FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

On 2024-12-17, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7) delivered a floor speech titled "FAREWELL TO CONGRESS" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation: HR40.

FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [House] [Pages H7296-H7303] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FAREWELL TO CONGRESS The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Foxx). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. General Leave Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California? There was no objection. Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to deliver my final floor speech as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. For 26 years now, it has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve my incredible constituents of California's 12th Congressional District. I was sworn in on April 21, 1998. The late, great Ronald V. Dellums retired early. I was his former intern, his former staffer, and he was my former colleague, my mentor, and good friend. Ron was actually the first African-American chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and I remember that day so well. He sat right here and encouraged me to give that first speech and to actually turn around and to sign a petition then calling for campaign finance reform. I was the 218 vote to sign the discharge petition on my swearing in day, which I was very proud of. Let me just first and foremost start by thanking my staff and all of the members of Team Lee that have worked tirelessly to serve our district 24/7 and to help us achieve so much. These are truly dedicated public servants, and their commitment has undoubtedly left an indelible mark, not [[Page H7297]] only on myself, but on our district and our country. As I say constantly, once a member of Team Lee, always a member of Team Lee. Also, let me take a minute to thank my family who has stood beside me through all of the triumphs and challenges of the last 26 years. I could not have done it without them. In 1998, my late mother, Mildred Parish Massey, my late father, Garvin A. Tutt, my stepmother, Reiko Tutt, my Auntie Juanita who passed away at 100, and my Auntie Lois who just passed away at 103, they all were with me. They are not here today, but they have been my guardian angels over the years to guide me and to keep me moving forward. Also my sisters, Beverly and Mildred were with me, their husbands, Martin and Calvin, and my two sons, Craig and Tony--well, Carl a.k.a. Tony, Carl Anthony Lee. They both were with me. Now, they have their families, and I have five beautiful grandchildren. Actually, I just have to say, on that day that I was sworn in, I was talking to my dear friend and colleague Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager- Dove who was the cofounder of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus, and I want to thank her so much because I am wearing the same thing that I wore on April 21, 1998, when I was sworn in. This caucus is a caucus that is very important because it is creating climate-smart policies to reduce repair and wear and to recycle textiles. The only thing I have done with this outfit is to just shorten it a bit, but it is the exact same outfit I wore on April 21, 1998. I thank Sydney for her leadership. I am the OG of that caucus. As I look back on my time, though, I feel a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to not only serve my community, but to advance justice, equity, and peace throughout our country and the entire world. I am a woman of faith. I attended St. Joseph's Catholic School in El Paso, Texas. I was taught by the Sisters of Loretto whose motto is ``Going where the need is the greatest'' and whose work--and they have acknowledged this since they have been founded--they work for peace and justice, which has informed me since my childhood. I must, tonight, as I give my last speech on this floor after over 25 years of service, I am reminded of a Scripture, Galatians 6 verse 9, which says: And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Madam Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues who are with me tonight. I want to really say that I love them, I appreciate their support, and that I could not do anything without the support of Democrats and Republicans, friends and colleagues. Madam Speaker, I yield to the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from Nevada, someone who is my sister's Congressional Member, someone who has done a phenomenal job as our chair in leading up to new heights, Chairman Steven Horsford. Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I want to first give honor and to acknowledge a dear friend, a colleague, and a mentor as we take this Special Order hour to thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee. She truly is a gift. She is a treasure, and her service is an example for all to follow. For 26 years, Representative Barbara Lee has been an advocate for justice, equality, and peace, both at home and abroad. Her commitment to these principles has set a standard for all of us in this Chamber. I have had the privilege of collaborating with her on many initiatives, from expanding healthcare access to advancing racial and economic justice. Her leadership within the Congressional Black Caucus as a former chair herself has amplified the voices of marginalized communities and ensured that their concerns are addressed at the highest levels. Representative Lee's dedication to peace is shown by her consistent stance in foreign policy matters, and it was her lone vote against the authorization for the use of military force in 2001 that showed how she will always stick to her convictions. Representative Lee's impact on Congress, on our communities, on our country, and really on all of us will be felt for generations to come. Her legacy continues to inspire us as we work to uphold the values that she has championed. I say on behalf of the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we thank her for her service, for her leadership, and for her commitment to justice. She is a dear friend. She is a true colleague, and she has been a mentor. I wish her all the very best in her future endeavors, and I know that her influence will remain with us for years to come. God bless her. Barbara Lee speaks for me. Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Congressman Horsford, for that very sincere and very humbling statement and remarks. I thank him, again, for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Lee Carter), who has made her mark in this Congress, not only on behalf of her dear late mother, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who we all know that this is her twin right here, but she is doing a great job here. I thank her for being here and upholding her mother's spirit and legacy, but also for charting a course forward. Mrs. LEE CARTER. Mr. Speaker, her last name is Lee, and her and my mother were like sisters from another mother. I thank her for being that to my mother, the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, for her entire term of service, standing up for Progressive values, being part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for holding that organization up, and taking it forward and making it so impactful in this body. I thank her for being there for the first Juneteenth, her family down in Texas, in Galveston. She was so excited. They were both so excited to see each other, to celebrate freedom, the real freedom for Black people in this Nation. I hope that we continue--I will continue--I know you will continue to uplift that holiday and make it important for all Americans to understand how we make this a more perfect Union. I know many will tell of your many accomplishments in working on HIV/ AIDS, which is so important, being the lone vote after 9/11, always standing in truth and power, always standing up and never being afraid, never backing down, always being unbossed. I thank her on behalf of myself, since she has always been an inspiration to me, watching from behind the scenes, intergenerational leader, guiding the next generation of women, Democrat women, and women across this Nation. I thank her for traveling with my mother, loving my mother, voting with my mother, fighting with my mother, taking pictures of my mother. We will miss her. Barbara Lee speaks for me. Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lee Carter for her leadership and her friendship. I was her mother's personal photographer, and we did travel the world. What Sheila wanted, Sheila got because she was a true warrior woman, as is Mrs. Lee Carter. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague and very good friend from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). I visited her district several times as she actually was in a film, a documentary. I thank her for that, the name of it was: ``Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power,'' but she was the star of that documentary. {time} 2000 Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. This is a very emotional moment for me to see you leaving this body. You will never leave my presence. You will be part of my life. I am going to follow you wherever you go, Barbara Lee. I want to say that Barbara Lee has always been kind of a broker- dealer to me. She is someone, as her sisters of her Catholic training encouraged her to do, to go where the need is the greatest. I remember one of my earliest memories of Barbara Lee was 20 years ago when I went to the first Democratic Caucus and almost got into a fistfight with Steny Hoyer as the consultants were urging us not to use the word ``poor.'' Don't talk about poverty. That is kind of a bad message. That won't help us win. Let me just tell you, I was ready to fight and argue. I mean, I had deci

Referenced legislation: HR40