[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7541-H7545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OUR POLITICAL HERITAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2009, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) is recognized 
for 60 minutes.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago, I had the great privilege and 
honor to deliver my first speech as a Representative of the people of 
the 10th District of Illinois. As I end my time in the House of 
Representatives and begin with the honor of serving the great State of 
Illinois, I want to thank those that I have served with and reflect on 
my time in this great body.
  Our Jefferson's Manual of House Rules traces its heritage back to the 
Palace of Westminster, in London, England. Early in the 1980s, I worked 
under a member of the House of Commons during the time of Prime 
Minister Margaret Thatcher, and in Parliament, great weight is put on a 
member's maiden speech.
  In the speech that I gave in the House of Representatives, a new 
Member outlines the principles for which he stands, and as I began my 
service to the people of northern Illinois, I highlighted the political 
tradition of the men and women who represented us in this House. A look 
at their accomplishments and service mirrors who we are and the gifts 
that we can provide to this great Nation.
  Our community has a 180-year-long tradition of electing leaders who 
are very independent and ahead of their times. Ours is a rich 
tradition, and I can only hope that history will find my contributions 
to be consistent with the predecessors', whose roots trace back to 1818 
when a new State of Illinois stood on the frontier of a growing Nation.
  My predecessors were committed to the people of Illinois and to the 
good of this Union. At the same time, they understood the important 
role of the United States and of the world as a beacon of freedom, and 
while they fought for similarities here at home, they also fought for 
human rights abroad and condemned those who would spread intolerance 
and hate wherever it occurred.
  Within its current boundaries, our congressional district encompasses 
a diverse community, including northern Cook and eastern Lake Counties, 
and it stretches from Wilmette, north along Lake Michigan's shore, to 
Waukegan. To tour our district is to see firsthand both the promise of 
the American Dream and those who have not yet realized it.
  Our residents enjoy both great benefits and serious challenges. We 
are home to some of the wealthiest communities in the Nation, and yet 
we also have some of the most economically challenged communities in 
Illinois. We have pristine wetlands and forests, as well as one of the 
worst polluted harbors in the Great Lakes, and we have more than 1,000 
tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel stored just 120 yards 
from Lake Michigan. We are also home to the only training center for 
new recruits in the United States Navy. Each day, thousands of my 
constituents commute to Chicago, fighting some of the worst traffic 
congestion in the Nation each morning into the city and repeating the 
process every evening.
  In serving the people of the 10th District, I have been honored to 
follow a long list of role models who have represented us in the 
Congress:
  Our first Representative, John McLean, was one of the State's pioneer 
political leaders. He took his seat in the Old House Chamber on 
December 3, 1818, serving just 1 year. He was later elected to the 
United States Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Senator 
Ninian Edwards in 1824 and served through March of the following year. 
While our pathfinder's service was very brief in both Chambers of this 
Congress, he was honored by the State, which named McLean County after 
him.
  It was about this time that the first European family settled on the 
North Shore in what is now Evanston, residing in a place that was 
described as ``a rude habitation of posts, poles and blankets.'' More 
notable, though, was the construction of the first permanent structure 
on the North Shore, a roadside grocery, serving cold beer and liquor to 
travelers. This grocery was described as ``the headquarters of 
counterfeiters, fugitives from justice and, generally speaking, a vile 
resort.'' Ironically, 100 years later, Evanston would become the 
international headquarters of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, 
and it is from these Spartan but colorful beginnings that we trace our 
suburban history.
  Numerous shifts in population have brought many changes to the 
boundary lines of today's 10th Congressional District, and 
redistricting has changed its landscape no fewer than 10 times in the 
last 190 years. We face another change soon as Illinois prepares to 
lose a congressional seat before the next election. By 1902, Lake and 
northern Cook Counties were part of the 10th District, and the first 
outlines of the current district were formed as a new phenomenon in 
American living emerged, the suburbs.
  In 1913, the election of a Progressive candidate, Charles M. 
Thompson, was indicative of the new independent spirit of the 10th 
District voters and of our willingness to elect whomever will best 
represent our interests, regardless of incumbency or party affiliation. 
Independent, thoughtful leadership are common themes among the men and 
women who represented our 10th District. Our leaders include:
  John Stuart, a law partner of President Lincoln's; James Woodworth; 
Isaac Arnold; Charles Farwell; Lorenzo Brentano; George Foss; Abner 
Mikva; George Adams, a Civil War veteran who fought in the First 
Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Artillery; and Robert McClory, who 
served for nearly 20 years and was a House manager for the Equal Rights 
Amendment in 1972.

