Jeff Fortenberry: “Thank you, Madam Speaker. Before my colleague Dan Burton leaves the Chamber, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for…”

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. Before my colleague Dan Burton leaves the Chamber, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your thoughtful reflections here. I should tell the Speaker, as well as everyone who might be watching, that we were teasing you a moment ago because you said you were only going to speak for 10 minutes, and I said, Dan Burton, you've never spoken for 10 minutes in your life. You're going to go a lot longer than that. You held it to about 10, and your words were not only precise but deeply thoughtful and meaningful, and I think they're an outstanding tribute to you in leaving this body. I want to thank you for your personal friendship to me and for your words of admonition to the rest of us to try to be a little bit kinder, a little bit gentler. I think it's important for people to know--and you alluded to it-- that, over a decade ago, your own wife died. The caregiver for your wife, as she had cancer, was Samia, who became your friend and who became a friend of your family's, and your own children encouraged you to, perhaps, pursue a relationship with her, and now she is your lovely wife. It has been a pleasure to see you so happy in these last years of public service, but we really appreciate your dedication and passion to serving this Nation. So thank you so much. Madam Speaker, I would like to turn to another topic now. I sat in my office last night, looking at the pictures of the precious little children who were killed in Connecticut last Friday.…”