Rob Woodall: “I appreciate your agreeing to be down here with me tonight. I came down to talk about health care, but I actually have a…”

“I appreciate your agreeing to be down here with me tonight. I came down to talk about health care, but I actually have a personal story I want to tell before that begins, right there in the middle of the realm of health care, a friend of mine back home in Georgia. His name is Jon Richards. Mr. Speaker, you have folks like Jon Richards in your district, people who just believe that, if only they work hard enough and long enough, they can make things better for their entire community. Jon is one of those folks. And what I love most about Jon is he looks for those things that other folks aren't doing. You know, there are those folks back home. Everybody wants that glamorous job. Everybody wants to do that thing that comes with the perks or the fringe benefits. Jon Richards was attracted to those jobs that he knew would matter, that he knew needed to get done but other folks weren't filling those shoes. Mr. Speaker, I tell you this about Jon because Jon was diagnosed with liver cancer; and as is always true when you have a friend get diagnosed with cancer, you believe that they are going to be better. I learned this week that Jon has been moved to hospice and isn't getting better. Mr. Speaker, Jon was one of the first folks to give me even the time of day when I thought about seeking this opportunity to serve.…”