On the recordNovember 27, 2012
I am honored to be here today, as well, to pay my respect in tribute to Congressman Ralph Hall. As a freshman in Congress, there's a whole lot to learn. When I came in, Ralph Hall was one of those people that was larger than life. And he remains larger than life after I've been here for 2 years. He is the kind of guy that you aspire to be like in Congress--able to solve problems, able to get things done across party lines, friends with everybody, always a smile on his face, always a joke on his lips. He is a problem-solver, and that's what we need here in Washington is people who solve problems. A perfect example that you've heard some of my colleagues allude to earlier today, there were some folks saying, Ralph Hall is too old to serve in Congress. Well, he solved that problem by jumping out of an airplane. And I'm going to tell you something. For a Navy pilot--I represent two naval training facilities--I guarantee you naval pilots do not like to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Getting out of an airplane is a bad sign for a Navy pilot before it's landed. Ralph Hall epitomizes and is the perfect example of what it is to be a Congressman. He could make friends with a fence post. And as I've told my wife Debbie, When I grow up, I want to be Ralph Hall.