[[Page H7542]]

  Yet there are five men and women who represented the 10th District 
who stand out among this impressive crowd and deserve star treatment. 
These five heroes fought against slavery, advocated equal pay for 
women, civil rights initiatives, and served a number of Presidents as 
they battled human rights abuses abroad while funding biomedical 
research here at home.

                              {time}  2200

  These five exemplify the high standard of leadership demanded by our 
constituents and expected by our Nation.
  Elected in the 33rd Congress as a Whig, Representative Elihu B. 
Washburne served his final seven terms as a Republican. During his 
tenure in Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Commerce 
and, in the 40th Congress, as chairman of the Committee on 
Appropriations. In 1862, President Lincoln personally lobbied to have 
him elected Speaker, although he eventually fell short.
  Representative Washburne's legacy is legendary. He was a strong 
opponent of slavery and became known as one of the leaders of the 
Radical Republicans, along with Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. 
This group was outspoken in its opposition to slavery that went well 
beyond calling for simple abolition. They called for complete equality 
under the law for freed slaves.
  The Radical Republicans were critical of the reconstruction policies 
of both President Lincoln and President Andrew Johnson. Representative 
Washburne argued that Southern plantations should be subdivided and 
redistributed among former slaves, and when President Johnson attempted 
to veto the extension of the Freedman's Bureau, the Civil Rights Act, 
and the Reconstruction Act, Representative Washburne and his colleagues 
took action and were successful in their efforts to pass the 
Reconstruction Act.
  The Radical Republicans and Washburne became leaders in the 
impeachment of President Johnson, and when his close friend Ulysses S. 
Grant became President, Representative Washburne was appointed as our 
country's Secretary of State. He resigned just 11 days later, ending 
what remains the shortest term for any U.S. Secretary of State.
  Congressman Washburne left that high office because the President 
offered him the opportunity to assume the leadership of the American 
diplomatic mission in Paris. Congressman Washburne served as our 
ambassador to France through the Franco-Prussian War and there 
demonstrated true independence and initiative.
  Ambassador Washburne offered refuge to diplomats from various German 
States and other foreigners who were abandoned by their diplomatic 
missions. In grave danger on the street, those diplomats found safety 
under the American flag with Ambassador Washburne, and when the German 
Army surrounded Paris in late 1870, Washburne remained at his post and 
was the only foreign diplomat still in residence in Paris during the 
days of the Commune. These were tough times for besieged Parisians, who 
were reduced to eating rats.
  Washburne honored our Revolutionary War debts to France by continuing 
his humanitarian service. His international service and his commitment 
to humanitarian relief presaged our own time when America has become a 
foundation for freedom and the international system of humanitarian 
relief missions around the world. Congressman Washburne remained in 
Paris until 1877, when he returned to Chicago.
  Sixty years later, we come to the beginning of a career of another 
star in our story, Congressman Ralph Church, who won election to 
Congress in the 74th, 75th and 76th Congresses and again in the 78th 
Congress through his death in the 80th Congress. Many people living in 
our community still remember Congressman Church and his wife, 
Marguerite.
  The second luminary in our story is a Representative far ahead of her 
time, Representative Church's widow, Marguerite Church. Mrs. Church 
succeeded her late husband in the Congress, and during her first term, 
Illinois redistricted its congressional seats for the first time since 
1901. It placed northern Cook and Lake Counties in what was then called 
the 13th District.
  Mrs. Church brought a commonsense approach to Federal spending. She 
spoke against what she called extravagant and reckless spending, 
earning respect from both her colleagues and her constituents. Her seat 
on the Government Operations Committee gave her an ideal platform to 
urge restraint in spending, and her assignment on the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs allowed her to encourage the growth of democracy across 
the globe.
  Many of Mrs. Church's policies proposals were forward-thinking. Early 
in her career, she advocated equal pay for women and civil rights 
initiatives. The progress of the early 1960s finds its roots 10 years 
prior, partially in the service of Marguerite Church. She was the only 
female Member of the Illinois delegation, and her voting record was 
impeccable, answering more than 11,000 rollcalls during her tenure in 
the House, missing only four.
  In 1959 as a ranking member of the Foreign Economic Policy 
Subcommittee, she traveled more than 40,000 miles and visited 17 
countries. In 1960, at the invitation of President Eisenhower, she 
participated in the White House Conference on Children and Youth and, 
in 1961, served as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United 
Nations 15th Assembly.

