Kay Granger

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), who is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin).

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from New York an additional 1 minute.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rice).

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the Republican whip.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

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

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

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

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

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

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), who is the Republican leader.

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

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez).

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Ohio an additional 1 minute.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer a tribute to 15 remarkable women who through their 65 year relationships with each other is a story itself; but, I believe, might also offer a way to carry many of us through this tumultuous time of economic upheaval, tragic illness and death, and riots in our streets where we have lived peacefully all these years. Their belief in each other has allowed them to love and share tragedies and disappointments. Their lifetime of friendships and memories help them to remember to laugh and make time together. Melany Burton Davis remembers what she recalls as one of the scariest days of her life at age 10, when she had to go to a new elementary school. ``Little did I know that the precious girls I met that day were going to be lifelong friends. Each of them made me feel not just accepted but valued and loved.'' She goes on to say, ``Even when we all went our separate ways for decades, whenever we got together I had the same feelings of being valued and loved. These beautiful girls always bring joy to my heart, and I am blessed to have them in my life.'' They are often asked, ``How do they do that?'' Jackie Nantz Kelly, one of the women, answered, ``Where to start? How do you describe a 70-year friendship? We started in two different elementary schools that merged into the same junior high school where it all began. We grew closer in high school, but went our separate ways in college. We married, had children, some divorced and had struggles of single parent hood, but we survived and all of us raised beautiful children. We are all not the same religion, but believe in God and we love our country'' In 1987, 26 years after we graduated high school, we decided it was time for a reunion. We remembered our best times were slumber parties so that's what we did, Dana Gant Tate sent the invitation and commanded for all of us, ``Sleeping bags, pillows and baby doll pajamas or you don't come!'' We had a great time and decided we had to do a better job of keeping in touch, and we did. We began to travel. Tricia Walker Christensen was our historian forth is outing and in her words, ``In 2010 we had a great opportunity to celebrate and travel when we joined 60 passengers to birth the USS Fort Worth at Mariette Marine Corporation. One of our Eastside Girls was Kay Mullendore Granger and she was the sponsor of the ship. We watched as she stood with her grandsons and smashed a bottle of champagne against the bow of the ship. We were proud and excited. We were also holding our breath hoping that the hit would be successful. Kay was never athletic, so it wasn't a sure thing she could do this.'' We gathered together for parties and get togethers that others hosted and at some point someone suggested we needed a name. Many of us still lived in the part of Fort Worth where we had all that fun, so we named ourselves ``The Eastside Girls'' for the area we grew up in and that is the name we have used for 23 years. The slumber parties were a thing of the past until 2001 when Key Stevens Richardson invited us to her house in Austin. As Key puts it, ``After years apart and attempts to get together, we began the tradition of reuniting for an annual memorable weekend a tour house. Hank, my husband and an Eastside guy, leaves town and our raucous group takes over the house. We all talk at once. There is laughter (someone suggested we should be called the `The Eastside Cacklers') and there are tears.'' Key's little sister Nancy Stevens Klein is the only one allowed outside our class and she adds. ``I'm honored to be included in this wonderful group of women who support and inspire each other and in doing so make each one of us stronger. I wouldn't miss seeing them every year for anything.'' Laughter is the most important part of this long friendship. Talana Hadsell Wier says, ``My very best memories are of the laughter we always shared with whatever we did. Sliding down the stairs at Melany's house, pep rallies at Eastern Hills High School, talking about our boyfriends. And now making it through the good and tough times of marriages and raising families. And then being able to once again come back to our fun times of memories together.'' Jaynie Lewis Shaffer says, ``We are each unique and different yet the same because of our shared heritage. It is wonderful to be with people who knew me then. I don't have to explain anything to them. Like a beautiful grand piano with individuals key that emit a beautiful tone and perhaps at times may need fine tuning, we make lovely music and come together.'' Jaynie spent 30 years at IBM to prepare herself for the most important job--technical support for the Eastside Girls. Priscilla Willis Coleman was the cutest, most popular and funniest of the ``Girls.'' She never misses the August Austin slumber party and is the most talkative and gets funnier every year. She added that it is important where we have that Austin soiree. ``It is in the hills of Austin so we don't disturb anyone, and believe me, a group of women who haven't been together all year, all talking at the same time, accompanied by a few margaritas and glasses of wine--this can become quite loud.'' During the year we keep in touch by phone. And we text. And Priscilla says she imagines we will continue until we can't drive anymore and we will take an Uber or a van. But she continues, ``I really love these women. We would do anything in our power to help each other. We are happy together, sad together, and we pray for each other. We share a common bond that knits out lives together. We are all in our 70's now, but we will always be the Eastside Girls.''

