mr. carper: this is crazy. in any event, let me conclude -- i am neat quite done, but let me conclude with a couple of thoughts relating to a date that just passed, and that was december 7. that's a date that in our state is well-known. it is called delaware day. it is a celebration of december 7, 1787, the day that the people of delaware ratified through their 25 representatives the constitution, before anybody else had. delaware ratified the constitution and we became the first state. and i hope that years from now we'll continue to celebrate delaware day in my home state and frankly in other places, too. i hope that people across our nation will continue to be inspired by the words of our founding fathers. as many of our colleagues have heard me say here on this floor in the past, ben franklin was asked as he was exiting the constitutional convention in philadelphia in 1787, he was asked, he said, mr. franklin, what have you wrought here? what have you created here? he said famously, a republic if we can kee

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. a mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr

mr. carper: i'd like to yield to the gentle woman from west virginia. mrs. capito: i rise in strong support of the house amendment to s. 4367, what my come p -- compadre did not mention is the title of the bill, the thomas carper water resources act of 2024. i urge a vote in favor. just last week, the house approved this bill by an overwhelming margin of 399-18. this bipartisan legislation is supported by a diverse group of more than 200 stakeholders, which illustrates the positive impact that the legislation will have on communities across this country. i just want to spend a few minutes kind of discussing the great work of my colleagues in congress and the benefits that the american people will have by the provisions on this bill. at the heart of the legislation is the water resources development act of 2024. the enactment of biennial water resources legislation over the last ten years has been critical to addressing the nation's water resources needs. in august, the senate passed its version of this legislation by unanimous consent. that bill was developed

mr. carper. mr. casey. >> we've arrived, we are here at last. another government shutdown averted. the government will remain open . i'm not sure if that's good news or bad news. people need to know yes the government will stay open and it will not be chaotic, congress can adjourn which is probably a good thing when congress adjourns but the thing about government staying open is we will pass thing called a continued resolution . what does that mean, it means we are resolved to continue as we have for really decades. we will continue to spend money regardless of whether we have it or not. we will continue to spend money at a pace such that we will accumulate about $2 trillion in debt each year, the deficit will be about $2 trillion. now, the spending is comprised of a lot of different areas. it's about $6.8 trillion in spending and we bring in about 4.8 trillion in revenues so it's about $2 trillion mismatch. a lot of the spending is entitlements, probably two thirds of the spending is entitlement but this body refuses to address entitlements though as part of the continuing spendi

mr. carper, who served four terms in the senate, announced his retirement in 2023.his political career, he served in the vietnam war as a navy pilot between 1968 and 1973. he also represented delaware in the u.s. house and as governor between 1993 and 2001. next, his final remarks from the senate floor, followed by a conversation we had with the senator about his time in washington. >> mr. president, thank you very much, and to our colleagues that are coming into join us, in just a few weeks am going to be stepping down as one of delaware's two united states

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. the clerk: mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. helmy. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. the clerk: mr. warner, aye. mrs. fischer, no. the clerk: mr. kaine, mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. the clerk: mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. m

mr. carper: i'd ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? s to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. the clerk: mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. funding menopause and migraine, high blood. pressure. i need to break down silos across america. make more progress. we don't know enough about menopause and that is going to. the department of defense like arthritis cancer, chronic diseases and in the military our work doesn't stop here. action. graded and prioritized in all research projects across the entire government and women's health says so much more is never proper has a government. [applause] the research is going across the entire world. one thing about tha

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton.cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. helmy. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. we look so much alike. with a senator you? >> yes. >> i rise to object. i will not let this man go quietly into the night. i would ask unanimous consent to force him to stay in the senate, but like all my unanimous consent request over the last ten years none of them have ever passed. [laughing] >> case in point. i didn't necessarily expect to speak but i found myself sitting there getting sad and angry that we are losing mitt romney. first of all because we have obviously to the naked eye so much in common. i am black, and mitt romney is black and adjacent. mitt romney is a of great personal net worth, and on the man of great personal net girth. but the. reality is, the more i served with mitt

mr. carper. the clerk: mr. casey.ry i'm pleased you are here today and over the last four years to enjoy the think the cordial relationship. we worked together on many issues of great importance however today your appearance here today and i had to be honest with your comes after six months after i requested your testimony following my comprehensive work and the catastrophic withdrawal from afghanistan. i have constitutional authority and i have that constitutional authority that i is chairman him responsible for and i also have a responsibility to the american people and to the 13 servicemen and women that died and the many other servicemembers who have died and the afghan allies left behind that died in the women's who are left behind. this under article i of the constitution is congress's greatest role of oversight and transparency. i would had to say-disappointed when you've ignored my request for your testimony, forcing me to subpoena you not once but twice and rather than accept my good faith efforts to accommod

mr. carper has served four terms in the senate and announced his retirement in 2023. prior

