Chris Chocola: “I rise today in support with my colleagues of this resolution with great sadness and great respect. This certainly is a…”

“I rise today in support with my colleagues of this resolution with great sadness and great respect. This certainly is a sad day for all Hoosiers when we learned of the passing of our Governor, Frank O'Bannon. Although I have served in Congress for a short period of time, and my personal experience with Governor O'Bannon has been limited, I have great respect for the man he was and the life he lived. One did not need to know Frank O'Bannon very well to know what kind of a person he was. He had the rare ability to project his sincerity and his genuine nature to all that he came in contact with. And those who knew him well, regardless of their political affiliation, were unanimous in their praise and respect for the man and his character. I think we are seeing a great example of that today. I consider it my loss that I did not have a greater opportunity to work with and learn from Frank O'Bannon, and certainly the entire State of Indiana will miss him and his lifetime of public service. But in the end, we are all fortunate and grateful for the example he gave us and thankful for his legacy of leadership. Mr. Speaker, I know I speak on behalf of all my constituents in the 2nd District of Indiana when I thank Frank O'Bannon for his service to our State, and our thoughts and our prayers are with his wife, Judy, and his entire family.”