  While participating, she jumped far ahead of her time, especially in 
her outspoken public criticism of South Africa and their policy of 
apartheid. Mrs. Church then retired in 1962.
  The 88th Congress saw the beginning of another legendary career. 
Donald Rumsfeld was elected Representative for this district, having 
previously served on the staff of Congressman David Dennison and Robert 
Griffin. While in the House, Rumsfeld sat on the Committee on Science 
and Astronautics and Government Operations. It was during this heyday 
of President Kennedy's space program, which heralded Lake Forest's own 
Jim Lovell, who went on to command Apollo 13.
  Rumsfeld also had a seat on the Joint Economic Committee in both the 
90th and 91st Congresses. His campaigns were indicative of what 
politics used to be and what they were to become. He accepted only 
small donations and limited expenditures for his campaign while relying 
on an army of volunteers to canvass neighborhoods and perform day-to-
day tasks which served as the lifeblood, then and today, for any strong 
congressional campaign.
  In 1969, he resigned to accept a place in President Nixon's 
administration as the head of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Not 
knowing much about the Office's mission at the time, he turned to his 
chief of staff, Bruce Ladd, who had an intern friend who had written a 
college paper on the Office of Economic Opportunity. That intern came 
to brief Congressman Rumsfeld on the Office's opportunities and walked 
out with a job. The intern's name was Richard Cheney.
  In 1971, President Nixon appointed Rumsfeld as the director of the 
Cost of Living Council, a position he held until 1973 when he became 
the United States ambassador to NATO for 2 years.
  When President Ford took office in 1974, he recalled Rumsfeld to 
Washington to coordinate a four-man transition team. His performance 
earned him appointment as the White House chief of staff, although he 
personally did not like the title and preferred to be called staff 
coordinator. He brought Secretary Cheney with him.
  In 1975, Rumsfeld was appointed our Secretary of Defense, a position 
which he held through the end of the Ford administration in 1977. He 
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year, and 
during the Reagan administration, Rumsfeld's expertise led him to 
accept membership on the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms 
Control, and he became an adviser on government and national security 
affairs in 1983 and 1984. He was named Special Presidential Envoy to 
the Middle East in 1984.
  Rumsfeld's experience in the private sector as CEO of G.D. Searle & 
Company and as a senior adviser to William Blair & Company complemented 
his government service. I'm proud to call him a friend.
  Building on the records of Washburne, Church, and Rumsfeld, among 
others, we touch on other stars of our story. Congressman Robert 
McClory represented Lake County and serves as a true symbol of 
independence in service to the Nation. Congressman McClory was a 
conservative and a

[[Page H7543]]

loyal Republican who was a defender of President Nixon until the 
evidence convinced him otherwise. It was Congressman McClory's votes 
for two impeachment articles that set the standard for political 
independence, judgment, and the rule of law in this House.
  For us, we now come to the final predecessor of mine in this seat, 
Congressman John Edward Porter, who won a special election in 1980 to 
follow Abner Mikva. To briefly touch on Congressman Mikva's service, it 
was brilliant in many ways and set another standard for independence in 
this Chamber and on the Federal bench.

