Steny Hoyer

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that information. I want to also thank him for the work that he has done on the Visa Waiver Program. His staff and my staff and the staff on Homeland Security on both sides of the aisle and the staff on the Judiciary Committee on both sides of the aisle, including the leaders on both sides, have worked very hard. I think we have come up with a bipartisan effort to keep America safer while at the same time providing for access to people who do not pose a threat to America or to Americans. I thank him for his leadership on that. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him, and I look forward to the bill's passing with big majorities next week. So I thank him for that. Mr. Leader, there is indication that the appropriation bills, or the omnibus, as we are now calling it, will come to the floor. Can the leader tell me whether or not we are making any progress on riders? Obviously, as I understand it, essentially, we have agreement on the allocation of the dollars, which of course is the responsibility of the Appropriations Committee, and that is what they do. Clearly, we seem to be having difficulty with the so-called riders-- that is, additions to the appropriations bill--which accomplish legislative objectives either through a ``none of the funds'' provision or a legislative provision which would require a waiver. Does the gentleman know whether or not we are making progress on eliminating riders that are controversial so that we can move the bill in a bipartisan fashion next week? I yield to my friend.

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that. Can I ask the gentleman again in terms of the timing of the omnibus. The existing CR, which is funding the government at the present time, expires as of midnight on the 11th. Does the gentleman have any insight as to the scheduling of the omnibus? Presumably, we will have to pass it and give enough time for the Senate to consider it and then for the President to sign it. I yield to my friend.

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. Let me just observe to the majority leader, Mr. Speaker, that I have great reservations. I want to let the gentleman know that, on this side of the aisle, I think we have great reservations about doing in this short time that we have left any kind of comprehensive tax extender bill, which will adversely impact the possibility of tax reform, which all of us have said we want. But if we make a major effort on taxes now, particularly making many, many items permanent, some of which I support making permanent, it will have an adverse effect on the ability to do a big tax reform bill, bring corporate rates down, look at preference items, and try to make sure that we have a fiscally responsible piece of legislation. So I would hope that there is an alternative, obviously, and that is a short-term bill that the Senate has passed and that that would be part of the discussions as a fallback. I don't know that I am for a larger bill that I have heard about, but I would hope, certainly, that the alternative that the Senate has passed would be an alternative if, in fact, we cannot get agreement on a bigger package so that we will have, at least for last year and the year to come, some certainty with respect to tax consequences of certain actions that private businesses may be taking. I yield to my friend if he has any comment.

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. As I said on the floor a little earlier today, this was a good week. We passed an education bill in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion. Just a few minutes ago, we passed an infrastructure-highway transportation bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. I hope America feels good about what we have been able to do this week, and I hope America and I and others can feel good about what we will do next week. Unless the gentleman has any further comments, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Judy Centers are helping to close that gap. In closing, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill because it is a step forward. It is an indication, as well, that we can work in a bipartisan fashion to the benefit of the people we represent. I urge my colleagues to vote for this conference report.

