On the recordJanuary 21, 2025
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I thank you so much for allowing me to join you in honoring our mutual friend and confidant, Tracie Pough. Robert Frost, the great writer, once wrote: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I don't argue with Robert Frost, but I beg to differ a little bit with that notion because I am of the opinion, and from my own experiences, no matter what road one chooses to travel, it is the people with whom you intersect that make the difference. When I first met Tracie Pough, I don't remember where it was or exactly when it was, but it was more than 20 years. It was not long after I came to Congress. Of course, I am a bit older than both Debbie and Tracie. We for some reason just kind of hit it off. Our spirits kind of congealed. I don't know exactly how to explain it. We started doing political stuff together, traveling. She just reminded me of a trip we shared to Louisiana, a part of Louisiana I didn't know existed. I didn't know about all these places. It was this little place we went to work on behalf of a candidate, and we won. Of course, the candidate later switched parties. Then, I think we lost. The fact still remains I got to know her on that trip. I often wonder what it is about Tracie that makes my chief of staff sometimes have to consult with her before he answers my question.…