                              {time}  2210

  Following him, Congressman Porter gained a seat on the Committee on 
Appropriations in 1980 where he served until his retirement after the 
106th Congress.
  Following a trip to the Soviet Union in 1983, Congressman Porter 
founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. He witnessed numerous 
human rights abuses while in the Soviet Union and decided to enlist the 
support of his colleagues to bring pressure on nations and groups that 
mistreat the innocent or prisoners of conscience. In his role as 
cochairman of the Human Rights Caucus, he helped free refuseniks, 
fought for the rights of North Korean refugees and religious freedom in 
China, spoke out against the use of child soldiers in Africa, and 
condemned the brutal regime of Sani Abacha in Nigeria.
  The Congressional Human Rights Caucus was the first U.S. Government 
entity to host the Dalai Lama in Washington. Congressman Porter also 
sponsored legislation authorizing the creation of Radio Free Asia and 
then secured appropriations to fund this ground-breaking program, 
helping move the agenda of freedom in China.
  Porter's record of accomplishments in foreign policy is impressive, 
but his record of constituent service was unmatched. He led efforts to 
improve the safety of Waukegan Regional Airport by updating the radio 
and control tower. He brought back the Coast Guard rescue unit to help 
the people of southern Lake Michigan, the same Coast Guard folks that 
saved my life as a teenager.
  He worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to control flooding 
along the north branch of the Chicago River, and his commitment to the 
environment led him to be a strong supporter of the Clean Air Act and 
the Clean Water Act. He orchestrated the effort to designate 290 acres 
of land at Fort Sheridan as open space and was one of only six House 
Members named as taxpayer superhero by the Grace Commission's Citizens 
Against Government Waste in 1992. He was named to the Concord 
Coalition's honor role in '97 and '98 for his commitment to eliminating 
deficits and balancing the budget.
  John Porter was always willing to take chances when he truly believed 
in an issue. And 15 years ago, long before it was safe to do so, he 
proposed reforms to the third rail of American politics, Social 
Security. His proposal, in fact, can be considered revolutionary 
because it was one of the first and was remarkably similar to many 
proposals that followed.
  What Congressman Porter may be most remembered for was his 
improvement of the health care for all Americans. In his role as 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and 
Education on the Committee on Appropriations, Congressman Porter 
launched the effort to double funding for the National Institutes of 
Health within 5 years. This additional funding helped researchers 
develop better and new treatments and helped fund the cracking of the 
human genome. He also had a commitment to biomedical research and 
investment in the future that will undoubtedly result in better health 
care for all people around the world.
  John Porter served us all in the highest tradition of public service 
and commitment to a greater good. Having served as his administrative 
assistant, I could not have had a stronger role model in public 
service. I had some very large shoes to fill and can only hope to be 
remembered by my constituents as someone who fulfilled his tradition.
  The record clearly demonstrates northeastern Illinois' political 
character, strongly independent, generally ahead of our time. Ideas 
like emancipation, equal pay for women, and an end to apartheid were 
all part of our representatives' leadership in decades ahead of the 
body politic. Our opinions do not necessarily adhere to strict party 
lines; and, therefore, anyone who represents our area must demonstrate 
independence and break from the party on occasion to make sure that 
they are adhering to our values. My predecessors did this. And while 
I'm a firm believer in my party's vision, it's that tradition of 
independence that I sought to serve in the House of Representatives.
  Elihu Washburne, Marguerite Stitt Church, Don Rumsfeld, Robert 
McClory, John Porter. They are not household names, but their service 
helped shape the history of our Nation because of their commitment to 
do what was right and the decision to take action to protect those most 
in need. It is an example of what I strove to live up to in the service 
of this House and the people of the 10th Congressional District.
  Drawing on this tradition, I focused my service on independence 
modeled by Congressman McClory, on spending restraint modeled after 
Mrs. Church, on constituent service and biomedical research in the 
example of John Porter, on national defense modeled after Don Rumsfeld, 
and America's role in the world modeled after Elihu B. Washburne. In 
light of this history, the people of the 10th District demand their 
Representative in Congress should be a thoughtful, independent leader 
at all times. And I believe such independence is a way to represent the 
people of Illinois, and I take that very seriously.

