[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9699-H9705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the whole world 
from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. And so we pause in this 
place to acknowledge Your hand in the governing of our Nation.
  We give thanks to You that from generation to generation and Congress 
to Congress, You have called men and women to serve in this House, 
upholding the values of freedom and liberty on which our country was 
founded. We honor their continued defense of the rights and welfare of 
the people and communities who make up these United States.
  Call us, then, this day and every day, in office or out, to 
acknowledge the higher calling to which You call each of us, wherever 
You call each of us to be. May we ever live as agents of Your love, 
instruments of Your peace, and advocates of the hope You set before us. 
We pray this in Your most holy name.
  Amen.


                          Pledge of Allegiance

  The Honorable Dennis Ross led the Pledge of Allegiance as follows:

       I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of 
     America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation 
     under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

  Mr. ROSS. I now ask the clerk to call the roll of all former and 
retiring Members.
  The Clerk called the roll and the following Members were ``present'':
  Mr. Altmire of Pennsylvania
  Mr. Bartlett of Maryland
  Ms. Bourdeaux of Georgia
  Mr. Capuano of Massachusetts
  Mr. Chabot of Ohio
  Mr. Clay of Missouri
  Mr. Cook of California
  Mr. Davis of Tennessee
  Mr. Davis of Virginia
  Ms. Edwards of Maryland
  Mr. Faso of New York
  Mr. Graves of Georgia
  Ms. Harman of California
  Mr. Holt of New Jersey
  Mr. Hutchinson of Arkansas
  Mr. McEwen of Ohio
  Ms. Morella of Maryland
  Mr. Rick Nolan of Virginia
  Mr. Paulsen of Minnesota
  Mr. L.F. Payne of Virginia
  Mr. Petri of Wisconsin
  Mr. Quinn of New York
  Mr. Ritter of Pennsylvania
  Ms. Ros-Lehtinen of Florida
  Mr. Ross of Florida
  Mr. Schrader of Oregon
  Mr. Smith of Florida
  Mr. Stearns of Florida
  Mr. Stupak of Michigan
  Mr. Suozzi of New York
  Mr. Tanner of Tennessee
  Mr. Upton of Michigan
  Mr. Walker of Pennsylvania

[[Page H9700]]

  Mr. Weller of Illinois
  Mr. Perlmutter of Colorado
  Mrs. Demings of Florida
  Mr. Glickman of Kansas
  Mr. McMillen of Maryland
  Ms. Herrera Beutler of Washington
  Mr. Meehan of Pennsylvania
  Mr. Yarmuth of Kentucky
  Ms. Speier of California
  Mr. Moran of Virginia


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  December 13, 2022, on page H9699, in the third column, the 
following appeared: Mr. L.F. Payne of Virginia Mr. Petri of 
Wisconsin Mr. Quinn of New York Mr. Ritter of Pennsylvania Ms. 
ROS-LEHTINEN of Florida Mr. Ross of Florida Mr. SCHRADER of Oregon
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. L.F. Payne of 
Virginia Mr. Petri of Wisconsin Mr. Quinn of New York Mr. Ritter 
of Pennsylvania Ms. Ros-Lehtinen of Florida Mr. Ross of Florida 
Mr. SCHRADER of Oregon


