[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8786-H8792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1730
                  TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN LOUIE GOHMERT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is my absolute honor and 
privilege to be here tonight to honor one of our very own, one of our 
very own Texans, who has been here for 18 years. I am calling this the 
Louie Gohmert Special Order hour. But when you realize how many hours 
he has been up here, probably more than anybody else we know, it 
doesn't seem to be a fitting title.
  There is no better way to honor my good friend, Louie Gohmert. If you 
see the picture over here, he has been on FOX News. He is a great 
drinker of Dr. Pepper, Peanut M&M's, those are some of the things that 
Louie Gohmert is known for.
  I had a friend the other day that said: Louie can be pushy and 
obstinate.
  I said: Really?
  My friend said: Yeah, but he is actually the opposite now; he is 
obstinate and pushy.
  I tell you what, Louie Gohmert speaks his mind. He comes to this 
floor and says a lot of things, quite frankly, that we are thinking but 
a lot of people are not gutsy enough to say it.
  He has been a true patriot. He is a champion for Texas' First 
Congressional District, and he is a fighter for everyone's freedoms. We 
are going to miss him.
  Mr. Speaker, can I impose upon the gentleman (Mr. Gohmert) to come 
down to the front?
  He has had quite a distinguished career since before he got into 
Congress, when he got, what I like to say, demoted to Congress.
  Ronald Reagan once infamously said in a campaign: ``I will not make 
age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political 
purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.''
  Talking about youth, Louie doesn't look like he is 69, does he? But I 
remember when he did.
  I tell you what, he is a great, great friend of ours. Y'all didn't 
know this was going to be a roast, right? He has been a great, great 
friend of ours.
  Before I ever knew him, I saw him on FOX News much of the time, and I 
always looked up to him. I knew that he was a man of conviction, that 
he was a Christian, and that he spoke the truth the way it was. I 
really looked up to him.
  When I came to Congress, I kind of confided in him. I said: Louie, I 
am beginning to have dreams. I keep seeing talking crickets, talking 
dogs, talking birds, talking cats, and even talking donkeys and 
elephants. What is wrong with me? Do you think Congress is pressuring 
me?
  He said: No, no, you are just having Disney spells.
  Come on, that was funny, guys.
  Louie has always had a great sense of humor. He has always been 
someone who was so wry and so right on with things. I always love 
having a conversation with him.
  Louie, we appreciate you. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate 
you and what you have tried to do for Texas, by the way. I hope tonight 
will show through a little bit and show a lot of our appreciation for 
you.
  You have never backed down from a fight for our freedoms.
  You have never backed down from fighting for our democracy.
  You have never backed down because sometimes the truth is hard to 
hear, even when you sent the media into a frenzy, quite a few times.
  I always admired that about you. To say that you are going to leave 
big shoes is an understatement.
  Who else in the history--we might want to look this up, Mr. Speaker. 
Who else in the history of this House has spent 17,340 minutes, 289 
hours, and 12 days speaking on the House floor? Who else has done that? 
Probably nobody but our famous Louie Gohmert.
  Louie, you are going to leave a legacy of fighting tirelessly for 
what is good and right for the people you represent, not just in Texas, 
but in this country, religious freedom not being the least of those. We 
appreciate that about you.
  You have not only fought tirelessly for the people you represent, but 
you have fought for every single conservative. There are a lot of 
people who will never be able to vote for Louie Gohmert, but he voted 
for them every day, and we appreciate that about you, Louie.
  When you leave Congress, you will be known for unapologetically 
fighting for and leading the conservative movement. Nobody has 
represented the conservative movement better than you have, Louie 
Gohmert. I want to tell you, with your stance for our Lord and Savior, 
Jesus Christ, and for Christian values, you leave some really big boots 
to fill.
  Thank you for all your hard work. We have a lot of friends here that 
want to say good things about you. They won't be as rough on you as I 
was, probably.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.
  I am proud to be here on the floor with my friend from Texas. He is 
someone that I have looked up to for a very long time. And to have 
served with him for the last 2 terms, for the last 4 years, has been an 
honor. I wouldn't be in Congress but for his support.
  My parents live just down the road from Pittsburg where he grew up; 
they