  Early in my service, I had the opportunity to prove that I would 
follow that tradition for the 10th District. I cosponsored and voted in 
favor of the Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform law, a bill opposed 
by most Members of my party. Although my support did not make me 
popular in leadership circles, I made a promise to my constituents, and 
I was not going to break it. This was not the time to follow party 
loyalty because I thought the Nation's interests were in supporting 
that legislation.
  I have consistently cosponsored and supported bipartisan legislation 
to end hate crimes and employment discrimination, bolster access to 
women's health services, and ensure equal rights for all Americans. 
I've also been a staunch supporter of Federal stem cell research. This 
cutting-edge research has the potential to eliminate pain and suffering 
for millions of people who are living with cancer, diabetes, 
Alzheimer's, and more. Such independence is reflected in Congressional 
Quarterly's analysis, which identified my record, for example, as ``the 
center of the House'' in 2009.
  My predecessor, John Porter, set our country on a course to double 
funding for the National Institutes of Health over his first 5 years; 
and I maintained that commitment to his legacy through 10 years in this 
House. On my view, it is essential that we continue this promise and 
ensure that we remain committed to the future advancement of medical 
technology and research.
  I'm also very proud to be one of the only few Republicans who worked 
actively to craft stem cell legislation and was an original sponsor of 
H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which the House passed 
but unfortunately was vetoed by the President. The future of stem cell 
research is unknown, but I'm hopeful that we will continue to lead on 
this issue and ensure that we find a permanent solution and set funding 
from the Federal Government.
  Following the inauguration of President Obama, I worked with my 
fellow moderates in the Tuesday Group, the House Centrist Caucus, to 
create a health care reform agenda. As a result of hundreds of meetings 
and roundtable discussions with providers and doctors and patient 
groups, we authored the Medical Rights and Reform Act, which guarantees 
the doctor-patient relationship, allows individuals to buy insurance 
across State lines, and would end frivolous lawsuits.
  Following Congresswoman Church's footsteps, I also took measures to 
reduce wasteful Federal spending. I bucked my party in leading the 
charge to deny hundreds of millions of dollars

[[Page H7544]]

in Federal funding for the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska. I was 
also the first member of the Appropriations Committee to swear off 
pork-barrel spending in our broken earmark system. I consistently voted 
to support the taxpayer and ease the burden of Federal taxes on 
American families.
  I voted in a way that reflects a pragmatic problem-solving nature for 
the people of northeastern Illinois. I tried to make sure that the 
Federal Government was making daily life easier for suburban families. 
The most common complaint among families in Chicago suburbs is traffic 
congestion. Our highway system is outdated and in need of repair, and 
mass transit can be more readily available if we work policy correctly. 
To address this, I joined with my colleague to the west, Congresswoman 
Melissa Bean, to create the Suburban Transportation Commission. Our 
goal was to bring together local leaders with their State and Federal 
representatives to find solutions to local and regional transportation 
problems.
  I have been a staunch supporter of commuter rail; and I am pleased to 
say that since we've been in office, Metra has expanded service on its 
North Central line and is working now to build the Star line, which I 
hope will provide a commuter rail link between western suburbs. I also 
introduced the COMMUTER Act to incentivize the use of public 
transportation among suburbanites who would otherwise be stuck in 
traffic.
  Recognizing the growth of suburban communities, I joined with dozens 
of my colleagues to devise the Suburban Agenda, a package of 
legislation designed to address the needs and concerns of suburban 
families. We focused on keeping kids safe in school, making college 
more affordable, preserving open space, and improving our health care 
delivery system. And to keep employment up in the suburbs in the teeth 
of the Great Recession, I introduced the Small Business Bill of Rights, 
a bill to protect the number one engine of our economy, small 
businesses.

