[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 25, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H167-H169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE GIFFORDS
(Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, all of us come to the floor today,
colleagues of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, to salute her as the
brightest star among us, the brightest star Congress has ever seen.
When she came to Congress and in her service and leadership here,
Gabby Giffords brought to Washington and the Capitol the views of a new
generation of national leader. From this floor, she has spoken out
courageously and led boldly at times that demanded both.
Since the tragic events of 1 year ago, Congresswoman Giffords has
become an inspiring symbol of determination and courage to millions of
Americans.
She has brought the word ``dignity'' to new heights by her courage.
{time} 1020
Congresswoman Giffords' message of bipartisanship and civility is one
that all in Washington and in the Nation should honor and emulate. As
Gabby said in her video, which moved us all so much this weekend, we
can do so much more by working together.
In that vein, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for the courtesies
extended to enable this extraordinary ceremony to take place today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With your permission, I would like to
acknowledge Gabby's mother, who is with us today, Gloria, and her
father, Spencer, who is watching from Tucson. We thank you.
And we thank Commander Mark Kelly, a hero in his own right as an
astronaut and a commander of a mission, but also our personal hero, for
the care and love that he has given to Gabby over this past year--oh,
and before that, to help make her, as Gloria and Spencer have, the
person that she is.
I think all of our colleagues join in thanking you, Gabby, for the
honor of calling you colleague and wishing you and Mark much happiness
and success. You will be missed in the House of Representatives, but
your legacy in this Congress and your leadership in our Nation will
certainly endure. So thank you for being who you are, for lifting our
country at a very important and sad time. We wish you, again, much
success. With great gratitude, admiration, and affection, we salute
you, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, one last time.
It is now my privilege to yield the floor to the distinguished
majority leader of the House, the gentleman from Virginia,
Representative Cantor.
Mr. CANTOR. I thank the leader.
Mr. Speaker, a little more than a year ago, America witnessed a
heinous attack on Gabby Giffords, her staff, and the citizens of
Tucson. This attack took six innocent lives, including Gabe Zimmerman,
injured 13, and shook all of us in the congressional community and, in
fact, our Nation to its core. This attack was a stark reminder that
even in this country, where freedom of speech and public demonstration
are the cornerstones of our democracy, citizens and public officials
can face violence and danger. We will never forget those who lost their
lives on that fateful day or the brave efforts of our law enforcement,
community members, and a very special intern who responded in the
emergency.
Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say we
are inspired, hopeful, and blessed for the incredible progress that
Gabby has made in her recovery. Gabby's courage, her strength, and her
downright fortitude are an inspiration to all of us and all Americans.
As Gabby leaves the House today, Mr. Speaker, she has decided to
focus her energies on recovery, but she has refused to give up her
fight for the people of her beloved Arizona and her country; and as
such, today we will vote on her legislation to help secure our Nation's
southwestern border. Gabby's bill gives law enforcement greater
authority to penalize those who seek to do us harm by engaging in
illegal activity along the border. I commend Gabby for her commitment
to work on this and her unwavering commitment to a safer, more secure
America.
For the past 6 years, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords has served
Arizona's Eighth District with dedication and dignity. I want to
recognize her accomplishments here and thank her staff for their
exceptional service, dedication, and, yes, courage during these
difficult times.
Mr. Speaker, I especially want to recognize her chief of staff, Pia
Carusone. I know, having met with Pia personally, her having worked
with our office, she has demonstrated incredible dedication to her
coworkers, to you, Gabby, and, Mr. Speaker, she has demonstrated
unparalleled leadership for the people of the Eighth District of
Arizona. And for that, I know they are and we are very grateful.
On Sunday, Mr. Speaker, I received a call from Captain Mark Kelly--as
we all know, Gabby's husband--who informed me of Gabby's decision. Mark
has been steadfast in his support of his wife and forever by her side
as her best friend and partner. Though Gabby may be leaving Washington
today, I know this won't be the last we see of her or Mark.
We wish you, Gabby, we wish Mark, together, the best as they continue
the process of Gabby's recovery.
And I'll say once again, Mr. Speaker, Gabby Giffords' strength
against all odds serves and will continue to serve as a daily
inspiration to all of us.