[[Page H8787]]

live in Mount Pleasant, Texas. That is actually where I first got to 
meet Congressman Gohmert. Now, to sit and serve in this body alongside 
of him, is truly an honor.
  The poster talks about the Gohmert hour. We used to make our interns 
watch the Gohmert hour so they could learn from the great Louie 
Gohmert.
  One of our favorite moments was when he spent 30 minutes hammering 
the Architect of the Capitol because they told him not to grill his 
ribs on his office balcony. That was one of the greatest speeches 
delivered on the floor of the House, no doubt.
  We already talked about 17,000 minutes, or whatever the number was, 
12 days. I took it to heart watching the passion of Congressman Gohmert 
coming to the floor of the House and using this floor to speak to the 
people and using this floor to be able to communicate why we are here. 
We ought to do it more often. In fact, we ought to have debate and 
engagement with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
  I was inspired by Congressman Gohmert to use this privilege, to use 
this time that we are given to be able to be the voice for the people 
who send us to Washington. That is what Congressman Gohmert has done. 
He has been a voice for the people of East Texas. He has represented 
them well. He is truly one of the most honest, honorable, and decent 
public servants that I have ever known.
  In fact, the reason that he is leaving this body has a great deal to 
do with his honor and his integrity and wanting to defend the people of 
Texas and to do it the right way.
  I will miss you, Louie, but I know you are not going to be too far 
away.
  I will leave you with this: During a speech in one of the famous 
Gohmert hours, Congressman Gohmert said: My SAT score would shock 
people who think I am the dumbest Member of Congress.
  Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. He is one of the 
smartest Members, one of the best lawyers, and one of the best human 
beings.
  It has been an honor to serve alongside you, my friend. We will see 
you soon in other areas of life. God bless you.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Good).
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, Louie Gohmert is just as popular 
among my constituents in Virginia as he is among my esteemed 
colleagues' constituents from Texas.
  Louie was one of the first Members of Congress to come and support me 
in my district when I started this journey 3 years ago. He literally 
drove through the night to come down to Virginia to help a fledgling, 
aspiring Congressman down in the Fifth Congressional District of 
Virginia.
  Louie since I have gotten here has been an example of courage. As a 
freshman, I quickly observed him being willing to go to the microphone 
time and again, not only to challenge the other side but even to 
challenge our side when he felt they were wrong or weren't living up to 
the ideals that we promised to live up to for our constituents.
  I have admired him for his character and testimony on a personal 
level, his love for our Lord, his love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
  Louie Gohmert is one of those people you meet here in Congress who is 
the same here in person as he is on TV when folks watch him. I am proud 
to learn from and serve with this true courageous, conservative 
warrior.
  I am proud to call Louie a friend on a personal level. He will be 
missed. Even in his leaving this Congress, he is leaving in a 
courageous, selfless act, because he could have stayed here as long as 
he wanted to, to represent his district. But he loves his beloved State 
of Texas, and in a tremendous act of courage he took personal risk in 
leaving this body.
  He has had a lifetime of service. He was an Army Captain, a Texas 
district judge, Chief Justice of the Twelfth Court of Appeals of Texas, 
and has spent 18 years of courageous, conservative service here in 
Washington.
  Thank you, Louie. I admire you, love you, and I am proud to call you 
a friend. God bless you.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Bishop).
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I 
want to say about Louie Gohmert is that Louie is a hero to many, many 
Americans, and he is a hero to me.
  One of the pretty heady things about walking onto the floor of the 
United States House of Representatives is that you meet these people 
you have seen on your television screens across the country that you 
have heard from who have spoken the words that you wish you could have 
spoken.
  Louie was one of the first heroes I met. You meet some people who are 
not necessarily heroes, too, here. But Louie was a hero that I met 
maybe my first day walking on the floor.
  Another thing about this place is sometimes everything has been said, 
not everybody said it, but there are moments when having the 
opportunity to join the chorus is as important as anything I can think 
of.
  To Louie Gohmert, I say thank you for being a hero. Thank you for 
always being a loyal fighter for freedom.
  All of us seem to fail, and sometimes at the moment when most needed, 
Louie, you have never failed. You have persisted.
  While sometimes I am uncertain how to fill up the time, you will 
stand on this floor and you will rely on your inner substance, and you 
can lay it out as long as you need to go to communicate to the American 
people, to communicate on their behalf, to say what matters. I don't 
know what we will do without you.

  God bless you, Louie Gohmert.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Cloud).
  Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, we are going to miss Mr. Gohmert, my fellow 
Texan and House colleague.
  It has been an honor to get to know you and now to be able to call 
you a friend.
  I will definitely miss Louie Gohmert hour at the end of every week. 
We will miss the ribs that are certainly worth a mention in the 
Congressional Record.
  I remember the first time I met you. I was a Texan, just grassroots, 
and you inspired me. I remember you speaking about the things that you 
were working to accomplish up here. A few things were obvious.
  One was that you hadn't forgotten who you were working for. It was 
obvious to me that you were compelled by your love for the Constitution 
and these founding principles our Nation was built upon, and you were 
motivated by your deep and abiding faith. Those things resonated with 
me, as someone trying to make a difference where I could.
  I didn't know I was ultimately going to have the opportunity to be 
here and get to know you. It is truly an honor to see and to watch your 
service. You have been a happy warrior who stands up, doesn't flinch, 
stands for what is right, what is just, and you haven't forgotten why 
you are here.
  We have all seen people who can kind of get used to it, get 
comfortable with what is going on here. You haven't done that. You have 
stayed true.
  It is an honor to know you. I thank you for being a hero in this 
place on behalf of our Nation and on behalf of our State. Thanks so 
much. God bless you.

                              {time}  1745

  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Posey).
  Mr. POSEY. Louie, the first person who reached their hand out to me 
when I got here was not you. It was Ron Paul. You were the second one. 
I got to know you good through Ron Paul's lunches, his wonderful 
lunches at his Liberty Caucus. I learned, before I ever heard you 
speak, of what a true patriot you were.
  I don't know that there has ever been a more consistent Member since 
I have been here on principles, policy, and ethics than you, Louie 
Gohmert. You have been a fearless voice for those that were voiceless, 
something which every Member of Congress should aspire to be. You have 
been an advocate for what is right about America and a fierce opponent 
of what is not right for America.
  Congressman Gohmert, you have always been well informed on a galaxy 
of issues that come before this body, and as always, you have been more 
than well prepared to fight for the good and against the bad.

[[Page H8788]]

  An honest, pragmatic, free thinker for sure, Congress could surely 
use more Louie Gohmerts, not fewer.
  We are going to miss you, Louie. Godspeed. I don't know what we are 
going to do without you.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Massie).
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, there is not a more fierce fighter than 
Louie Gohmert in this House, and if you are serving in this House and 
have a bigger heart than Louie Gohmert, I haven't met you yet. I am 
sorry. I need to find you. I haven't found anybody with a heart the 
size of Louie Gohmert's.
  One of the measures, I think, of a Member here is how they treat 
their staff and how their staff responds to them. Louie Gohmert 
attracts the best talent of anybody in this Chamber, and they love him. 
We love Louie Gohmert.
  I remember my first week in Congress. I was in conference. We were 
going to elect a Speaker, and nobody was challenging Speaker Boehner. 
Louie Gohmert got up to nominate somebody else. He reminded us all that 
you didn't have to be a Member of the House to be nominated for 
Speaker. I was just praying that he didn't nominate Ron Paul because I 
knew I would have to second that nomination.
  I leaned to the person next to me, and I said: ``Who is that guy 
making that nomination?'' He said: ``Oh, that is Louie Gohmert. He is 
crazy.''
  Well, within a week, I realized Louie Gohmert was the only sane man 
in this Chamber, and for 10 years, he has been guiding me. He has a 
photographic memory and is sharp as a whip. He is like an encyclopedia 
of everything that has happened in this Chamber while he was here, 
before I got here.
  One day in conference, they were telling us: Look, when the 
quarterback calls the play and snaps the ball, you don't execute 
another play. They were imploring us to do something, frankly, that 
wasn't in the best interests of the people from Tyler, Texas, nor in 
the interests of the people from Kentucky.
  I asked Louie: Louie, what are you going to do when the quarterback 
snaps the ball?
  He said: When the quarterback snaps the ball and runs for the wrong 
end zone, I am not obligated to block for him. In fact, I might have to 
tackle him.
  Louie Gohmert has never been afraid to go against the grain when it 
means supporting the people from Texas' First District, and that is the 
people I thank for loaning us Louie Gohmert, for having the good 
discernment to send him to Congress in the first place and then to send 
him back. America has benefited from the good judgment of the people in 
Texas' First District.
  We are going to miss you very much, sorely, Louie.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Thomas, you came in with me in 2012, as I recall.
  Mr. MASSIE. Yes.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Just a little bit of history here. In my second 
term, when Louie Gohmert decided to throw his name in the hat for 
Speaker, us knowing him, believing to know him and his character, I 
said, ``I am all in, Louie.''
  It turned out I was part of the Gohmert caucus of three that voted 
for him for Speaker. I paid a price for it, of course, but Louie stood 
firm. Jim Bridenstine was the other one. Since they vote 
alphabetically, Bridenstine voted for Gohmert, and Gohmert voted for 
Gohmert. We already knew who the Speaker was going to be. It gets to 
the W's. Bridenstine is texting me and saying don't leave us hanging. I 
said, ``I told Louie I was all on board. I am all on board.'' So Weber 
put that Gohmert name up there.
  Thank you, Thomas, that is a great remembrance. He has been a fighter 
and was always willing to put himself out there.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Weber very much for 
not only preparing this opportunity for us to honor our colleague and a 
Member who will be leaving this body after a number of years, the great 
judge and Congressman, Louie Gohmert.
  I rise tonight not just to honor Louie Gohmert but to probably say 
some things that not many Members can say, and that is I know Tyler, 
Texas, and I know Tyler, Texas, well. I know many people there, and 
each of them not only speak well of Louie Gohmert but are pleased with 
his performance. They enjoy not only his representation, but they 
believe that he is a man who came to this town knowing who he is and 
will leave this town knowing who he is. The same person that came is 
the same person that is leaving.
  You know this, Judge Gohmert, but I have the honor to take part of 
your congressional district that, through redistricting, has changed. 
It gives me time to come and reflect upon not only your friends in east 
Texas, Angelina County, and certainly places like Crockett. Huntsville 
is a little bit south of the district, but they asked me the other day 
when I was in Huntsville: ``Do you know Louie Gohmert? Because we were 
kind of thinking that before he said he was leaving that he was going 
to come down here and be our Congressman.'' I said: ``Well, that is the 
same thing they say in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. They say that in 
Crockett. They say that in Waco.''

