Congressional Art Competition

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, over the weekend, I was thrilled to be at the Winkler Gallery of Fine Art in DuBois, Pennsylvania, for the 2015 Congressional Art Competition awards ceremony for my congressional district.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to recognize and encourage artistic talent among U.S. high school students. This year, I had the honor to serve as cochair of the annual national competition.

Madam Speaker, this year, I was blown away by the quality of work and the levels of creativity by the students in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District.

This year's first place winner, determined by an independent panel, is Leah Kleiner of Waterford, Pennsylvania. Leah, whose work is titled ``Little Brother,'' attends Fort LeBoeuf High School in Erie County.

I am looking forward to hosting Leah in Washington this summer and displaying her award-winning work in the Halls of the Capitol Building.

This year's second and third place winners are Bethany Stoddard of DuBois and Madelyn Ostermann of Summit Township, respectively. Natalie Haupt of Oil City and Caitlin Cesa of Sandy Township both received honorable mentions.

I would like to congratulate all of this year's winners and thank everyone who participated in this fun and exciting competition.

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