Speaker John Boehner and his Service to America

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you to my friend, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, and Congressman Chabot for managing tonight's Special Order.

I am proud to join my colleagues as we salute Speaker John Andrew Boehner for his almost 25 years of service and being elected this January to his third term as Speaker of the House.

Tonight my remarks are personal. I have had the pleasure of knowing John Boehner for more than three decades. Although at different times we both served in the Ohio House of Representatives, he and my spouse, Otto, served and worked on many things together.

When I came to Congress, he invited me into his office for a cup of coffee. It is not bad to have the Speaker, the third most powerful person in the country, call you by your first name and, when we are back home, to say to others in my district that I am his friend.

As a freshman, I learned, as most of you know, that seniority is very important in this House. Well, I said, I was a freshman, so that equals no seniority. Nelson Mandela died, and I learned that there was going to be an opportunity for Members to go to South Africa to Nelson Mandela's funeral. Wow. Yes, I wanted to go.

All my colleagues said: There is one problem, Congresswoman Beatty, and that word again appeared--seniority. I will always be so grateful for Speaker Boehner approving the recommendation from Leader Pelosi. Yes, I went to Nelson Mandela's funeral.

Tonight I am proud to join my colleagues in saying that Speaker Boehner served as a great statesman for Ohio and the Nation. The great State of Ohio has benefited greatly through his leadership.

While there are things, certainly, that we have not agreed on, we have always managed to not be disagreeable in a way that was negative for Ohio or the Nation. But there were some things that we did agree on.

There is one quote that was a very proud moment for me, as a Member of this United States Congress, when Speaker Boehner said: ``It was beginning to become a political football, and I just thought it was time to stop. Let's have a discussion with responsible Members of Congress to try to bring some resolution to this.''

But in his own view, Mr. Speaker, there should be no debate because, he said: ``In my view, the issue is settled. The flag should be gone.'' And, Mr. Speaker, that flag was the Confederate flag. So I say thank you, Mr. Boehner, for that.

Thank you, Congresswoman Kaptur, for a recent article that I read that you wrote about Speaker Boehner. I think you said it all when you talked about his life here in Congress, and you said we all have benefited in our State from the great work that he has done. I agree with you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for always taking my calls. Thank you for always having an open door. I leave you with these words, the words of Nelson Mandela: ``It always seems impossible until it is done.''

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Job well done.

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