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  Mr. ROSS. The Chair announces that 32 former and retiring Members of 
Congress have responded to their names.
  The Chair now recognizes the Honorable L.F. Payne, president of the 
Association of the Former Members of Congress to address the Members.
  Mr. PAYNE. Good morning, everybody.
  Dennis, thank you very much. It is an honor to be here on the House 
floor, and especially with many of my former colleagues and Members who 
are retiring from the Congress. Thank you all.
  On behalf of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, 
which we will call FMC as I move through this, I very much appreciate 
the Speaker's invitation to return to this very important place and to 
present the Congress FMC's annual report, which this year we are 
presenting specifically under the theme ``Life After Congress'' for our 
new former Members who are not returning for the 118th Congress. We 
will share with them how they can continue their public service through 
work with FMC. I will be joined by some of my colleagues to report on a 
few of FMC's premier programs.
  As I prepared for today's report, it brought back a lot of memories, 
many happy memories, of my decade serving in the U.S. Congress.
  For all of us, the Congress is one of the highlights of our 
professional lives. And I know that for each and every one of us, there 
are memories that will ever remind us of the great privilege that we 
have had as Representatives of our constituents.
  For me, these memories include great friendships with colleagues from 
both sides of the aisle, working with terrific and very talented young 
people who were on my staff and others, and pushing forward pieces of 
legislation that I know have made a positive difference in the lives of 
Americans.
  By serving in Congress, we were given the opportunity to serve our 
country and its citizens, and I am very proud that through FMC we can 
continue in an important way the public service that has brought us to 
Congress in the first place. There is, indeed, life after Congress, and 
today, we will share with you how FMC members continue to give back.
  FMC is the premier NGO focused on our legislative branch, involving 
both current and former Members from the House and Senate in our work.
  We are dedicated to strengthening representative democracy at home 
and abroad, we strive to encourage public service in the next 
generation, and we support and promote Congress as an institution and 
current Members in their important work.
  The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress was created over 
50 years ago. It was a social organization akin to a university's 
alumni association. And while we retain that mandate, we have also over 
the years added many substantive programs that make great use of the 
unique skill set and experience inherent in our membership.
  Some of these programs we will explain in some detail over the next 
hour. As you learn more about FMC, please keep one fact in mind: We are 
100 percent a bipartisan organization.
  Our strength lies in the fact that Republicans and Democrats work 
together for the good of our organization and our country and are 
united as they continue their public service.
  It is within that spirit that I now introduce your colleagues, Derek 
Kilmer of Washington State and William Timmons of South Carolina, who 
lead the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. They 
will tell you how, as former Members, you can support the momentum that 
the bipartisan committee has created through their 200 recommendations 
to help improve the Congress.
  Mr. KILMER. We have gotten used to singing duets together. It is good 
to be with you. Thanks to each of you for your service.
  I am Derek Kilmer. I represent the west coast of Washington State, a 
little north of Jaime.
  About every 20 or 30 years or so, Congress realizes things aren't 
working the way they ought to, and they create a committee to look at 
potential reforms. The Select Committee on the Modernization of 
Congress is the most recent iteration of that.
  The title of the committee makes it sound like we are the IT help 
desk, but we have been nicknamed the ``fix Congress committee,'' which 
usually either causes people to giggle or offer to pray for us.
  Pretty much under the radar for the last 4 years, our committee has 
been focused on a single mission, which is to make Congress work better 
for the American people.
  I served as chair. Tom Graves was the vice chair in the last Congress 
and William Timmons in this Congress. It has been a truly bipartisan 
effort.
  I say that in part because the rule that established our committee 
set it up with six Democrats and six Republicans and a requirement that 
a two-thirds vote was required to pass any recommendations. As of last 
month, our committee very quietly passed more than 200 recommendations, 
all focused on making Congress work better.
  Some of them are on pretty wonky things, issues like how we make sure 
that Congress is a more modern institution that uses technology better. 
Congress has been described as an 18th century institution using 20th 
century technology to solve 21st century problems. That is pretty apt, 
so some of our recommendations have been focused in that regard.
  A lot of our recommendations, despite the fact that it wasn't one of 
our assignments, have been geared toward trying to make this a place 
where there is more civility and collaboration. Our committee brought 
in management consultants and organizational psychologists, and we 
thought about consulting an exorcist to figure out how to make this a 
place that functions better.
  We made about a dozen recommendations in that regard, everything from 
having committees do bipartisan planning retreats to having the 
institution do a bipartisan retreat and to changing how orientation is 
done so it is not so segregated by party.
  I think every one of you former Members will acknowledge that part of 
the success of the institution depends on staff, on having talented 
people who work in this institution. Unfortunately, because this place 
hasn't sufficiently invested in our staff, we see a massive turnover, 
so a number of our recommendations were geared toward having this be a 
place that can recruit and retain and have a more diverse staff.
  I thank the FMC for being partners in this undertaking. We have had 
some of you testify at hearings. We have had your sort of subcommittees 
geared toward the same topics that we were interested in.
  If I can go from the rearview mirror into the windshield, we are not 
done. About two-thirds of our recommendations have either been 
implemented or are on the path to implementation, but we are going to 
have to kind of keep pushing the institution to make change. Each one 
of you, as stewards of the institution, I think, has a role to play in 
that regard.
  On top of that, in terms of the future of this work, our committee 
will go away. Having said that, it appears that there will be a select 
subcommittee on House admin to focus on implementation of the 
recommendations.
  We also made a recommendation that it shouldn't take another 20 or 30 
years before Congress takes up the subject of reform again. So, one of 
our recommendations was, every three or four Congresses or so, Congress 
ought to do a committee like this just to make sure that there is 
constant focus on improving the institution.
  We have had extraordinary partnerships, including with some of your 
Members and some of your soon-to-be Members, Ed Perlmutter, as well, 
who have been just terrific partners in this undertaking.
  I will say one other thing, and then I will kick it over to William. 
Throughout the course of this work, I kept thinking about a comment 
made by former Secretary John Gardner. He talked about the importance 
of stewardship of an institution, and he said it was important for 
those who care about an institution to be loving critics of it, that it 
would be a mistake to

[[Page H9701]]

be an uncritical lover because it denies an institution of the life-
giving drive toward improvement. And it is important not to be an 
unloving critic that just treats the institution like the pinata at the 
party and bashes it with an eye toward destruction, not improvement.
  I thank the FMC and each of you because I think the manner through 
which you have engaged our committee has very much been through that 
lens of being loving critics of this institution which you served, and 
I thank you for that.
  Mr. TIMMONS. Good morning. I am William Timmons. I represent 
Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina. I got elected to the 116th 
Congress.
  My campaign slogan when I ran for Congress was, ``Washington is 
broken.'' To be the freshman member on the Select Committee on the 
Modernization of Congress was really a dream come true.
  I got to work with Tom Graves, my mentor, and Derek Kilmer, and I saw 
them do something that doesn't really happen up here much: They worked 
together. They were respectful of each other, and they really made that 
a priority for the committee. All the Members got to know each other.

