[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18685-18686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




THANKING COLLEAGUES AND CONSTITUENTS AND STAFF FOR PRIVILEGE OF SERVING

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 3, 2013

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House for the last 
time during the 112th Congress.
  I will be very brief. It has been an honor to serve as a member of 
this body, and the southern California congressional delegation--the 
largest Democratic delegation in history--that is, at least until the 
113th Congress convenes.
  But the greatest honor is serving the wonderful people of the 37th 
Congressional District of California, which includes Long Beach, 
Compton, Carson, and Signal Hill. Since September 2007, I have had the 
great privilege and high honor of representing the best congressional 
district in the world's greatest legislative body, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, aided by a terrific cadre of talented, hard-working, 
and dedicated staff members, both here in Washington and back in my 
district offices.
  Together, my staff and I have, worked very hard to advocate for, and 
advance the interests of my district. One of my proudest achievements 
has been to continue the tradition begun by my predecessor, the late, 
great Congresswoman Juanita Millender McDonald, of hosting an Annual 
Senior Briefing at the Juanita Millender McDonald Community Center in 
Carson, California. This event is attended by more than 1,000 seniors 
in my district and was a valuable opportunity for me to discuss with 
them, one-on-one, what their concerns were and where I could help them 
the most.
  In the last five years, my office has assisted more than 1,000 
constituents in resolving casework ranging from Social Security claims 
to disputes with the IRS to help with immigration and housing issues.
  From my seat on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I have 
worked with colleagues in the delegation and across the aisle pass 
legislation and secure funding to strengthen and protect the Ports of 
Long Beach and Los Angeles and to develop a national freight 
transportation policy for the 21st century.
  I will always be grateful to have been selected by my colleagues on 
the Homeland Security Committee to serve as Chair and then Ranking 
Member of the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, 
and Response, which enabled me to work with colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle to ensure that our first responders have the resources needed 
to secure the homeland and to provide comfort and deliver relief 
supplies to the people of America Samoa when the island was struck by a 
tsunami in October 2009.
  Like all of you, I believe in bipartisanship because you have to work 
together to get things done. As President Clinton reminded us this past 
summer, ``what works in the real world is cooperation.''
  I came to Congress on a pledge to work to end the war in Iraq and 
refocus our national security efforts on Afghanistan so we could 
achieve our goals there and bring our troops home. That is why I was so 
pleased to lead a Codel to Afghanistan consisting of me and 4 
Republican House colleagues and to be appointed by Speaker Pelosi to 
serve as a conferee to the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act 
Conference Committee, which included a provision of mine to strengthen 
and support the nation's strategic ports, including the Port of Long 
Beach in my district.
  Another great example of bipartisanship is the way the women members 
of the House, supported by our male colleagues, banded together to form 
the Congressional Softball Team to battle the Capitol Hill press corps 
to raise funds for, and awareness of, breast cancer research. I will 
always be proud to have been the first baseman and cleanup hitter for 
those great teams.
  Not only is the California congressional delegation the largest, it 
has been one of the most productive and consequential. During my tenure 
in Congress, colleagues in our delegation chaired the powerful Energy 
and Commerce Committee (Henry Waxman); Education and Labor (George 
Miller), Foreign Affairs (Berman); and the Veterans Affairs (Bob 
Filner).
  And it is to this delegation that the House looked when it made 
history by electing the first woman to be Speaker of the People's House 
(Nancy Pelosi).
  This delegation is the most racially diverse and gender balanced in 
history. It is in fact a mirror of our nation: a delegation of men and 
women, black and white and Hispanic and Asian Pacific, young and young 
at heart, from all backgrounds and different experiences, committed to 
working together in common cause to advance the interests of our 
constituents, our state, and our nation.
  And working together, we made a positive difference. We can look back 
with pride on the remarkable and landmark achievements of the Congress, 
especially the 111th Congress which was led so brilliantly by Speaker 
Pelosi, working so closely with President Barack Obama to pass the:
  1. Affordable Care Act, ensuring that the wealthiest country in the 
world gives all of its citizens an opportunity to receive decent care 
and ending the worst insurance industry abuses.
  2. Dodd-Frank Act, which protects the middle class and prevents Wall 
Street executives from ever again jeopardizing the savings, retirement, 
or livelihood of middle class families.
  3. The Recovery Act, which provided the investments necessary for the 
American economy to create new jobs while saving existing ones, and to 
spur economic activity and laying the groundwork for long-term growth.
  We can also look back with pride on the passage of the Lilly 
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; Credit CARD Act; Children's Health insurance 
Program Reauthorization Act; American Clean Energy and Security Act; 
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act; Hire Act; Cash for Clunkers; 
Small Business Jobs and Credit Act; 


[[Page 18686]]


Disclose Act; and Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act.
  And we helped to end the war and bring our troops home from Iraq and 
ended ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell.''
  These policies, supported and led by members of this delegation, 
serve the best interests of the country and will continue to shape our 
future for generations to come.
  In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of my colleagues 
for their friendship and their service.
  I wish you the best. Thank you all.

                          ____________________