Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Jean Schmidt

Mr. Speaker, today I really just want to say thank you to a young woman who for the last time in her legislative career as a Member of Congress will grace our presence this evening at the State of the Union, and I'm talking about my good friend, Gabby Giffords. I think the world will all know Gabby as the courageous heroine who, on January 8, 2011, was met by an unbelievable mad person who changed her life and the life of so many, but I really want to tell all of us in this body what a great individual and humanitarian she was for all of us.

She was sworn into office on January 4, 2007. She came out of the State legislature in Arizona, so her background was in the State legislature, as mine is. She currently represents southern Arizona, the Tucson area, which has the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. She is the leading champion on border security, energy independence, and the needs of military families and veterans, which she knows so well because she is married to an active military veteran, Mark Kelly, who not only flew umpteen missions as a naval pilot but also flew into space as a NASA astronaut.

On January 8, when she was having Congress On Your Corner at a supermarket in northwest Tucson, an ordinary morning, and many people were there, she was met by a madman who not only changed her life, but ended the life of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green; Dorothy Morris; John Roll, chief Federal judge for Arizona; Phyllis Schneck; Dorwan Stoddard; and Gabriel Zimmerman. Twelve others, including Giffords' staff members Ron Barber and Pat Simon, were wounded. She was treated initially nearby and then flown to the TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston. She continues to be rehabilitated, and it is remarkable how far this young woman has come.

She was a Fulbright Scholar, but more importantly, she is my friend. You see, in the House we have a little bipartisan softball team. We play folks like the NRCC young folks and the DCCC young folks, and now recently we're are playing the press corps. She was a member of our team, and she was a really good member.

I wish Gabby well as she moves to a new direction in her life, and I pray each and every morning and each and every evening that God will continue to allow her to become a complete human being again. She is a great lady, a great friend of this House, a great friend of the folks in Tucson and surrounding Arizona.

Rep. Eliot L. Engel

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Rep. Jean Schmidt

Yes, I will yield to my friend, Mr. Engel from New York.

Rep. Eliot L. Engel

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me, and I think that her taking the floor this morning is the best example of bipartisanship that people say Congress doesn't have enough of, and I think that those of us that believe in bipartisanship need to do more and more of this.

The attack on Gabby was really an attack on all of us, an attack on Congress, and something that's really unthinkable. I'm very happy that she will be here this evening for the State of the Union Address by the President.

I got to know Gabby very well because my son attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and graduated from there, and he was campaigning for her, and I actually got to know her before she even was a Member of the House. I think that all of us can say that she has been one of the most collegial, friendly, hardworking and dedicated Members of Congress.

We go out there, all of us, on both sides of the aisle every day and meet with thousands and thousands and thousands of constituents. I think that she embodied the best of what Congress has to offer. I am sorry that she is resigning, but I know that she's doing what she feels is best for her State of Arizona and also best for her. I know that we all wish her Godspeed, and I know we all wish her as speedy a recovery as we can get.

I know we haven't seen the last of her. She will come roaring back and will continue to make tremendous contributions to this country for years to come. So I want to thank the gentlewoman for doing this. I think that both of us standing here today shows the American people that Congress can work together and should work together, and in the fine tradition of Gabby Giffords, we are going to make sure that we all continue to work together.