[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   WELCOMING BISHOP STEPHEN E. BLAIRE

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
McNerney) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to be joined by a 
special guest from my district, Bishop Stephen Blaire, who had the 
privilege of leading us in our opening prayer. Bishop Blaire oversees 
the Diocese of Stockton, and he was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 
1999, becoming the fifth Bishop of Stockton.
  Throughout his career, he has been a staunch advocate for workers' 
rights, commonsense legislation to reduce gun violence, and has 
promoted and worked towards social justice gains. As a newly appointed 
bishop, he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, continuing to 
address the needs of Spanish-speaking parishioners by bringing more 
Spanish-speaking priests to the diocese and maintaining the ministry to 
migrant workers.
  I want to leave Members with some words of wisdom from Bishop Blaire 
that I believe we can all take to heart as we head into the Fourth of 
July holiday. When he was appointed Bishop of Stockton, he said that 
his vision was to build a church that was strong in faith but also 
strong in service to the community. As we head home to celebrate the 
birth of our Nation, let us remember that, as Members of Congress, our 
job is to build a government the American people have faith in because 
of our commitment to serving their needs.

                          ____________________