[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF STENY HOYER

  (Mr. Hoyer of Maryland was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I would ask Mr. Scalise: Where is my 1 minute 
when I need it?
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear and close friends, Steve Womack and 
Madam Speaker, for being here. I also thank my colleagues and my dear 
friends, Majority Leader Scalise and Majority Whip Emmer, for being 
here.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today with, obviously, mixed emotions and 
reluctant conviction. There is a true story I have told many times over 
the past 60 years. It is about a young man--myself--who was a student 
at the University of Maryland, College Park, just a few miles from this 
place.
  As a freshman, like many young people, I lacked a vision for my 
future. I nearly flunked out of college and didn't enroll in the 1958 
fall semester. Fortunately for me, I reenrolled the following spring.
  It was the spring convocation of April 27, 1959. Classes were 
canceled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. so that we could all go hear the guest 
speaker. Frankly, I had not planned to attend. However, I was walking 
up the hill near Cole Field House where the event was located. I saw 
our guest drive up in a 1958 Pontiac convertible. That, Mr. Speaker, 
was a cool car. It was so cool that I decided to go to this 
convocation.
  That walk was my road to Damascus. It changed my life. The speaker 
was John F. Kennedy. In his remarks, he urged us to do our duty in 
those days of world chaos. In particular, he charged us students to 
become more active in our communities. Nancy heard those same words.
  Like many hundreds of thousands of young people, I was deeply 
inspired by Senator Kennedy and his words. Jack Kemp, who was my 
colleague when I first came here, had a similar story. A week later, I 
changed my major from business to political science.
  Mr. Speaker, 7 years later, in 1966, 5 months out of Georgetown Law 
School, I was elected to the Maryland State Senate. Mr. Speaker, 15 
years after that, in 1981, the voters of the Fifth District elected me 
to the United States House of Representatives.
  I stand here now, after some 60 years in public service, including 
nearly 45 years as a Member of this House. I have won elections and 
lost a couple. I celebrated triumphs and suffered setbacks. I enjoyed 
friendships and endured hardships.
  As the song says: ``Some days are diamonds. Some days are stone.'' 
Happily, I have experienced more diamonds than stone.
  Shakespeare advised us all: ``This above all: to thine own self be 
true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be 
false to any man.''
  In that vein, Mr. Speaker, I have decided not to seek another term in 
the people's House. I make this decision with sadness, for I love this 
House, an institution the Framers designed to reflect the will of the 
American people and to serve as the guardian of their liberty and their 
democracy.
  Through the past 45 years, I have come to know many good, decent, and 
patriotic Members chosen by their neighbors to represent them. They 
come from both parties and all parts of the ideological spectrum.
  The Congress I entered in 1981 was somewhat different. Most 
Republicans and Democrats worked together in a collegial and productive 
way. The leaders of the House, Tip O'Neill and Bob Michael, fostered 
that environment. It was, of course, not a Congress without conflict.
  In the year to come, I will have much more to say about the issues we 
have grappled with and the ways this House has changed during my time. 
At the outset, I have said that I spoke with reluctant conviction. That 
reluctance is because I am deeply concerned that this House is not 
living up to the Founders' goals.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
examine their conscience, renew their courage, and carry out the 
responsibilities that the first Article of the Constitution demands. 
Only in that way can we ensure that our 250 years will be a preface to 
a stronger and brighter beacon in a free and principled democracy. It 
will be a nation of laws, not of men. It will be a nation respected 
around the world for its strength, certainly, but even more for the 
ideals it represents and the justice with which it acts.
  That effort must extend beyond this House. I fear that America is 
heading not toward greatness but toward smallness, pettiness, 
divisiveness, lawlessness, and disdainfulness.
  We must respect and love one another. We must remember that we are 
not great or unique because we say we are great but because we are 
just, generous, and fair.
  I hope that spirit can guide us the rest of this Congress because I 
still have much I want to do in the coming year, not least of which is 
keeping the government open. To do that, we must send all our 
appropriations bills to the President in a bipartisan and timely 
fashion.
  There are many people I intend to thank in the coming months, but 
here are a few I will recognize now:
  First, my family, who has borne much of the burden of my service. I 
ask them to stand.

                              {time}  1015

  To my late wife, Judy, who died too young and gave so much.
  To my beloved daughters, Susan, Stefany, and Anne, who paid a price 
for Dad's absences.
  To my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, for giving me great joy.
  To my mother, who thankfully lived to see her son become the 
president of the Maryland State Senate.
  To my staff, for serving me and their Nation with great loyalty and 
ability.
  To my colleagues, for trusting me with leadership.
  To the people of Prince George's County, particularly the African-
American community, without whom I would not have won my elections.
  To the people of Maryland's Fifth District, who gave me a majority of 
their votes 23 times.
  To my wife, Dr. Elaine Kamarck, who has made my life whole and happy. 
Thank you, Babe.
  And to God, for sending me down this road so many years ago that I 
call the ``Road to Damascus.''
  I thank all of my colleagues--extraordinary people, decent people, 
people whom their neighbors respect and sent here. The only way they 
got here was through their neighbors saying that they wanted them to 
represent them.
  I thank you all.
  Mr. Speaker, with tremendous gratitude, I yield back.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Womack). To my friend, Mr. Hoyer, you 
have served your district, your State, and your country with dignity 
and honor, and the institution wishes you Godspeed.

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