  There were a lot of fans all over central Texas that not only admired 
Louie, but he speaks very eloquently about the things that are on their 
minds, that are front and center on his mind.
  For his friends in Waco, Dallas, and Huntsville, certainly across the 
district that he represents, Louie Gohmert has not only made a name but 
has, with his great passion and articulation, struck the hearts of many 
people in Texas who deeply believe that Texas is special, that America 
is the greatest place in the world, and that we want to be one Nation 
under God for as long as we can stay there.
  Judge Gohmert, you are going to be missed, but I look forward to 
catching up with you often and letting you know that there are a lot of 
people who thought you did a great job and did it well and are proud of 
you.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I will echo what Congressman 
Sessions said, that our district loves Louie Gohmert. He was invited to 
speak. Unfortunately, his calendar wouldn't always permit it, but we 
did finally get him to come to speak to us.
  My District 14 on the Gulf Coast, I am not sure we could have drawn 
your district that far down to the south, but there are a lot of people 
who would have sure loved that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, a lot of people have been speaking a lot 
of wonderful high praise about Louie.
  I will tell you, I met Louie before I arrived in Congress. I am a 
freshman, so I haven't had the opportunity to spend as much time with 
him as many of you have. Before I got here, Louie sat me down, and he 
told me a story.
  He was out in Montana doing an event for another Member of Congress. 
He told me this story: I used to be a judge. I was a judge there in 
east Texas, and one of the big cases that I had come before me when it 
was right before an election.
  He said every other judge that had this case presented to them had 
recused themselves because they didn't want to have their fingerprints 
on it because it was a big problem. It was a man and a wife. There was 
a domestic problem. There was a murder involved. Half the town 
supported the husband, half the town supported the wife, and there 
wasn't a judge around that wanted to get involved in the situation.
  Louie said: I thought about it. I thought about it, and I went to 
prayer that evening. I was really struggling with whether I needed to 
pick this case up or not, whether I needed to pick that fight or not.
  He said: The next morning, I got up and knew what I had to do. It 
came to me, the words from the Holy Spirit came to me, ``You can't run 
from what you ran for.''
  You can't run from what you ran for. I have carried that message with 
me as I walk into this Chamber on a daily basis because there are so 
many people who are afraid to do the right thing. They know what is 
right, and they walk away and hide. They get other people to help them 
explain their way out of it.
  But there is a right and a wrong in what we do up here, and Louie 
Gohmert personifies a man who is willing to stand up and say this is 
what is right, and this is what is wrong. We don't need a deep 
explanation about it. It is really rather simple: Don't run from what 
you ran for. It is difficult

[[Page H8789]]

issues that we are addressing every single day, and this is why we were 
sent here.
  They tell us all that we are honorable when we get here. You get 
letters in the mail, the Honorable Matt Rosendale, the Honorable Randy 
Weber, the Honorable Clay Higgins, and, yes, the Honorable Andy Biggs. 
It is not so important when you get here to be called honorable as it 
is to still be addressed as honorable when you leave.
  I will stand here and tell everyone that Louie Gohmert will be 
considered honorable when he leaves this place, and I am honored to 
call him my friend.
  God bless you. Please come and kill a turkey on my place next year.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Biggs), somebody who is honorable.
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, it is really an incredible thing to be here. 
Before I came to Congress, I had heard of Louie Gohmert. I had no idea 
that he would be a friend nor how iconoclastic he is. He is a one-of-a-
kind American.
  I have a volume of stories. I mean, the way he eats a doughnut, for 
instance. We could talk about all of these things. I won't do that.
  He is larger than life. He is a fearless conservative. He has been on 
the front lines fearlessly fighting.