  We had a meeting at the very beginning. We talked about why we ran 
for Congress, what we wanted to change about this place, and we got to 
know each other on a personal level. We acted in the manner that we 
thought that this place should work.
  That leadership from Tom Graves and Derek Kilmer was inspirational 
for the committee, but it was rewarding for me professionally because 
we have worked hard to get things done, and we passed 202 
recommendations.
  I have done my best the last 2 years to fill Tom Graves' void on the 
committee. I always joke that I am the vice chair with no hair. He has 
the best hair of any Member I have seen, so I always make that joke.
  I also thank the former Members. It is my understanding that we 
wouldn't have been able to do this without your efforts.
  Obviously, inevitably, some of the recommendations we made would 
devolve some of the power from leadership into the Members. We always 
talk about regular order, and I could imagine that many Speakers would 
not be inclined to do that. But the efforts made by current Members and 
former Members to have this select committee was critical. Not only did 
we get a year, we then got another year, and then we got 2 more years.
  We are not done, as the chairman said. We are going to continue 
working to implement the 202 recommendations we have made, and I am 
optimistic that we will have an even greater impact than we have 
already had.
  I thank you all for your help to have the committee created to push 
our recommendations forward. I thank Tom Graves, my friend and mentor, 
for showing me how this place can work.
  Most importantly, Chair Kilmer, it has been incredible to work with 
you. Thank you for all of your hard work.
  Last but not last, we have Derek Harley here. He is one of the staff 
directors. Yuri Beckelman is now a chief to a new freshman, so he is 
not here, but we couldn't do it without him.
  We were a team, and we got a lot done, and as the chairman said, we 
are not done yet. We are going to continue to push the ball forward.
  Thank you for all of your help and for having us here today.
  Mr. PAYNE. Chairman Kilmer, thank you very much, and Vice Chairman 
Timmons. You have done a tremendous job with your leadership on this 
very important initiative for the Congress and the country.
  In New York in June, we had an opportunity to recognize both of them 
with the Distinguished Service Award. Thank you again.
  What you just heard is really a prime example of how we at FMC can 
support Congress as an institution. We are really very proud to be 
invited to do so.
  At this juncture, let me give you a little more background on FMC. As 
I said, we were incorporated over 50 years ago as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 
charitable and educational organization. We are chartered by Congress, 
but we receive absolutely no funds from Congress or the government. No 
taxpayer dollars are earmarked for any FMC program, and that is a fact 
and one that we are very proud of.
  Everything we do is self-funded through membership dues, through 
fundraising events, and through program-specific grants. Our most 
recent audit proclaimed us fiscally sound and financially healthy.
  One of the most immediate and most impactful ways you, as returning 
Members, can support FMC financially is by considering to be a 
sustaining member of FMC.
  We now have more than five dozen, almost six dozen former Members who 
have made this notable commitment to FMC. They are ensuring that not 
only we can present our important and numerous programs to the public, 
but they are also contributing to the longevity and continuity of this 
organization, as half of the sustaining membership contribution is 
earmarked for our long-term, rainy-day fund.
  I am pleased to add a list of our sustaining members to the Record, 
and I thank them for their tremendous support of FMC.

                       Sustaining Members of FMC

        The Hon. Les AuCoin (Oregon), Brian Baird (Washington), 
     Joe Barton (Texas), Mike Bishop (Michigan), Rick Boucher 
     (Virginia), Susan Brooks (Indiana), Cheri Bustos (Illinois) 
     (As of January 4th), Dave Camp (Michigan), Ben Chandler 
     (Kentucky), Mike Conaway (Texas), Paul Cook (California), 
     Ryan Costello (Pennsylvania), Peter DeFazio (Oregon) (As of 
     January 4th), Jeff Denham (California), Charles W. Dent 
     (Pennsylvania).
       The Hon. Sean Duffy (Wisconsin), Elizabeth Esty 
     (Connecticut), Sam Farr (California), John Faso (New York), 
     Bill Flores (Texas), Martin Frost (Texas), Tom Garrett 
     (Virginia), Phil Gingrey (Georgia), Bob Goodlatte (Virginia), 
     Bart Gordon (Tennessee), Tom Graves (Georgia), Gene Green 
     (Texas), John Hall (New York), George Holding (North 
     Carolina), Asa Hutchinson (Arkansas).
       The Hon. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas), Doug Jones (Alabama), 
     Kaiali`i Kahele (Hawaii) (As of January 4th), Ron Kind 
     (Wisconsin) (As of January 4th), Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) 
     (As of January 4th), John Kline (Minnesota), Scott Klug 
     (Wisconsin), Andy Levin (Michigan) (As of January 4th), Jim 
     Matheson (Utah), Ben Michael McAdams (Utah), Jim McDermott 
     (Washington), Mike McIntyre (North Carolina), Pat Meehan 
     (Pennsylvania), Jeff Miller (Florida).
        The Hon. Jim Moran (Virginia), Stephanie Murphy (Florida) 
     (As of January 4th), Randy Neugebauer (Texas), Steve Palazzo 
     (Mississippi), Erik Paulsen (Minnesota), Tim Petri 
     (Wisconsin), Ted Poe (Texas), Kathleen M. Rice (New York) (As 
     of January 4th), Martha Roby (Alabama), Peter Roskam 
     (Illinois), Dennis Ross (Florida), Loretta Sanchez 
     (California), James Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin).
       The Hon. Donna Shalala (Florida), John Shimkus (Illinois), 
     Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania), Lamar Smith (Texas), Cliff 
     Stearns (Florida), Steve Stivers (Ohio), John Tanner 
     (Tennessee), Mac Thornberry (Texas), Pat Tiberi (Ohio), David 
     A. Trott (Michigan), Henry Waxman (California), Rob Woodall 
     (Georgia), Ted Yoho (Florida).
  Mr. PAYNE. Thanks to Mr. Kilmer and Mr. Timmons, you have already 
gotten a flavor of how we support the Congress as an institution.
  I now yield the floor to FMC board member Tom Graves of Georgia, who 
will tell you about FMC's many different programs to keep us connected 
as former colleagues and to create media opportunities for our members 
to share their insights. He will be followed by FMC board member Donna 
Edwards of Maryland to tell you about our most important domestic 
undertaking, the Congress to Campus program.
  Mr. GRAVES. Good morning, everybody. First, let me just say, for any 
Member who is exiting that is considering Former Members of Congress, 8 
a.m. is not a normal start time for any meeting. That is safe for me to 
say, or I would not be affiliated. This is not comfortable for me, 
either.
  I know, most former Members know, and the Members who are exiting 
know that the Former Members of Congress is really a great 
organization.
  My first interface with it was walking through one morning early and 
seeing the group meeting here, and I believe Tom Price was speaking and 
a few of the others that are in the crowd here today. I was curious as 
to what the group was and hung around for the reception, not knowing 
that one day I would be speaking before you.
  There are only so many hours that are going to be in your day in the 
days ahead, and it is a challenge when you lose your scheduler. You 
lose that critical staff. Yet, there is so much you want to do.
  How do you manage that time? How do you manage the resources? I have 
found that the former Members group here is really helpful in that.

