[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 187 (Monday, November 13, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5711-H5712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WELCOMING THE HONORABLE GABE AMO TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Magaziner) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, the people of Rhode Island's First 
Congressional District have elected a Representative with the 
character, the credentials, and the commitment to be an effective 
Member of this body from day one.
  As one of the original 13 States, Rhode Island has been electing 
Representatives to the House since 1790. In those 233 years, Rhode 
Island has never sent an African American or any person of color to 
Congress until today, but Gabe Amo will be the first to tell you, Mr. 
Speaker, that he did not come here to make history. He came here to 
make a difference.
  He came to make a difference for working people like his parents, who 
immigrated to the United States from Ghana and Liberia. Gabe's mother, 
Weady, is a nurse. His father, Gabriel, runs the family's liquor store. 
They came to America because they believe in the promise of this 
country.
  They settled in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a diverse, blue-collar city 
of brick mills and triple-decker houses where people value a hard day's 
work. This is where Gabe Amo comes from.
  He has chosen to devote his career to public service, working in the 
Rhode Island State House for then-Governor Gina Raimondo and in the 
White House for President Obama and President Biden.

[[Page H5712]]

  By the way, a shout-out to the staffers who do not get enough credit 
in this town.
  Mr. Speaker, can we have a round of applause for them, please.
  Now in Congress, Gabe is ready to fight for the America that inspired 
his parents all those years ago, an America where workers can get fair 
pay and benefits and the right to join a union like his mother did; an 
America where immigrants like Gabe's parents are welcomed to this 
country with kindness and not with cruelty; an America that stands with 
democracies and not dictators; an America where freedom means freedom 
for everybody, including women to make their own healthcare decisions 
and LGBTQ Americans to marry the person they love; and an America where 
we have the God-given right to choose our own leaders and not have the 
results challenged and denied by the losing side.
  I have known Gabe Amo since we were both teenagers, and I can tell 
you, Mr. Speaker, he has the values, the commitment to America, and a 
love for service that runs deep.
  He is the right person to serve in this House at this moment, and it 
gives me great pleasure to introduce, for the first time as our 
colleague, the gentleman from Rhode Island, Gabe Amo.
  Mr. AMO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Magaziner for the warm 
introduction. I thank Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, who, 
alongside Representative Magaziner and I, make up our small but very 
mighty Rhode Island congressional delegation.
  Of course, I am grateful for my predecessor, former Representative 
David Cicilline. I am grateful for his service to Rhode Island, and I 
look forward to our work together in both of our new roles.
  To my family, friends, community leaders, and all those who have 
supported me along the way, I thank them. Of course, I thank the people 
of the First Congressional District and those across Rhode Island for 
giving me the opportunity to serve in the people's House.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you a story about Rhode Island. Reverend 
Mahlon Van Horne was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly in 
1885, making him the first Black person elected to serve in the State 
legislature. Just think, Mr. Speaker, Reverend Van Horne was elected as 
a Black man nearly two decades after the end of the Civil War.

  In an 1887 sermon, the Reverend said: ``I believe the day is coming, 
is not far off, when in the commonwealth of Rhode Island, the stomping 
ground of soul liberty will become the home of the free and the land of 
the truly brave--the home of the free, where fair play in all the walks 
of life will be accorded.''
  Those words are at top of mind for me today.
  Reverend Van Horne's dream and the dreams of those who have called 
Rhode Island home across generations allow me to stand before you 
today, Mr. Speaker.
  While we have not arrived at our final destination in this project of 
our democracy, I am optimistic. As a Rhode Islander, it is easy for me. 
After all, our State motto is ``Hope.'' It is hope that led my parents 
to come from West Africa, my dad from Ghana and my mom from Liberia, to 
pursue opportunity in the greatest country in the world.
  Nevertheless, this is not just my story. It is a Rhode Island story, 
and it is an American story. That shared story is why today I am proud 
to be the Representative from Rhode Island's First Congressional 
District.
  Mr. Speaker, what is beautiful about hope is that it cares not about 
your race, your religion, your gender, or where your ancestors came 
from. This belief has inspired people who arrived in Rhode Island from 
Italy, Ireland, Portugal, France, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, 
Colombia, Armenia, and, yes, countries in West Africa, and so many 
places in between.
  I, of course, must acknowledge those whose family branches extend 
from the Native Tribes of our shores to the settlers who came for 
religious freedom to those who did not choose their journey because 
they were enslaved people but whose hope persisted nonetheless.
  Together, and why I am here, is that we ensure our great hope for the 
future is met with profound action: action to protect and strengthen 
retirement security, support our seniors, create economic opportunity 
and good-paying jobs, secure reproductive freedom and keep politics out 
of the doctor's office, ensure the livability of our planet for our 
children and their grandchildren, ban assault weapons and end gun 
violence, and stand up to the threats facing our democracy.
  So this hallowed space, this House floor, is where we have always had 
to work vigorously toward the promise of our Nation's highest ideals 
and aspirations, and I cannot wait to work on behalf of the people of 
the First Congressional District, everyone from Woonsocket to Newport, 
East Providence to Cumberland, Providence to Bristol, and, of course, 
the great city of Pawtucket.
  I thank Rhode Island for putting its trust in me to bring our values 
of hard work, grit, determination, and resilience in the face of 
adversity all the way from the Ocean State to the Halls of the United 
States Congress. I will work hard for those people in Rhode Island and 
those people across this country every single day. I am grateful for 
this privilege.

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