Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7507 for the purpose of, as somewhat outlined by my colleague from Maryland, honoring by naming a post office in Lexington, Nebraska, after former Congressman Bill and his wife, Elsie Barrett. Bill Barrett was born in Lexington, Nebraska, in 1929. Following his service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean war, Bill returned to his alma mater, Hastings College, graduated, then served as vice president for student admissions and later on the college's board of trustees for 32 years. In 1978, he was elected to the Nebraska legislature, the unicameral, serving for 12 years, with his last 4 as speaker. He was then elected to represent the Third District of Nebraska in the U.S. House. Known for his ability to cultivate consensus and connect with anyone, Bill was the president of his freshman congressional class, a group that even included the future Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Tirelessly focused on issues important to Nebraska's farmers and ranchers, as we heard earlier, Bill's former staff have recounted how he would always ask: Does this help the Third District? During his 5 years in Congress, he served on the House Agriculture Committee and coauthored the 1996 farm bill. He also presided over the weekly bipartisan prayer breakfast and was eventually appointed chairman of the National Prayer Breakfast.…”