Rick Allen: “this is the last day for one of our most distinguished Members, Ronald Dellums, who has represented Oakland, California…”

“this is the last day for one of our most distinguished Members, Ronald Dellums, who has represented Oakland, California, for almost 27 years. Yesterday or the day before there have been some tributes to Ron Dellums. There were so many Members who wanted to step up and speak their piece that some of us simply ran out of time. I did not want to end today, have Mr. Dellums retire or for myself for me to go home without saying a few words on his behalf. I am a freshman on the Committee on National Security on which he has been the former chairman and now the ranking member for the Democratic Party. In the course of my experience with Ron Dellums on the Committee on National Security, I have been struck by several things. He is a ranking member who has been always careful to make sure that he takes part of his time and allocates it to newer Members. He has forgone questioning witnesses on his own to make sure that new Members have a chance to ask questions themselves. Throughout his management of that committee, throughout his management of the minority, he has been very careful to show respect for others because he cares for others. Today when he spoke here in the well of the House for the last time, he talked about learning the lessons of patience and the lessons of humility during his 27 years here in the House.”