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. see an ability they have right now to get loans from the bank and lenders to put their crops in the ground, to put the seats in the ground in the spring cilia to take care of that and we did. we are excited about this outcome tonight. we are grateful that everyone stuck together to do the right thing the last orderll of busins for the year is done and we are set up for a big and important new start in january. we can't wait to get to that point. we encourage swift passage in the senate now but they need to do their job is the house just in and we will all go home. i want to wish everybody a merry ch

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. the clerk: ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. i have lots of talk about. first i want to bring up one item. as you know we have been briefing you regularly at their parks mind 900,000 troops deployed this area. might it isl. significant intert we recently learned that those numbers were higher so we were asked to look into it and in fact there approximately 2000 u.s. troops and syria. as i understand it and as it was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy shifting mission requirements worse the core 900 or on longer term employment. for many of her deployment the numbers of fluctuate from t

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. helmy. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. the possible use of emergency powers by thee president elect. bicycling team program serves as their senior director. thanks for giving us your time today. >> guest: thanksll had me. >> host: when you the true emergency power a lot of things can emerge. what's the best with understanding what that is to a president? >> guest: that's a great question. emergency powers take different forms in different countries. most countries have provisions in the constitution for emergency regimes where all summer, not all but some of the rights can set aside by the president or the head of the state, prime minister. it's d

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. authorization act. the quality of life families and drink the national of our service members and ability. in addition programs and your receipt the dod. pay raises, better access to childcare, employment, support for spouses and much more. national security and support the most powerful in the world and armed services federal and that over. >> is elected peers over the weekend. fear the world is anticipating return of u.s. president who can, at the very least fully engaged in important discussions leadership is being felt. forty-one days before he said to be inaugurated restored respect for our country in the world stage and start contrast what americans have been forced to learn the supply biden administration of the last four years. russia's invasion of ukraine iran and proxies israel. seen what happens w

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. the clerk: mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. helmy. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. you

tom carper. mr. president, it was late in the 1990's when a staffer handed a letter to gare's then -- to delaware's nen governor -- then governor tom carper. the letter read, i'm writing to the governors of all 50 states to ask the same question -- what is the secret to happiness? dear melissa, the governor replied, serve others, sincerely, tom. that was it. for then governor, now senator tom carper, that simple, self less bit of advice, serve others, could serve up his entire political career and life. he is moderate, bipartisan, and relentless. as chair of the senate environment and public works committee, tom carper helped lead the fight to pass the inflation reduction act, the most significant investment ever, ever to tackle the climate crisis. the law also helped lower health care costs and energy costs and strengthen america's energy security. what a combination. tom carper was a key author of the largest long-term infrastructure investment in the history of the united states, the bipartisan inf

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton.r. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moraran. states hundred thousand five last year of overdoses many fentanyl. call this death of despair that implies little done to reverse the trend. overdose deaths appear to be slightly but doesn't mean addition and part drug use itself has as it continues unprecedented prevention on top any fractured billing and accounting dealing with aftermath cigarettes cigarette companies to compensate medical expenses the difference this discussion will have settlement funding will go directly to go and governments. the city that suffers it

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. risch. >> welcome, i'm suzanne spaulding here at the center for strategic and international studies where i lead the democratic institution's project, and we are so honored today the to have such a dedicated public servant, our former secretary of defense, leon panetta, here for an important conversation about a recent survey that the panetta the institute conducted about the state of ou

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. >> closing at my time in congress and i'm reminded of the gravity of this place. the storied history of the senate one in which we're all honored to contribute and the guard rails that serve as the foundation of this body and our democracy. those guardrails the constitution our oath of office the rules of the senate e norms of collegiality integrity and respect. these are the pillars that have ensure our democracy could endure. to cultivate relationships so we can move history forward, to temper the excesses of greed and to curb the hunger for power. as our country has become more and more divided as our politics a constant series of all or nothing battles we find ourselves bumping into these guardrails with more frequency. in recent history both parties have wrestled with the importance of norms and rules and both parties have use of these norms and rules as outdated, , constraining or simy obstacles to their short-term victories. many now blame these guardrails for block

