Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Paul Hamrick, Monterey County's 2018 Spelling Bee champion and two-time Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant. Last year, Paul finished in 35th place, but this year, and just last week, out of over 500 spellers from all 50 States, Paul finished the Bee tied for seventh, the best finish ever for a Monterey County student. Now, in a lot of ways, Paul is a normal 14-year-old from the central coast of California. He loves Weird Al Yankovic, the movie ``Black Panther,'' and he even likes to bowl. But Paul is the only Monterey County student to ever make the evening finals at the National Spelling Bee. Paul's proud father, Tom, said that Paul studied over 50,000 words this year. That number is incredibly impressive because, according to a 2016 study, the typical English-speaking 20-year-old American only knows 42,000 words. During last Thursday's Scripps National Spelling Bee, Paul confidently spelled words that most people couldn't even pronounce, like ``soubresaut'' and ``binnacle'' and ``rubricate,'' an impressive run and finish for a very intelligent young man. Congratulations, Paul. You should be proud of your hard work because, from the central coast of California to right here in the U.S. Congress, we are proud of you. ____________________”