James Comer: “Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives has lost a true statesman. Gerry Connolly was a father, a husband, friend, and…”

“Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives has lost a true statesman. Gerry Connolly was a father, a husband, friend, and a lifelong public servant that dedicated his life to his constituents, his community, and his country. I was deeply saddened to hear about his sudden passing. From the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Gerry Connolly was a devoted public servant from Virginia's 11th Congressional District. In Congress, Gerry Connolly was a friend to many of us. He was steadfast in fighting for what he believed in, but he was always committed to bipartisanship where he thought we could agree. Over his tenure on this committee, I am proud to say we cosponsored eight bills together, including the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, the FedRAMP Authorization Act, and the Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act. I extend my condolences to his family and also to the members of his staff. We lost our colleague after a short but courageous fight against esophageal cancer, one of the deadliest and fastest growing cancer diagnoses among Americans today.”