Eleanor Holmes Norton: “First, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida. His kind and gentle words are typical of the way he has operated on…”

“First, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida. His kind and gentle words are typical of the way he has operated on the committee-- always in the most collegial fashion when he talks about the District of Columbia and its not experiencing what, for example, his own district does in Florida. I can only say we empathize with you in Florida and all over the country. We are all Americans; and every time that we sat together in hearings, we were, of course, cognizant of the fact that we were dealing with issues that affected the entire country. It has been a great pleasure to work with the ranking member. We worked together on each and every bill. I cannot think of a single bill on which we found a disagreement, where we had something that we wanted to change and where we didn't discuss it or staff didn't discuss it. I know Mr. Oberstar would very much appreciate your remarks as well. He is a one-of-a-kind chairman who had been here as a staff member with enormous influence, and then he became a chairman with outsized influence as well. I understand that my good friend Mr. Diaz-Balart thinks he has found sunnier shores on another committee, but I want him to know that I don't think he will ever have a better relationship with another Member on this side of the aisle. In the relationship that he and I have formed, it has come to be, indeed, a friendship. So I say to him, Until we meet again, Mr. Diaz-Balart.…”