Serving in Congress Has Been the Honor of My Lifetime

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Debbie Lesko, Representative Lesko.

Although I am not from Arizona, I would wonderfully be in Arizona to have her as my Representative.

Yes, indeed, we were on a boat in Grand Lake in Oklahoma for a Heat and Western Caucus event. You don't think of Oklahoma as being cold. It was cold and rainy and nasty, but we were troopers, and we were out there.

My next interaction with Mrs. Lesko was approaching her about steering and how to get on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She was gracious, kind, knowledgeable, a tremendous mentor, as she was to everybody. Honestly, I don't think I have ever seen Debbie smile as much as I have seen her tonight and as I have watched this on video.

Getting on the Energy and Commerce Committee, she was just one tier above me. Although, I had served on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis my first term between 2021 and 2022, she then came on the committee this term; so we were serving in the 118th Congress both on Energy and Commerce and on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

You have heard a lot about her kindness, her mentoring, and her friendship. You have heard about her grace. You have heard how she is conservative, but not angry. That is such a great description of her.

What you didn't hear a lot about was her intellect. Debbie studies. She is smart. She is able to dissect through things. She is able to prioritize. She is able to condense very complex topics into a 5-minute question and answer period.

I am telling you, if you are the witness and you are giving testimony, you don't want to be on the bad side of Debbie Lesko. She won't be angry. She won't be vindictive. She won't use profanity, but you are going to know you have been taken to the cleaners.

She will come out with a statement. She will smile. She will lead up to it, and then, bam. You are going: Where did that come from? That is Debbie Lesko. That is the power of Debbie Lesko. That is the power of preparation.

In my time in the military, you learn: If you failed the plan, you planned to fail. She always plans. She is always on target. She always studies. She always reads. And quite honestly, isn't that what we, as Americans, want of our Congress people? If they are going to make laws, if they are going to hold government accountable, don't we want people that do the work that their constituents ask them to do? She is a role model for all of us and an inspiration on what a citizen servant should be.

Next, if you get to travel with her, you don't have to go on a boat in the rain in Oklahoma. You can go to some far-off country. She is a great shopping companion. She likes to try all different kinds of foods. She does her homework on the plane over and on the plane back.

She is just a genuine and lovely person to travel and be with. When Members of Congress have to travel places, especially far off, for the work that they do, you really want to have somebody in the seat next to you that is a joy to be with and not making all kinds of noises and all kinds of stuff. They are not high maintenance. She is a shining example of what a good travel companion and what a good Member of Congress is.

I am probably over my time. It has been a real joy to serve with Debbie Lesko these 4 years I have served with her. She was a tremendous asset to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis that we served on together. She will be deeply missed. I will deeply miss her. She will be missed in our Conference for all of the reasons that everybody has said.

Mr. Speaker, we know she is going to continue to do great things for the people of Arizona. We wish her all the best. I know her husband is very happy to have her back.

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