    Thomas Massie was talking about his memory. It is copious. It is 
encyclopedic. You can never go wrong with saying, ``Hey, Louie, what 
happened here?'' Because he is going to know.
  He has been a friend of the friendless and a champion who offers the 
balm of Gilead to those who have a lost cause. He has just been an 
iconoclastic individual. He is going to be missed terribly.
  I tell you what, Louie, we are going to miss you, your personality, 
your fun, your joie de vivre--that is French, Louie; you might not have 
recognized that--your love of life, all the things that you brought to 
us. But we are going to miss your guitar playing--a little bit, anyway. 
We are really going to miss your ribs. I don't know if anybody else is 
going to be able to smoke some ribs up on the balcony of the office 
building over there. Maybe not. But we are sure going to miss them. We 
are sure going to miss you, my friend. God bless you. Godspeed.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Biggs for 
those kind words. If he will get with me later, I will tell him some of 
those stories, all that we all admire and cherish about Congressman 
Gohmert.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), 
my neighbor to the east of me.
  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to speak on 
behalf of the people of the country that we serve, the oath that we 
have sworn, and bid some words of adoration and respect for our brother 
and friend, Louie Gohmert.
  I have described Louie as a living Founding Father. To those that 
have inquired as to whether I have known him, which from sea to shining 
sea, it is a common question as we travel in service to ``we the 
people,'' we are asked: ``Do you know this fellow? Do you know that 
lady?'' It is quite common to be asked: ``Do you know Louie Gohmert?'' 
I am honored to say yes.
  Louie has represented not just the people of his district, and by 
extension the Nation that we love and have sworn to serve, but he has 
represented the foundational core principles that gave birth to our 
Nation.
  In Matthew, the words of the Lord stated: ``Blessed are those who 
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.''
  You, my brother Louie, should feel satisfied within your soul, good 
sir, because you have brought the very essence of pure principle and 
spirit to this great body. This Chamber shall forever resonate with 
your words and your love for God and country. I am honored to have 
worked with you, to call you brother and friend.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for speaking. 
We are going to give the two gentlemen here a chance to express their 
love for one another.
  Mr. Speaker, I have watched Louie Gohmert for a long time. So much 
could be said about him. So much has been said about him; some of it is 
even true. Having Louie for one of my very good friends gives me 
status. You know, I had a friend in the fifth grade that gave me the 
measles, and this is a lot better deal, let me just tell you that. 
Louie has got a great sense of humor. He is a great patriot. He is a 
great Christian. We all know that.
  We have seen him stand for our biblical values time and time and time 
again. Maybe it sounds a little archaic or a little corny, I don't 
know, but I think of Roosevelt and his great speech. And it is called 
``The Man in the Arena'' because, Mr. Speaker, it does apply to Louie 
Gohmert. He is in our arena. He is our fighter. I remind folks 
President Roosevelt said: ``It is not the critic who counts; not the 
man who points out how the strong man stumbles; or where the doer of 
deeds could have done them better.
  ``The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose 
face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who 
errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort 
without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the 
deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends 
himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the 
triumph''--at the best, Louie Gohmert--``the triumph of high 
achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while 
daring greatly . . . ''
  My good friend, Louie Gohmert, has not failed, will not fail.
  The President went on: `` . . . if he fails, at least fails while 
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and 
timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.''
  Someone who is heavily involved in a situation that requires courage, 
skill, or tenacity as opposed to someone sitting on the sidelines and 
watching, and the President went on.
  I will tell you that nothing has discouraged Louie Gohmert. Nothing 
has laid him down in the defeat of dust as President Roosevelt 
described it. He has been a tireless fighter. Louie, you and I have 
been through a lot of battles. We have seen a lot of things. Some of 
the things we just shake our heads at, but ultimately, we know who is 
in control.
  We know that you have done the Lord's bidding. We know that you 
fought the good fight. We know that you have endured until the end. We 
know that you have been a sterling example of what President Reagan 
called a light on a hill. I forget exactly how he said it, but you are 
one of those points of light--I think President George H. W. Bush used 
that analogy--that the rest of us Members in Congress could learn from, 
that people watching on TV on C-SPAN and out in America could learn 
from. You never doubted where you stood, never doubted what you stood 
for or who you stood for.
  I can't tell you how proud I am to be called your friend and to know 
that. We are going to miss you, but I have a feeling you won't be a 
stranger. We will get to see you come back. If nothing else, I still 
have to get that rib recipe from you. I still have to get the trademark 
on that rib recipe from you, the patent on it.
  In Texas 14, just like your district, we love God, we love our 
America, we love our freedom, we love our family, we love our guns, 
and, Louie, you have done a tireless, tireless, spectacular job of 
defending all of those, and it shows. We believe what the Bible says, 
quite frankly. God made males and females, a lot of biblical 
principles. You have stood up for those principles for our Lord Jesus 
Christ every bit of the way.
  Having been a Texas Supreme Court Justice, if you had told me that on 
our Supreme Court that some of them wouldn't even know what a woman 
was, from Texas we just don't get that, do we? We understand what the 
Bible says.
  If you had told me, if you and I sat down 10 years ago, that the left 
would be trying to destroy fossil fuels, the things that make our 
country so great, that we fight for so diligently in Texas, I wouldn't 
have believed it. You and I have watched a lot of things come down the 
pike, a lot of things come down the pike.
  So I can sit here and go all night and all day. I believe we do have 
the leader coming in eventually to come and share a few words, but, 
Louie, if you don't mind, I would like to yield you

