Mr. Speaker, I rise for perhaps the last time to address the United States Congress. I stand before this esteemed body, honored to have been part of the people's House. Our work here is a noble pursuit: debating, deliberating, and…
Mr. Speaker, I rise for perhaps the last time to address the United States Congress. I stand before this esteemed body, honored to have been part of the people's House.
Our work here is a noble pursuit: debating, deliberating, and ultimately deciding issues of critical importance to the great people of the United States of America.
From a young age, Mr. Speaker, my parents taught me the value of service and the importance of our responsibility to contribute to our community, to leave things better than we found them. This is, frankly, part of the American tradition. We feel a commitment and a compassion to our neighbors.
Each American plays a role in weaving the fabric that makes this country so enduring and so strong. E pluribus unum--out of many, one-- reflects not only the Federalist system of our Nation, but the great diversity and rich cultures that make us strong, each of us, with God- given, inalienable rights, protected by the Constitution--a truly exceptional Nation, a Nation that stands as a beacon, a shining example of democracy and freedom and unity, a Nation built on sacrifice and service and commitment to preserving our ideals. That is the Nation I love, and that is the Nation I was honored to serve in this United States Congress.
Now, like all Americans, I have my own story, my own heritage, my own upbringing. I grew up on a farm in central Kansas. It was a grain and livestock farm. We grew wheat, corn, soybeans, and milo. We raised cattle, hogs, sheep, and chickens. I grew up in the 1980s, and life was hard on American farms back then, still is in some ways, and some of our neighbors were going bankrupt.
We didn't have much, and commodity prices never rose to the point of profit. My parents pinched pennies hard, but they made a life for us. They taught us that education was the best way to create opportunity for yourself and that there is no substitute for an old-fashioned hard day's work.
My family has been farming in rural Kansas for generations. It is a way to make a living, but it is also a culture, a set of values that helped build this country. They are the values that made me who I am today, the values I now teach my own children, and the values that I brought with me to Washington as I travelled here each week since January 2011.
My grandparents, Orie and Edna Yoder, they embodied the prairie spirit. They carved a life out of the rich Kansas soil. They were hard workers whose faith in God and love of family drove them through good times and bad. My grandmother, Edna, passed last year at 105, and it was always a treasure to wish her a happy birthday from the House floor.
My grandparents, Bill and Jane Alexander, were from Wilmette, Illinois, where my mother grew up as well.
They were pillars of their community. My grandfather was mayor of his village and a respected attorney. I respect all my grandparents so much for what they stood for because they helped build this great Nation, and I hope, if they were here today, they would be proud of their grandson.
My parents are Wayne and Susan. My father farmed his entire life. He taught me to work hard and to stand up for what I believe in. He was passionate about his beliefs. I spent a lot of time sitting with him in coffee shops when he would take a break from being in the field, and I would listen to the farmers debate and argue about things. I can tell you that no one can argue better than a farmer about something, and they would sit there and debate the issues of the day, and they would debate a lot of politics, and I think somewhere along the line, that is where I picked up the political bug that brought me into a life of serving in office.
My mother was a social worker. She believed in compassion for others and acknowledgment that not everyone has the same opportunities in life. She stood up for what she believed in and stood up for women's rights. She is someone who still is very passionate about politics. Both of my parents are. My father even ran for office a couple of times.
Perhaps one of my proudest moments was the first day I walked on to this House Floor as a Member of Congress and took the oath of office, raised my right hand, and swore to uphold the Constitution--my wife, Brooke, and my father were in the audience--standing here in front of my dad, hoping that I had made him proud. It was a great moment.
I remember after that, I asked my father, when was the last time-- have you ever been to Washington, D.C., before? He told me about the story about how, in about 1978, he got on his tractor and drove from Kansas all the way to Washington, D.C., and parked it on The Mall, part of the American agriculture movement fighting for farmers, fighting to ensure that they had the commodity prices that they deserved for the hard work, fighting for that rural way of life.
So both of my parents I am so proud of, and I hope I have worked hard to make them proud of me.
My sisters, Christine and Melanie, have always stood by me even though we share completely opposite political beliefs. They have always been in my corner, and that has been amazing, and they are family.
So, as I stand here and deliver this farewell address, I do not do so with sadness or regret, but with great pride and a continued sense of wonder and amazement that a farm kid from rural Kansas could be part of the great United States Congress.
But America, as a nation, was not a foregone conclusion. When I make my way through the Halls of the U.S. Capitol and its great rotunda, I often take note of John Trumbull's painting of General George Washington Resigning His Commission.
Perhaps there was no more important moment in our history than when this great man, whom the people were willing to entrust all power to make him a king, said no. It is an inspiring reminder of the endearing values of service and sacrifice we must continue to usher in to new generations of Americans.
I also think of the giants who once walked these same halls, too, great Presidents who served in the people's House before ascending to the Oval Office, people like Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and George H.W. Bush; Speakers of the House like Sam Rayburn, Tip O'Neill, John Boehner, and Paul Ryan; and the man from Russell, Kansas, someone I consider a great friend and mentor and one of America's great public servants, Bob Dole.
I think of the Founding Fathers as I walk through the halls each day here and I serve the people. I think of the Founding Fathers who had the foresight, wisdom, and divine inspiration to place the power of our government squarely within the will and consent of the governed.
As James Madison once said: ``The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived.'' And when Madison put quill to parchment and wrote our great Constitution, it was no mistake he chose Article I for the people's House.
