So in his place they have decided to put a statue of the great inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, who was born in milan, ohio, in 1847. I want to congratulate the people of ohio for this most excellent choice and i thank all of you for coming today, especially those of you from ohio, for joining us in this celebration. Thank you, everybody. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the United States armed forces color guard, the singing of our National Anthem and the retiring of the colors. [drums] o, say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave [drums] ladies and gentlemen, please remaining standing as the chaplain of the United States house of representatives, father patrick conroy, gives the invocation. Let us pray. God of the universe, the light of the world, we give you thanks for the gift of life and for the Many Blessings that life brings. Today, we gather in this hallowed temple to human freedom to honor one of ohios and americas favorite sons. Few american figures have projected such a broad swath of influence on the worlds civilization, as Thomas Alva Edison. His inquisitive desire and inventive imagination inspired creativity in the spirit of our human family. Many advances in science, in technology, medicine and physics, which have bettered the lives of millions, were made possible by the presence of artificial light. We give you thanks for Thomas Edisons long career of invention and for the numerous contributions to the world, including sound recording, and Motion Pictures, which influenced most profoundly artistic expression in the modern world. Impel us with your spirit to change our world for the better and may our gathering redound to your greater honor and glory, amen. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, United States representative from the ninth district of ohio, the honorable marcy kaptur. Rep. Kaptur good afternoon. Father conroy, chaplain black, fellow members of the ohio delegation, senator brown, senator portman, majority leader mcconnell, leader pelosi, speaker ryan, and all assembled here today, what an honor it is to celebrate the legacy of Thomas Alva Edison, a native ohioan, as we unveil his statue in the United States capitol. Please let me extend a buckeye welcome to the ohioans joining us as well as profound things to all the many dear individuals from many walks of life whose efforts bring us to this moment. Considered one of americas greatest inventors, the life and legacy of Thomas Edison lives large among us today. Edison believed what you are will show in what you do. Thomas edison was the youngest of seven children. He was born in a small brick home with a white picket fence in 1847 in milan, ohio. A small town then, and still today, in Northern Ohio that i have had the privilege of representing during my early service. Edisons early life was not the story book character you might envision. Edison faced early hardships, many of them. His teacher said, and i quote, too stupid to learn anything. In fact, he had a hearing problem resulting from a bout with scarlet fever. Thus, he was largely home schooled by his mother, nancy. Later, he failed his First CollegeEntrance Exam and became essentially selftaught. Later, edison was fired from his first two jobs for being nonproductive. Yet, this genius of a human being managed to achieve 1,093 patents to his name. 1,093. Edison once observed, opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. So he had a sense of humor. And work he did. He founded 14 Companies Including general electric, still one of the largest publicly traded companies worldwide. Americas greatest inventor introduced the world to, as was said earlier, the light bulb, but not just that. Power utilities, sound recording, Motion Pictures all of which established new industries worldwide. Other breakthroughs included the phonograph, the telegraph, and storage batteries. Still more inventions, including the stock ticker, a battery for an electric car, cement, the tattoo gun, the magnetic iron ore separator. This mans mind had full range. Thomas edison even invented the first version of the electronic vote counter for legislative bodies like congress. Edison declared, our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. How inspiring those words and actions of Thomas Edisons remain today. America never succeeded by thinking small. America never thrived by giving up. Thomas alva edison always thought big, delivered big, and he always tried just one more time. His genius moved america forward. Now the oldest democratic republic on the face of the earth, despite being one of the youngest nations, and we are still the largest and most dynamic economy in the world. Thank you, Thomas Alva Edison, for leading america forward. Now let us follow his example. Congratulations to all. [applause] United States senator from ohio, the honorable robert portman. [applause] senator portman wonderful to be here. I love having all these distinguished buckeyes in town to celebrate Thomas Edison. Mr. Speaker, leader mcconnell, leader pelosi, speaker rosenberger, a surprise guest with us here today, came all the way from columbus for this occasion, and to my colleagues in the ohio delegation who i see here in the front row, my colleague in the senate, its great to have everyone together on a bipartisan effort here to hold up a great ohioan and great american. Pat teaberry was unable to be here today. He hoped to say a few