[[Page H8790]]

some time to give your thoughts and let us continue right now to learn 
from you yet some more.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert), my 
good friend.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to my fellow Texan, and I 
am not saying that lightly, dear friend, with whom a lot of battles 
have been fought for organizing this Special Order. And I can also 
honestly say that in my 18 years here I have never been more 
uncomfortable on the floor than I have been listening to these 
comments. I had no idea--I never asked--I had no idea how much time I 
have spoken. Is that really right?
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Louie, we don't have enough time to talk about 
how much time you have actually spent here. It is what your staff said. 
And it was already pointed out tonight you did such a great job at 
hiring competent staff, so you better believe it is right. We are proud 
of you for that.
  Mr. GOHMERT. When I came to Congress I had seen that the country was 
in trouble and having been a history student and having loved history, 
I knew no republic lasts forever. I knew we were about to the extent of 
the length of time that republics come and go. I didn't expect to be 
here 18 years, but I had hoped that when I left I could feel we had 
perpetuated that liberty for at least another generation, hopefully, 
much more.
  As I sat here listening to the gracious comments, I was taken right 
back to Ben Franklin's speech in the Constitutional Convention in 1787 
after they couldn't agree on much but his words: ``I have lived, sir, a 
long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of 
this truth--that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow 
cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an 
empire could rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the 
sacred writings that `except the Lord build they labor in vain that 
build it.' ''
  It just seems to me that we have much less concern or desire overall 
for having the Lord help build the House. I know historically what that 
means.
  I have been deeply encouraged on seeing the people that have come in 
since I did, and especially in recent years, and I am taking great 
heart from the fact that we have got some fighters that have come in. 
If I have helped inspire some, as they said, that is something I can 
take with me, but I will continue to follow what goes on here and help 
in any way I can. I am very grateful.
  I see my dear friend from Louisiana is here, and I thank God that He 
brought him through his brush with death because we have been better 
for him being here. I thank all of those who have spoken tonight.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to mention we do have a great 
love and affection for Kathy, your bride, for loaning you to us. I know 
it is a sacrifice for her. As you pointed out, we have a great leader.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Weber) for yielding and for organizing this tribute to my dear friend, 
Louie Gohmert.
  We will miss you in this Chamber, but I have nothing but great 
memories of Louie. You expressed so many prayers for me in tough times, 
but also, the things you would do, and I see on the poster the ribs 
because that is what I think of when Louie Gohmert would offer to the 
Members to cook ribs for them at the end of a long night.
  We have gotten into a lot of heady debates here. We sometimes spar 
with each other. At the end of that battle to bring people together and 
say, you know what, we are going to eat some ribs--and, by the way, 
they are really, really good. He has never given the recipe.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. I am working on that.
  Mr. SCALISE. I think you ought to pass the recipe on, so we can keep 
that tradition going, if nothing else--we won't enter it into the 
Congressional Record--just the seasoning and rub you put on it the 
night before.
  But it is one of those things that helps bring Members together 
because there are a lot of times where it is easy to get on different 
sides and people are battling on different issues, but to come together 
at the end of that, and that is something I will always remember 
because at the end of those long evenings there would be 50 to 100 
Members of Congress in those little offices enjoying that camaraderie. 
It wasn't just the ribs and the Shiner Bock beer you brought, but it is 
the camaraderie more than anything. That is one thing we need more of. 
We are going to have disagreements; we always have since the founding 
of our great Nation. But to be able to come together at the end of each 
of those disagreements and remember the bond that joins us, that is 
much more powerful.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Louie Gohmert, for his service 
here to the United States Congress.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Gohmert).
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Record to reflect that 
after 5 years or so of cooking ribs on the gutter or balcony or 
whatever you want to call it of the Cannon Building, the Architect of 
the Capitol decreed I couldn't do that anymore and found a provision 
that indicated that. But it was   Steve Scalise of Louisiana that went 
to bat with the powers here that ultimately allowed me to start cooking 
ribs again. I will always be grateful because that is maybe the only 
time I ever left a good taste in people's mouths. So I am very grateful 
to Steve for helping make that happen. You were the one that 
facilitated that, and I am grateful.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want the Record to reflect--if I 
can say this--I am going to get a commitment out of him to get that 
recipe for those ribs.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Weber for yielding.
  Louie, I sat next to you for 16 years, I think, in the Natural 
Resources Committee or one or two removed from you, and at the end we 
were right next to each other, and you would give me a lot of quips 
during hearings, during witness testimony. One thing you always struck 
me as being is a happy warrior.

