Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act Of 2013
Mr. Speaker, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as majority leader of this distinguished body. I look around this remarkable Chamber, and I see so many friends and colleagues who have inspired me and who have inspired this…
Mr. Speaker, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as majority leader of this distinguished body. I look around this remarkable Chamber, and I see so many friends and colleagues who have inspired me and who have inspired this Congress to do great things for the American people.
Walking into this building and walking on to this floor is something that excited me every day since I was first elected to Congress, as it should. Not one of us should ever take for granted the awesome honor and responsibility we have to serve our fellow Americans.
This is a privilege of a lifetime. I think of the sacrifices that helped me rise to serve the people of Virginia's Seventh District. My grandparents fled religious persecution in Europe in order to find a better life.
My grandmother, a young Jewish widow, was soon raising my dad above a grocery store in Richmond, just trying to make ends meet, and so it goes, two generations later, her grandson would represent part of what was James Madison's seat in the House and then go on to serve as its majority leader.
I have truly lived the American Dream. That is what this country is supposed to be about: dreaming big and believing that each generation can do better than the last. Now, unfortunately, we have seen that dream erode
in recent years, and our Nation faces many challenges. Too many are left wondering if we can be an America that works, an America that leads.
Too many children are condemned to a bad school because of the ZIP Code they live in. Being poor in America should not mean being deprived of a good education. We have all got to continue fighting for these kids. This is the civil rights issue of our time.
Even after kids graduate high school, too many can't afford college or access the skills they need to join a new and dynamic workforce. Government policies often increase these costs and restrict opportunities. During my time here, we have made some progress on some of these issues, but frankly, not enough.
One of my proudest moments was watching the President sign into law the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act sponsored by Congressmen Gregg Harper and Peter Welch. Prioritizing Federal dollars toward finding cures and treatments for disease can enrich and even save lives. The added benefit? Cures can help alleviate health care costs.
All the while, too many moms and dads who are healthy are stuck without a job or barely getting by in one that doesn't match their potential. This Congress, the House has passed many bills, some of which were bipartisan, to help create jobs and opportunities for those who desperately need them. I hope more of those bills will make it to the President's desk before year's end.
Our Nation and our economy cannot meet its full potential if we in America are not leading abroad. I look around at colleagues on both sides of the aisle, at chairmen, ranking members, and at my good friend, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, all of whom have soberly and seriously helped ensure a fight for a strong foreign policy, so that our Nation can lead in order to help keep our people safe; yet never before have I been more worried about the prospects of that peace due to our diminished engagement on the world stage.
Instability and terror seem to be coming from every corner of the globe. The Middle East is in chaos, Iran is marching towards a nuclear weapon, and Russia has reverted to a cold war footing and invaded Ukraine.
America does lead in so many areas, including innovation, scientific discovery, and medicine, but we have also got to make leadership abroad a priority. I shudder to think what the world will look like in 5 years for us and our allies if we don't steel our resolve and stand tall with those who stand with us.
Mr. Speaker, we don't always see eye to eye, even within our own parties in this Chamber, but that is how it is supposed to be. Our Founders did not design a rubber stamp.
This Congress, we have found ways to agree on much more than was ever reported with many bills passing this House in a bipartisan way. For that, much of the credit goes to the hardworking staff that quietly works around the clock to help us do our job. I would especially like to thank my team, starting with Chief of Staff Steve Stombres and my deputy chief, Neil Bradley, as well as our whole team for being there every day to assist Members on both sides of the aisle to help them deliver on their legislative goals. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank you for all you have done. Thank you for the example of firm leadership that you show and, at the same time, for not being afraid to show us all your kind heart and your soft spot from time to time.
Mr. Speaker, you reminded me yesterday that you and I have met with each other at least once a day every day that we have been in session for the past 5 years. For that, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your patience.
I would like to thank our Conference chair, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. She is as tough as she is compassionate, and her voice has so often helped our Conference and this House.
I would also like to recognize two of my colleagues and dear friends who I joined seven years ago to begin a fight for reform on behalf of the American people. To Chairman Paul Ryan, thank you for your dedication to finding solutions to the problems that face our government. But more importantly, thank you for your commitment to identifying those conservative solutions that actually help people find their path to the American Dream. I know your efforts will continue to impact America in a positive way.
To my closest confidant and my good friend Kevin McCarthy, our new majority leader, I know you will make this institution proud. I will miss the daily challenges that we faced together at the leadership table, but I know that your leadership will serve as an inspiration for all of us.
There are so many more Members and staff on both sides of the aisle who have made my time here so rewarding. Many of you have become as close to me as family, and that is what has always sustained me while being away from my own family in Richmond. I know that I speak for all of us when I extend a heartfelt thank-you to the Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms for all they do to protect us and our families every day.
Finally, I want to thank my family: my wife, Diana; her mother; my children, Evan, Jenna, and Mikey; my parents; my brothers, all of whom have made sacrifices so that I could serve in this Chamber and as a member of leadership. They are my inspiration, and they are the rocks on which I will always lean.
Mr. Speaker, I close by once again thanking my colleagues for their service. I thank them for their friendship and warmth.
(By unanimous consent, Mr. Hoyer was allowed to speak out of order.)
Thanking the Honorable Eric Cantor for His Service