Transcripts For CSPAN Portrait Unveiling Of Former Speaker O

Watch online at cspan. Org or listen on the go with the free cspan radio app. On tuesday, how Speaker Pelosi led a portrait unveiling honoring former Speaker John Boehner who announced he would step down in september 2015. His resignation took place the following month, day after pope francis addressed congress. This is 40 minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable nancy pelosi ladies and gentlemen, speaker nancy pelosi. It is my official and personal honor to welcome friends of Speaker John Boehner to the u. S. Capitol on this historic day. The presence of members from both sides of the aisle, both sides of the capital is a testament to the respect that all have for john, mr. Speaker. We are pleased to welcome to former speakers. Went to sip eight speaker gingrich, who is with us, and speaker ryan. Both of them are here. And we warmly welcome and extend our gratitude to debbie, to lindsay, and tricia and the entire boehner family for sharing john with this congress and with our country. Now it is my privilege to invite father conroy to deliver the invocation. Im surrounded by four phonic speakers. Dear god. You thanks for the proceedings of this day. And for Speaker John Boehner and his place in history as the 53rd speaker of the peoples house. We thank you for his many years of faithful attention to the peoples house as it speaker. Our nation will always be grateful for his leadership and aware of the important contribution Speaker Boehner made to the greatness of our nation. Together onme here this joyous occasion. In the course of these ceremonies, may all be reminded of our shared citizenship and the importance of Public Service in the advancement of our experiment of constitutional democracy. When all that is said and done here made all be for your greater honor and glory, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the colors of the United States by the u. S. Capitol Police Ceremonial Unit and the singing of our National Anthem by Master Sergeant Robert Berner and the retiring of the colors. [color guard commands] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, republican leader of the United States house of representatives. Good afternoon. It is an honor to be here. With all the turmoil going in washington, john boehner brought us all back together. [laughter] before i begin, i want to say a special thanks to johns wife, debbie, and to his children and grandchildren. I spent many hours with your father and sometimes it was a smokefilled room. [laughter] but he always spoke of you. He always spoke of you. From the earliest days, the Capitol Building has showcased americas values through art. Few individuals embody these values more than john does. Think for a moment of the American Dream. A young boy growing up with 11 siblings and sweeping the floors of his dads bar. Nothing prepared him more for the job of being speaker. [laughter] in congress, john served in several leadership roles and as committee chair. In modern history, he was among the best prepared in history to be elected to become speaker. And this preparation served john well, and our country. History will be very kind to this man. From the time john received that gavel, until this year when i had to return it, the federal government was spending less in discretionary than it was when john was first handed the gavel. I do not know if they will ever happen again. It has already been broken. John secured new Educational Opportunities through Charter Schools for underprivileged children in d. C. And across the country. He showed his love for freedom by commissioning the freedom foyer in the capitol which includes the bust of winston churchill. He did this while skillfully managing diverse views and personalities. [laughter] you know who they are. [laughter] i saw this firsthand when we worked together to earn the trust of the American People to lead congress. I spent a lot of time with john and will always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me. I met john for the first time as a young staffer, when he was on the Oversight Committee in north carolina. In a contested election. We became friends. When i first got elected to congress as a freshman, i remember john calling me into his office, when he was minority leader. He wanted to offer me the job of being the Platform Committee chair that year. I remember turning to him and asking him, did i do some thing wrong . [laughter] he gave me a day to think about it and i took the job. Our member calling him and he said were going to win the majority. I remember calling him. We want to develop a project that would actually make a pledge to america for what we promised to do and would carry out. John was right. America was hungry for that. I remember taking john to the First Tea Party rally. It happened on tax day, on april 15. John heard something others were not hearing across this country. And he wanted to make a pledge that we would govern differently. He was right. We captured 63 seats that year. John became the speaker of the house. If you look at this career, there is a lot of victories and there are some stumbles. Our life is like a book, and there are times in the chapter when we stumble that it may be the end of that chapter. There are many that would have left or retired going through some of the struggles john endured. Youve never seen him complain, he always had that smile on his face. And he endured. And he rose to the occasion that many did not think possible. To recapture the house. But not just for a party, but for a republic and a country. I applaud you for the work you have done. In johns case, what i learned, in all those days of being speaker, and some were tough. John has the patience of job. For job, that meant