[[Page H9702]]

  It is helpful in how to, I would say, extend your public service 
because you just never want to step away, but sometimes you do 
voluntarily and involuntarily, but you want to stay involved.
  The former Members organization has allowed me to continue my service 
in a different capacity, which has been a joy.
  For me, I have enjoyed the travel side of it, and I know many have 
been on codels and have enjoyed the travel through codels. There is 
that opportunity, as well, through the Former Members of Congress.
  For me, this past year, I was able to enjoy a trip to New York City, 
which, being from the South, is a new, big place for me. We had a great 
time as a group, in a board meeting planning and discussing, but also 
exploring some of the city and some of the sights there.
  Even more exciting was a trip that I enjoyed to Iceland. I never had 
the chance to visit Iceland, and this was a trip with former Members, 
spouses, and guests. It was not a trip paid for by the former Members 
organization. Your dues, sustaining dues, didn't go to that. It was, in 
fact, a self-paid trip that was organized by the former Members.
  To have the opportunity to represent the United States at that stage 
was fascinating. We were able to meet with the President, former 
President, a former Speaker, and the newly, I guess, installed 
Ambassador from the U.S. to Iceland--newly as in that week she arrived. 
We had the opportunity to visit with her at the Embassy, so it was a 
great time.
  As with all codels, in essence, you meet folks whom you wouldn't have 
normally met, and you spend time with folks you wouldn't normally spend 
time with. So as former Members you rekindle old relationships, 
potentially, but then you also create new ones that you wouldn't have 
done otherwise.
  For me there was a special one. I refer to her as Miss Marjorie. Pat, 
you may have known Marjorie Margolies from the Philadelphia suburbs, 
and I believe mother-in-law to Chelsea Clinton. For some reason, we hit 
it off. We couldn't be further apart politically or geographically and 
in a lot of different ways, and, yet, we had a little fun exchange in a 
webinar. I was participating in a webinar about the former Members 
doing Congress to Campus.
  We were doing this webinar, and I kept referring to her as Miss 
Marjorie, Miss Marjorie, Miss Marjorie. I was being so kind and 
bipartisan, and she was being strong and very partisan, I felt like. 
Somewhere through that she referred to me as ``that silver tongue from 
the South'' to the whole group. I thought, I have finally hit home with 
her. She has figured me out.
  These trips are a great time to definitely meet folks and enjoy that 
opportunity. Also, there is that freedom and flexibility that I found 
comforting. Codels are fantastic opportunities to explore and meet 
folks, but you get a little more freedom and flexibility in your 
planning and timing and such. So for former Members, codels are great 
to be a part of.
  I would say on the trips the other thing I learned is you develop 
relationships with people who come from a different political 
background and from a different philosophy but also from a historical 
background.
  This was incredibly eye-opening to me to interact with Members who 
had served here just like we have, but had a historical lens that was 
very, very different and to reconcile that with today or with the 
issues that I was dealing with and to see that conveyed to others.
  So as I close, I will close with this: Aside from trips, I had the 
chance to join in a panel discussion with one of our former colleagues, 
Ms. Edwards, whom you will hear from in a minute--and then also former 
Senator Hutchinson whom I hadn't met before. We had a fun exchange and 
discussion about the elections and what to expect in the elections.
  You will have those opportunities. What is great about those 
opportunities is that you do learn about others. You do learn other 
perspectives. But more so, it keeps you sharp.
  One of my concerns leaving Congress is: How do you stay sharp?
  So being ready, being able to state your opinion, being able to back 
it up, but also to respect others keeps you sharp. We should stay sharp 
because if you want to extend your public service, you need to be 
sharp. You need to be a sharp opinion leader, and you need to be a 
sharp communicator because folks are going to be expecting to hear from 
you in the days ahead.
  So with that, Mr. Chair, I thank you for the opportunity to address, 
and thanks, L.F., for the opportunity to be on the board.
  I happily yield to the young lady from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).
  Ms. EDWARDS. Good morning. Don't get distracted by the cane, it might 
fall. If I fall, catch me.
  Good morning, everyone. I thank you so much for being here this 
morning with the former Members of Congress.
  I am really grateful to be able to speak with you this morning about 
one of my favorite programs and FMC's biggest program, Congress to 
Campus.
  I love Congress to Campus. As some of you know, the Congress to 
Campus program brings bipartisan pairs of former Members of Congress to 
college campuses for 1\1/2\ to 3 days to meet with classes, student 
groups, clubs, local media, faculty, and other members of a college 
campus community to engage in frank and honest dialogues about our 
legislative branch in action, public service, and our democracy and the 
role that citizens play. We talk about current legislative issues and 
other topics dictated by the headlines.
  The way it works is a bipartisan team of former Members share real-
life experiences in both political and public realms. They discuss 
their unique experiences balancing public and private lives, giving an 
unparalleled insight into the many roles of our elected 
Representatives. In addition, the Members focus on the real-world 
application of policymaking and illustrate how government policy 
influences the everyday lives of citizens. Students love it. Congress 
to Campus is an exceptional perspective about life in Washington and on 
Capitol Hill, especially when you have a little bit of distance.
  Currently, when there is a great deal of negativity surrounding 
Congress, the Congress to Campus program highlights the power of 
bipartisanship, the dignity of public service, and the importance of 
actively engaging its citizenry. Students get so much out of it, and 
the questions that they have really reflect the purpose of the Congress 
to Campus program.
  The three goals of Congress to Campus are to showcase civil, 
respectful, and productive debate on issues where former Members still 
wear their partisan hats--and we do, for example, on environmental 
policy or on the Second Amendment. But they engage students in a back 
and forth very different from the shouting matches that students 
sometimes see on cable news and social media. I have to say I have 
engaged in that.
  Secondly, it encourages public service in the next generation to show 
interested students a path toward Capitol Hill and to mentor future 
public servants. It reminds the students that in their role as 
citizens, they need to be active participants in our representative 
democracy, otherwise our form of government just doesn't work. Students 
get to hear firsthand the importance of that even when you share or 
have political differences.
  At a minimum, these events showcase to students that they have a 
responsibility to be informed voters.
  Congress to Campus also shares the many other ways those being 
represented can hold accountable those doing the representing.