                              {time}  1815

  You are a warrior in the sense that you are passionate and committed 
to your conservative views and you are happy about it. You have good 
humor. We just saw a minute ago you poked fun at yourself in a humorous 
way. So that combination is very rare, and we need more of that. We 
need people who are happy, positive, and have good humor. You have all 
of those attributes.
  I won't go into these stories because it would take forever to give 
the background, but you remember some times in Israel we were together 
floating in the Dead Sea, or you found the dead cat, or other things 
like that. There are stories we could go into, and I won't do that.
  But it has been a real honor serving with you, and I wish you the 
best. The people of east Texas have been very well represented, and I 
am sure they will have to make do with somebody else and they will 
eventually like that person, but they are going to truly miss you, and 
you will be missed here.
  We wish you the best and Godspeed.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, today we honor Congressman 
Louie Gohmert and his years of service to the First District of Texas. 
I left the event I was at and rushed over here.
  I appreciate you so much. Actually, Louie, you know you were the 
first Congressperson I met who was so warm, encouraging, and friendly. 
I appreciate how you initiated and were always there to be helpful.
  Representative Gohmert, you have been a strong fighter for our 
constitutional freedoms of religion and speech, States' rights, Second 
Amendment rights, and more. You have been an inspiration to Members of 
this body, including myself, and you will be missed.
  Oh my, the best ribs I ever ate. I need that recipe. You said you 
would give it to me.
  Thank you, Congressman Gohmert, for your dedication to our Nation and 
all your hard work in protecting the

[[Page H8791]]

American way of life for future generations. You and I have talked 
about how much we care about future generations and what we are leaving 
them.
  May God bless you and your family. My prayers will be with you as you 
transition to your next endeavor.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her 
comments.
  It sounds as if your ribs probably need to be trademarked or patented 
or whatever it takes to get that out. We just can't say enough, Louie. 
We have got other people. It is amazing that Mrs. Mary Miller would 
rush over here. I thought when she said that, wow, that is commitment. 
But then I thought, no, that is love--it is commitment--and that is 
love for Louie Gohmert. It is respect, it is honor, and it is us 
wanting to say you are a tower among those people who have ever 
darkened these doors and been in this place. I can't say thank you 
enough.
  I want the same guarantee that I get the recipe; otherwise, I will 
have to hack into her computer and get that recipe for those ribs.
  I just can't say enough. We have got a couple more people; hopefully, 
Dr. Brian Babin and Jodey Arrington will be here shortly.
  So if you want to take this time, Louie, to lay out all the 
ingredients, then we can all write it down. But please come share some 
more from your heart while we wait. We just can't tell you how grateful 
we are to be able to spend this time with you.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).
  Mr. GOHMERT. Obviously, the people whom I have to thank in addition 
to my family, Kathy is--well, I don't think I could have gotten elected 
without her help both running for judge and then for Congress. My girls 
have put up with so very much. They have taken abuse for my positions 
and things I have said, done, and fought for.
  But I have always felt that I was the most fortunate Member of 
Congress because of whom I got to represent, the people of east Texas. 
We are so blessed in Texas. I am really blessed they took a chance. 
Nine of twelve counties had not elected a Republican for Congress, and 
I am grateful that they took a chance on me. So I will always be 
grateful to the people of east Texas. My service is not over, it will 
be in a different capacity.
  One of the things that has really bothered me during my time is other 
Christians saying: Louie, we don't have to worry, God is in control.
  That is so frustrating.
  I love what my friend, Pastor Tommy Nelson says:

       Just because God is in control doesn't mean He wants us to 
     lean on our shovel and pray for a hole because He gave us all 
     tools and expects us to use the tools while we are praying, 
     that is fine, but use what He gave us.

