Ed Markey: “I rise to commemorate this great anniversary. I was elected to Congress in 1976 just as the great Tip O'Neill was rising…”

“I rise to commemorate this great anniversary. I was elected to Congress in 1976 just as the great Tip O'Neill was rising to become the Speaker of this great House. And there was a debate that raged in Congress over whether or not television should be allowed into this Chamber, and it was a debate that went on and on behind closed doors catalyzed by Brian Lamb, who had this idea that he could bring the United States House of Representatives to the American people. And of course the younger Members felt that that was a great idea because we had all grown up watching television. But the older Members, they were not quite so sure that that was a great idea, that the cameras would roam around and look for a Member who is nodding off, look for a Member reading a newspaper on the floor. And so this debate continued until a compromise was reached that the cameras would just focus upon the locations where the Members were speaking. And it was an incredible discussion. But going back that 25 years, it is now clear that C-SPAN has long served the American people by opening the House of Representatives, the Senate, and thousands of congressional hearings and public safety discussions around the U.S. and the globe for the American public to see and to hear. And it is all because of this decision made by Tip O'Neill, Massachusetts' great man of the House, that all of this was made possible.”