[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      WELCOMING THE HONORABLE VANCE M. McALLISTER TO THE HOUSE OF 
                            REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Boustany) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, as dean of the Louisiana delegation, I 
would like to welcome Louisiana's newest Congressman, Vance McAllister, 
of the Fifth Congressional District.
  Vance is a resident of Swartz, Louisiana, and has been married for 15 
years to Kelly. They are the proud parents of five beautiful children.
  Vance is a veteran of the United States Army and Louisiana National 
Guard. He is a self-made businessman and a well-regarded entrepreneur.
  I look forward to serving with you, Vance, on behalf of the people of 
Louisiana.
  Welcome to the United States House of Representatives.
  Now I would like to yield to my good friend, Cedric Richmond.
  Mr. RICHMOND. Thank you, Mr. Boustany.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the newest member 
of the Louisiana delegation, the Representative of Louisiana's Fifth 
Congressional District, to Washington, D.C., and to this distinguished 
body. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be a welcome addition.
  While he has never served in or held elective office, Mr. McAllister 
brings with him the value of the many experiences and accomplishments 
he has attained through his lifetime. Like Mr. Boustany said, he is a 
veteran, a successful businessman, and a devoted family man. He has 
committed himself to addressing the needs of the people of Louisiana 
and finding commonsense solutions to the problems that plague the 
Nation.
  One thing that I have come to know as a Member who represents 
Louisiana is that, historically, we have not had the luxury of being 
partisan because of the many needs of our State.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate our newest Member of the House 
and welcome him.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. I yield to the statesman from Louisiana, Mr. Vance M. 
McAllister.
  Mr. McALLISTER. First, let me just say thank you. What an honor it is 
to be part of such an elite group, as well as the many people that 
walked before us in these Halls of Congress. With that comes great 
honor and great value.
  I want to say thank you to everybody in the gallery that got me here. 
I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them, and I wouldn't be here 
today if it wasn't for these kids.
  As I always said--and I know we are ready to get out of here--they 
didn't raise no dummy, I can tell you that. I didn't get here by 
accident.
  I just want to say, let's make sure we keep this country, our 
politicians, and everybody in our prayers. Let's do the right thing by 
this country and take care of business, like we should. Let's all work 
together.

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