Political Quotes

“Thank you, Larry. As a matter of fact, we have the same alma mater, Boston University. We are doing a Congress to Campus program very soon. We appreciate the great work that you and Jack do on behalf of this very important undertaking. And let me associate myself with your remarks about Matt McHugh. He has been an invaluable and a much-appreciated leader of this organization, whether during his time as president or, more recently, as cochair of this program. Matt, this entire organization thanks you for your sage counsel and outstanding governance for so many years. Let's hear it for Matt. As you may recall from our last report to Congress, the association has put some energy and focus into the question of bipartisanship and civility in our political dialogue. We are furthering this important work via the Common Ground Project. The purpose of the Common Ground Project is to involve citizens in a dialogue about the issues of the day, have a vigorous debate that is both partisan and productive, and benefit from the experience of respecting a differing point of view. Some of our existing undertakings already fit in very nicely with this objective, for example, the Congress to Campus program that we just had Larry LaRocco report on. And to give you more background about the Common Ground Project, I invite my colleague from Tennessee, former Member Bob Clement, to share a report. Bob. We interrupt this about-to-be report for the Chair.”