FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

On 2024-12-17, Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) delivered a floor speech titled "FAREWELL TO CONGRESS" in the Senate. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, foreign policy.

FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [House] [Page H7235] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FAREWELL TO CONGRESS The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. Blunt Rochester) for 5 minutes. Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address this body for my final time as the sole Representative from the great and first State of Delaware. I remember how I felt back in 1988 standing on the steps of the Capitol as an intern with our then-Congressman Tom Carper. From intern to caseworker, cabinet member, colleague, and now his successor, building on his incredible legacy fills me with great pride. I thank Senator Carper for everything he has done. I also remember how I felt as I walked into this room as Delaware's Congresswoman, humbled, honored, and hopeful because, to borrow the words of the musical ``Hamilton,'' this is ``The Room Where It Happens.'' It is where legislators have convened to debate ideas and uphold ideals. It is where we have heard legendary speeches from Presidents, world leaders, and influential past and present Members of this body. It is where Jeannette Rankin became the first woman Member of Congress, only after the House's monthlong debate on whether a woman was fit for the job. It is also where I got to serve with luminaries like John Lewis. It is also where landmark legislation was passed, from the Civil Rights Act, to the Affordable Care Act, to the bipartisan infrastructure law. This is the room where we, the people, have forged America's future. The first time the House of Representatives used this room was on December 16, 1857, 167 years ago, almost to this very day. It was also the year the Supreme Court ruled that Black Americans were not citizens under the law. I stand here 167 years later, the first woman and Black person elected to Congress from Delaware, on the shoulders of our ancestors, delivering my final speech before being sworn in as a United States Senator. My journey represents the promise and potential of America. When I decided to run for Congress, it was after the unexpected death of my husband, my love, Charles Rochester. His death shook me to the core, but then I ran into a father in front of me in the grocery store, who had to put back grapes because they were $9. In that moment, I realized I was still alive, and I had more to give. I ran for office, having never run for anything in my life, and our small but mighty State made history in 2016 and sent me here, to the room where it happens, to deliver for Delaware. It is their voices, their stories, and their concerns that have informed my work each and every day, from advocating for a strong farm bill, to protecting our coastal communities, to supporting the Dover Air Force Base and the Port of Wilmington, to bringing clean drinking water to communities like Ellendale, and to fighting for small businesses hit hard by a pandemic and broken supply chains. I worked across the aisle. We passed bipartisan legislation to help support families, strengthen our communities, lower costs, and protect our national security. However, not every day in this room has been filled with progress. People almost always ask me what my worst day as a Member of Congress was. Indelibly etched in my mind is that spot in the gallery where I was trapped on January 6, a day when insurrectionists attacked this temple of democracy, and I prayed for love over hate and hope over fear. As terrible as that day was, it was also one of my proudest moments because we came back into this Chamber, and we fulfilled our constitutional duty and carried out the will of the people. At that moment, I recommitted to this work, to our democracy, and a hope for a brighter future. Let me be clear: The race to liberty and justice is not over. In running it, we must remember the saying: ``The race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong, but to the one that endures.'' If we are to build a democracy, a planet, and a future that endures, it will take each and every one of us doing our part. In closing, to all of my colleagues and friends, to the incredible staff in this room and in the Cloakroom and in the building, thank you so much for your friendship and support. To my dedicated staff members who have been on this journey with me every step of the way, I could not have done it without you. To my family, thank you for your unyielding love and support through it all. To my late father, Ted Blunt, thank you for showing me the true meaning of service. Dad once said: You become what you see unless you see what you want to become. Dad, in you, I still see what I want to become. Finally, to the countless Delawareans who have entrusted me with the responsibility of this office and the next, I am honored, grateful, and ready to serve. In the words of Hamilton: ``There's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait.'' ____________________