[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19196-19197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING KENTUCKY GOVERNOR STEVE BESHEAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 61st Governor of 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, whose tenure as Governor 
comes to a close this week.
  Of his many significant accomplishments, none came easily or by 
happenstance. In fact, national basketball championships for both the 
Universities of Louisville and Kentucky notwithstanding, it is tough to 
think of a less enviable time to walk into the Governor's mansion.
  Within a year of his taking office, the global economy imploded, 
creating the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes and leading to 
unemployment as high as 10.7 percent. The health of our State was 
dismal, with one in five Kentucky adults carrying no health insurance. 
Mother Nature didn't do him any favors either. During one 11-month 
span, three presidential disaster declarations were issued for 
Louisville alone.
  To say you wouldn't want to be the Governor to face those challenges 
is an understatement. To say you want Steve Beshear to be your Governor 
addressing those challenges, well, that is just common sense.
  Our recovery didn't just happen during the tenure of Steve Beshear. 
It happened because of Steve Beshear. Because we had a Governor who 
wasn't concerned with what was popular or politically savvy, he was 
committed to doing what needed to be done.
  He said no to the calls for European-style austerity and instead 
invested in our Commonwealth--in our people, our infrastructure, and 
our education--giving Kentucky's economy an immediate jolt and keeping 
our communities and workforce competitive for the long haul.
  The results speak for themselves. Today unemployment is half of what 
it was during the Great Recession, under 5 percent for the first time 
since 2001. Site Selection magazine says there is no better State in 
the Nation for economic development.
  Companies are investing in Kentucky like never before, $3.7 billion 
in investment announced just last year. Kentucky is doing business like 
never before, with exports of $27.5 billion last year, four times the 
national average.
  Mr. Speaker, we are building like we haven't done in a long time. 
When I say our infrastructure was crumbling, it is not hyperbole. 
Bridges were literally falling down. Now they are going up. Leaders 
have been talking about the need for a new Ohio River bridge in 
Louisville for nearly 50 years.
  But Governor Beshear doesn't talk the talk. He walks the walk. I will 
be proud to walk with him across the first of two new Ohio River 
bridges for the first time this weekend.
  But it is his stands that he will be most remembered for. If you 
asked him, Steve will tell you he is just doing what is right. But that 
takes courage.

[[Page 19197]]

Thankfully, Kentucky's Governor has had no shortage of that.
  He reinstated an executive order prohibiting LGBT discrimination 
against government workers, made Kentucky the first State in the Nation 
to adopt Common Core and the second to adopt New Generation Science 
Standards.
  When it came to medical care, he absolutely refused to play politics 
with the health of his State. He expanded Medicaid and led the creation 
of the Nation's most successful health exchange, Kynect, and reduced 
the number of Kentuckians without health insurance from 20.4 percent to 
9 percent, the best improvement in the Nation.
  In my district alone, the uninsured rate dropped 81 percent. For the 
first time, quality, affordable health insurance is a reality for 
hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians. It is thanks to Steve Beshear.
  Of course, he has been working for the people of Kentucky since long 
before he was a Governor, and he never did it alone. Throughout his 
decades of public service, he has depended on the strength of another 
great Kentucky leader, his wife and our first lady, Jane Beshear.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been honored to be Steve and Jane's ally these 
past 8 years and I have been lucky to have them as mine as we worked to 
revitalize Louisville's manufacturing sector, address our community's 
infrastructure needs, and make sure Kentucky children, veterans, and 
working families are taken care of.
  Over the past 30 years, Mr. Speaker, I have had the honor of calling 
Steve Beshear my Attorney General, my Lieutenant Governor, and now my 
Governor. But, above all, I have been most proud to call him my friend.
  In his first inaugural address in 2007, Governor Beshear noted that 
the path of progress in Kentucky ``will involve new thinking and new 
ideas. It will require cooperation and patience. And it will demand 
courage.''
  Steve, you successfully embraced those new ideas, you promoted 
cooperation and patience, and you had the courage not only to serve, 
but to serve us well. I wish you the very best as you leave public 
service.
  I want to thank you, First Lady Jane Beshear, and your devoted staff 
for doing the right thing on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky.
  Mr. Speaker, Kentucky is a stronger, more prosperous, and a far 
healthier place because of the dedication and the work of our Governor 
Steve Beshear.

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