  The former Members of Congress donate all their time and insight pro 
bono to the program. This is a real value because otherwise, especially 
for small college campuses, it would be impossible for those campuses 
to be able to pay the honorarium and travel and all of those things. So 
none of the Members of Congress participating in Congress to Campus 
receive a fee or honorarium for their time. FMC funding only goes 
toward covering travel and lodging costs. Congress to Campus is made 
possible thanks to the support of the Stennis Center and the Park 
Foundation.
  This past spring Congress to Campus went to 11 different college 
campuses reaching nearly 1,000 students. This past fall Congress to 
Campus held over 15 programs with schools and organizations alike, 
including one trip to the United Kingdom and one trip to Germany with 
our former Members reaching over 1,000 students. Most schools

[[Page H9703]]

feel comfortable transitioning back to in-person programming, but there 
are still many opportunities to hold these events virtually, as well, 
and I think we learned a lot during the pandemic about ways that we 
could reach schools that we ordinarily otherwise would not be able to 
travel to.
  To quote one student from Western Oregon University after attending a 
Congress to Campus visit, the student said: ``I always thought that 
Congress officials did get letters asking for change, but I always 
thought they ignored the changes people wanted. I learned they actually 
do care and will try to make the changes when someone petitions to 
them. I also learned I should not only look at one person's side I most 
agree with, and that rather, I should look at issues from both 
perspectives.''
  That was from a student from Western Oregon University.
  Looking ahead to the new year, the focus of Congress to Campus will 
shift to reaching out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
Tribal colleges, and Hispanic-serving institutions, military academies 
and colleges and also to inner-city colleges where students may never 
have the opportunity to speak with Members of our Congress, like you. 
Currently, there are 12 schools already signed up for the spring of 
2023. So you will have your opportunity as well to sign up in 
bipartisan pairs. Don't miss your opportunity.
  So our ask of you is to be part of our flagship program, Congress to 
Campus. Help us help these students see that bipartisanship and 
civility are alive and thriving, especially at a divisive time like 
this. One big testament to the program is our before and after program 
surveys; 100 percent of students on their post-event survey say that 
their mind has changed about Congress, for the better.
  I love Congress to Campus. In addition to the amazing students, one 
of my favorite aspects of the program is the opportunity to work with 
my colleagues from across the aisle--some of whom I did not know well 
or serve with--to change ideas and policy programs in a respectful way 
and to show students that critical thinking and healthy disagreement 
are part of the beauty of the Republic.
  I will say on a personal note, I really got to know Charles Boustany 
from Louisiana. We become fast and furious friends. My friend, the 
Chair, Dennis Roth, and I have done a number of these programs 
together, and now we are RV companions.
  So if you would like to get involved, please contact the Congress to 
Campus program manager Patricia Ochs.
  Thank you so much for your time today.
  Mr. PAYNE: So, Tom and Donna, thank you very much for sharing your 
insight and thank you for being such great members of FMC.
  FMC is a volunteer organization, and I think our programs have a lot 
of impact because our members on a bipartisan basis contribute to us 
and to the public their knowledge and time. We are successful because 
former Representatives and Senators come together across party lines 
for the good of our organization. They do this on a pro bono basis. 
They believe in our mission, and they continue to have a public 
servant's heart.
  Former Members of Congress in 2021 and 2022 donated more than 7,000 
hours of energy, wisdom, mentoring, and expertise without receiving any 
compensation. The only compensation is the knowledge that they are 
giving back, that serving in Congress was a unique privilege, and that 
it comes with the mandate to encourage and empower the next generation.
  On behalf of FMC, I want to thank all of our colleagues who have 
contributed their time and expertise to make FMC such a success. So 
while I have all of you here, I thank you all and thank you to the many 
members of FMC who are not with us today, as well.
  Let me also share with the new former Members that through FMC you 
can contribute to civic education across the country. You can share 
with audiences worldwide. You have unparalleled insight through panels 
and webinars on issues from economic policy to security issues and 
travel overseas as part of former Member delegations at the invitation 
of our global partners.
  We also run a number of highly successful programs involving senior 
congressional staff including chiefs of staff and district directors 
across the Nation.
  Again, all of our work is accomplished because Democrats and 
Republicans band together as they continue their public service through 
FMC.
  One way our international work manifests itself is through FMC's 
Congressional Study Groups. These are programs that support the current 
Congress and current Members of Congress by bringing them together with 
their peers in legislative branches overseas. These parliamentary 
exchanges focus currently on the German Bundestag, Japan's National 
Diet, the European Parliament in Brussels, and the Korean National 
Assembly.
  I now invite two of our board members to share with you their insight 
into FMC's international programming. Former Senator and House Member 
Tim Hutchinson, who will speak about our Congressional Study Groups, 
and former Member Connie Morella, who has been a leader for FMC on many 
projects for a very long time, including our very important Diplomatic 
Advisory Council.

