Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to be able to be here today to salute my friend, a fine man, a good man, and someone who has served our country so admirably over the course of these last 12 years in David Cicilline. There is a quote from President John Adams that I want to share, our second President who once said: ``But I fear that in every assembly, members will obtain an influence, by noise not sense; by meanness, not greatness; by ignorance, not learning; by contracted hearts, not large souls.'' There are many places in our country in which his fears ring true today, but one of the places where it does not is in Rhode Island where, for the better part of the last decade, the people of Rhode Island could rest easy knowing they had elected a leader who would serve them admirably. A leader whose common sense was on full display as a Member of the House leadership team. I can remember very early in my tenure in Congress 5 years ago learning from and being mentored by David Cicilline as he chaired the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, always willing to help a new Member navigate the experience of serving in Congress. His greatness was on full display during the course of the investigation that he led as chairman of the Antitrust Subcommittee. As his vice chair during that subcommittee investigation, I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, firsthand just how hard he worked day in, day out.…”