[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2540-H2541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE HONORABLE DAVID N. CICILLINE'S FAREWELL REMARKS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House for the 
last time as a Member of this esteemed body. It has been the honor of 
my life to represent the people of the First Congressional District of 
Rhode Island in Congress.
  At the end of this month, I will be stepping down from this position 
to become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, one of 
the Nation's oldest and largest community foundations. I am excited to 
begin this extraordinary opportunity to build upon the work that I have 
been leading in Congress and to continue to make a meaningful impact on 
the lives of Rhode Islanders.
  I would not be standing here today if not for the people of Rhode 
Island who placed their faith and trust in me to represent them in 
Congress. Every day over the past 12 years, I have put my heart and 
soul into the work we do here to improve the lives of every Rhode 
Islander and to protect our great democracy.
  I thank my current and former staff, especially my longtime chief of 
staff Peter Karafotas and my district director Christopher Bizzacco. I 
cannot thank them and the rest of our staff enough for all of their 
hard work and dedication over the years.
  I am particularly grateful for two people who have worked for me for 
more than two decades: Rita Murphy and Roger Suchite.
  I have been blessed with the most committed, passionate, and talented 
staff on the Hill who have established a reputation for our office of 
excellence and effectiveness. They allowed me to take the lead on many 
more things than anyone thought possible.
  Every day, they showed up and gave their all to help the people of 
Rhode Island, even when their own personal safety was at risk. I am so 
proud of everything we have accomplished together, and I know that 
everyone on my staff will go on to do bigger and better things.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been an incredible honor to work with my friends 
and colleagues day in and day out to address the challenges facing our 
country.
  It has been a special honor to serve alongside my colleagues in the 
Rhode Island delegation, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and 
Congressmen Jim Langevin and Seth Magaziner. While our delegation may 
be small, we never let that stop us from delivering big for our State. 
Their collaboration and friendship have meant the world to me.
  One of the hardest parts of leaving this job is leaving behind so 
many dear friends: Hakeem, Joe, Terri, Jamie, Pramila, Robin, 
Frederica, Bill, Mark, Lucy, Veronica, Maxine, Melanie, Eric, Deborah, 
Grace--and the list goes on and on.
  We have been through so much together over the years, and I will 
always cherish our friendship. I know that we will continue to stay 
close even after I leave Washington.
  Let me say a special word about two colleagues, Speaker Emerita Nancy 
Pelosi and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.
  I first came to know Speaker Pelosi while serving as mayor of 
Providence. I will forever remain in awe of her genius and 
extraordinary leadership and all the kindness she has shown me over the 
years. She has been a powerful ally in all of my biggest priorities 
during my time in Congress.
  I thank Speaker Pelosi for the honor of serving as an impeachment 
manager to defend our democracy.
  Rosa DeLauro has been my most important mentor, my friend, and my 
inspiration. She set a standard for all of us of hard work and deep 
commitment on every important issue facing our country. At every single 
moment I have turned to her for advice or support or help of any kind, 
she has been there. She has been like a sister to me, and our 
friendship will endure forever.
  In fact, the only time she has ever been wrong is her claim that New 
Haven pizza is better than pizza in Providence.