words. To alan, pat passes along his congratulations and to all of you, his best wishes. The decision to hold up Thomas Edison as a symbol from ohio is, of course, something were all proud of today but it was said early, it was the ohio delegation. It really wasnt. It was the vote of the people. So the people of ohio made this decision. A couple of them are here today who helped organize it. Mark wagner, doug mcdonald, thank you for being here and your hard work over the years, talking to me about this process and getting us to this point. I know youre happy about it. I will say it was not an easy decision. We had a lot of remarkable ohioans to choose from. We happen to have quite a few ohioans distinguished enough to be in this great hall. We have Neil Armstrong and 23 other astronauts so that was tough competition right there. Weve had eight president s to choose from. We also have had a couple of guys named orville and wilbur who were in the running. So this was not easy. Were a state with a lot to be proud of. But i think we got it right. I think congressman kaptur said congresswoman kaptur said it well in terms of his background. Thomas edison was not a guy destined for greatness. He was near deaf. He was the son of a shingle maker and a school teacher. As was said earlier, he didnt do particularly well in school. As a result, he really had no formal schooling. He got bad grades. His teacher told his mom one day that he was addled, and too stupid to learn anything, because of his disability. Interesting lesson there, isnt it . But he had something that other kids didnt have. He had an amazing work ethic and he had this determination and perseverance and will to succeed so he left school but by age 14, he was already an entrepreneur, he was doing things, making things, selling newspapers and concessions on this new fangled Railroad System america had put in place. He was sort of ahead of his time. At age 22, he had his first real invention, it was an electronic vote recorder, which he tried unsuccessfully to sell to the United States congress. Dont you love that . Again, he was ahead of his time, wasnt he . He was a guy who just couldnt stop experimenting and inventing. He often slept in his lab. He said one time, quote, genius is 1 inspiration and 99 perspiration. It was about hard work for him and it paid off. By the time he was 31, that nearly deaf kid who struggled in school had invented the phonograph and was making some of the first sound recordings in history. Two years later, he invented the incandescent light bulb which we may see in a moment. But the light bulb is what hes most famous for. And we honor him today for all those successes. He truly changed the world and he truly represents ohio in terms of his invention and innovation but i think more important he represents ohio values of hard work, determination, perseverance. Im sure as folks think about Thomas Edison and walk by the statue, theyll think about the light bulb but i hope, also, the members of congress who go past here, the many visitors who come through this hall, the staff and others who stroll past, will also be inspired by those ohio values that propelled him to greatness. Thank you. [applause] United States senator from ohio, the honorable sherrod brown. [applause] senator brown speaker ryan, leader mcconnell, leader pelosi, speaker rosenberger, thank you, and to my friend, rob part man and all the delegation here and alan, congratulations on this wonderful statue. Thank you. It was on june 1, 1869, that a young inventor named Thomas Alva Edison was granted his first patent. Edison was born only 50 miles from where i grew up. His first patent was an electronic vote recorder. He came to washington where he presented his invention to a house committee. The earnest 22yearold inventor showed the committee how his electronic voting machine worked. He told them it would save time for them and for their colleagues. The Committee Chairman responded, young man, that is just what we do not want. Your invention would destroy the only hope that the minority would have of influencing legislation. As the ruling majority knows, leader, the ruling majority knows that at some day they may become a minority, they will be as much averse to change as their opponents. A dejected edison stomped out of the room, promised himself he would never invent anything else that did not have a commercial purpose. 104 years later, speaker ryan 104 years later, the house of representatives installed an electronic Voting System patterned on edisons invention of 1869, and it was installed by former Cleveland Browns quarterback frank ryan who was then a physicist at stanford university. Thats the history of the Voting System in the house of representatives. I thought i have been looking for like 20 years at a time to use that story. What better place than right now . [applause] senator brown Thomas Edison, as all of the speakers will say, is such a fitting choice to represent the spirit of ohio. Were a state of inventors, pioneers, dreamers and creators. Thomas edison lived the world. Lit the world. The Wright Brothers vaulted us into the skies, john glenn reached for the heavens, Neil Armstrong touched the stars. They inspired their state, their country and the world. So did our artists and writers. Gloria steinem from toledo was a pioneer. Jesse owens from cleveland sprinted into our imagination. In ohio, more than any state, no offense to wisconsin, california or kentucky ohio