David Loebsack: “I thank the gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Simpson. I didn't know that you did ``Oh, Pretty Woman'' and all these other…”

“I thank the gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Simpson. I didn't know that you did ``Oh, Pretty Woman'' and all these other songs. I can't wait, Tom, to see you back in Iowa. Madam Speaker, it is really an honor for me to be up here tonight to speak for and about Tom Latham. When I got elected in 2006, Tom had been here for some time, not a long period of time, but for 12 years. I knew about Tom from what I had read. I didn't know him personally. I was one of those folks who came to Congress with no one expecting me to get here, so I didn't know that many folks in this body certainly before I got elected. When I got elected, one of the first things I did was try to find out as much as I could about Tom Latham and meet with Tom Latham and work with him on a number of issues because I knew he had a reputation for working across the aisle. I also knew that he was very good friends at the time with Mr. Boehner, who subsequently became Speaker of the House, so I knew it was probably in my interest to get to know Tom Latham if I wanted to get things done for Iowa, even though Speaker Pelosi took over when I came. My job since I have been here, I believe, has been to work with both sides of the aisle, and Tom Latham is a model, as far as I am concerned, for doing exactly that. When I first came, you know, we had a lot of tough issues to deal with here in the U.S.…”