Cliff Stearns: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks again to all of you for joining us this wonderful morning. As I prepared for today's…”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks again to all of you for joining us this wonderful morning. As I prepared for today's report, it has brought back many happy memories, as I am sure it does for you, too. I served in Congress 24 years. One image I keep honing in on is the image you currently have as you are looking at me: the quote by Daniel Webster inscribed directly behind the Speaker's chair: ``Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its greatest interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered.'' For all of us, service in this remarkable building was the pinnacle of our professional lives, and I know that for each and every one of us, there is a memory of something ``worthy to be remembered.'' Whether it was a groundbreaking piece of legislation or simply a constituent and how we changed their life by helping them, by serving in Congress, we were given the opportunity to serve our country and its citizens. I am very proud that, through the former Members of Congress, we can continue, in a small but yet larger measure, the public service that brought us to Congress in the first place. It is, therefore, a great honor in my capacity as president to report on the former Members of Congress' activities for 2017 and 2018.…”