Ryan A. Costello

Mr. Speaker, I thank Carlos for his service to this country, to his constituents. He has been an exemplar of what it means to be a gentleman, somebody who comes in to work here every day in the Halls of Congress, serving the people, doing his best, giving it 110 percent.

What I would like to do, if I could, is just thank those residents in my congressional district residing in Chester

County, Pennsylvania; Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; Berks County, Pennsylvania; and Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, for the opportunity to serve you here in Congress for 2 terms.

This was always, admittedly, a dream of mine, and it is something that I took great pride in doing. It has been a very humbling experience. In some respects, it has been a very rewarding experience. In other respects, it has been challenging and frustrating at times. But when you are someone who puts your name on a sign and gets elected to this institution, you carry with yourself a certain humbleness and a certain sense of purpose that every single one of the 434 Members that I have served with--probably more since there has been resignations and reelections--but everyone who I have served with in this institution takes their job very, very seriously, and I just hope the American people realize that even as we have differences here, we have a lot more that binds us together as Americans, and everyone is here trying to do their very best.

I would also like to, real briefly, just thank my parents, Sherry and Tony, for their support through the years; my wife, Christine; my children, Ryan and Caroline; and the many great members of my staff who have just done an absolutely wonderful job. I think one thing that every single Member of Congress can universally agree to is that the staff is underappreciated, undercompensated; but without them, this institution would not run, and we would not be able to be as effective as we are day in and day out.

I would particularly like to recognize Lauryn Schothorst and Dante Cutrona, my chiefs of staff through the years; Kori Walter, my district director; Jason Carver, my constituent services director; and if I start naming all the other staff persons, I would probably forget one. But I just want each and every one of them to know how personally grateful I am for their service to Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District, this country, and myself.

And for all those whom I have served with, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a friend and being an advocate for this country and for your constituents all across this country.

This is a very special institution. It has been a real privilege to serve in it. God bless each and every one of you, and God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my heartiest congratulations to the YWCA for 160 years of dedicated service and steadfast advocacy on behalf of women, girls, and their families in communities throughout the country.

Throughout its distinguished history, YWCA has been a catalyst for expanding economic and educational opportunities, promoting civil rights and social justice, and preventing violence against women and girls. Each year YWCA faithfully serves over 2 million women, girls and their families through 210 local associations throughout 46 states and the District of Columbia.

One of those local associations has been serving communities in Pennsylvania's Sixth District for 110 years. YWCA Tri-County Area in Pottstown is a tremendous community asset, providing childcare, adult education and career counseling, health and wellness programs, and a variety of community events such as the Color Run to Eliminate Racism.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the significant contributions of YWCA in empowering women, aiding families, advancing equality and strengthening communities as well as extending sincere congratulations as YWCA commemorates this most memorable milestone.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2409, bipartisan legislation I introduced with Congressman Kilmer.

I want to thank Congressman Kilmer for his work with me on this bill. I also want to recognize the very stellar leadership of Chairman Roe on the VA Committee and Ranking Member Takano, as well as all the VA staff seated behind me and those not seated behind me, but who work every day to make that a highly performing committee here in the House.

When our brave servicemembers are preparing to relocate or deploy because of Active Duty orders, they should not have to navigate costly and time-consuming cancelation fees and policies. Under current law, protections are granted to servicemembers with military orders for certain civil agreements, including rental leases or cell phone contracts; but they cannot terminate their cable, satellite television, and Internet access service contracts while deployed without incurring early-termination fees.

Our legislation, very simply, fixes this by updating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to include pay TV and Internet service contracts. While some States already do provide relief for pay TV or Internet services, this legislation would update the act to enact a policy at the Federal level, ensuring servicemembers and their families receive uniform assistance no matter in which State they reside.

Mr. Speaker, I would again like to thank Chairman Roe for his support and his work to pass H.R. 2409. I would also like to thank Andrew and Erica in my office for their work on this important bill as well.

Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility to help provide peace of mind to our servicemembers and their families when they prepare to deploy, so I urge my colleagues to support this bill.