[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H8968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2230
                           FAREWELL STATEMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, 14 years ago I began my fight for 
social and economic justice in the House of Representatives on behalf 
of middle-class families in my State of Ohio. During those years, this 
Chamber saw at times heated, even acrimonious debate that often divided 
this room. At other times, the Nation, through C-SPAN, bore witness to 
bipartisan teamwork on behalf of families across our country. I 
treasure every moment as I prepare to leave the House and join the 
Senate.
  I will be forever grateful to my House colleagues of both parties 
with whom I worked side by side on issues of great importance to 
middle-class families, to working families, on health care and trade 
and education. You are all too many in number to name, but so many 
played a significant role in making my time here in the House one of 
which I will be exceptionally proud.
  I thank you all for that.
  It was an arduous year for the country and an inspiring one. It 
served as a reminder that those of us blessed with the privilege of 
serving in this great institution do so always at the pleasure of the 
people in our great country.
  This year showed something equally important: The time has come to 
put the fight for social and economic justice and progressive values 
into action on behalf of middle-class families and working families. It 
is time for Democrats and Republicans to work together to deliver upon 
promises made during stump speeches. It is time for the House and 
Senate to work together to raise the minimum wage, to build an 
alternative energy industry, to expand access to affordable health 
care, to lower the cost of tuition, to revamp our trade policy so we 
again create good-paying jobs in our communities.
  It is time to unabashedly take up the fight for social and economic 
justice at every level of government and at every corner of our free 
market system. We are the world's leading superpower, and with that 
comes the responsibility to lead by example. It is time for Congress to 
lead by example and fight for justice for all Americans.
  In a few short weeks, I will take that fight to the United States 
Senate. I will take with me the values that served me well during these 
past 14 years, values shared by so many of my colleagues in Washington, 
by families across Ohio, and by one very special friend.
  It is often at the hardest times that the greatest truths are 
confirmed. Such was the case this week for my family and me.
  We lost a dear friend, my best friend of 30 years, John Kleshinski, 
last Wednesday. He was only 55. John was not just a champion of social 
and economic justice, he was a hero to so many. A successful 
businessman, John was also a man of great faith, who felt his 
formidable professional accomplishments bestowed upon him a 
responsibility to give back to his community, to fight for justice for 
the weakest among us. A man who took up piano in his late forties, he 
had his first recital at 50 and became the board chairman of the local 
community organization and established scholarships for underprivileged 
children. He gave back in more ways than I can mention in 5 minutes.
  But more important than the generosity of his time and money was his 
generosity of spirit. He was a man who found joy in the triumph of 
others, and in doing so he led by example showing us all the best we 
can be when we commit ourselves, neighbor to neighbor, Democrat to 
Republican. John left a legacy that will now be emulated by the 
thousands of lives he touched. We will all, in effect, pay it forward. 
Thank you, John, for that.
  We are the legacy we create, each of us as husbands and fathers, as 
wives and mothers, as employees and workers, and, yes, as elected 
officials. It is the mission of the 110th Congress to create a legacy 
in which families thrive and our Nation is strengthened, social and 
economic justice, fair trade, affordable health care for all, quality 
education. They sound like campaign slogans, and for the last year 
across this country they were, but they are now our tasks at hand.
  We have much work to do, the House and the Senate, Democrats and 
Republicans. It is our time to lead by example to chart a path that 
establishes a legacy of unparalleled productivity on behalf of middle-
class families. It is time that social and economic justice takes its 
rightful place in the halls of Congress. It is time to get to work.
  I wish the families of Ohio and this country a safe holiday season 
and a blessed 2007. I especially thank my family, my mother Emily, who 
has led the fight and education in our family for social and economic 
justice; my brother, Bob, and his wife, Catherine Scalon; and my 
brother Charlie, and his wife Anne Swanson; my daughter Emily and her 
husband Mike; my daughter Elizabeth; my daughter Caitlin; my son Andy 
and his fiance, Stina; and, more than anybody, my dear wife, Connie 
Schultz, who has stood and led and done so much to make the lives of 
our family so much better and the lives of people around my State 
better.
  God bless you, John. We will all miss you.

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