Ms. PELOSI. I thank the leader.
Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield to Gabby's friend, the
distinguished minority whip of the House, the gentleman from Maryland,
Congressman Hoyer.
Mr. HOYER. I thank the leader for yielding. I thank the Speaker for
ensuring that we would have this opportunity to speak to our friend,
Gabby Giffords. I thank the majority leader for his comments.
None of us on this floor are talented enough to summon the rhetoric
that all of us feel in our hearts. We have young men and women arrayed
on the fields of Iraq and Afghanistan and other troubled spots in the
world. They are fighting for freedom and democracy, and too many of
them are injured on those fields.
Our beloved colleague Gabby Giffords was injured on the field in the
exercise of that democracy, and in being injured, she has become an
example for us, for all Americans--and, indeed, all the world--of
courage, of clarity of purpose, of grace, of responsibility, of a sense
of duty, which she exercises this day.
{time} 1030
I love Gabby Giffords. I was honored when she first ran for office,
before she was elected, to go to her district, as I have done for so
many others in this country, to stand by her side, to walk down the
streets of her community with her, to see in her the beauty not only of
person. Many of us see the outward visage of us all, but Gabby's beauty
is in the heart, in the soul, in the spirit.
The House of Representatives of America has been made proud by this
extraordinary daughter of this House who served so well during her
tenure here, who felt so deeply about her constituents and cared so
much for her country.
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Gabby, we love you. We have missed you.
Ms. GIFFORDS. I miss you.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I don't know whether you were able to hear
that response. As Gabby looked with that extraordinary smile, the
twinkle in her eyes, she said to me and to all of us, ``I miss you.''
Do any of us doubt that that is the case?
Pia, we are blessed in this House to be served by extraordinary
people, of which you are a perfect example, by people who love us but
love their country even more, who serve our constituents so
extraordinarily well, who evidence every day care for us and care for
the work that we do, which we could not do, Pia, without people like
yourself and all of your colleagues that we call staff. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, God has blessed Gabrielle Giffords, and he has sent a
blessing to all of us in the person of Gabrielle Giffords. And God
blessed Gabby as well with an extraordinary mom and dad and an
extraordinary partner in life.
Mark, we owe you a debt of gratitude. Our country owes you a debt of
gratitude. I look forward to the day when you and Gabby will be
returning here, returned to full health and full ability to serve.
Gabby, America thanks you. It thanks you for the example that you
have given of overcoming adversity, and doing so with a spirit
unparalleled. God bless you and Godspeed.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I know that every Member in the House would
like to associate himself or herself with the remarks of our
distinguished majority leader and Democratic whip, especially with
regard to Gabby, of course, but also Pia.
It is something that every day we have the Chaplain or the guest
chaplain come to the floor and ask God's blessing on this House. As Mr.
Hoyer said, one of those blessings to us has certainly been the
leadership and the life and service that will continue for many years
to come of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
We focus on her. She is our friend. We look at her remarkable
recovery with great pride. She also carries in her need for recovery
the sorrow of so many others who lost their lives today. So the
apparent physical recovery that we see is something even more than we
could ever imagine for the challenge that Congresswoman Giffords has
faced.
God gave her a very special mission. He gave it to Gabby Giffords
because he knew she could carry that burden because he has blessed her
with so many, many gifts and a very loving family to make her the
person that she is. How fortunate we have all been to be part of her
life until now and hopefully for a long time to come.
Now, it is with very mixed emotions, Mr. Speaker, that I yield to
Gabby's very good and close friend. I say ``mixed emotions'' because we
want her to stay with us, but, intellectually, we know that Gabby has
made the right decision. Hopefully, it will be liberating for her in
many ways but that she goes with knowing the close ties we all feel
personally to her.
So, Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield the floor now to a very
close friend of Gabby, a leader in this House, the gentlelady from
Florida, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. If I can ask my colleagues to join me at the
well.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Madam Leader, Mr. Whip, and Majority
Leader.
I couldn't prepare anything this morning because I knew that I would
not be able to hold it together for very long.