  We have heard from people who have done that. There are so many more 
that are tied up other places. But it really has been an inspiration to 
me to see the people who are coming in, who have come in, like those we 
have heard from; they are smart, ethical, and care deeply about America 
and about America's future. So that is an encouragement to me. I am so 
glad I got a glimpse of that.
  Actually, when I decided I had to at least try, as late as I got into 
the race for Attorney General, I knew, I had seen, I had heard, and I 
had become friends with people whom I knew were going to be fighting 
for what is right. We don't have to agree on everything.
  It was an honor for me to know Bobby Rush. Even though some gave me 
grief because I did not vote initially for his Emmett Till bill; I was 
for it, but then when they cut the maximum sentence back to 10 years, 
that was just such a shortchange. As a former judge, I couldn't imagine 
being limited to 10 years in sentencing somebody involved in some 
conspiracy like that, to do something as horrible as that. So I was 
very pleased--because of Congressman Rush's constant never giving up 
and continuing to push--when we got a bill that was more deserving of 
his name and Emmett Till's name.
  There have been great opportunities. I know there are good people 
here. I will continue to pray for this body. I am just thankful that I 
got to serve with the folks here.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Idaho 
(Mr. Fulcher).
  Mr. FULCHER. Mr. Speaker, it is 2022 in the U.S. Congress. We have 
crises with inflation, energy, and homeland security. We have got 
issues with the border, the Ukrainian invasion, and the list goes on. 
The only thing higher than the degree of partisanship is our national 
debt. The only thing lower than congressional approval is confidence in 
the President.
  So why would anybody want to serve at a time like this?
  There tends to be two types of congressional Members, those with a 
personal agenda, typically one that places themselves and the title of 
Congressman at the forefront, and those who sincerely desire to serve 
Americans and protect the divine principles our Nation was founded on.
  Louie Gohmert is clearly in the latter category.
  Time after time, when personal liberties were being challenged, 
taxpayer money misused, and Christian values maligned, Louie Gohmert 
would stand, and with his unrivaled passion he would state his case.
  Mr. Gohmert, you are that rare type of Member our Founders had hoped 
would sit in this Chamber in the future. You made your constituents 
proud. You honored biblical guidelines for governance.
  It is an honor to call you a friend. You will be missed.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
comments. Russ is exactly correct. Louie Gohmert has stood strong 
against abortion. The judge has stood strong against the Green New Deal 
and the destruction of the fossil fuel industry that makes America 
great. We have got to have fossil fuel so that our enemies around the 
world cannot just overrun us with their military might.
  Judge Gohmert has fought any attempt to do away with gun rights. He 
has been a great soldier in that regard.
  He has fought against this administration's attempt to keep the 
borders open and all that that means, whether it is killing 100,000 
Americans a year with fentanyl--300 a day. Just imagine, Mr. Speaker, 
if you would, 300 Americans a day is like two jet airliners going down 
every single day.
  How long do you think it would take for the American public to cry 
out if there were two jet airliners hitting the ground and killing 150 
people on board every day?
  You have stood strong against open borders. You have stood strong 
against Congress' willingness to give away taxpayer dollars. You have 
stood strong against some Members who want to increase the size of 
government agencies.
  Can you say 87,000 IRS agents?
  You stood strong against a big tech that was out of control and 
wanted protection from liability.
  Yes, as Russ and many others have pointed out, you have been a 
supreme fighter for defending rights of religious liberty, and you have 
been a supreme fighter against those who would turn America into a 
socialist country. I can't enumerate that as well as you can and have 
done so eloquently over the years.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend. Both of these guys 
are great friends. This is a great tribute today to a great man.
  No one is more well-known in the conservative world than Judge Louie 
Gohmert. I am very grateful to have served with him as my brother in 
the Texas delegation for the last 8 years since I was elected.
  It is no secret that Louie is a speaker of truth and a fighter for 
our freedoms. He is unapologetic in his principles and a true defender 
of the United States Constitution.
  As President Trump said: Louie has guts. He is as tough as hell.
  Isn't that the truth?
  But he is more than that. He is also a man of integrity, a veteran, a 
judge, a historian, a Bible scholar, a really fair preacher, a husband, 
and a father.
  Judge Gohmert is my neighbor to the north. He represents the First 
District of Texas, and I represent the last district, the 36th 
District. That is changing as we have had redistricting, but I like to 
tell people that. He has fought tirelessly to preserve and protect our 
border and prosper the State of Texas.
  In a judiciary hearing a few months ago, Louie quoted the author 
George

[[Page H8792]]

Orwell saying, ``Free speech is my right to say what you don't want to 
hear.'' What a fitting quote for our friend, Louie Gohmert.
  You can count on Louie to be truthful. Sometimes he says what you 
don't want him to say. But he says it if he believes it. He is a man of 
integrity, and he stands his ground. You can count on Louie Gohmert to 
be bold, and you can count on Louis to be fearless.

  There will be a great hole in this august body here without Louie 
Gohmert. I imagine that it will really never be filled in the same way 
that it was.
  In a recent Louie Hour, my friend closed his time on the floor with 
following words, and I would like to do the same.

       I continue to have hope that springs eternal in the human 
     breast that we don't and won't lose the greatest freedom, the 
     greatest country, and the greatest gift of a country any 
     people has ever received, and that it will not be our 
     generation that sees it lost.

  May God bless Louie Gohmert and his family.
  We will miss him.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Arrington).
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to say what an honor it has been 
to serve alongside the great Louie Gohmert. I have watched him on 
television, as we say, for many years, fighting the fight for our 
freedom, for the Constitution, and for the values that make America so 
exceptional and so great.
  I know I am about to be gaveled, and I am running out of time, so let 
me say this: This man has the kind of grit and the kind of fight that 
this country and this country's leaders are going to need if we are 
going to restore freedom and return power to the people and resurrect 
the great United States of America.
  If we could just bottle a little bit of Louie Gohmert and force-feed 
it to the Members of this body, I believe we could get our great 
country back.
  God bless Louie Gohmert. God bless his family and all his future 
endeavors, and God bless America.

                          ____________________