[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WELCOMING THE HONORABLE THOMAS R. SUOZZI TO THE HOUSE OF 
                            REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Nadler) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, as dean of the New York delegation, it is my 
distinct honor to rise today to welcome my good friend Congressman Tom 
Suozzi back to the people's House.
  The people of New York's Third Congressional District have elected a 
Representative with the experience, character, and commitment to solve 
problems confronting everyday Americans and deliver for his 
constituents.
  Tom is also a great family man. He is a devoted father, husband, and 
public servant who upholds the values instilled in him by his family. 
He has devoted most of his adult life to public service: first as the 
mayor of his hometown, Glen Cove, for 8 years; then as the county 
executive of Nassau County for 8 years, before serving as a United 
States Congressman for 6 years.
  From working tirelessly to secure investments for the Northport VA 
Medical Center in Long Island to helping secure billions in Federal 
support for New York in pandemic relief and infrastructure funding, 
Tom's outstanding record in Congress speaks for itself.
  Tom loves New York, he loves his country, and his love for public 
service runs deep. He is the kind of person we need serving in this 
House at this moment, and it gives me great pleasure to reintroduce him 
as our colleague, the gentleman from New York, Tom Suozzi.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Mr. Suozzi.
  Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Jerry and the New York delegation, 
all my colleagues, and my friends and supporters who are here tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I never thought I would be back here, but the Lord works 
in mysterious ways, and God made a way when there was no way.
  I thank God for blessing me with this great responsibility, and I 
thank God for my best friend and partner for 30 years, my wife, Helene. 
She hates that.
  Mr. Speaker, on the night of my election victory, I promised the 
people of Long Island and Queens I would deliver a simple message to 
this Chamber: Wake up. The people are sick and tired of the finger-
pointing and the petty partisan bickering. They want us to work 
together.
  They want you guys to work together, too. What are you doing? You are 
supposed to be clapping for that.
  Mr. Speaker, I know there are so many good people in this Chamber on 
both sides of the aisle, but people are worried about the cost of 
living; they are worried about the chaos at the border; they are 
worried about Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.
  They look to Congress, and what do they see? The extremists get all 
the attention. We are letting ourselves be bullied by our base. We 
aren't getting anything done. We need less chaos and more common sense.
  The last few months, I have talked with Democrats, Republicans, and 
Independents, and they all ask the same thing: What about me? What are 
you doing for me? Enough with the theater and the drama, enough with 
the hyperbole and the histrionics, enough with the shutdowns and the 
put-downs.
  The people aren't paying us to make things worse. The people pay us 
to be in the solutions business.
  Mr. Speaker, you and I came to Congress together in 2017. I remember 
when you founded the Honor and Civility Caucus. You said at the time it 
was to restore collegiality and encourage productive dialogue. Sign me 
up. Sign me up right away. Mr. Speaker, I know you believe in 
collegiality and productive dialogue. We need more of that and less of 
the hot air fanning the flames of anger that happens much too often in 
our country these days.
  Mr. Speaker, after my recent election you said something I must 
gently take exception to. You said: Tom Suozzi ran like a Republican. 
Now, I know you meant that as a compliment. Let me be clear. Mr. 
Speaker, I am a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat; but more 
important, like you, Mr. Speaker, and the men and women in this 
Chamber, I am a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool American.
  Like any patriot of the greatest country on Earth, I am willing to 
compromise to try and solve problems like the chaos at the border. The 
bipartisan Senate bill doesn't have everything I wanted. I believe that 
Dreamers and TPS recipients should be granted a pathway to citizenship, 
and millions of others should have a path to legalization, but I will 
support a bipartisan compromise.

                              {time}  1915

  To not do so will keep the border open, will endanger peace in 
Israel, and will empower Vladimir Putin.
  I know compromise is hard in this town, Mr. Speaker, but bring a 
bipartisan compromise to the floor, and I guarantee it will pass.
  All of the issues we face in this country are complicated, every 
single one of them, and you can't solve anything in an environment of 
fear and anger. We can't fix them with a tweet or a press conference or 
even a speech.
  I know many of you in this Chamber. I know a whole lot of you. You 
are inspired to do this work because of the command: Love thy neighbor. 
Let's actually do that. Let's do the hard work and get back to the 
solutions business.
  Sadly, many of the people in America believe Democrats and 
Republicans can't work together. They have told me, Tom, wake up. You 
have to face the real world.
  The real world is not something we must simply face. The real world 
is something that we as free men and women actively create. We make the 
real world.
  I love this country. My father came here from Italy as a young boy, 
was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during World War II, and 
went to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill.
  It is hard to imagine today, but he faced rampant discrimination as 
an Italian immigrant, and no one would hire him, even though he went to 
Harvard, so he started his own law firm.
  At 28 years old, he ran for city court judge and became the youngest 
judge in the history of New York State. What a country.
  My father lived a great American success story like many of the 
stories in this room, and I will do everything I can to honor my 
father's legacy. More importantly, I will do everything I can to honor 
this Nation's legacy.
  We all know what politics has become. Let's think about what it could 
be. While I may be the only one being sworn in today, what if we all 
see this as a fresh start?
  What if we all took this chance to break some of our bad habits? What 
if today we remembered why we ran for office in the first place? Let's 
get back into the solutions business.
  God bless the men and women of this Chamber. God bless the important 
work we do. God bless the United States of America.

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