Recognizing Thomas Hager Blatnik on His Retirement From House Sergeant At Arms

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Thomas Hager Blatnik on his 37 years of service to the U.S. House of Representatives.

For over 37 years, Tom worked right here in the U.S. Capitol. Shortly after graduating from Curry College, he started at the Capitol, working for the Doorkeeper of the House. Over the course of his career, he worked under five different Sergeants at Arms.

He was a familiar face to many in the House galleries and check stands, where he greeted hundreds of thousands of visitors. He loved the jobs he held, and it showed. He considered it a genuine honor to work every day in an important place where policy decisions were made and debated and laws were being passed.

He took special pride in working in the same place as his father, Congressman John A. Blatnik, who represented Minnesota's Eighth District for 28 years. Like his father, Tom enjoyed sharing information and giving tours of the Capitol, and he never missed a chance to give mementos of the Capitol Building to friends, family, and others he thought would enjoy a token of the place that was so special to him.

Tom had great admiration and affection for colleagues he worked with in the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and for the Capitol Police. He valued and admired their dedication, hard work, and bravery and stayed in close touch with many of them after they retired or moved on.

He genuinely and deeply cared for others. He had enormous empathy for those with disabilities and those for whom life presented special challenges because he was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. When Congress passed the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, it was deeply meaningful to him, and he considered it a privilege both to be in the front row seat of the House gallery for the debate and was honored to join legislators and other special guests at the White House for the signing of the act into law.

I offer my hearty congratulations to Tom and thank him for nearly four decades of service to the U.S. House.

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