[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14118]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  WELCOMING THE HONORABLE DWIGHT EVANS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Michael F. Doyle) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would invite all 
of the Pennsylvania delegation to come forward.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to welcome our newest colleague. 
Dwight Evans is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, and he comes to 
the House after decades of service to his community and the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  After graduating from La Salle University, he taught school and 
worked as a community activist before he was elected to the 
Pennsylvania State Legislature in 1980. He has represented the 203rd 
legislative district in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives for the 
last 36 years and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee in that 
body.
  Representative Evans has worked successfully to redevelop and 
revitalize neighborhoods in Philadelphia. He has worked tirelessly to 
fight hunger, increase public investments in education, improve public 
safety, and promote economic development across Pennsylvania.
  I am pleased to welcome such a dedicated public servant to this 
legislative body. I look forward to working with him and our colleagues 
in the Pennsylvania delegation to serve the Commonwealth in this great 
Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), 
my good friend who is the dean of the Pennsylvania Republican 
delegation.
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to congratulate and welcome 
my good friend, Dwight Evans, to the floor of the House.
  Before I served here in Congress for the last 20 years, I served in 
the statehouse of Pennsylvania for 24 years. In the last 8 years of my 
service in the Pennsylvania Legislature, I was the appropriations 
chairman. All 8 of those years, Dwight Evans was my ranking member. I 
served with him and worked with him very well. We worked in a 
bipartisan manner to accomplish a lot of things.
  And so this is a little bittersweet for me. I won't get to serve with 
Dwight here in Congress. I will miss that. I am sorry about that. I am 
sure he will be a good voice, an eloquent voice for the people of 
Philadelphia, and will be someone who will want to work in a bipartisan 
manner concerning the issues that face our country.
  With that, I am very pleased to yield to the gentleman from 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank my colleagues from the 
Pennsylvania delegation, and I want to thank the leader, Congressman 
Doyle, as well as my good friend, Chairman Pitts.
  As I am prepared to take this congressional seat, I want to share 
with you one overriding sentiment that has held true for me in the 
course of working with six mayors, seven Governors, and eleven State 
House speakers and the ever-changing cast of elected officials.
  The best work that we did, we did together. In each case, the people 
won. I understand our differences. I am not naive. But I know that when 
we put aside those differences, when we listen to each other, we make 
great strides.
  The stakes are often high in a democracy, and it demands robust 
debate. And the fact of the matter is that we must work together. I 
understand that, before any party or State, we are Americans first.
  Democracy demands that we commit to listening to one another, even on 
days when we want to shout over each other. Democracy demands we don't 
win as individuals or as a party. It demands that we win as the people.
  I am humbled that the voters in the Second Congressional District 
have elected me to this seat. I pledge to remind myself each day that 
it belongs to the people. I believe that, by keeping this in mind, the 
people will win.
  This is really an honor, and I say to all of you that this is an 
absolute pleasure. I have told people that, although I may be new to 
this process, I am not new to working together.
  As you just heard from Mr. Doyle and Mr. Pitts, in the 36 years that 
I was in the legislature, I worked with everyone. At the end of the 
day, I tried to make a difference. I want to come here and do the same 
thing. Believe it. I want to be on the people's side.
  Thank you very much.

                          ____________________