more than any state, makes things. Ohio, cleveland is about to install the first offshore wind turbine and fresh water in north america. Selfdriving vehicles are coming to columbus. We make solar panels in toledo. We have the most efficient steel mill in the world in cleveland, ohio, and my suit was made by Union Workers 10 miles from my house. Thomas edison, americas great inventor, is not frozen in bronze. He lives on in the soul of the people of this state, his legacy will continue. Thank you. [applause] Christine Schultz and sarah latham mccoy. [applause] what a thing, what a thing, what a thing to live for, mankind, to give for mankind, all the joys of living, all hes got hes giving, work away, work away, night and day, never play, if america needed a king on a throne, mr. Edison sits on a throne of his own, never quit, a real star of foil that no fame can spoil. Yankees all applaud him, other nations laud him, wears a smile, all the while, rank and file, there were edison, theres an edison o, say, can you see, by the light that he gives you and me, what a man he is, what a grand old wiz, groping, groping in the dark without him we would be, its a light so bright thats shining, for the land of the free and the land or the sea, oh, you like the way mr. Thomas a edison miracle man [applause] the democratic leader of the United States house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi. Rep. Pelosi im honored to join our speaker, paul ryan, senator mitch mcconnell, leader of the senate, and the distinguished senators and congressmen who are here to celebrate this new addition to our capitol. Today, 85 years after his death. We welcome to the capitol the statue of one of the greatest inventors who has ever lived, Thomas Alva Edison, the wizard of menlo park. Now, marcy gave inventory to many of his inventions, senator portman talked about the work ethic so essential to his success. Senator brown talked about the convention between that voting connection between that voting card and a Cleveland BrownsFootball Player named ryan who was a physicist at stanford who installed the voting card here many, many years later. So ill make another california connection. As a californian, i take special delight in the connection between menlo park, new jersey, and menlo park, california. The wizard of menlo park. How fitting that menlo park, california, named years before the new Jersey Development made famous by edisons labs, is now home to the wizardry of our own time, silicon valley. None of that would have happened, though, without Thomas Edison. Again and again, the world was transformed by edisons genius. The diligence that powered discovery. He was about two things. He was about invention and he was about discovery, discovery of what works and what doesnt, creativity, the heroic worth ethic that brought his ideas to fruition. Technology has marched on but edisons achievements still stir our imaginations, still touch our hearts with pride and wonder. In Thomas Edison, we behold the power of Applied Science and American Innovation to illuminate the world. 50 years after the invention of the incandescent bulb, at edisons congressional Gold Medal Ceremony here in the capitol, president Calvin Coolidge said, few men possess to such a striking degree the blending of the imagination of a dreamer with the practical driving force of the doer. Edison, coolidge proclaimed, represents the finest tradition of our citizenship. Indeed, edison embodies the creative essence of america, not only the invention of things but spirit of innovation at the soul of our national character, innovation, entrepreneurship, discovery, creativity. Here in congress, we have a special responsibility to help sustain and advance americas leadership in innovation. We must take inventory of the ingredients needed to foster a new generation of edisons. How could there be a whole generation of edisons, but in the spirit of edison, recognizing the importance of respect for science, patience for the time it takes, the investment in resources to produce breakthroughs, and remembering that, for most people, innovation begins in the classroom, in this case, the classroom of his mother, nancy. The statues that fill the capitol are more than commemoration, they are inspiration. Edison was never consent to rest content to rest on his laurels. He was always relentlessly perfecting, always hungry for a new idea. He thought entrepreneurially. Let edisons presence this these hallowed halls challenge us to embrace that same determination, dissatisfaction and daring and optimism. Let Thomas Edisons remind us of the invention innovation that keeps america number one. Thank you, ohio, for sending us Thomas Edison to the capitol. [applause] the majority leader of the United States senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. [applause] senator mcconnell i believe it was pericles who once said famous men have the whole earth as their memorial. Im not sure about the entire planet but Thomas Edison has sure got a lot of admirers among our 50 states. New jersey claims them as their wizard of menlo park. Michigan has its own connection. And not only does ohio have a solid stake, but the buckeyes just seriously upped the ante with this largerthanlife bronze statue behind us. So im staying out of that. But let me also remind everyone of kentuckys own ties to Thomas Edison. Edison was only about 19 when he moved to louisville to work as a telegraph operator. He didnt las