Mr. HOYER. I thank Mr. Scott for yielding. I want to thank Mr. Kline, the chairman of the committee, and Ranking Member Scott for their work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, Frederick Douglass was born a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He became one of the great leaders in our country. Obviously, he worked hard with Abraham Lincoln to see the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He said this: ``It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.'' This bill is about investment in the future, investment in children. Investing in elementary and secondary education is one of the most consequential acts we will undertake in this House. The impact of our investments in education will be felt long after we are gone. It will have a significant bearing on the future well-being of our economy and our democracy. I want to thank Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Scott, as well as Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, the chair and ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee, for their extraordinary efforts on this bill. This is a bipartisan bill. We worked together. Frankly, we had a little trouble working together here, but they worked together there, and then we worked together here. It is turning out well. My friend indicated that he would not give this bill an A-plus. I was trying to reflect on any bill that I have ever voted on that I would give an A-plus to. It is not a perfect bill, but it represents a reasonable compromise that will strengthen elementary and secondary education in this country, provide certainty going forward, and help prepare the next generation of students--no matter who they are, how they learn, or where they live--for success in college, in their careers, in their vocations, and as future innovators and entrepreneurs in our economy. I am particularly proud--and I thank Mr. Scott, and I thank also the two Senate leaders, as well as Mr. Kline--that this conference report includes the Full-Service Community Schools program, which I have championed for several years. My wife, Judy, was an early childhood educator and administrator in Prince George's County, Maryland. She died over 18 years ago. It is from her, however, that I first learned of the potential of full-service community schools, and our State has very successfully created a network of schools using this integrated approach named in her memory. There will be 52 Judy Centers around our State for 3- and 4-year- olds. Some of them are privately funded, they are so popular, some publicly funded, and some in partnership. These Judy Centers enable low-income families with very young children to access a range of critical services all in one place. When starting kindergarten, children whose families participated in Judy Center programs performed better than those whose families did not.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend of mine and an outstanding Member of this House who passed away on November 3. Howard Coble served this House with honor, always concerned first and foremost with how the policies it enacted would affect those he served in North Carolina's Sixth Congressional District. Howard Coble was a son of Greensboro, a Coast Guard veteran of the Korean war, a prosecutor, and a dedicated public servant. Howard believed strongly in this House and its role in our democracy. In the 30 years we served together, we stood on opposite sides of debate far more than we were on the same side, but we had a close friendship that transcended politics or policy. Howard Coble was one of the kindest and most warm-hearted individuals I have encountered in my years of service in this Capitol. Howard was incredibly proud of his North Carolina roots. He tried his best to make it to every parade and event in his district that he could. He was a champion of our Nation's first responders. We served together in the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. Howard was steadfast in advocating for firefighter safety and for our Nation to meet its responsibility to those who fell in service to their communities. On many occasions we participated together in ceremonies to honor the families of the fallen, and we met with those families as well. Howard's compassion and his devotion to these families were unparalleled. He was also chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus. We worked together on intellectual property issues over the years, an area critical to our economic competitiveness. Mr. Speaker, like so many of our colleagues, I will miss Howard Coble very much. There was a great incident that happened here on the floor of this House. In 1994 or 1993, Howard Coble came over to me. His chief of staff was a University of Maryland graduate. Howard Coble came over to me. Howard Coble was sort of a curmudgeon soul with a wonderful gravelly voice. He came over to me and said: Steny, you need to hire Debbie Yow at the University of Maryland as your athletic director. Mr. Speaker, frankly, I didn't know what to think of this gravelly voiced, hard-nosed North Carolinian because he was not necessarily a Maryland fan himself, of course, there being four extraordinary teams in North Carolina. I looked at Howard Coble. I didn't know Debbie Yow, but she was from North Carolina. As a matter of fact, her sister was the great coach at North Carolina State of the women's basketball team. When I got back to my office, I called up Brit Kirwan, Mr. Speaker, who was the president of the University of Maryland at College Park at that point in time. I said: Brit, I don't know Debbie Yow, but Howard Coble believes she would be a good athletic director. If she can convince Howard Coble that one of the few women to head up an NCAA Division I athletic program would be a good athletic director, she must be really something. We hired her just a few weeks later, and Howard Coble was right. She was extraordinary. She is now back in North Carolina. But it was that kind of relationship I had with Howard Coble, as did so many Members on this floor. He loved the House and served it with distinction and humor. He believed that working together across party lines was in the best interest of America. Those of us who were privileged to serve with Howard will always remember his geniality, his intellect, his abiding love of country, and, of course, his State of North Carolina. He left a lasting imprint on his community, his State, his country, and this House. Mr. Speaker, we thank him for his lifetime of service.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Given that there is no logical distinction to explain why these other laws should apply to tribes but the NLRA should not, the only plausible explanation is that this legislation is a precursor of other legislation and says, once again, we do not support the rights of Americans to collectively bargain for pay, benefits, safety, and working conditions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to send a strong and unequivocal message--two messages: A, we support strongly the sovereignty of our tribes, but, secondly, we also support the decency and safety and pay of working Americans, tribes and non-tribes alike. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I want to also say to my friend from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), he and I are good friends and have done a lot of work together, but on this we disagree. I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that if the National Labor Relations Act were at issue on this floor today, my belief is--I may be wrong--that many of the people who will vote for this bill would be for repealing the National Labor Relations Act. That is a fair place to be, I suppose, but that is essentially what we are talking about here. I can't think of anyone in this House who does not believe strongly in the principle of protecting the sovereignty of American tribes and their governments. I know surely that is where I am. I presume all 434 of my colleagues are there. It is the least we can do, having treated the Native Americans so badly when we got here and thereafter. We agree that when tribal governments are carrying out inherently government functions--that is the key. It is the key for the courts; it ought to be the key for us--their sovereignty is fully, and should be, secure under current law. But this bill goes a lot further than reinforcing that understanding. Instead, this bill extends the current understanding of sovereignty not from what it is, but it is in an effort to undermine the rights for working men and women in this country, which is why, for all Americans, we cannot get a minimum wage bill on this floor, which is $7.25, which is now 7 years in being, and would be, if we paid the same in 1968 for the minimum wage, $10.68 today. It is the same principle, we can't get it on the floor. For all Americans--not just Indian Americans--for all Americans, Native Americans, it undermines their rights, rights that every Member of this House also ought to support. Democrats are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Native American tribal communities across this country, and we are going to continue working with them to fight for more investment in education. Hear me. We need to put our money where our mouth is: Native American housing, health care, education, along with continuing to protect their sovereignty in governing themselves according to their cultures and traditions.

