Jacob Frey: “this concludes our 27th annual report to the Congress by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. I…”

“this concludes our 27th annual report to the Congress by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. I think I said earlier, and I truly believe it, that being a Member of this body was a privilege. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. There were times that I would look out the window and say, you know, am I really here? I never lost awe of this institution. I never lost feeling that being here was just an incredible opportunity and a privilege, and think to the same extent I feel that being a former Member is also a privilege, because we have got a chance to help the people in this country understand what we have been given, the incredible job that the people who wrote this Constitution did. A little over 7,000 words, and it still works somehow today. It is so easy to kick things around and be cynical; it is so easy to knock; but this body is what keeps it together. This is the keel on the sailboat that keeps us from tilting too far to the right or too far to the left, and we usually float back and forth through the center. There really is no other group in this country that has the ability to speak, that has the credibility to speak, and that are united, not with a 'D' or 'R' after our names or whatever, that is really insignificant, but are united for our love for this institution. We are part of and have been part of the greatest legislative body in the history of the world.”