                              {time}  2220

  From preserving the right to a secret ballot in a union election to 
eliminating unnecessary paperwork, the Small Business Bill of Rights is 
a prime example of suburban pragmatism at work.
  Suburban families also expect world-class schools, and in the 10th 
District we are privileged to have some of the best public schools in 
the country. I think it is fitting that the first bill I introduced in 
the House was the GRADE-A Act to ensure full funding for Federal impact 
aid schools. I established an education advisory board to help guide me 
in formulating education policy, and this board helped draft 
legislation making technical corrections to the No Child Left Behind 
Act that I believed would enhance local control of schools and empower 
teachers.
  I worked on many facets of improving our education system, including 
creating healthier learning environments. I introduced the Green 
Schools Act to provide matching grants for green school construction 
projects in our classrooms and the School Conservation Corps Act to 
support conservation clubs and teach kids about the importance of 
environmental protection.
  As a staunch supporter of alternative energy and transportation, we 
supported and authored many other bills to provide permanent tax 
incentives for renewable energy and clean transportation. I also joined 
with Congressmen Boehlert and Platts to help lead the Republican effort 
to raise the Nation's fuel economy standards.
  Following in the tradition of Congressmen Washburne and Porter, we 
promoted human rights in remote corners of the world through my tenure 
of this House. I took up the case of a journalist imprisoned in 
Bangladesh simply on the, quote, crime of promoting interfaith dialogue 
between Bangladesh and Israel.
  Shoaib Choudhury was charged with sedition, a crime punishable by 
death under Bangladeshi law, and spent 18 months in prison before 
congressional attention convinced authorities to release him. In 2007, 
the House passed a resolution I authored calling on the Government of 
Bangladesh to immediately drop all charges against Shoaib. It carried 
by a vote of 409-1.
  Some of our work also helped secure the release of Dr. Taye Wolde-
Semayat, a political prisoner in Ethiopia. We condemned the persecution 
of Baha'is in Iran and sought to bring peace to Darfur, worked to 
secure the release of the first Egyptian blogger to be jailed for his 
online writings, and established the Congressional Commission on 
Divided Families to reunite Korean Americans with their North Korean 
relatives.
  We fought to protect Iraq's Christian community from increasing 
violence and led efforts to combat the rise of global anti-Semitism. We 
fought for women's rights around the world, basic education, health 
services, and access to family planning.
  We stood up for our allies--Poland, Armenia, Greece, Ukraine, and 
Georgia--and increased oversight of the United Nation's Relief and 
Works Agency, and demanded accountability in U.S. assistance to the 
West Bank and Gaza.
  We successfully changed policy on proposed arms sales to Saudi 
Arabia, protecting U.S. forces in the region, and preserving Israel's 
qualitative military advantage.
  We delivered Eyes in the Sky, and the X-Band radar system to defend 
the State of Israel, and our bipartisan legislation moved forward to 
prohibit gasoline sales to Iran which is now the law of the land.
  In my time representing the people of the 10th District, there is one 
defining moment that shaped my work in the Congress and forever changed 
our country. I started the day on September 11, 2001, in the Pentagon 
having breakfast with Secretary Rumsfeld. The meeting broke up early 
when the Secretary was notified that a second plane hit the World Trade 
Center. Shortly thereafter, we were evacuated from the Capitol complex 
after the Pentagon was hit. Being forced from our offices that day was 
a profoundly sad moment.
  As a veteran and a Naval Reserve intelligence officer, I knew we were 
at war and there was much work to be done in the Congress to protect 
the American people and provide our military with the resources they 
needed to fight terrorism.
  The House began debating legislation to establish a Department of 
Homeland Security while most congressional offices were closed as a 
result of an anthrax attack. Working out of temporary space at the 
General Accounting Office, I authored language providing for effective 
911 emergency call capabilities from telephones on passenger aircraft 
and trains. At the same time, I also began working on improving the 
effectiveness of the State Department's Rewards for Justice program to 
help provide investigators with more information that could lead to the 
capture of wanted terrorists. Remembering how a tip from this program 
led to the capture of Mir Aimal Kasi, the terrorist who murdered CIA 
employees outside headquarters on January 25, 1993, I wanted to 
increase the maximum reward for information that would lead us to 
terrorists responsible for 9/11.