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, what we do not support is taking away protections from American workers, Native and non-Native alike, who work in commercial enterprises owned by tribes. All of our people deserve the chance to earn a decent living, be safe at work, and reach for a better life. This bill is not a step in the right direction. Courts have ruled that tribes must also comply with other laws. I want to adopt the comments of the gentlewoman from Illinois. Courts have ruled that tribes must also comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act and many criminal laws, among others. Should we repeal that and have unhealthy working conditions in commercial enterprises? Perhaps that is the next bill you will bring forward in the name of Native sovereignty. Why is the NLRA being singled out from among these laws of general applicability by the proponents of this bill? I suggested why at the beginning of my comments: because that side does not support National Labor Relations Act rights.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, across the river from the Eiffel Tower, in the middle of a major traffic circle in Paris, one can see a majestic statue of his brother-in-arms, George Washington, raising his sword high in a triumphant salute. Lafayette and his French officers suffered hunger and cold at Valley Forge to help secure for the American people our freedom. Generations later American Rangers scaled the craggy cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc to help the people of France regain theirs. Our history binds us together. So does our future. That is because we believe in tomorrow. Ever hopeful, we believe that the unknown which lies ahead can be shaped by our hands into a better world than the one we know today. That is what sets us apart from our enemies. That is why those who perpetrated Friday's attacks will never, never, never win.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this resolution to the floor. It is sad that we bring this resolution to the floor, and it is sad that too often we see the results of terrorism around the world. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support--as I think all Members will-- of this resolution expressing Congress' solidarity with the people of Paris and all of France after Friday's terror attacks. Americans know that Paris is the ``City of Light.'' On Friday evening, 129 very bright and vibrant lights were suddenly extinguished, leaving a dark void in the heart of that city and in the hearts of millions across France, America, and the world. Our flag on this Capitol stands at half-staff in memory of those 129 souls. As we mourn them, pray for their families, and offer our aid to the wounded, we stand with a firm resolve to deny the perpetrators a chance to instill in us that which they seek: fear. These attacks were carried out by individuals who follow a hopeless ideology, who look with awe to a twisted image of the past because they are blind to a better future the rest of us can envision. Without a belief in tomorrow, there is only fear and the acts of cowardice it inspires. But the French Republic and the American Republic were neither born in fear nor do we live in fear. We were born in hope and in courage. We were born looking forward. Both our nations were founded upon the same ideals of liberty, democracy, and individual rights espoused by Rousseau and Jefferson, Montesquieu and Paine. The Marquis de Lafayette is the only substantial painting--other than the Father of our Nation, George Washington--to be pictured in this hall of democracy, in this hall of free people. It was the French with the liaison of Marquis de Lafayette as France stood with us for freedom, for equality, and, yes, for fraternity, brotherhood between us and them.