I am so proud of my friend, and it will always be one of the great
treasures of my life to have met Gabby Giffords and to have served with
her in this body.
We have all been through such a tumultuous year. The Nation has been
through a tumultuous year, no one more tumultuous than Gabby and her
family and her constituents in her beloved home city of Tucson,
Arizona.
Being able to be Gabby's voice today and knowing her as well as I do,
the one thing that has not been said is that Gabby wants her
constituents to know, her constituents who she loves so much in
southern Arizona, that it has been the greatest professional privilege
of her life to represent them; that she loves them, as a fifth-
generation Tucsonian; that her public service has meant a great deal to
her; that this is only a pause in that public service; and that she
will return one day to public service to represent them, as she has so
capably done for the last 5\1/2\ years.
And let me just say, a point of personal privilege, that the last
year has been one of the honors of my life. The most important thing to
remember is that no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in
this country, there is nothing more important than family and
friendship, and that should be held high above all else. I will always
carry that in my heart, and even though I know we won't see each other
every day, Gabby, we'll be friends for life--for life.
It is my privilege to read this letter on behalf of Gabby and her
family and her constituents:
January 25, 2012.
Hon. John Boehner,
Speaker of the House, The Capitol,
Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Boehner: In 2001, strongly holding the belief
that there is no higher calling than serving my country, I
went from selling tires in my Tucson family business to being
a freshman representative in the Arizona State House. And for
10 years I served--in the Arizona legislature, in the United
States Congress, and, after marrying Mark, as a proud
military spouse. Always I fought for what I thought was
right. But never did I question the character of those with
whom I disagreed. Never did I let pass an opportunity to join
hands with someone just because he or she held different
ideals.
In public service, I found a venue for my pursuit of a
stronger America--by ensuring the safety and security of all
Americans, by producing clean energy here at home instead of
importing oil from abroad, and by honoring our brave men and
women in uniform with the benefits they earned. I found a way
to care for others. And in the past year, I have found a
value that is unbreakable even by the most vicious of
attacks.
The tragic January 8th shooting in Tucson took the lives of
six beautiful Americans and wounded 13 others, me included.
Not a day goes by that I don't feel grief for the lives lost
and so many others torn apart. Christina-Taylor Green,
Dorothy Morris, John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard,
and Gabe Zimmerman embodied the best of America. Each in
their own way, they committed their lives to serving their
families, community and country, and they died performing a
basic but important act of citizenship that's at the heart of
our greatness as a nation. They will be remembered always by
their country and by their Congress.
I don't remember much from that terrible day, but I have
never forgotten my constituents, my colleagues, or the
millions of Americans with whom I share great hopes for this
nation. To all of them: Thank you for your prayers, your
cards, your well wishes, and your support. And even as I have
worked to regain my speech, thank you for your faith in my
ability to be your voice.
The only way I ever served my district in Congress was by
giving 100 percent. This past year, that's what I have given
to my recovery. Thank you for your patience. From my first
steps and first words after being shot to my current physical
and speech therapy, I have given all of myself to being able
to walk back onto the House floor this year to represent
Arizona's 8th Congressional District. However, today I know
that now is not the time. I have more work to do on my
recovery before I can again serve in elected office.
This past year my colleagues and staff have worked to make
sure my constituents were represented in Congress. But if I
can't return, my district deserves to elect a U.S.
Representative who can give 100 percent to the job now. For
that reason, I have submitted the attached letter of
resignation to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.
Amid all that was lost on January 8th, there was also hope
and faith. This past year, it is what I have often clung to:
Hope that our government can represent the best of a nation,
not the worst. Faith that Americans working together--in
their communities, in our Congress--can succeed without
qualification. Hope and faith that even as we are set back by
tragedy or profound disagreement, in the end we come together
as Americans to set a course toward greatness.
Everyday, I am working hard. I will recover and will
return, and we will work together again, for Arizona and for
all Americans.
Sincerely,
Gabielle Giffords,
Member of Congress.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, in appreciation, once again, for your
courtesies enabling this to happen, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Announcement by the Speaker
The SPEAKER. The Chair would remind all Members to be in proper
business attire when they come to the floor of the House.
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