[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 10 (Thursday, January 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H232-H233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FAREWELL SPEECH BY REPRESENTATIVE BILL JOHNSON OF OHIO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duarte). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for recognizing me this 
evening.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today with a bittersweet message for 
my colleagues.
  After more than a dozen years here in the House of Representatives, I 
am retiring/resigning this week.
  I have so loved this work. It has been the honor of a lifetime to 
serve the good people of eastern and southeastern Ohio.
  To many, the people I represent are just the flown-over of flyover 
country, but they are truly so much more.
  From Youngstown to Portsmouth, to St. Clairsville to Zanesville, 
these are people who care deeply. They are hardworking men and women, 
with strong values and a proud legacy of doing the hard things that 
keep America moving forward--mining coal, making steel, and producing 
oil and natural gas. So often they do it with the deck stacked against 
them, mocked by political elites who wish they would simply go away.
  Leaving Washington, believe me, will be easy, but leaving my job, 
representing these fine folks, is hard.
  I hear a new call. It is a call to help prepare the next generation 
of American leaders. I will be doing it at one of our country's finest 
public institutions of higher learning, Youngstown State University.
  It took a unique offer for me to leave the people's House, but 
becoming president of Youngstown State is a challenge I felt I must 
accept.
  Working with our young people to shape the future excites me and 
gives me hope and zeal for the work ahead.
  This brings me to my main message today. It might seem out of step in 
today's culture, but it is something everyone must hear. The message is 
simple: America is exceptional.
  The Founding Fathers knew it, and on July 4, 1776, when they declared 
it out loud, the rest of the world soon found out that it was true 
also. They knew it, too.
  Those men laid down a bedrock foundation on the principles of 
personal liberty, free enterprise, and a representative government 
accountable to the people. It is, without a doubt, the greatest 
government ever created in the history of humanity.
  Now, my life has been a constant journey to serve my country, from my 
26-plus years in the United States Air Force to this journey of 
servicing Congress and into my next chapter leading one of Ohio's 
finest universities.
  My commitment to service is because of the debt of gratitude that I 
owe. I grew up poor, but this country has given me the opportunity to 
prosper.
  I have lived the American Dream, and that has kindled optimism in my 
heart.
  Sure, I know that watching the news or reading comments on the 
internet today can be depressing, but I truly don't believe these 
divisions that are rocking our Nation today will hold.
  That is because deep down we all want the same thing here in 
America--peace, freedom, and the ability to pursue the American Dream 
on our own terms and to build a life. We mustn't let voices of anger 
shred our American sense of self.
  In President George Washington's farewell address, he encouraged his 
countrymen to recognize and enjoy the fruits of the new Constitution 
and national government that fostered liberty and opportunity.
  His message resonates down through the generations even today. 
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, we all enjoy the same 
liberty. Liberal, moderates, and conservatives, we all have the same 
opportunities.
  These are our common threads. Let's strengthen the fabric that binds 
us together. We can disagree without dissolving that bond. Indeed, that 
is the only way forward.
  My new workplace will be a university campus, which is an ideal place 
for disagreements and debate to happen in a way that is civil and 
educational. We should and we will foster discussion even if the result 
is merely acceptance of differing views.
  That is what George Washington and our Founders fought for, and it is 
the ideal that makes America different and better than other countries. 
It is one of the many reasons America is exceptional.
  For that, I am most thankful.

[[Page H233]]

  I would be remiss if I didn't mention just a few people for whom I am 
also thankful.
  It would be impossible to list everyone standing here today. I don't 
have but 60 minutes, and it would take far longer than that, but know 
that you are in my thoughts of appreciation as I close one chapter and 
prepare to open another.
  First to my staff, past and present, led by chief of staff Mike 
Smullen and district director Sarah Keeler. I know that there is no 
more hardworking team here, working not for me, but working on behalf 
of the people of eastern and southeastern Ohio.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my staff Mike, Sarah, and the rest of the team. 
I could not have done it without them.
  I also thank my colleagues here on both sides of the aisle with whom 
I have developed lifelong friendships, the likes of which can only be 
forged in the trenches of hard work and service to our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my campaign team that has stayed remarkably 
intact since the early days in 2009 when we sat around a kitchen table 
to discuss running for Congress. I thank them all.
  I offer a resounding thank you to the voters of eastern and 
southeastern Ohio for supporting me across multiple districts that has 
seen us represent 19 different counties in different configurations 
over the last 13 years.
  Servicing Congress is a sacrifice, both for us as Members and for 
those around us as well--our families.
  Mr. Speaker, I end here by thanking my children--Josh, Julie, 
Jessica, and Nathan, and my extended family for putting up with the 
crazy session schedules and helping me during this journey when I 
missed so many of our family activities and couldn't be there.
  Lastly, and most importantly, to my wife, LeeAnn. She would have been 
in the gallery today, but it is cold outside. I have always said from 
the day we met, the first time that I laid eyes on you, you have made 
me a better man, a better human being. You have sacrificed more than 
anyone else, and it was you that made all of this possible by being my 
loving partner and standing by me in some of the toughest times. I 
couldn't have done it without you by my side. Thank you, LeeAnn, the 
love of my life.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you, and farewell.
  I say for the last time, I yield back the balance of my time.

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