[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H7831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PRIVILEGE AND HONOR OF A LIFETIME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank all of my 
colleagues here in the House and especially my constituents back home 
in south Florida.
  The opportunity to serve in this body has been the privilege and 
honor of a lifetime. I truly have been honored and feel honored to have 
been entrusted with the responsibility of fighting for families, 
businesses, seniors, and veterans in our community every single day.
  And fight we did. When I came in 4 years ago, we were challenged with 
a war; we were challenged with a lot of other things. And as those 
years have passed, there have been new challenges, economy and others.
  Together we fought to take on skyrocketing homeowners' insurance 
costs in Florida and other places. We wrote a commonsense solution that 
makes insurance look and work like it was supposed to. It wasn't easy, 
but we brought together every single member of Florida's delegation, 
Republican and Democrat alike, as well as allies from around the 
country and passed the Homeowners' Defense Act in a very bipartisan 
way. I am very proud of that.
  We also fought to deliver on a campaign promise in my first race to 
close the Medicare part D doughnut hole, something that is so 
significant to so many seniors in my community. Our seniors should 
never have to make the choice between food and medicine. And because we 
shall and will bring down the cost of prescription drugs, many in our 
community will no longer have to.
  We stood up for our Nation's veterans, something that is a prized 
responsibility that every American shares in, because I believe it is 
our responsibility to fight for those who have fought for us. We passed 
the biggest increase in VA history to make sure that our servicemembers 
have access to everything that they need. And we turned local ideas 
from our Palm Beach and Broward County veterans advisory boards into 
the law of the land.
  But we didn't stop there. We took on energy and the recognition that 
there is a national security threat of an energy policy that continues 
to support Middle East rogue countries, in particular Iran. I helped 
work with others in writing and passing the toughest sanctions in 
history, because we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, not 
on our watch and certainly not on our dime.
  We tackled health care and equal pay for women. We expended Pell 
Grants so that every child and every student has a right to go to 
college and help create a workforce that will compete worldwide. We 
passed an innovative and forward-looking energy plan to end our 
dependence on foreign oil. But most of all, many of us worked together 
to do what is best for our community.
  Some might disagree with any one policy; but I think at the end, each 
of us in this Chamber knows that we have a responsibility to our 
country, we believe in our country, and we try to do the right things.
  Madam Speaker, my colleagues and south Floridians who are watching 
today, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving 
me this privilege. Choosing public service isn't always easy. There are 
bad headlines and tough attacks and long weeks away from your family, 
and our families truly make the greatest sacrifice. But it is worth 
every one of those sacrifices for the opportunity to make our country 
better for our children and our grandchildren than it was for us.
  This is the American Dream, and that is what I fought for and many of 
us fight for every single day at home at here and in town here. When I 
first came to this historic U.S. Capitol building, a very wise 
colleague said to me--and it stuck with me to this very moment--look up 
at the Capitol dome at nighttime. Look at it when we are working late. 
You see the light at the top and a beautiful dome.
  And I look up and I see that every time I am here in the evening, and 
I see that magnificent dome against the dark sky. And I think about the 
great figures that have passed through in time here. Most names we will 
never know, but every one of them was truly just passing through, 
whether here for 2 years, or 10 years or 20 years. Every one had the 
same goal to make this country a little better place.
  My colleague said to me, if you look up at that dome at one point and 
you aren't inspired, then it's time to go home. Well, certainly I have 
been inspired every day I have been here and continue to be inspired, 
and he was right. The opportunity to serve our community in these 
hallowed Halls does inspire me, and I hope it continues to inspire 
every single other person and the next generation of leaders who come 
into this Chamber.
  So I want to thank all of you. Thank you for allowing us to be here. 
Thank you for the privilege of serving, and I look forward to being 
part of our community and continue to work on behalf of it.

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