Bill Lee: “First, let me thank our ranking member, Mr. Engel, for yielding me time but also for his hard and diligent work and for…”

“First, let me thank our ranking member, Mr. Engel, for yielding me time but also for his hard and diligent work and for being a real champion for our global health programs. I thank the gentleman very much for his kind words. Let me also thank House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce and the chair of the Africa Subcommittee, Chris Smith, for their dedication to strengthening PEPFAR. It has really been a pleasure working with them from day one on this lifesaving legislation. I cannot forget the late Chairman Henry Hyde and our ranking member, Tom Lantos, who worked so hard--Chris, you remember this--in making sure that this legislation stayed on track and that it was bipartisan. Also, to our current ranking member of the House Africa Subcommittee, Congresswoman Karen Bass, I have to acknowledge her and thank her for her tremendous leadership, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus because it was the Congressional Black Caucus that supported me in my work with President Bush and, thankfully, our leader, Nancy Pelosi, who helped with this transformational legislation. It was many years ago, so I just have to salute and thank them. I also thank my colleague Congresswoman Betty McCollum, because she never let us forget that we insisted on must-have efforts in this legislation on behalf of vulnerable children and orphans.…”