  I was first elected to Congress in 2010 as one of only nine new 
Democrats in the House. We modestly called ourselves the Noble 9. We 
were one of the smallest freshman classes ever.
  The country and Rhode Island were just starting to recover from the 
Great Recession, and Democrats had lost the majority by 60 seats. Let's 
just say, it wasn't the easiest time to be a freshman Democratic Member 
of Congress.
  Like most Americans, I was convinced that this place was completely 
broken, but I was determined to try to change that.
  I came to Washington with my eyes wide open. I knew there were 
Members of Congress who were only interested in being combative and 
making headlines, but then I realized there were some Members who were 
interested in working together to get things done for the country.
  Don't get me wrong, at times it could be incredibly frustrating and 
even disheartening to work with people who may agree with you on one 
issue but completely disagree with you on everything else, including 
how you live your own life.
  I think it is important for the American people to know that there 
are a lot of people in Congress who put their country over party and 
work hard every day to improve the lives of their constituents and all 
Americans.
  My first few years in Washington, I immersed myself in my committee 
assignments, the Small Business, Budget and Foreign Affairs Committees. 
I focused on trying to bring back American manufacturing jobs and help 
Rhode Island get back on its feet after the recession.
  In 2014, I left the Budget Committee and moved over to the House 
Committee on the Judiciary to try to tackle some of the most pressing 
issues facing our country, including immigration, gun safety, LGBTQ+ 
equality, and campaign finance and criminal justice reform.
  During the committee organizing meeting in 2016, Chairman Nadler 
convinced me to take the ranking member spot on the Administrative 
State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Subcommittee, which at the 
time, to be honest, wasn't exactly the first choice for most committee 
members.
  Chairman Nadler gave me great advice. He told me that sometimes you 
should take an assignment to stretch your mind and learn something new. 
I took that to heart.
  From that moment forward, I learned all I could about antitrust, and 
I quickly realized just how important antitrust policies were in 
promoting competition and innovation to protect workers, small 
business, and our economy by providing consumers with more choices.
  As the ranking member, I developed a great working relationship with 
Chairman Sensenbrenner. Over dinner, we would discuss our work on the 
subcommittee, and more importantly, we got to know each other better 
outside the Capitol and without the partisan noise.
  It showed me that Washington wasn't completely broken and that you 
could get things done by developing productive working relationships 
and even friendships with colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
  In 2016, I was elected by my colleagues to serve in House Democratic 
leadership as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications 
Committee, which was responsible for developing the long-term messaging 
for House Democrats.
  Working alongside now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former 
Member Cheri Bustos, we developed the For the People agenda that helped 
bring Democrats back into the majority in 2018.
  It was during that time that I developed a real friendship and deep 
respect for the remarkable talent of Hakeem Jeffries, who I know will 
be the next Speaker of the House.
  Even though I was responsible for the Democratic messaging in the 
House, I stayed committed to finding Republican colleagues who I could 
work with to get things done for the American people.
  That is what I did, on some of the biggest issues facing our country, 
from protecting our democracy to gun safety

