Speaker Boehner Tribute

Floor Speech

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to pay tribute to my friend, John Boehner, who has proudly served as Speaker of the House of Representatives since January 5, 2011.

As many people know, Speaker Boehner is the son of a bartender and one of 12 children. The people of southwest Ohio have elected him to serve as their Representative in the House on thirteen separate occasions.

During his service in the House, Speaker Boehner has distinguished himself by regularly stepping forward to tackle important challenges facing his Ohio constituents and the country.

John Boehner was elected to serve as House GOP Conference Chairman following the election of a historic Republican majority in 1992. As Conference Chairman, Boehner played a key role in the adoption of the Balanced Budget Act, which limited spending, helped grow the economy, and resulted in the first budget surplus in decades. He played a central role in shaping and fulfilling the Contract with America.

Later while serving as Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Boehner co-wrote the bill establishing the first private school choice program in the District of Columbia, and worked to ensure historic parental choice provisions were included in the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act.

In 2007, John was chosen by his Republican colleagues to serve as the House Republican Leader. In that role, he led the charge and a unified Republican Conference in opposition to job-killing bills like ObamaCare and a cap-and-trade energy tax, as well as the opposition to the wasteful Obama-Pelosi economic stimulus bill of 2009.

As Speaker of the House, John Boehner has continued his legacy of reform. The House has enacted landmark changes that increase transparency and give Americans access to data and information that it never had before. Speaker Boehner also oversaw the first meaningful change to entitlement programs in many years as well as significant reductions to the reckless spending levels that became the norm under the previous Democratic majority.

Earlier this year, Speaker Boehner's longtime goal of having a Pope address Congress for the first time was realized when Pope Francis addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress. That historic address was a source of inspiration for Congress and the nation, and was a clear crowning achievement for Speaker Boehner.

It is clearly evident by his record that Speaker Boehner has been one of the most instrumental and effective members to ever serve in this body. However, I must tell you that in my opinion, he is an even better person than he is a Member of Congress. John Boehner, and his wife Debbie, have become close and dear friends of mine. I will always value their friendship, support, and words of encouragement.

Thank you, Speaker John Boehner, for your service as a happy warrior. Godspeed, old pal.

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