Senators, for years, were chosen by State legislatures and exist to protect the rights of States in our federalist system, but it is the House of Representatives that exists to be the voice of the people. Being that voice for the Third District of Kansas has truly been incredible.
I am proud of what we have been able to achieve here in Congress. I have worked every day with the philosophy that we should expand liberty and freedom and opportunity for all, and that we should make this government work better for the people, for all of us.
For too long, government made life harder on people trying to get ahead. They raised taxes. They put more regulations and burdens on them, putting up roadblocks to success instead of creating new avenues for opportunity.
In my time in the people's House, we have reversed that course, and we have built a stronger and more prosperous United States of America. We have passed the most significant tax reform in a generation. We have rebuilt our military.
I, personally, have fought hard to build up important programs like Head Start and early childhood education programs so that every child, regardless of who they are or where they are from, can have the opportunity to succeed.
I have dedicated my time here to ensuring that medical researchers, this generation and future generations of the best and brightest minds, will have the resources they need to find cures to the diseases that affect us all, regardless of our political views or our race.
Man or woman, rich or poor, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and many others strike at the heart of the human body and the human spirit, and research at the National Institutes of Health is underway to eradicate all of these diseases from the face of the Earth once and for all thanks to the efforts of this body over the last several years in securing historic funding increases.
I have had the honor of chairing two subcommittees in the House Appropriations Committee:
On the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, I worked to finally bring transparency to CRS reports and keep Congress spending less money;
On the Homeland Security Subcommittee, I have secured the necessary funding to finally provide operational control at our southern border, something that politicians have promised to do for decades but have failed to deliver.
My bill devotes much-needed funds for more personnel, technology, and barriers to stop drugs and human trafficking from ravaging our communities.
I have worked hard to keep my promises and to make my constituents proud, and I could not have done it without help from some of the most incredible people working here on Capitol Hill.
Of the many distinguished Members who have served in this body and those who follow in our footsteps, none of them are self-made. First and foremost, we need a supportive family.
To my beautiful wife, Brooke, who is in the gallery with our sweet girls, we have had a dream of being able to serve in the Halls of Congress, and that dream couldn't have been accomplished without her love, help, and support along the way. This has been an incredible journey, and I am so blessed to have held her hand, held her paw, along the way.
Since we started this job, we have had two beautiful daughters, Caroline Lucille and Eloise Jane. They have grown up going to parades and political events, and they have gotten to see their daddy on TV. They have even been on TV. They are my greatest treasures, and they have always been on my mind each and every day that I have served. And while it is bittersweet to leave this body, knowing that I get to spend more time with my family and my sweet daughters is a rich reward.
Each of us has a team, a staff that makes our offices carry out the work effectively on behalf of our constituents, and I have been blessed with an amazing team of people, people who
have dedicated their lives to my office and to the constituents we serve.
Here in Washington, D.C., my chief of staff, Dave Natonski, and his team--Haley Brady, Maddie Jurden, Michael Brooks, Taylor Huhn, and Eli Woerpel--have been great. They have worked hard.
My district team holds a distinction that, up until the last few months, we have never had one staffer leave in over 8 years, all of them staying: Molly Haase, my district director, and her team: Susan Metsker, Cheyne Worley, Heidi Cashman, and Ethan Patterson.
Of course, great thanks to my communications director, CJ Grover, who helped me write this speech and is still working to this day on many projects, and my original staffer, my original staffer back from my legislative days who is still with me, Cate Duerst.
Cate has been my scheduler multiple times. She has helped me run campaigns. We have had a lot of good times. She has been my right-hand gal making everything in this office run smoothly, and I couldn't have done this job without her and everyone on this team.
Of course, there is my first chief of staff, Travis Smith, and my long-serving legislative directors, Patrick Carroll and Joe Eanello, and others who have worked so hard along the way, Amanda Hand and Jennifer Dreiling, have helped work on campaigns and, of course, my first campaign chairman, Cord Maxwell. I have had a great group of people that have been in my corner.
My road began of humble roots and it took me all the way to the United States House.
I am a proud Kansan and I am a proud Jayhawk. Probably one of my most proud service opportunities I have ever had was to serve as Student Body President of my university at KU, and I have always been a faithful Jayhawk ever since.
I have believed in service to others, from my days back in the Kansas Legislature, where I served with great colleagues like Jason Watkins or Mike O'Neal, to my time here in the U.S. House with my friends Bob Dole and Ben Quayle and so many others who are great treasures.
I have been blessed with friendships and met so many wonderful people along the way. That is perhaps what I will miss the most: the people you serve with.
Congress gets a bad rap, but I can attest that some of the most dedicated, passionate people who love this country, both Democrats and Republicans, are some of the finest, kindest, and sincere people you will ever meet.
To my colleagues in this distinguished body, it has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with you.
And to my constituents, the voters of the Third District, thank you for trusting in me to serve you.
To my supporters, those who have helped me campaign, who made it possible for me to serve, thank you for your faith. I believe the Third District is the best district in America, and I was so proud to be a voice for you, and I am truly humbled to have had the opportunity for these 8 years.
So as I leave Congress in a few days and I cast a vote for the final time on behalf of the people of Kansas, I will do so being grateful for having served. I will leave more hopeful and more optimistic for the future of our great Nation, for God has blessed me with this moment to serve, and I am forever thankful.
May God bless this Congress, and may God always bless the United States of America.
For the last time, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.