in others; and when we fail--which we will--we should not give up. We should get right back to work.
Mr. Speaker, you shouldn't run because you know you will win; you should run because there are things worth fighting for.
If we remember our common values rather than call into question each other's integrity, there is much we can do together. Democracy is something we do; it is not something we tweet about.
Democracy is hard. It is not a spectator sport. You don't need permission in this great country. Democracy gives us--each and every one of us--the opportunity and the right to run, to serve, and to make a difference.
American democracy is a great thing, but it requires us to pitch in and to do our part. We have the opportunity--and in these challenging times for our Nation and the world, I believe we have an obligation--to get involved.
I want to thank my amazing family for their love, their support, and their sacrifices over more than a dozen years of elected office. I thank the voters who entrusted me to work on their behalf. I thank my excellent staff who have worked so hard and ably. I thank the many colleagues who generously guided me and worked with me on issues of common concern for the American people.
In closing, John Dingell's words return to me:
If you ever look up at the Capitol Dome at night and it
doesn't send shivers down your spine, you don't deserve to be
here because you aren't sufficiently in awe of American
democracy.
I can say without hesitation that the white of the Capitol Dome gleaming in the night still sends shivers down my spine. It always will, for we are fortunate enough to live in this amazing country where we have the right to choose our leaders, to raise our voices, and, together, to forge a better nation and a better future for all our children.