Mr. HOYER. It is why, no matter what historians in the future call ISIS or ISIL or Daesh, they will surely be using only the past tense. It is why the people of France and America and all who cherish the freedom to think, to speak, to worship, and to strive for a better tomorrow must stand together, as we have before, and shine the bright light of our values and our principles into the darkness we confront. We are all French today--nous sommes francais. It will not be quick. It will not be easy. It will test our resolve. It will test our will. But with Lafayette watching over us in this House, with George Washington standing guard over the City of Paris, and with Lady Liberty holding her torch high, surely France and America and all those who love liberty and justice throughout the world will continue to cast a light of hope, strength, and freedom upon our world. May God bless our French brothers and sisters. We send them our sympathy, and we pledge them our resolve.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Guillain-Barre/ Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Foundation International's thirty-fifth anniversary. For more than three decades, the GBS/CIDP Foundation has done more than advocate for effective treatment; it has provided hope and resources to those who suffer from these disorders. The Foundation's staff and volunteers help those with GBS and CIDP recognize that they are not alone--and that they have powerful allies in their corner. Last night, I had the privilege of serving as master of ceremonies for the Foundation's anniversary gala, at which my friend and colleague, Representative John Garamendi of California was honored as ``Legislator of the Year.'' John's two daughters, Christina and Elizabeth, experienced GBS, and he is not only a great leader on this issue but also a steadfast advocate for access to quality, affordable health care for all who need it. Many of those who suffer from GBS and CIDP find themselves experiencing a physical disability, which can have a profound effect on their quality of life and, potentially, their ability to work. One of the proudest moments of my career in public service was leading the effort in the House to pass the bipartisan Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, ensuring that every American with a differing ability can have his or her equal rights, equal access, and equal dignity recognized and respected. This year we're celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of that landmark legislation, which did more than change the way we construct buildings or crosswalks--it changed attitudes. Changing attitudes about what GBS and CIDP means for those experiencing it and why we must work together to find new treatments and a cure has been the great work of this Foundation. I am proud to have been a part of last night's event, and I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the GBS/CIDP Foundation International on this milestone anniversary. I want to thank organizers Ralph Neas and Katherine Beh Neas, both for their friendship over the years and for their untiring efforts to raise awareness, provide resources, and support research to benefit those suffering from GBS/ CIDP. I look forward to continuing my support for their important and impactful work.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, first, I would say I was moved by the remarks of the gentleman who just spoke, and I know we all join him in his sentiments. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an individual who has made a remarkable impact on higher education in this country and in my State. He has done that for more than a half a century. William English ``Brit'' Kirwan retired at the end of the June as chancellor of the University System of Maryland. He served as chancellor for the past 12 years, and, during that time, he oversaw the period of growth, transformation, and achievement, which included the integration of on-line technology with course instruction and a 24 percent increase in enrollment. Dr. Kirwan's lifetime of service to higher education, Mr. Speaker, began in his youth, which was spent on or around college campuses in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and Durham, North Carolina. His father, Dr. A.D. Kirwan, was an accomplished educator and college administrator as well, having written and lectured in history at the University of Kentucky and later served as dean and its president. Brit Kirwan followed in his father's footsteps, luckily for all of us, attending the University of Kentucky, and later pursuing his master's and doctorate in mathematics from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Dr. Kirwan came to the University of Maryland College Park in 1964, a year after I graduated. He came as an assistant professor of math. After 24 years teaching in the department, and having been elevated to the department chair, and then provost, Dr. Kirwan was selected as the president of the university in 1988. He led the university system of Maryland's flagship campus for a decade, before leaving to become president of The Ohio State University. I think I speak for all Marylanders when I say we were very happy when he came back to Maryland. I was a member of the Board of Regents at the time, and I remember participating in a meeting when we were searching for a new chancellor. I asked my colleagues, ``If we could get Brit to come back, what would you think?'' All of them were extraordinarily enthusiastic. So I called his house in Ohio, and his wife, Patty, answered, and I asked her if she and Brit would be interested in returning. Patty immediately replied they would both like to be closer to their grandchildren. Luckily, they were living in Maryland. I took that as a good sign and, a short time later, Brit was back as chancellor of the university system. He managed a network that serves over 165,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 12 universities, two regional higher education centers, and one research center. It is the 12th largest university system in America. Under Dr. Kirwan's leadership, it has become a national model for excellence in higher education, research, and applied innovation. Dr. Kirwan has been called upon by both Democratic and Republican Presidents over the years to advise on issues relating to higher education access and performance. And certainly, he has been asked by United States Senators and Members of this House for his advice and counsel as well. He has been committed, throughout his years as an administrator, Mr. Speaker, to the principle that education ought to be accessible to all, and it ought to be seen as a tool to help people enrich their lives for learning, while advancing their careers. Among his major priorities have been making the university campuses more diverse and making attending college more affordable. Under his leadership, the university system built partnerships with the private sector and the State and Federal Government in order to further the cause of advanced research and innovation that has practical application for economic growth and national defense. Last year, Mr. Speaker, I was proud to be on hand to inaugurate a new test site in southern Maryland for unmanned aircraft systems, which will help in the development of new aerospace technologies and bring business development and skilled jobs to that region. Dr. Kirwan has always understood that we need to do more to ensure that everyone who wants to pursue higher education can do so and that our colleges and universities are helping to produce skilled innovators and workers. He knew that the university system was a partner in economic growth in our State and that university and academic institutions were partners in growing the U.S. economy. Mr. Speaker, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Kirwan for many years, and I have seen, firsthand, his passion for higher education, his respect for faculty and staff, and his love of students. Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a ceremony to rededicate the University of Maryland mathematics building in honor of Dr. Brit Kirwan. That building, in which he taught mathematics, is now named in his honor for him. All of us, Mr. Speaker, have witnessed his determination to make the university system of Maryland a source of pride for our State and for our country, and he has done so. He has been a man who is deeply devoted to his wife, Patty, a wonderful woman, and their wonderful family and their community. Patty Kirwan is, herself, an extraordinary partner in the success that she and Brit have both achieved. Mr. Speaker, Chancellor Brit Kirwan is a man of extraordinary intellect, vision, understanding, compassion, character, and principle. He has brought all of these traits to bear in all of the important roles he performed throughout every endeavor in his life. On behalf of all of us who live in our State but, indeed, on behalf of all the citizens of the United States whom he has advantaged in one way or another, I thank Dr. Kirwan for his leadership on behalf of the higher education for our State and for our country. Dr. Kirwan has stepped down as chancellor, but, Mr. Speaker, I know he will continue to lend all of his great talents to making higher education ever more effective and his country ever more successful. Well done, Doctor.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. I talked about your party.