[[Page H2541]]

to LGBTQ+ equality and antitrust reform.
  I developed strong working relationships and friendships with some of 
my Republican colleagues, including   Ken Buck and Brian Fitzpatrick, 
as we found common ground on important issues.

                              {time}  1800

  Even when we didn't see eye to eye on other policies and priorities, 
I respected their commitment and dedication to public service.
  As chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee, I expanded on the bipartisan 
work of Jim Sensenbrenner and I and started by launching a 16-month 
bipartisan investigation into the digital marketplace.
  In partnership with Ranking Member Buck, we examined Big Tech's 
anticompetitive practices, documenting them in a 450-page report that 
informed our bipartisan, six-bill package to rein in Big Tech and 
finally modernize our antitrust laws.
  For decades, our government failed to enforce antitrust laws on the 
burgeoning tech industry for fear of stifling innovation, which led 
directly to the problems we see in the industry today.
  I am proud that some of our measures became law last Congress, 
reviving antitrust law and drawing important attention to these issues. 
I am especially thankful for the friendship and dedication   Ken Buck 
brought to this effort at great political cost to him.
  None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary work 
of my chief counsel, Slade Bond.
  While Democrats held the majority, I also tried to end discrimination 
against LGBTQ+ Americans through the Equality Act. This bipartisan 
bill, which would end discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans in 
employment, housing, credit, education, and public accommodations, is 
the most extensive civil rights legislation to pass the House since the 
1964 Civil Rights Act.
  It passed out of the House twice, in large part because of the 
extraordinary leadership of Speaker Pelosi, with bipartisan support. It 
is only a matter of time before it becomes law, especially with my dear 
friend Mark Takano now leading the effort. I will be forever grateful 
also for the early and really critical support of the late John Lewis 
in this effort.
  On the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have had the privilege of working 
with the great Chairman   Gregory Meeks, and I have worked with 
Republicans, including  Mike McCaul,   Joe Wilson, and Ann Wagner to 
advance American national security interests abroad and promote 
diplomacy throughout the world.
  With some of these colleagues, I established the House Diplomacy 
Caucus in the wake of attacks on U.S. diplomats in Ukraine following 
the first impeachment.
  I also led numerous efforts to promote international human rights. 
Last Congress, we passed the Global Respect Act in the House to prevent 
individuals who commit gross human rights violations against LGBTQ+ 
people from entering the United States.
  In January, President Biden signed the Justice for Victims of War 
Crimes Act into law, legislation I authored with Republican 
Congresswoman Victoria Spartz and with a bipartisan group of Senators.
  On the Judiciary Committee, I was able to continue the work I started 
on gun violence prevention as mayor of Providence and as a founding 
member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
  Following the Pulse nightclub shooting in the summer of 2016, I 
worked with the late John Lewis, now-Minority Whip Katherine Clark, 
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and Congressman   John Larson to organize 
the first-ever sit-in on the House floor to demand that the Republican 
majority take action to address gun violence in this country.
  Over the past 12 years, I have sponsored numerous gun safety bills to 
ban assault weapons, outlaw ghost guns, close the fire sale loophole, 
ban bump stocks, prevent people convicted of violent hate crimes from 
owning a gun, improving the background check system, and to create an 
active shooter alert system.
  Once again, I was able to find colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle to work with me on some of these bills, including the assault 
weapons ban and the active shooter alert. Last summer, we passed 
legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban with bipartisan votes 
in the House for the first time in 30 years.
  Even during the most difficult times, like January 6, two 
impeachments, and a global pandemic, I have never lost faith in the 
resiliency and strength of our democracy.
  It is not always pretty or easy, but we have always come out stronger 
on the other side because of the powerful heroes of democracy who serve 
in this place and fight to preserve it every day. I still believe in 
our democracy and the ability of Congress to tackle big challenges and 
improve the lives of all Americans.
  We did that with the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, the Respect for Marriage Act, and the Bipartisan 
Safer Communities Act.
  I leave this body knowing that I left it all on the field and did 
everything I could to keep Americans safe from gun violence, to end 
legal discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans, and to shine a bright 
light on the antitrust issues posed by Big Tech.
  Every day, I woke up and came to work with the goal of improving the 
lives of Rhode Islanders and all Americans. That is what has motivated 
me every day for the last 28 years in public office, and I have done my 
very best to deliver on that promise.
  While I may be leaving Congress, I will never stop fighting for what 
I believe in, and I will always be proud of the work we have done 
together.
  I have taken this final opportunity to speak on the floor of this 
historic institution to highlight some of what we have been able to 
achieve over the past 12 years when we let understanding, integrity, 
and the willingness to find common ground take the lead in our work.
  I come from a State whose motto is ``hope.'' As I leave Congress, I 
want to leave with this parting word, hope. Hope for our democracy and 
for this institution. For centuries, the United States has been the 
hope of the world. We are the Nation where freedom, equality, 
opportunity for all, and unity have made us a beacon of hope in some of 
the darkest times in human history.
  For generations, men and women have fought to preserve our way of 
life, and many have given their blood, sweat, and even their lives for 
it. Yet today there are forces working to undermine our 
democratic institutions and our shared values.

  This institution has the sacred responsibility to honor the 
sacrifices made by so many in the work we do every day, in the way we 
treat one another as colleagues, and in our commitment to let truth, 
not fear; reason, not extremism; and respect for all, not division; 
lead our every effort.
  Our unity as a Nation and the ability of our democracy to withstand 
the test of time depends on the resolve of this institution, those who 
serve in its Halls, and the people whose votes are their voice in this 
government to keep that hope alive.
  Mr. Speaker, I once again extend my deepest gratitude to the people 
of Rhode Island for giving me the greatest honor of my life, the 
opportunity to represent you for the past 12 years here in the Congress 
of the United States.
  May God bless you and protect you. May the spirit of hope forever 
endure in this institution and the people who serve in it.
  May God bless the United States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the final time to speak in this Chamber.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Magaziner).

                          ____________________