[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 194 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9741-H9742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BIDDING FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give my farewell speech 
on the floor of the House of Representatives.
  It has been the honor of my lifetime to represent Michigan's 14th 
Congressional District for the past 8 years.
  A few months ago, I announced that my family and I made this 
remarkable, tough decision that this will be my last term serving as a 
Member of Congress. For 8 years, I have been given an amazing 
opportunity, an opportunity to serve and walk the Halls of Congress, 
and I have enjoyed every minute of this journey.
  I am deeply grateful to the people of the 14th District in southeast 
Michigan who gave me their vote and trusted me to represent them in 
office. I have been representing southeast Michigan for 30 years. I am 
coming home.
  I was trained to be a public servant in local politics, where I was 
the first woman and the first African American to ever be elected to 
the position of mayor in the city of Southfield, for which I served for 
14 years. I also served as school board president and president of the 
city council.
  In this Chamber where I stand, we debate issues and confront 
challenges on behalf of the American people. This thing that we call a 
democracy is defined by the vote of the people and someone stepping up 
for public service.
  I was raised by my grandmother, who migrated from Georgia to Detroit 
in the height of the American civil rights movement. I remember 
watching her in tears as America marched, protested, and fought for a 
nation where we would not be judged by the color of our skin but by the 
content of our character.
  She instilled in me the passion for democracy and the importance of 
voting. She told me: Brenda, if you work hard and get your education, 
there is absolutely nothing that you can't do in these great United 
States of America.
  For the past 30 years, I have learned how important it is to be 
accessible to my constituents, to act as their voices in the rooms that 
they cannot enter. I went to places of worship, met with union 
representatives, walked with the people, and made sure that the door 
was open so that every citizen I represented had an opportunity to have 
their voices heard.

  As a member of Michigan's congressional delegation, I am proud to 
have legislated on issues that are important to our great State of 
Michigan--water quality, union rights, justice, transportation and 
infrastructure, manufacturing and the auto industry, housing, and 
education. I am most proud of using my voice to fight on behalf of my 
constituents.

[[Page H9742]]

  The diversity of my district truly represents the diversity in 
America:
  I represent immigrants.
  My district has an international border.
  I have the Great Lakes.
  I have one of the largest Jewish populations in the country.
  My district is majority African American, and I have a very large 
Hispanic population.
  Seeing the rich diversity in my district, I founded the Congressional 
Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations to foster that relationship between 
those of us who are targeted the most for hate and for discrimination.
  We accomplished amazing work, and I am proud of the legacy that I 
will continue to support as a citizen of this country.
  I currently serve as the vice chair of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, which is led by my colleague and my dear friend, Congresswoman 
Joyce Beatty. I have been able to serve with some legends--like John 
Lewis and Elijah Cummings--in that capacity, and I know that having the 
Congressional Black Caucus, the conscience of Congress, this Congress 
will continue to move in the right direction.
  As you know, I was a member of the United States Postal Service for 
30 years. When I arrived in Washington, my top priority was to sit on 
the House Oversight Committee where I could continue to fight for the 
survival and the efficiency of the United States Postal Service and 
fight for my postal family.
  I am so proud that we passed the Postal Service Reform Act that we 
have been fighting for for years. Also, I am proud of my fight for the 
Flint water crisis, to make sure that we have water in America that 
will not hurt or harm people and that we fight for clean water in 
America.
  I serve on Appropriations, where I am vice chair of the House 
Committee on Appropriations. I am standing here to say that the dollars 
that you pay going to the right place has been very defining. I thank 
my staff for all the support they have given me, and I look forward to 
coming home. I am excited to spend time with my family--my husband, my 
children, and my granddaughter--and the community of southeast 
Michigan.

                          ____________________