[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WELCOMING THE HONORABLE SCOTT MURPHY TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, it is my great honor as the dean of the 
New York delegation to present to this honorable body the Honorable 
Scott Murphy.
  Quite frankly, the Nation has said this has been a victory of 
Democrats over Republicans. That's just not so. This is just one great 
American that found himself in a district that had more Republicans who 
saw and wanted the best for this country.
  It is my great honor to present the Honorable Scott Murphy of the 
20th District of New York.
  Mr. MURPHY of New York. Thank you, Chairman Rangel. It's an honor to 
stand on this floor of this House and join the outstanding men and 
women of this 111th Congress. I look forward to getting to know all of 
you, to learning from you, and, most of all, working with you in the 
spirit of bipartisan cooperation that our challenges so desperately 
demand.
  Upstate New Yorkers made clear to me that while the challenges we 
face as a country are some of the greatest we have ever known, they're 
not Democratic challenges, they're not Republican challenges. And as 
our President has said, this country is not as polarized as our 
politics would suggest.
  So while we may disagree at times on issues, we must never forget 
that our goals are the same: to make sure that we have good jobs for 
our workers; to keep our families healthy and safe; to help our small 
businesses grow and prosper; to build a cleaner, independent energy 
future; and to make sure that our kids can find jobs so that they can 
stay near their families and in our communities like those all across 
Upstate New York.
  I have dedicated my career to creating jobs and helping small 
businesses grow, working with people of all backgrounds and parties to 
solve complex challenges. Beginning today, I will fight to invest in 
the 21st century infrastructure that will create jobs and get our 
economy moving again.
  There are so many people to thank for making this journey here today 
possible. First and foremost, the voters of the 20th District of New 
York. I'm humbled and honored by the faith and trust that they have 
placed in me, and I pledge to work every day to make their lives a 
little bit better and to live up to my ultimate job description of 
being their voice here in this House.
  Now, the first person I would like to thank is the most important 
person in my world, my best friend, the love of my life, my wife, Jen, 
who is up in the audience here. Without her encouragement and support, 
I never would have tried this and would never have been successful.
  I also want to thank my kids, Simone and Lux, who are down here on 
the floor with me, and my son Duke. Their curiosity and energy inspires 
me every day and reminds me and reminds all of us that we are here 
fighting for a brighter future for them and all of America's children.
  I also want to thank my dad. And I am a very lucky man, I have my 
grandparents here with me today. I want to thank them and my mom, who 
is not around anymore, for teaching me the lessons of hard work and 
thriftiness and compassion that allowed me to achieve what I have in 
life and to join this body.
  And I want to say thanks to the family and friends that have made the 
trip down from New York. Many of you have heard I've got a huge family. 
We have got 57 people in our immediate family. At least half of them 
are up here in the gallery. So thank you all very much for being here 
and for all your support.
  And I want to say thanks to Speaker Pelosi for your wonderful 
leadership and to the rest of the leadership team: the majority leader, 
Steny Hoyer; Caucus Chairman Larson; Whip Clyburn; Chairman Van Hollen, 
who have all been very helpful in putting this all together, and I 
couldn't have gotten here without your help. So thank you very much.
  A special thanks to Senator Gillibrand, who made this opportunity 
possible and who did an amazing job representing the families of 
Upstate New York, and I heard that consistently on the campaign trail. 
So thanks for your support and your wonderful work on behalf of our 
district.
  I also want to say thanks to President Obama and Vice President Biden 
for their excellent leadership. And I look forward to working with them 
and all the Members of this body to make sure that we get the stimulus 
money, the economic recovery money out and make sure it's as effective 
as it can possibly be in impacting our communities and getting this 
economy moving.
  Thanks also to the outstanding New York delegation that was so 
excited and helpful in this race. I am looking forward to working on 
behalf of a brighter New York with so many other Members from our fine 
State.
  I want to say thanks to all the other leaders that were helpful, 
Governor Paterson and Senator Schumer and all the volunteers and staff, 
and particularly the excellent staff that I had that are here that did 
so much on our behalf for this campaign. So thank you to everyone who 
was involved.
  As I began serving the people of Upstate New York, I pledged to work 
with each and every Member of this body to put people back to work, to 
take care of the taxpayers of today and of tomorrow, and to give our 
kids a 21st century education, and, most of all, to summon the true 
spirit of cooperation that it will take to make sure that America's 
brightest days are still ahead of us. Thank you.

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