suffering and never losing faith in god or cursing him. In johns case, that suffering was guiding our party and country in a new direction. But john never lost his faith in god, his country or his party and along the way, there have been a few tears. [laughter] but i will tell you this, whenever you saw the tears on his face, he was usually talking about children or freedom. Because he cared deeply about their future and about ours. John put his heart and soul into preserving the American Dream, particularly through education. He wanted everyone to have the opportunities that a good education creates. We will add this portrait to the gallery of speakers. Many people will pass by it, but what will it tell us . Well, a portrait lasts a long time, but a legacy of change lasts far longer. It grows from generation to generation, like compounding interest or a snowball rolling down a hill. John, your legacy is right here in the peoples house. This portrait is more than a tribute to one man. It is on internal reminder of the values he stood for, freedom, hard work and never quitting. Those are the same qualities that Theodore Roosevelt spoke of in the famous man in the arena, and john lived up to them. The portrait speaks to us as clearly as when john would speak to us from the floor of the house. It is the same message we would hear when he would comment about our crooked tie or wrinkled suit jacket. The same mentioned that serving in this same message that serving in this institution is a privilege. Representing the people is the most sacred responsibility an american can have. John took pride in how he appeared before the American Public because he took pride in them. He was proud to be their representative and he showed and understood the responsibilities it entailed. This is what i will hear when i walk by this portrait, and i will take pride in knowing that the American People know what john stood for. I know john does not put much stake in fanfare. If you asked him, he never wanted this day to come and never cared about a portrait. His approach was to get to the point quickly and emphasize it strongly. Like president lincoln at gettysburg. John could be brief, but make a big impact on peoples lives. For all of johns great accomplishments, funding, opening and changing the v. A. , transforming a country and listening to a voice others would not, there are some small things that still live on, like the boehner birthday song. [laughter] fittingly, you may know that last sunday was his 70th birthday. I would like to end with you joining with me in singing to john his birthday song, the boehner way. This is your birthday song, it does not last too long. I know that your portrait and i know that your legacy will last generations. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable charles e. Schumer, democratic leader of the United States senate. When you are chairman of the rules committee, as i was in 2012, you plan the president ial inauguration and associated festivities, including the congressional luncheon, an honor but a laborious task. Without naming any names, several dignitaries had preferences about where they liked to sit, when they would like to speak and how, exactly, they would like their food prepared. When i asked Speaker Boehner, he replied, i am one of 12 children. It does not even need to be warm. [laughter] despite rising to one of the highest offices in our country, john boehner never forgot where he came from. He carried that modesty and sense of perspective with him. Even the speaker of the house can sing zippety doo dah at a press conference. As many of my colleagues noted, john wore his emotions on his sleeve. He sometimes got overwhelmed and not always at the times you would expect. A politico headline once wondered, why does john boehner cry so much, before listing a series of misty eyed moments for the speaker. Listening to a song on st. Patricks day, before america the beautiful, after a tribute to golf legend arnold palmer. I have some regret that john left the political scene when he did. If he had only endured a few more years i never would have become crying chuck schumer. [laughter] the president labeled me, and initially was parenthetical, as fake tears schumer, because i was weepy when we had immigrants whose families were being split up on stage. And trump said, i know schumer, those are fake tears, he never cries. Actually it is well known in my family, when i took my daughters to see free willy, i started weeping uncontrollably when he escapes. My daughters ran out of the theater. So we have that in common as well. Im not going to say Speaker Boehner and i agreed on most issues or even many. Immigration comes to mind. But he always exercised humility and a sense of humor and understood the nature of compromise. He knew that in a divided government, you dont get 100 of what you want all the time. Sometimes he knew you do not even get what you want from your own side of the aisle. It is not hard to understand johns love of cigarettes, red wine, and the occasional serenity prayer. I believe if his interest in legalizing marijuana had started earlier, he might have enjoyed an even more relaxing speakership. [laughter] hes an easy subject, you know. In all seriousness, Speaker Boehner was always a good, a decent man. He worked to guide the house under the most difficult of circumstances. We thank him for his service. We are glad to see he is so enjoying the next chapter in his life. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mitch mcconnell, majority leader of the United States senate. Senator mcconnell well, it is great to be here today with all of you for this wonderful occasion. I have been hardpressed to think what words of tribute could possibly be meaningful to a stone cold stoic like john boehner. In situations like this, you can imagine some honorees may be getting emotional or choked up, but not john. Not somebody so unemotional, so completely unflappable. You could set aside all johns other accomplishments and he would still deserve to be remembered forever as the best deal and negotiator with the worst poker face in american political history. Yes, Speaker Boehner has always worn his heart on his sleeve. I think it is actually one of the biggest reasons he earned so much respect and affection throughout his career. Even from those who strongly disagreed with him. We all remember john arrived in 1991 as a hardcharging young conservative. He and six other freshmen decided to endear themselves to the old guard by immediately calling out the house banking scandal. John kept right on shaking things up and speaking his mind for a quarter of a century. He fought for reforms. He helped shape and lead his conference. And he served the American People as speaker of the house. Steering the institution through a turbulent time with patriotism, principal, and graciousness. I will never forget how john once explained the job of speaker for the press. Heres what he said. I grew up in a bar, mopped floors, did dishes, tended bar. You had to learn to deal with every character that comes in the place. And trust me, i need all the lessons i learned growing up to do this job. [laughter] that is the john boehner magic. With john, you had the red wine, the trattoria, the smokes, the golf. In some ways, its almost like a caricature of a powerful leader come to life walked right off the page of some political cartoon. But you also have this remarkably forthright, goodhearted and genuine person. One of the most down to earth individuals this town has ever seen. Many have observed john embodies the American Dream, as others have said, one of 12 kids living in a one bedroom house and wiping down a bar in a factory town grows up to walk the corridors of power and actually gets his portrait hung right here in the u. S. Capitol. But that is not the whole story. The story is not just that john climbed from a humble start to wield all this power. The real reason why john has lived the American Dream is how he used that power, working to help other children write new stories of their own. John knew in his bones that he was speaker of the house for a reason. John knew he was speaker because small factory towns do not fight for themselves and Innercity School children who need School Choice do not fight for themselves. The american idea does not fight for itself. All of them need champions, and in you, mr. Speaker, they all had one. Congratulations on this historic honor. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable nancy pelosi, speaker of the United States house of representatives. Speaker pelosi back here again. Speaker boehner is a great patriot who has dedicated his life to our country. It is only fitting that we celebrate his legacy here in this pantheon where Great Americans are immortalized in marble and bronze. Now his portrait will be in the speakers lobby as an inspiring, enduring monument to the contributions he made to this country. I was trying to think of occasions when i saw john crying. I was thinking of occasions when i did not see john crying. I think he was crying when he gave me the gavel of speaker of the house. [laughter] being the first woman speaker, it was emotional, wasnt it, john . In johns Farewell Speech on the house floor, he said, the peoples house is the great embodiment of the American Dream. All of the speakers have addressed that aspect of johns life. How appropriate that john served as speaker of the house because john is the personification of the American Dream. In his story, we are reminded of the promise of america. That a hardworking son of an ohio bar man can rise to be speaker of the house. As speaker, john was a formidable spokesperson for his party and his cause. He sought Common Ground where he could, held his ground where he could not. He always understood the value of relationships and consensus building. He always was about something i advise other members to be, he was always a person of his word. And friendship never left his voice in all of our negotiations. We will never forget how he worked with ted kennedy and george miller, two liberal lions, under the leadership of president george w. Bush, to pass Landmark Education legislation. We all had our differences but i remember i respected his commitment to america and to this institution. We all remember how john made the visit of pope francis such a meaningful and beautiful experience for all of us, dont we, allister . And how wonderful today to see young allister here with zachary. Allister was just six weeks old when he was blessed by the pope that day, with clarity, beauty and moral urgency, pope francis called on us to be better stewards of gods creation and to be instruments of gods peace. John had that clarity too in everything he did. Thanks to johns leadership, the holy fathers message of hope, peace and dialogue will be a blessing and an inspiration to our congress and the country for many years to come. In his Farewell Speech, well, not quite farewell because we have another one now but in that space, john often spoke of the namesake of his home city, the great roman general cincinnatus, a farmer who answer the call of his nation to lead and then surrendered his power to return to the home he loved. John, the congress and the country have been strengthened by your decision to answer the call of our nation when you did. And now, we wish you all the best, as you enjoy your retirement i do not know if that is quite the word for it. Now i have the privilege of inviting up to the podium here, Speaker Boehners family to join in the unveiling of his portr