Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I'd like to speak a few minutes this afternoon on two subjects. The first involves both a wonderful evening for any…”

“I'd like to speak a few minutes this afternoon on two subjects. The first involves both a wonderful evening for any Member of Congress and a tragedy in our Capitol Hill neighborhood nearby. The second involves the upcoming appropriations period. Mr. Speaker, last night was a terrific evening if you happened to be there. Members of Congress--it looked like equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans; we are part of the so-called No Labels Caucus; these are Members of Congress who are trying to get beyond the needless polarization in this House--decided to go to the baseball game together, the Nationals Stadium, our new, terrific stadium here in the District of Columbia. It was a Nats-Mets game. I'm sorry to report the Nats lost badly. They also played the night before and won, if I may also report that. I was coming back from this really wonderful bipartisan experience-- we ate hot dogs together, we ate & drank together--me, wine, a lot of my colleagues beer--and we talked about anything but the House. We talked about what people have said Members need to do more. We talked about the game and what was happening in our lives. I sat next to a Member I had never met before even though he's on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with me. His name is Rodney Davis. It was so funny to hear him talk about how I didn't know him, he said he was the lowest man on the totem pole.…”