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I missed votes due to circumstances beyond my control. Had I been present, I would have voted nay on rollcall No. 206. members recorded pursuant to house resolution 965, 116th congress Bishop (GA) (Fudge) Chu, Judy (Takano) DeSaulnier (Matsui) Frankel (Clark (MA)) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Hastings (Wasserman Schultz) Hayes (Courtney) Huffman (Thompson (CA)) Jayapal (Raskin) Kaptur (Dingell) Kim (Davids (KS)) Kirkpatrick (Gallego) Langevin (Lynch) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Lieu, Ted (Beyer) Lipinski (Cooper) Lofgren (Jeffries) Lowenthal (Beyer) Lowey (Tonko) Meng (Clark (MA)) Moore (Beyer) Mucarsel-Powell (Wasserman Schultz) Napolitano (Correa) Payne (Wasserman Schultz) Pingree (Clark (MA)) Pocan (Raskin) Porter (Wexton) Richmond (Fudge) Roybal-Allard (Cardenas) Rush (Underwood) Serrano (Jeffries) Speier (Scanlon) Tlaib (Dingell) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Welch (McGovern) Wilson (FL) (Adams)

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Nat O'Day, a North Texan and military veteran, as he celebrates his 90th birthday on September 27, 2020. Nat spent 20 years of his life serving in the U.S. Army achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served overseas in South Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Germany. Nat played a pivotal role in the modernization of our nation's military as he operated a communications system at over 52 sites across the world and tested flight equipment that is now used as today's standard. During his military service, Nat married the love of his life, Lynn, and they enjoyed over 60 years of marriage together. They raised three wonderful children, Robin O'Day Dettmer, Steve Ray O'Day, and Tim James O'Day. Nat has dedicated his life to our nation and his community in Fort Worth, Texas. Following his retirement from the Army, Nat worked for the City of Fort Worth for over 25 years. He was a devoted volunteer, spending over 20 years and thousands of hours volunteering at the Fort Worth Symphony, the Van Cliburn Foundation, and Bass Performance Hall, where he and Lynn shared their love of music. He also volunteered every Tuesday for 20 years at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport helping travelers navigate the airport. Nat also dedicated his time to the Cook Children's Hospital, where he was rightfully named Volunteer of the Year. Nat is committed to helping the people of 12th District of Texas, and his business cards that read ``Volunteer Extraordinaire'' sum up his dedication and devotion to North Texas. I had the great honor and pleasure of having Nat as an advisor on military affairs and as the Chairman of my military academy nomination board. I could not have done it without Nat's commitment and enthusiasm. I am grateful to know and celebrate Nat O'Day. Our Nation and my district wouldn't be the same without his decades of selflessness and dedication. On behalf of the 12th District of Texas, I offer my congratulations and best wishes to Nat on his very special birthday.

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8337, a short-term continuing resolution through December 11. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of American life. During this unprecedented time, it is more critical than ever that the Federal Government remain open and functioning. By passing this short-term CR, we will provide critical support for farmers and ranchers, extend the nutrition program that has been a lifeline during the pandemic for low-income students who are out of school, ensure critical military operations continue, support vital transportation programs by extending the FAST Act, extend the National Flood Insurance Program, ensure that there are no delays in the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic health records system, and allow agencies experiencing operational challenges during the pandemic to continue functioning. As an appropriator, it pains me to have to consider anything short of a full-year appropriations bill for the next fiscal year. But I remain hopeful that passing this CR will allow the government to continue operating and give the House and the Senate time to work out our differences after the election. The alternative would have been an unnecessary and costly government shutdown. I think most sides agree that that would be devastating and disastrous for our economy, our national security, our veterans, and our public health. I look forward to passing this bill today, moving it through the Senate, and sending it to the President's desk. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.