[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3438-H3439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MOMENT OF SILENCE HONORING FORMER REPRESENTATIVE BILL POSEY

  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, our State, our 
country, and this institution lost a dedicated public servant, a friend 
of all of us, and a former colleague, Congressman Bill Posey.
  Congressman Posey served for 16 years first in the Florida 
Legislature. He did so honorably and with passion. Then he served here 
in the people's House for 16 years as well, representing both the 15th 
and the Eighth Congressional Districts of Florida. He served on various 
committees, including Financial Services and the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology.
  Mr. Posey had a deep, unwavering love and passion for our great 
country. He had a strong commitment to his beliefs, but he always was 
respectful to his colleagues. Again, his deep passion and love for the 
United States was evident to all of us who knew him, or who dealt with 
him. We respected him. He was a devoted public servant.
  Mr. Speaker, it is interesting. I learned so much from him just 
having lunch with him, because he was also somebody who was a fountain 
of knowledge, of wisdom, and of experience, but always with humility, 
with passion, with joy, and with love.
  Our condolences to his devoted, wonderful life partner, his wife, 
Katie; his daughters, Cathi and Pam, and the entire Posey family.
  It is with deep sorrow that we are here recognizing this great friend 
and colleague who we have lost.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman 
Schultz).
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  I really want to note what a decent human being and individual, with 
the wryest of senses of humor, that Bill Posey was.
  I had the privilege of knowing Congressman Posey for my entire 
career. We were elected together in the class of 1992 in the Florida 
House of Representatives, and just like my friend, Congressman Mario 
Diaz-Balart, I, too, served with Bill in the Florida House of 
Representatives and Florida Senate, along with here in the United 
States House of Representatives.
  Bill Posey and I entered the Florida House together, and the passion 
he had to serve his constituents on the Treasure Coast and the Space 
Coast was the same all the way through to his final day serving in this 
body.
  During his time in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., Congressman 
Posey was dedicated to fighting for funding for NASA. He was NASA's 
champion and securing Florida's role as the leader in space launches 
and operations.
  He fought for robust funding to protect our irreplaceable environment 
in the State of Florida, including his yearslong work to reauthorize 
and prioritize funding to clean up our Nation's estuaries.
  There was no issue too big or small, and Bill was never afraid to 
stand up for what he believed in, even if his own party wasn't going in 
the same direction.
  We worked together to pass drowning prevention legislation, to 
prevent children in Florida from drowning in residential swimming pools 
when his party went the other way on that, passing the first swimming 
pool safety legislation in the State of Florida together. He worked 
with me to try and make condo buildings safer following the horrific 
collapse and tragedy of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, 
which I represented at the time.
  My heart goes out to Katie, his life partner. There were no spouses 
that I remember more than Bill and Katie, who were inseparable.
  To their family, may the memory of Bill Posey be for a blessing. I 
appreciate the opportunity to mourn his passing.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Haridopolos was President of the 
Florida Senate and served with Bill Posey in the State legislature and 
then again as the person who succeeded our wonderful friend, Bill 
Posey.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos).
  Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, our country lost a true patriot on 
Saturday night. He loved this country like no other and taught all of 
us here so much about our country and about what love is all about.
  His wife, Katie, his high school sweetheart, was always there by his 
side. He loved his daughters, Pam and Cathi.
  He was just a remarkable guy who really never ``went Washington.'' 
His heart was always in Brevard County. As Mr. Diaz-Balart and Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz said as well, he had a passion for the space 
industry.
  Before he was ever elected, he served at Kennedy Space Center. He was 
a part of those amazing rockets that led us during the Cold War.
  He served his community with honor. He was always the guy showing up 
at every meeting. After the 2000 election,

[[Page H3439]]

was the one who fixed our election system in the State of Florida and 
became a national model.
  But I knew Bill best as a friend. He was a person who always took the 
time with all of us who wanted to understand the intricacies of how 
legislation was passed and how to really get things done.
  If you had a problem to solve back in the State Legislature, you went 
to Bill. Here in Congress, he served so ably for 16 years.
  Most importantly, as I mentioned before, his heart was always in 
Brevard County. But his heart was closest with his wife, Katie. As was 
said so well, and I want to say it again, they were inseparable.
  It was such a thrill to always see them because they were on a 
mission to make sure that the values and principles that founded this 
Nation were always pushed forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I request a moment of silence to remember our good 
friend and an American patriot, former Congressman Bill Posey.

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