[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 188 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H7330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FAREWELL TO CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Steel) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. STEEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank my constituents, colleagues, 
and friends for the wonderful 4 years I have spent serving in the 
people's House. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve Orange 
and Los Angeles Counties in Congress.
  From helping my constituents to passing life-changing legislation, 
the work we have done has truly mattered.
  Only in America can a first-generation immigrant who speaks English 
as a third language rise to become a Member of this body.
  When my parents fled communist North Korea for freedom in South 
Korea, they never would have imagined that their daughter would be 
standing here today.
  On behalf of my beautiful, diverse district, my team and I have 
accomplished a great deal. We have delivered significant funding to 
improve our Orange County beaches through sand replenishment. We have 
also provided important infrastructure investments to our communities. 
We have expanded healthcare access by expanding telehealth coverage. We 
have led the fight for lower taxes.
  Legislation I have sponsored on its way to becoming law includes 
legislation to expand language access in telehealth for non-English 
speakers and expand mental health support for youth in foster care.
  I have been a strong advocate for defending human rights across the 
globe and taking on the communist regimes who abuse them.
  These accomplishments are not mine alone. I want to give a heartfelt 
thank you to the members of leadership, committee chairs, and my 
colleagues who helped pave the way, and, of course, my wonderful staff.
  Speakers Kevin McCarthy and   Mike Johnson have ably led this body 
and supported me every step of the way. The same is true of   Steve 
Scalise,   Tom Emmer, and Elise Stefanik. My friend Cathy McMorris 
Rodgers has also been a great mentor to me and helped me along the way. 
My colleagues in the California delegation have likewise joined me in 
supporting causes important to our State.
  I have been also blessed to serve on great committees. On the Ways 
and Means Committee, we have promoted an economy that benefits all 
Americans. Under the leadership of chairman Jason Smith, Congress will 
reauthorize the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with improvements that benefit 
American workers and job creators.
  We have also done great work on the Education and the Workforce 
Committee to promote quality education for all students. This includes 
fighting the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses, a fight that Chairwoman 
Virginia Foxx has strongly championed. Dr. Foxx has been a partner for 
me in helping reduce Communist China's influence in education through 
my DETERRENT Act.
  As we have talked about so much on the Select Committee on the 
Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese 
Communist Party, the CCP is truly America's number one adversary.
  I have passed legislation to ban our military from using seaports 
reliant on Chinese technology. I have also worked to strengthen 
Taiwan's military readiness through the TAIWAN Security Act.
  Congress must keep their eye on the CCP and build on this progress.
  For now, I will be heading back to my home in sunny California. While 
my time in Congress is ending, I will always look for ways to serve the 
country that I love. I will always treasure the friendships I have made 
both in Washington and Southern California. Like all journeys, this one 
is ending for a new one to begin.

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