Derek Kilmer: “Ideally, Congress is a place where policymaking happens in committees, not in leadership offices.”

My gratitude to Chairwoman Bice and to you, Mr. Chairman, and to Ranking Member Morelle, is that you are loving critics of the institution, and that matters.

First, it can help us promote bipartisanship and civility, which I believe is desperately needed in our polarized politics.

These retreats will allow us to identify areas of mutual concern and agreement.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Congress has never awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to any group of Vietnam veterans. Today, we can change that by passing this legislation. I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote…