[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H7822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING CONGRESSMAN HAL ROGERS AS DEAN OF THE HOUSE OF 
                            REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I had the honor of introducing 
Alaska's newly elected Representative after she took her oath of 
office.
  Representative Peltola makes history in joining the House, and we are 
very glad to have her. The seat to which she was elected, however, 
became vacant because of an event for which we are all very, very 
saddened. The passing of our friend, a great friend of this 
institution, Representative Don Young, marked the end of an era for 
this House.
  Don was a repository of institutional knowledge and a keeper of the 
House's traditions. He was our dean, the most senior Member of either 
party.
  Today, as we reflect upon that loss for the House, for Alaska, and 
for all of us who were his friends, we recognize a new dean to succeed 
Don in that role. I join the Republican leader in congratulating 
Representative Hal Rogers.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky has achieved that distinction to 
become our new dean of the House. It is humbling to think that our dean 
is from the same freshman class as I am. He was here just shy of 5 
months before me, as does the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). 
When we arrived here, we met the dean of the House, Jamie Whitten of 
Mississippi, who served in the House 122 years. I don't want to offend 
anyone from Mississippi. I know it was short of that time, but it was a 
long time.
  Mr. Whitten had been elected first in 1941. He, himself, came to the 
office when the dean of the House had been elected in 1907, and the 
person who had been dean at that time was elected in 1879, which is to 
say there aren't a lot of deans of the House. And the day that Member 
ended as freshman, Abraham Lincoln was first sworn in as President of 
the United States. Fewer deans, by far, than Presidents of the United 
States.
  So we are connected to the 37th Congress of the United States and the 
Lincoln Presidency by just four individual Members' span of service.
  Hal Rogers now inherits the title once held by former President John 
Quincy Adams, Speaker Sam Rayburn, and my dear friend, Debbie Dingell's 
husband, John Dingell.
  Those of us who know Hal can testify to the respect and love he has 
for this institution and for the role of dean. He will surely uphold 
its traditions and continue to carry forward this chain of history for 
the House and for our democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the dean of the House, Hal Rogers 
of Kentucky.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), 
Republican leader.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And as 
you spoke, you are runner-up, almost, to the dean, too, so I appreciate 
your service.
  Before I begin, I do want to take a moment to recognize and talk 
about our former Member, Don Young. He took this job very seriously, 
and he is greatly missed.
  And to the new dean, there are some similarities to you and Don. You 
both had your assigned seats. Don was in the back, but you are up 
front.
  Don was a yeller. You are more of a southern gentleman. Don preferred 
a knife in his boot. You just like cigars, which I think is a little 
improvement.
  Mr. Speaker, I have known Hal for the 15 years I have been here. I 
don't know of another person that has a greater respect for this 
institution or is more caring for Members on both sides of the aisle.
  I have watched Hal in a position of power, as chair of the 
Appropriations Committee, work with people on the other side simply 
because the issue was right. I watched him defy his party, to stand up 
to do what is right.
  I have traveled with him throughout his district, which is not a 
wealthy district at all, but I watched him, no matter how many years he 
has served, to continue to have the ability to listen.
  I watched him be on the forefront of watching an opioid epidemic in 
America and him leading to do something about it, simply because he 
watched something in his district.
  If you haven't ever had a moment of time--if you get Representatives 
Womack or Cole to step aside--take a moment and sit with Hal. He might 
speak soft and at times he is hard of hearing, especially when he goes 
through the magnetometers, but he will tell you stories that a 
historian would love. He will tell you the times before of what this 
body would do together. He will tell you the moments of the highs and 
the lows, and all of them would end in a story with America being a 
little better for tomorrow.
  Now, Hal, I know the first question you are going to ask me. No, you 
get no more extra pay for being the dean, but you have a lot of 
responsibility, and, in essence, you are the mentor to the House. I 
know you will do your job well because all you have ever wanted to do 
was do what was right.

  Your love for the institution, your love for the body, but more 
importantly, your love for the country.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________