[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    SHARED ENDEAVOR ON COMMON GROUND

  (Mr. CONNOLLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I welcome you and all of our colleagues 
back for the start of the 114th Congress. I was encouraged by Speaker 
Boehner's remarks yesterday calling for all of us to begin this shared 
endeavor on common ground. I couldn't agree more. As someone who comes 
from local government, I know firsthand the music that can be made when 
elected leaders allow their commitments to improve the quality of life 
for our neighbors to guide their actions rather than partisan ideology.
  My predecessor in this Chamber was also a veteran of local 
government. And although we had our share of partisan differences, we 
both like to say that we belong to the same party, the party of getting 
things done, a moniker to which this new Congress should aspire.
  Without question, there will be rigorous battle of ideas, and we 
should expect nothing less in the arena of elected leadership. But at 
the end of the day, our constituents expect us to resolve those 
differences, to accomplish something on their behalf rather than on 
behalf of our respective parties.
  Mr. Speaker, when a final tally is taken of this Congress, I hope we 
do prove the pessimists wrong and show we were a Congress that got 
things done.

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