[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 88 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H4396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   WELCOMING THE HONORABLE TOM GRAVES TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, Members of the House, it's a great honor 
to introduce Tom Graves, the newest member of the Georgia delegation 
and, obviously, the newest Member of the United States Congress. Tom 
comes to us from the Ninth District of Georgia, the seat which was held 
by Nathan Deal. And we all miss Nathan. He was a leading voice on 
Medicaid and immigration issues. And I know that Tom will continue that 
fight for the people of the Ninth District of Georgia.
  Tom comes from Ranger, Georgia. You may not know Ranger, Georgia, 
population 91, but it's a little bit down the road from Red Bud, 
Georgia, which isn't incorporated, and not too far from Fairmount, 
Georgia. The three of them collectively are near nothing at all. They 
are in Gordon County.
  Now, Tom served for 7\1/2\ years in the Georgia General Assembly and 
was on the Transportation, Health and Human Services Committee and the 
Ways and Means Committee. He was a leader in job creation for the State 
of Georgia, and with his JOBS Act, introduced in 2009, he worked for 
pro-growth legislation--legislation that would phase out the corporate 
income tax and eliminate the burdensome inventory tax for Georgia 
businesses. For this, he was recognized by ALEC, the American 
Legislative Exchange Council, to which many of us once belonged. He was 
nominated and earned the title of Legislator of the Year.
  Tom has also been recognized by the National Federation of 
Independent Businesses as the Guardian of Small Business and by the 
Georgia Retail Association for being Legislator of the Year, and was 
one of only two State legislators in the country to be selected by 
FreedomWorks Foundation to receive the Legislative Entrepreneurial 
Award.
  Tom, we're very glad to have you. But we're also especially glad to 
have your wife, Julie, who's sitting up in the gallery. Tom also has 
his three children with him today: JoAnn, John, and Janey. And we're 
glad that you're going to share your daddy with us.
  Tom is well known back home for having a beautiful family and a very 
ugly pickup truck. But he is committed to the truck. He's had it for 13 
years--and he thought that was a long time. But I want to introduce you 
to Gary Ackerman, who will tell you how to really take care of a car, 
which I think now is going on 30 years old.
  Tom, I also want to tell my friends Cliff Stearns and Corrine Brown, 
who come from a State that likes to pretend like they play football, 
that Tom Graves is a Georgia Bulldog. We can always use one more in the 
world. So if any of you people from Florida want to convert, it would 
be a good time.
  Tom, we welcome you to the greatest body, the greatest legislative 
body the world has ever seen: the United States Congress.
  With that, I want to yield to my good friend, Mr. John Lewis, the 
dean of our delegation.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my good 
friend, Jack Kingston, for yielding me time.
  As the dean of the Georgia delegation, it is my great pleasure to 
welcome Tom Graves to the United States House of Representatives. Mr. 
Graves is not a stranger to Georgia politics. He served in the Georgia 
State House of Representatives for almost 8 years. Tom, I not only 
welcome you, but I am proud to welcome your beautiful wife, Julie, and 
your three lovely and beautiful children.
  The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Georgia is recognized.
  Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Madam Speaker and Congressman Lewis, 
Congressman Kingston, thank you.
  As we recognize Flag Day today, it's also a reminder of the greatness 
of this young Republic, the foundations for which it rests, and the 
opportunity that awaits.
  As one who didn't grow up in wealth or politics but, really, quite 
the opposite--very simple beginnings in a single-wide trailer on a tar 
and gravel road in the backwoods of north Georgia--I am here now able 
to pay tribute to my parents who couldn't give me the material things 
in life but, instead, they showed me love and they encouraged me to 
dream big, to work hard, and achieve much.
  And while I am standing before you today as a freshman Member, I am 
the freshest voice from the campaign trail. And the message from the 
hills of north Georgia to the Hill of this great building is very 
clear, and that is that it's time to curb spending. It's time to 
balance the budget, and it's time to empower the people.
  While the challenges are great in this Nation, the will and the 
Constitution of her people are greater. And, you know, my dad was 
right. If we, as Americans, dream big, work hard, we can achieve much 
as a Nation.
  So on behalf of Georgia Nine, Madam Speaker, I am here to go to work.

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