[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ROBIN L. KELLY TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Gutierrez) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield that 1 minute to the 
distinguished gentleman from Illinois, Bobby Rush. His name obviously 
ends in R and mine in G and that's why I got to be the dean, but we're 
sharing this together because this is a joyous day.
  Congressman Bobby Rush, please introduce the gentlelady.
  Mr. RUSH. I want to thank my colleague, Luis Gutierrez, the dean of 
the Illinois delegation.
  Ladies and gentlemen of the House, it is my honor to introduce to you 
one of the most remarkable persons that you will ever want to meet--a 
fine, outstanding, accomplished public servant, one who has cut her 
teeth helping to address the pain and the problems of those who reside 
in the Second Congressional District.
  This fine woman is a sterling example of the kind of public officials 
that we send to Washington from the Land of Lincoln. She's beyond 
reproach in every area of her life. She commits herself day and night 
to solving the problems of common, everyday, ordinary people. She's a 
person with keen vision, enormous insight, and enormous capacity to 
accomplish what she starts out and what she began. She is indeed an 
inspiration to all of us. She is a person that's going to make this 
House proud, the State of Illinois proud, and the people from the 
Second Congressional District very, very proud of her.
  As the Congressman from the First Congressional District, I'm so glad 
to introduce you to the new Congresswoman from the Second Congressional 
District, Robin Kelly.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).
  Mr. SHIMKUS. I thank my colleague.
  We want to welcome Robin Kelly to the Chamber. You'll find that 
people are working hard on both sides of the aisle to represent the 
folks that they are here to represent. The Illinois delegation has a 
monthly bicameral luncheon, and we look forward to meeting with you 
there so that those downstaters and those from other districts can 
understand the concerns of the south side of Chicago, and the like, and 
you can understand the concerns of real rural, deep southern Illinois.
  Thank you, and welcome to the Chamber.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Thank you, Congressman Shimkus.
  And now, ladies and gentlemen, the newest distinguished lady from the 
State of Illinois (Ms. Kelly).
  The SPEAKER. The gentlewoman from Illinois is recognized.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you so very much. It is truly an honor 
to be standing here and humbling to have been chosen to represent the 
families of the Second Congressional District. I thank the entire 
Illinois delegation for their support and advice. I would also like to 
thank my many family members, friends, and staff who are here in the 
gallery today.

                              {time}  1400

  As I look around this hallowed Chamber, I know this is a place where 
so much history has been made. But today, I stand before you to talk 
about our present.
  I ran for Congress so that I could work to bring about a safer, less 
violent, and more prosperous future, one in which our children can grow 
up without the fear of gun violence. Today is an important day in that 
fight. I look forward to working with you to protect our children from 
criminals and to protect our Second Amendment rights for law-abiding 
citizens. Because we should--and can--do both.
  I look forward to working on the many issues we face, such as 
creating jobs, passing immigration reform, and continuing the hard work 
of improving our health care system. But today is about a new beginning 
for the people of the Second Congressional District, who I am so proud 
and honored to represent. I look forward to being their advocate and 
their champion and to working with you to create a brighter future for 
all of our constituents.
  Thank you and God bless.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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