[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 201 (Tuesday, December 2, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4970-H4971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING RON HAUENSTEIN

  (Mr. Baumgartner of Washington was recognized to address the House 
for 5 minutes.)
  Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
outstanding work of Ron Hauenstein, who has served as the executive 
director of the Spokane Fatherhood Initiative since 2018.
  Throughout my time representing eastern Washington in Congress, I 
have seen firsthand the transformative impact that this organization 
has had under Ron's leadership. The Fatherhood Initiative has become a 
pillar in our community, equipping fathers with values like commitment, 
resilience, gratitude, and honor.
  Their guiding principle and their guiding belief is simple but 
powerful: When fathers are present and engaged, children do better and 
entire communities prosper. Time and again, families across Spokane 
have been reunited, and lives have been changed for the better, one 
dad, one child, and one family at a time.
  Earlier this month, my team had the honor of joining the Spokane 
Fatherhood Initiative's Building Legacy gala, where our community 
rallied to raise nearly $175,000 for life-changing programs.
  With weekly classes, some lasting half a year, and special outreach 
to men reentering society after incarceration or dealing with drug 
addiction, Spokane Fatherhood Initiative is helping dads restore 
relationships with their children and strengthen the fabric of our 
region.
  I express my gratitude and extend my congratulations to Ron 
Hauenstein and everyone at the Spokane Fatherhood Initiative. Their 
dedication to building stronger fathers is building a stronger Spokane 
and a brighter community for every child in our community.


                     Honoring Scouts Across America

  Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Scouts Across 
America. Scouts Across America carries forward with a remarkable legacy 
that began with Robert Baden-Powell, a British Army officer whose 
simple idea was that outdoor skills, teamwork, and service could build 
better citizens and a better world.
  Robert Baden-Powell served with the British military in Afghanistan 
and against the Boer in South Africa, and the ideas that he saw there 
and the skills that he saw that were needed to be developed in young 
boys. From that, grew a global movement and in our country inspired 
what is now Scouting America, chartered by Congress to serve our 
Nation's youth by instilling the values of the Scout oath and law.
  As a proud Scout dad, I rise today to say very clearly: Scouts is an 
outstanding program, and America needs more Scouts, not less.
  It takes real effort from moms and dads and volunteers to get kids to 
meetings, campouts, and service projects. That effort pays off in 
character, confidence, civic service, and self-reliance of our young 
people.
  Eleanor and I are father and mother to three boys and two girls, and 
we look forward to hopefully one day being the proud parents of five 
Eagle Scouts.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, let's honor the Scouts, the volunteer leaders, 
the parents, and the enduring legacy of Robert Baden-Powell, whose 
vision still calls each new generation to duty, service, and 
leadership.
  May we always support this movement so that more young Americans, 
especially the young people of eastern Washington, can discover a 
lifetime of impact and purpose, guided by the Scout oath and the Scout 
law.

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