  Tim?
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Thank you, L.F. It is great to be back in the House 
today. I am glad you have made passing reference to the Senate. It is 
good to be on the House floor where the motto in this institution as I 
can always remember is, the other party is the opposition, and the 
Senate is the enemy.
  So I am glad you include Senators in the former Members organization.
  It is my great pleasure to report on the work of the Congressional 
Study Groups on Germany, Japan, Europe, and Korea, the flagship 
international program of the FMC.
  The study groups are independent, bipartisan legislative exchanges 
that engage current Members of Congress and their senior staff and 
strive to create a better understanding and cooperation between the 
United States and our most important strategic and economic partners.
  Unique in their year-round, bipartisan, and non-advocacy outreach to 
Capitol Hill, the Congressional Study Groups remain a premier forum for 
productive, candid, and topical dialogue on the issues most relevant to 
our friends and allies abroad.
  Featuring voices from Congress, the diplomatic community, 
administration officials, the private sector, and civil society, study 
group programming attracts a large and diverse group of policymakers 
who are committed to productive dialogue.
  Each study group has a bipartisan membership roster of between 75 and 
125 Members of Congress and is led by a bipartisan, bicameral pair of 
co-chairs. Our co-chairs are true leaders, who not only serve in their 
role at the official study group events but are also called on by 
various embassies and outside organizations to speak on panels, attend 
roundtables, and meet with countless visiting delegations to the United 
States.
  I would take just a moment to acknowledge the service of our co-
chairs for their dedication to these critical programs:
  The Congressional Study Group on Germany is led by Senator Tim Scott, 
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Representative Brendan Boyle, and 
Representative August Pfluger.
  The Congressional Study Group on Japan is led by Senator Dan 
Sullivan, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Representative Diana DeGette, and 
Representative Larry Bucshon.
  The Congressional Study Group on Korea is led by Senator Brian 
Schatz, Senator Dan Sullivan, Representative Ami Bera, and 
Representative Young Kim.
  The Congressional Study Group on Europe is led by Senator John 
Boozman of the great State of Arkansas, Senator Chris Murphy, 
Representative Bill Huizenga, and Representative Deborah Ross.
  A few highlights from our program calendar in the last 12 months 
include:
  Annual Congressional Member Study Tour to Japan, visiting both Tokyo 
and Kyoto.
  Annual Congressional Member Study Tour to Korea, visiting Seoul.
  The 37th Annual Congress-Bundestag Seminar hosted by Representative 
Brendan Boyle in Pennsylvania.

[[Page H9704]]

  A Senior Congressional Staff Study Tour to Dusseldorf and Cologne, 
Germany.
  Two Senior Congressional Staff Study Tours to Korea.
  Two Senior Congressional Staff Study Tours to Japan.
  Over 55 high-level exchanges and roundtables here in our Nation's 
capital.
  So it has been a very full and very busy year for the Congressional 
Study Groups.
  As former Members of Congress, we are proud to bring the important 
services provided by the Congressional Study Groups to our colleagues 
still in office and are proud to play an active role in our continued 
international outreach.
  Now we will hear from Ambassador Connie Morella.
  Ms. MORELLA. I don't have a hat on, so you can see me, can't you. I 
thank you, Tim. What I will be mentioning to you is going to be a long 
list of businesses and countries that have been affiliated with us. It 
will show you how extensive, how intensive, how expansive, how 
productive our groups are.
  The work of the Congressional Study Groups is complemented by our 
Diplomatic Advisory Council. Initially focused on European nations, the 
Diplomatic Advisory Council is now comprised of dozens of ambassadors 
from five continents who advise and participate in our programming.
  Their interest and commitment to multilateral dialogue is a valued 
addition to the Congressional Study Groups, and it provides a valuable 
outreach beyond our four core study groups.
  Members of the Diplomatic Advisory Council in 2022 include: the 
Embassy of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the European Union, 
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the 
Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, 
Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and 
the United Kingdom. Isn't that impressive. Incredible.
  I also would like to thank those individuals, organizations, and 
Business Advisory corporate members whose patronage makes the work of 
the Congressional Study Groups possible. In particular, I would like to 
recognize Dr. Satohiro Akimoto of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, 
Thomas Byrne of the Korea Society, Sung Won Bae of the Korea Foundation 
USA, Bailey Childers of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, 
Paige Cottingham-Streater of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, and 
Julia Friedlander of Atlantik-Brucke for their support as institutional 
funders of the Congressional Study Groups in 2022. You can see the 
support that we have received.
  Companies who belong to the 2022 Business Advisory Council--and this 
is a long list, folks--are: Aflac, Allianz, All Nippon Airways, BASF, 
Bayer, B. Braun Medical, Beam Suntory, Central Japan Railway Company, 
CJ America, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, DHL, Fresenius SE, Hitachi, 
Honda, Hyundai, Itochu, JTI, KITA, Lockheed Martin, Lufthansa German 
Airlines, Marubeni America Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation 
(Americas), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Mitsui, Mizuho, NEC, 
Nissan, Nomura, Panasonic, POSCO, Representative of German Industry and 
Trade, Samsung, Sojitz, Subaru, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Tellurian, 
Toyota Motor North America, United Parcel Service, and Volkswagen Group 
of America.
  Wow. Isn't that a long list. But just know, all of them have been 
very much involved with our Business Advisory Council, which says how 
expansive we are and how we have connected.
  Because of your financial support, our activities not only help to 
build vital bilateral relationships between legislatures, but also 
build bipartisan relationships within our own Congress. Mutual 
understanding and shared experiences among legislators are crucial to 
solving pressing problems, whether they are at home or abroad. I thank 
you.
  If I mispronounced one of those names, just know they are there for 
us and we are very appreciative of the support that they have given us. 
Thank you.
  Mr. ROSS. The Chair recognizes the distinguished gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.

