Political Quotes

“I want to take a moment to appreciate some powerlifting champions in east Tennessee. That is correct, I said powerlifting. Last week, I was on the plane back to Knoxville from Washington. This fellow sitting next to me talked excitedly about his set of twins, 17- year-old Ari and Ethan, who go to Webb School of Knoxville. They are powerlifting champions. Their dad, Scott, used to powerlift as a hobby, and he got his boys into the sport when they were about 9 years old. They all trained together, and as time went on, they ended up loving the sport as much as their dad. This year, the boys decided to compete for the first time in the Southern Powerlifting Federation championship, and they blew the competition out of the water. Both boys won their divisions, and Ari set a world record--a world record, Mr. Speaker--for his age and weight class by lifting a total of 1,660 pounds between his deadlift, bench, and squat. It is very cool to me to have a world record holder who goes to school in my district, but it is even cooler to hear how the shared love of powerlifting bonded this father and his sons in a very unique way. Ari and Ethan didn't grow up as bickering brothers as most do. They grew up as training partners. They supported each other, kept each other safe, and pushed each other to keep pursuing their goals. Unfortunately, Ari tore his ACL and won't be able to compete in the squat or deadlift this year, but he isn't letting that fact get him down.…”