Nancy Pelosi: “I want to speak for my colleagues in commending the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan) for his leadership as chair of…”

“I want to speak for my colleagues in commending the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan) for his leadership as chair of this subcommittee. While we may not have always agreed on the particular priorities, he has always been a gentleman and has always welcomed our input into the process. I know that, at the end of this bill, and as we come back with the conference report, if we do, there will be more time for us to praise him and wish him well, as the ranking member of some other committee perhaps. That was a joke, Mr. Chairman. In any event, in addition to all of the very fine staff that was acknowledged, who are acknowledged by the chairman, I want to add Beth Tritter, Charles Dujon, Kim Rudolph, Alan Dillingham, and Will Painter for their fine service to this process as well and associate myself with the remarks that the gentleman from Alabama (Chairman Callahan) made about the other staff members and how dependent we are in a very bipartisan way on their service. But I think I have the best chairman on the Committee on Appropriations, and he and the big chairman have always dealt fairly with us. We are going to miss the gentleman from Alabama (Chairman Callahan), Mr. Chairman.”