[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14099-14100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1040
                               TWO HEROES

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HIMES. Madam Speaker, I wonder if we aren't loose in the way we 
use the word ``hero.'' We sometimes call those who die unexpectedly, 
innocents who are killed, heroes. I wonder if in doing so we don't 
cheapen the extent to which the word ``hero'' must be applied to men 
like Michael Baik and Steven Velazquez, two firefighters in Bridgeport 
who gave their lives in the line of duty this weekend, two men who woke 
up every day and said, ``I will risk my life and my well-being for you, 
my fellow citizens,'' and now leave behind wives, and in the case of 
Michael, three children, and in the case of Steven, two children.
  These were men who exemplify, I think, the best of what we mean when 
we say that we care about each other. And speaking as their 
Representative, and I hope on behalf of all my colleagues, we thank 
them, we thank their families, and wish them Godspeed.

[[Page 14100]]



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