  In the years that followed, we continued to work to make this program 
more effective, authorizing special payments, expanding the number of 
informants eligible for rewards, and allowing payments other than cash 
to be made in certain circumstances.
  The war in Afghanistan requires contributions from all elements of 
the U.S. Government, and sometimes the best support comes from 
unexpected places. On one trip to Afghanistan, I was pleasantly 
surprised to find that some of the best intelligence against al Qaeda 
and the Taliban were coming from agents of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration. I was also surprised to learn that the DEA was not 
officially part of the U.S. intelligence community. I returned to 
Washington and worked with Congressman Frank Wolf to make sure that the 
DEA became an official member of the intelligence community again.
  I also worked to provide DEA with specialized intelligence aircraft 
to use in Afghanistan. The intelligence collected from this plane not 
only helps warfighters on the ground, but the information is also 
admissible in court, meaning narcoterrorists in Afghanistan could more 
likely face criminal charges in the United States.
  I am very proud of my work in Congress to help our men and women in

[[Page H7545]]

uniform fight overseas, and more proud to have served alongside them. 
In December 2008, I became the first Member of the House to serve in an 
imminent danger area when I deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan to serve 
as a special adviser to General Nicholson for Regional Command South 
focused on counternarcotics. A year later, I returned to Afghanistan to 
serve again. Each time, I have become more committed to the men and 
women serving over there and their mission.
  Today, 9 years after the first American boots hit the ground in 
Afghanistan, the mission remains vital to our security. We must leave 
Afghanistan only after victory is secured and terrorists no longer find 
sanctuary in its rugged mountains capable of hurting Americans and the 
United States.
  As a veteran, one of my highest priorities in the Congress is to take 
care of our men and women in uniform, consistently work to improve the 
quality of life for active duty servicemen and -women, their families, 
and retirees.
  I am proud to have joined with Congressman Dennis Moore to pass the 
American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Coin Act. This memorial 
will honor the sacrifices made by America's more than 3 million 
disabled veterans by building a memorial for them here in Washington, 
D.C., within eyesight of the Capitol. I was also inspired to see this 
bill passed by an extraordinary young man, Sergeant Bryan Anderson of 
Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Bryan lost both legs and an arm due to a 
roadside bomb in Iraq.
  Washington has legions of professional advocates who make a living 
out of convincing people to see issues from their point of view, but 
none can compare to Bryan. With Bryan, what you see is what you get--a 
veteran with an inspirational story who wants to see the memorial 
built, not for himself, not just for disabled veterans, but so that 
everyone will remember the sacrifice of all of our veterans.
  One project in particular follows the arc of my career in this House. 
In 1999, a Washington-based consultant wrote a study recommending the 
closure of the North Chicago VA Hospital. The study said that Lake 
County veterans could get help downtown in Chicago or Maywood, or even 
the Milwaukee area, with only a 30-minute drive.

