Thomas R. Suozzi: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want to read into the Record a poem by an American poet…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want to read into the Record a poem by an American poet who happened to live in my district in the 1800s. This poem was brought to my attention by my sister, Rosemary Lloyd, and the poem was brought to her attention by a historian from my college, Boston College, Heather Cox Richardson. In this poem Walt Whitman spoke about America's choosing day. We see the confrontations and divisions we have in our country right now, but in 1884 there were great divisions in this country, less than 20 years after the Civil War, and there was great disruption among the political parties to decide how we would move forward. Madam Speaker, I want to read Walt Whitman's poem into the Record. It is a great guidance for all of us today.…”