  Ms. PELOSI. Thank you all. Good morning, my friends. It is wonderful 
to be here with you. Thank you for the recognition. L.F. Payne, thank 
you for keeping this going and for your leadership. It was an honor to 
serve with you in the House--each and every one--I think I served with 
all of you, certainly Jane, Donna, and Mr. Secretary of so many titles. 
To all of you, welcome back to the Chamber.
  It is an interesting time, a busy time. Something that binds us all 
together is the oath that we take to the Constitution of the United 
States, regardless of party, regardless of the aisle, we are united in 
that oath to the Constitution.
  I thank you for so much that you are doing in terms of Congress to 
Campus and the beautiful ceremony you have each year honoring those who 
have gone on to heaven--I assume--having served in the Congress.
  We just lost--a week and a half ago--Mr. McEachin. I mention him 
because of his recent departure, but also, he said something very 
beautiful on his first speech on the floor of the House. He quoted 
Christ's first sermon. Imagine that. Christ's first sermon.
  I will read this to you, so you know I did not make this up. Mr. 
McEachin cited during his first speech the words of Jesus' first 
sermon, ``The spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the 
poor.'' Imagine. Imagine.
  Again, with all of us here, we offer hope in the face of hardship--on 
both sides--we offer a voice to the voiceless, and to bring good news 
to those in need.
  Now, I have some remarks here, but I thought I would just tell you a 
couple stories. We lost Norman Mineta this year, as you know, and some 
of us were together at his service. Mr. Ambassador, Governor, former 
colleague Jim Blanchard, I call him Jamie because one of his friends 
was my friend and always referred to him as Jamie.
  He spoke before I did, and he talked about how a number of Members 
come together on a regular basis and discuss this, that, and the other 
thing, and they have all this guidance that they want to give us. When 
I got up, I said, I am very familiar with that group--George Miller, 
Tom Downey, Marty Russo, you know, that whole crew--you know who I am 
talking about.
  When they would call me with this guidance that they brought 
together, they would say: Madam Speaker, if you were smart, you would 
do thus and so. And I didn't take offense because I used to hear them 
say that to Tom Foley and others. Why they thought that was a good 
introduction to their remarks, I don't know. In any event, I think it 
was said in--I don't know why somebody would say that to you? If you 
were smart, you would do it this way. That is the wisdom of the former 
Members; but when they were Members, they said that, as well.
  I thank you all for what you do to continue taking the experience of 
Congress into the community, the values of patriotism to our great 
country--what has unified us so much over time. Imagine the wisdom of 
our Founders to found a country based on something unknown, undone 
before.
  Now, I see some Members here who are going to be part of this 
organization. All of a sudden, I am like, what? One of these days I 
will be joining you, too. I look forward to that, but in the meantime 
know that the foundation that each of you has put down when you were 
here is something that we continue to draw upon. It is very important 
to us--especially at a time when we worked in a much more bipartisan 
way, and that always has to be what we strive for--bipartisanship, 
accountability, and shedding light on what we do so that the people 
understand that their voices are heard.
  I hope that you always take pride in your service in Congress no 
matter how raucous it may be here. We have seen some raucous times in 
our day going way back. Again, please understand the source of strength 
and inspiration that you all continue to be to us here, and the fact 
that you come together, whether it is on this day or technologically in 
other ways, and don't hesitate to call us, even if it is not the 
Speaker, but other Members to say: If you were smart, you would do thus 
and so.
  So it is my pleasure--for the last time--to welcome you to this 
Chamber as Speaker of the House. Again, when I