Mr. HOYER. No.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I need 10 minutes at least to respond to that assertion. There is no party with whom I have served over the last 35 years that has been any more into self-flagellation of the United States Government, the American Government, than his party. I will say with all due respect.

Mr. HOYER. But I will tell you that I disagree with the gentleman's basic premise. He talks about the rule. The rule is not the issue. I am against this rule. Its substance, that is what the gentleman from Oregon was talking about. He was talking about investing and making America grow, creating jobs. That is what we ought to be debating, not some rule for you to have a lot of amendments. You can have a zillion amendments. If they are all awful, it won't be a good rule. I rise in opposition to this rule. I rise in opposition because it would make in order several amendments that undermine the will of a majority of both parties in this House, that the Export-Import Bank should be reopened immediately. I said for a year and a half the majority of this House was for it; and for a year and a half, it was bottled up by a committee chairman in a closed process. Since some Republicans blocked an extension of the Export-Import Bank's charter authority and let it shut down in July, hundreds of American jobs have been shipped overseas, and exporters and their workers have been unable to compete on a level playing field in foreign markets. Last month, in a historic effort, virtually all Democrats and a majority of Republicans came together to end the gridlock and take steps to allow the House to work its will and hold a vote on reopening the Export-Import Bank. This rule seeks to reverse that process. When that vote was finally held, Mr. Speaker, 127 Republicans finally got the opportunity to work their will--a majority of their Conference--and joined with every Democrat, save one, to reopen the Bank and create jobs in our country. The will of this House is clear, unequivocal. The best way to reopen the Bank is by keeping, unchanged, in this highway bill the Heitkamp- Kirk language, a bipartisan amendment from the Senate that 313 Members, otherwise known as 75 percent of this body, voted for last week on this floor. The amendments that this rule would make in order are, in effect, a last-ditch attempt by the Bank's opponents to undo the will of the majority of this House. I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule; and should it be adopted, as is likely the case, I urge every one of my colleagues who voted to reopen the Export-Import Bank last week to stand together in defeating every single amendment offered on the Export-Import Bank so we can stand together to defeat all of the amendments that are offered on the Export-Import Bank.