                              {time}  2230

  The study overlooked the fact that North Chicago VA was recently 
renovated and housed modern in-patient wards with the latest equipment 
still in bubble wrap. It also overlooked the fact that the Navy was 
operating an outdated, oversized hospital no more than a mile away and 
had plans to invest more than $100 million to replace it. I thought it 
made more sense to combine these two institutions, rather than close 
one and rebuild the other.
  Over the last 10 years, we battled the bureaucracy and gradually 
integrated the services of the Navy and VA. We started by combining in-
patient mental health, leading to a jointly operated operations suite 
and emergency room, and on October 1st of this year, we officially 
opened the first truly joint Navy-VA hospital in the country. This new 
facility will care for more than 100,000 veterans, retirees, sailors, 
and their families. It is my hope that this model will improve 
veterans' health care throughout our Nation.
  What better way to honor our veterans than by naming the facility 
after one of our Nation's heroes, 10th District resident and Apollo 
XIII Commander Captain James A. Lovell, Jr.
  In 2007, I wrote to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and 
requested that the new facility have the name that reflected the 
mission of this pioneering hero. In response, the Deputy Secretary 
wrote, ``It is fitting to name the facility after Captain Lovell, not 
only for the reasons cited in your letter, but also for his role in the 
history-making Gemini 7 mission, which included the first rendezvous of 
two manned maneuverable spacecraft. The joint DoD-VA health care 
facility in North Chicago can be described as the first rendezvous of 
two separate medical treatment facilities, joining them into one 
cohesive, comprehensive federal facility. It, too, is a history-making 
event.''
  As I leave this House, we face key challenges; challenges of solving 
increasing gridlock in our communities; challenges on the environmental 
front of cleaning up nuclear waste and PCBs; challenges of maintaining 
the tradition of the 10th District in education excellence; challenges 
like keeping the U.S. health care system on the cutting edge so that 
each American lives a full and healthy life; and providing tax fairness 
for married people, ending the death tax, and stopping government 
waste.
  I look forward to continuing our work and confronting these 
challenges head-on in the Senate. In the meantime, I want to extend my 
best wishes and heartfelt congratulations to our congressman-elect, 
Robert Dold, who I know will continue our tradition of thoughtful, 
independent leadership. Congressman-elect Dold shares my passion for 
our district, our State, our country, and our democratic allies. I am 
confident that the 10th District is now in good hands and look forward 
to working with him to advancing these goals.
  Mr. Speaker, I first arrived in this House as a staff member in 1984, 
26 years ago. On and off, I served during the speakerships of Tip 
O'Neill, Jim Wright, Tom Foley, Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, and 
Nancy Pelosi. This institution is the real arena of American politics. 
It is here that the raw emotions of the American people are translated 
nearly instantaneously into draft policies to address our Nation's 
needs. It is here where democracy is strongest, youngest, and most 
vibrant.
  As an intern, staffer, and Member I have had the honor to serve in 
the House of Commons in London, in the House of Representatives here in 
Washington, and soon in the Senate. But most of my professional life, 
in one form or another, has been here in the People's House. I have 
loved every minute of it, and would say to young Americans that one of 
the best ways to make a real difference in life is to join the roughly 
12,000 Americans who have had the unique privilege of serving their 
district here in the center of the democratic world.
  I want to especially thank my district chiefs of staff, Dodie 
McCracken, Lenore Macdonald, and Eric Elk; my Washington chiefs of 
staff, Doug O'Brien, Liesl Hickey, and Les Munson; and the man who 
drafted my first speech in the House, Patrick Magnuson, and the man who 
drafted my last speech in the House, Patrick Magnuson.
  I move on now to the Senate to serve the people of Illinois. I am 
honored to have the privilege to work for everyone from Rockford to 
Cairo. But part of my heart will always remain here in the House with 
the spirits of Washburne, Church, Rumsfeld, Mikva, and Porter, the men 
and women who represented the northern suburbs here in the House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the floor for the last time, and thank you.

                          ____________________