[[Page H9705]]

see you again, I may be sitting on that side of this podium, so I look 
forward to that.
  Thank you all for your patriotism, for your love of this great 
country, the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the 
world.
  Let me tell you what is happening today. Today, the President will be 
signing the Respect for Marriage Act. That is a big deal for some of 
us. In my first speech on this floor, I talked about HIV and AIDS 35 
years ago. One of the last bills I signed as Speaker for the first time 
was the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. One of the last bills I signed 
to send over to the President that he will sign today is the Respect 
for Marriage Act, in between the other things that relate to the hate 
crimes and all that.
  The reason I mention it is because it was always an expansion of 
freedom in our country, and that is what we hope we always continue to 
do--ever increasing the freedom in our country.
  At the end of the day, I will welcome 50 heads of state from Africa. 
The President is having an African summit now, and he will be welcoming 
50 heads of state at the White House. Then, tonight, they will come 
here.
  I am so proud that we can show them this temple of democracy, welcome 
them here, hear what they have to say, build a strong bond with them.
  So many of you have been so much a part of everything that has 
happened here. I thank you for that, forever expanding freedom in our 
country. Thank you so much. Lovely to be with you.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, thank you very much for visiting with us, 
and thank you, especially, for your great leadership of the Congress.
  The Speaker mentioned Don McEachin, our fellow Virginian, and she 
also mentioned Norm Mineta, both of whom passed away recently.
  I would also like to say a few words about our good friend Jim Kolbe. 
As many of you may know, Jim passed away about a week ago. It was quite 
sudden and quite unexpected.
  With his passing, we and FMC lost a good friend, a longtime board 
member, and a voice of reason and compassion during these tumultuous 
political times that we are currently experiencing. All of us at FMC, 
from the staff to the board, loved working with Jim. We will certainly 
miss him greatly.
  As you may know, and many of you participate in this service, we, 
each year, organize a memorial service in Statuary Hall. The Speaker 
just talked about it. This is to honor the Members whom we have lost in 
the previous year. It is a fitting tribute to their public service.
  I include in the Congressional Record the names of all the Members 
whom we honored in Statuary Hall this past September.

 List of Former Members Who Passed Away Fall October 2021-December 2022

       The Hon. Todd Akin (Missouri), Brad Ashford (Nebraska), Dan 
     Benishek (Michigan), Bill Brewster (Oklahoma), Clarence 
     ``Bud'' Brown Jr. (Ohio), Albert Bustamante (Texas), Max 
     Cleland (Georgia), Barbara-Rose Collins (Michigan), John 
     Cooksey (Louisiana), Bob Dole (Kansas), Harris Fawell 
     (Illinois), Vic Fazio (California), James Florio (New 
     Jersey), Ed Foreman (Texas and New Mexio), George Gekas 
     (Pennsylvania).
       The Hon. Jim Hagedorn (Minnesota), Orrin Hatch (Utah), 
     Kaneaster Hodges Jr. (Arkansas), Larry Hopkins (Kentucky), 
     Carroll Hubbard (Kentucky), Johnny Isakson (Georgia), Timothy 
     Johnson (Illinois), Dale Kildee (Michigan), James ``Jim'' 
     Kolbe (Arizona), Bob Krueger (Texas), Claude ``Buddy'' Leach 
     (Louisiana), Gary A. Lee (New York), Romano ``Ron'' Mazzoli 
     (Kentucky), Jack H. McDonald (Michigan).
       The Hon. A. Donald McEachin (Virginia), Carrie Meek 
     (Florida), Norm Mineta (California), Dennis Moore (Kansas), 
     John Porter (Illinois), Harry Reid (Nevada), J. Roy Rowland 
     (Georgia), Norman D. Shumway (California), Neal Smith (Iowa), 
     Mark Souder (Indiana), James Stanton (Ohio), Standish 
     ``Fletcher'' Thomson (Georgia), Esteban Torres (California), 
     Jolene Unsoeld (Washington), Jackie Walorski (Indiana), Don 
     Young (Alaska), Bill Zeliff(New Hampshire).

  Mr. PAYNE. For them, and for Jim Kolbe, I am asking that you in the 
Chamber and any visitors in the gallery please stand, if you are able, 
so that we can show our respect to these Members with a moment of 
silence.
  As you can see, FMC is an active and impactful organization that 
empowers Members to continue their service after leaving Congress. We 
are energized, and we are having tremendous success for, really, three 
reasons.
  One is the outstanding work that our board and our staff have done to 
solidify our mission, to put in place achievable goals and strategize 
how to best move FMC forward.
  The second reason is our amazing group of partners. These are the 
corporations that donate to us, especially by way of the Statesmanship 
Awards Dinner, because they believe in our purpose and recognize the 
positive impact we are having. They have meant so much to FMC and to 
allowing us to achieve our purpose.
  You have heard of these entities. Connie mentioned them previously. 
They have done so much, and we so appreciate all that they have done. 
They believe in our capabilities, and they believe in giving us the 
opportunity to grow and create long-lasting programming and to allow us 
to do all the things that we are able to do. So, we thank them again.
  The third and the most important reason for FMC's success is all of 
you, the former Members of Congress who are my colleagues who donate 
your time, expertise, wisdom, and leadership. You do this by becoming 
dues-paying, active members of FMC.
  I hope that you retiring Members have found the insight that we have 
shared today helpful. We hope that you would also consider becoming 
part of us and help us continue this mission. We would love to connect 
with you in person, and I hope you will join us immediately after this 
downstairs in H-120. We will have a reception, and we would like to 
have you be part of that.
  I would also like to thank our staff: Pete, who is here, and our 
staff members there, if you would all stand, please. Let's give them a 
round of applause.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the proceedings during the 
former Members program be printed in the Congressional Record and that 
all Members and former Members who spoke during the proceedings have 
the privilege of revising and extending their remarks.
  Mr. ROSS. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROSS. The Chair again wishes to thank the former and retiring 
Members of Congress of the House for their presence here today.
  Before ending these proceedings, the Chair would like to invite those 
former and retiring Members who did not respond when the roll call was 
called to give their names to the Reading Clerk for inclusion in the 
roll.
  On behalf of FMC, my sincere thanks to all congressional staff who 
were such a terrific resource and support to make today's presentation 
possible. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the 
reception.
  We are adjourned.

                          ____________________