Mr. HOYER. It is a Senate bill and a House bill that are exactly the same. If they had been passed alone, they would be on the President's desk right now. Once again, we need to help American exporters; but more importantly than that, we need to help American workers get and keep jobs. We talk a lot about it. This is an opportunity to do it. Defeat any and every amendment, no matter how sugary it may sound, to defeat the Export- Import Bank.

Mr. HOYER. But I will yield to him on his time.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman. I am sorry I don't have more time. Madam Chairman, this is a bill about jobs. The amendment is about killing jobs, as he wants to kill the Bank, the gentleman who sponsored this amendment. That is all it is. Every one of these amendments will undermine the Export-Import Bank that got 313 votes on this floor. The gentleman mentions five businesses. What he didn't mention is the thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs that they create and maintain. That is what we are talking about: jobs for average Americans. Whether they work for large, medium, or small businesses, we are talking about jobs for Americans. Here you are at the last minute trying to kill it. You had 2\1/2\ years to offer your amendments. You had 2\1/2\ years to bring this bill to the floor. You chose not to because the minority was going to kill this bill. I told your majority leader over and over and over again it had the majority of your party, and you refused to bring it to this floor. Tonight is the time to say the majority rules, the 313 will rule. Reject every one of these amendments. Let's create jobs with the Export-Import Bank.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. As a former majority leader, I want to tell my friend that the enthusiasm of the Members for late nights has a very short fuse, but I appreciate his efforts.

Mr. HOYER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Speaker Boehner and I, as some would note, do not always agree. We have been on opposite sides of this floor and on opposite sides of debate many times. However, that is behind us for John Boehner. In all of the years I have served with him, Speaker Boehner has shown me the same kindness, grace, and friendship that he has shown so many of his House colleagues on both sides of the aisle. John Boehner is a gentleman in the truest sense of the word and is a leader who, even in the act of stepping back from his position in the leadership, has always put the best interests of our country first. When it came time to make difficult decisions, even in the face of strong opposition from some in his own party, Speaker Boehner was willing to work across the aisle to make sure that this House was achieving its most fundamental responsibilities to those we had the honor of serving. We did not have a catastrophic default on our debt--at least twice-- in large part because of John Boehner's determination not to let it happen. Millions of children benefitted from the forms of No Child Left Behind because John Boehner, the chairman of the committee, put children's interests first and worked in partnership with the late Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman George Miller. That was in the best traditions of a President Bush-sponsored piece of legislation--a Republican chairman, a Democratic chairman, and a ranking Democrat working together on behalf of our country's interest. John Boehner worked to keep his Conference and this House marching forward down a productive path. History will be the judge of his success as the leader of his party, but all of us who have had the honor of serving with him will judge him as we know him--a considerate and thoughtful individual, who is a patriot and who cares deeply about this House and the Nation it serves. I want to thank him, as I would hope all of our Members would and, frankly, those Members who served with him, but who are not in this House now, for his service and for his friendship. I want to wish him well and wish him luck out there on the golf course, where I am sure he will be spending a lot more time--I am going to be envious of that--in addition to the time that he will spend with his family and in continuing to serve his community, his State, and his Nation. John Boehner served his country and this House of Representatives with fidelity and responsibility, and we should all thank him for that. We wish the Speaker and his wife, Debbie, well as they embark on a new phase of their lives. He has served his country well. I am confident that he will continue to do so.