On the recordDecember 9, 2014
It was a privilege to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey on behalf of our colleague who set a historical record of serving this Chamber and the people of his district so well for 60 years. And it is a privilege for me now also, Mr. Speaker, to be in this well to deliver what is my last speech on this floor. It has been the privilege and the honor of a lifetime for me to serve as a Member of the United States Congress, serving as the first woman ever elected from the State of Minnesota in the capacity of being a Republican. It is an honor, and it is the ride of a lifetime. As I stand here in the well of this House, I am so filled with joy and so much happiness in understanding that the privilege I have is one of being really a link on a chain that has gone on for hundreds of years. I stand right here on the soil, in the square feet that are the freest square feet in the world because you see, Mr. Speaker, it is here where any voice that holds an election certificate can speak forth the words, words that maybe a President of the United States would vehemently agree with, disagree with, words that maybe colleagues from one's own party and the opposing party may vehemently disagree with, words that in some sense might incent people to anger or to even riot in some cases, but words, nonetheless, that are free--free, free-- because a price was paid so that speech could be given. It is an honor. Where else could we find this level of freedom anywhere in the world?…
