Luke Messer: “I appreciate the opportunity to greet the House today. My speech today is intended to be my farewell to this Chamber…”

“I appreciate the opportunity to greet the House today. My speech today is intended to be my farewell to this Chamber after serving in this Chamber, proudly representing Indiana's Sixth Congressional District, over the last 6 years. I rise today at a time of tragedy in Indiana's Sixth Congressional District. At Dennis Intermediate School in Richmond, Indiana, there was a shooting today. On behalf of everyone in Indiana's Sixth Congressional District, I would like to express our condolences for the deaths that occurred there. Our hearts, prayers, and minds go out to all the families and kids in the school who are there. This is, frankly, an epidemic, Mr. Speaker, in our country. It is a great tragedy. Every kid in America ought to be able to go to school where they feel safe. We need to do more with school security and more to handle mental health challenges. We need to do more to repair the moral fabric of this society, Mr. Speaker, so that our kids can go to school and feel safe. Now to my final greeting to this Chamber and to the people of Indiana's Sixth Congressional District. I today rise first to say thank you and also to provide maybe some thoughts about a compass forward.…”