Norma Torres: “I am deeply moved by the gentlewoman's gesture tonight of ordering this Special Order on my behalf and calling forth so…”

“I am deeply moved by the gentlewoman's gesture tonight of ordering this Special Order on my behalf and calling forth so many of my colleagues to come here. The greatest honor there is is to serve in this Chamber, the House of Representatives, which, as everybody has just witnessed, brings together men and women of all walks of life in a common purpose here. I am so thankful, and I cannot find the words to tell my colleagues. I am so thankful that people in the 34th Congressional District of California sent me here 16 years ago and have reelected me ever since until now, in the 105th session. It is the highest tribute I dare say that can be paid to an individual when his constituency sends him here. But, Mr. Speaker, getting here is not my job alone. This took many people along the way to do that, the people that raised me, my mother, my grandmother, my teachers, the heroes that inspired me to seek higher office because they meant something to me. My wife, whom you have just heard about, who is my strongest partner, my working partner, a woman that has been by my side for some 44 years. I would not be here, so many of us would not be here, if it was not for our spouses. We are nothing really without them. And I would have been nothing without my Arcy. She stood by me, allowed me to give public service, sacrificed very hard, and I am so, I am so thankful that she has done this for me.”