[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DEPARTING TEXANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pence). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, it is with a sad heart that I rise to say 
goodbye to six of my colleagues from Texas who will not be returning to 
this body next year. All of these men have been dedicated patriots who 
have served the State of Texas and this country with honor and 
distinction.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) has faced the challenges of 
serving as the dean of the Texas Democrats for years and has fought to 
ensure that the rules of this House are fairly enforced.
  This Nation's farmers and ranchers have had no better friend or 
advocate than the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). He has been our 
conscience on fiscal responsibility, and I hope that we will take his 
remarks last night to heart as we begin the budget debate next year.
  After the tragic events of 9/11, we created the Select Committee on 
Homeland Security. As the committee's first ranking member, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner), has fought to increase funding for 
critical infrastructure protection and has brought national attention 
to the serious manpower and infrastructure shortages along our southern 
border.
  The Texas border region is losing my colleague and good friend, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez), who has worked tirelessly to 
address the health care crisis that is facing the southern border 
communities. As the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this 
past year, Ciro Rodriguez has continued to focus national attention on 
issues important to the Hispanic community.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson) has protected our children 
through his national leadership on the issue of missing and exploited 
children.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sandlin) has been a strong member of 
the Blue Dog Caucus and was instrumental in securing our airways 
through his work on the Aviation Security Act.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I was proud to serve on the Committee on 
Financial Services with one of my newer members of the Texas 
delegation, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bell). He and I worked on 
legislation which focused on the financial literacy of all people. I 
appreciate his strong support of my efforts to improve math and science 
education in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, all of these Members from Texas have given invaluable 
service to this Nation, and the 109th Congress will be poorer for their 
absence. I wish them all the best.

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