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. mr. hagerty. we've been dealing with that, it's alarming that we are rushing to a transition at taxpayers expense without an alternative of comparable performance. maybe we should minimize practiced at some things like that for practice with something less or just for the sake of practice but just running headlong into a less effective alternative and forcing everybody to pay for it, not providing the liability protection i think is shortsighted. you know how the airports planned plan to address the performance gap and what would you recommend be done to address concerns of the flying public that does want to burn a life in an aircraft when this alternative phone is not as effective? is just not as effective, right? do you have a recommendation? >> i think definitely with the new product there is training that is taking

mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton.r. cramer. mr. crapo. the clerk: mr. cruz. the clerk: mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. mr. durbin. pete hague says i've known for more than ten years. on capitol hill he's been a leader fighting for fellow veterans in the halls of congress and leading and organization. the thing i am concerned about is we are not deterring the very threats are country peace and 30 that we need to pay attention to. it is a dangerous situation. what they do is prioritize of the ground and deterrence. the way you do that is strength. confirmation process anticipating and confirmation hearings and supreme court justices out with act can be but he and his wife made their financial sacrifice to serve the country and i respect that the allegations against mismanagement people accused him of? >> a lot of this has been anonymous through background checks for the hearing itself. what i learned is there are a lot of people who make anonymous claims but will not be accountable for that. the process to get al

mr. van orden: i rise in strong support of the thomas r. carper water resources development act of 2024. my district has the largest contiguous section of the mississippi river of any district in the nation waoefplt don't have a north,-south highway we have the mississippi river. our communities along the river are subject to flooding. due to weather events and aging infrastructure. we must do more to ensure that the resilience of our communities located along our river, which is why i'm proud in this bill includes a new study authorizing the city of lacrosse developpee consideration. it focuses on flood risk and resource management and a first step towards a long-term accreditation of these levees. i was proud to champion the counting authorities programs which allow small army corps of engineer projects to be implemented without the lengthy congressional approval process this will help the resiliency of our local riverfront communities. this bipartisan package also includes my public buildings accountability act, h.r. 6254. this bill requires th

carper. thanks. thanks so much, mr chairman. >> welcome one and all. i'm going to ask the first question. i just want to give you really short answers. ok. and we'll start with you dr brand here you mentioned. i think in your written testimony that the us has the highest prevalence microfibre in our drinking water compared to any other nation. that's pretty amazing. why is that just very briefly? why is that? >> that's a really good question. it may in part be because we buy an incredible amount of clothing and a lot of this clothing is generated by companies that promote fast fashion. and so there have been studies showing that our consumption of clothing has increased rapidly over the past 5 to 10 years and that that could be contributing. but i don't think the exact cause is if we just buy less clothing, we could maybe make it, make a difference here. what do you think? >> i like others. i say that with tongue in cheek. next question. in addition to our retrofitting technologies in our washing machines to capture microplastics from our clothing. are there other innovations that can red

carper: thank you so much. my pleasure. thanks. >> west virginia republican congressman alex mooney is one of dozens of public officials leaving washington at the end of the year. mr. mooney, the first hispanic elected to congress from west virginia, lost the republican primary election to the last u.s. senate race, eventually won by former republican governor jim justice. they were vying to

carper: thank you so much. my pleasure. thanks. >> west virginia republican congressman alex mooney is one of dozens of public officials leaving washington at the end of the year. mr. mooney, the first hispanic elected to congress from west virginia, lost the republican primary election to the last u.s. senate race, eventually won by former republican governor jim justice. they were vying to replace democrat turned independent joe manchin, who is retiring from the senate. next, congressman mooney's final remarks to the 118th congress and tributes from his colleagues. as the designee of the majority leader. mr. mooney: it has been the it has been the greatest honor of my life is you've the people of was written in the house of representatives to serve the people of west virginia house of representatives the last 13 years. or not only won by three percentage points in a tough election. but the good people of 2nd district elected me five times to represent them for the past 10 years. i did not seek re-election. i ran for another office which i did not end. so my time comes to a close at noon on january 3. i have educated folks about how this works here and the consti

. >> senator carper you're recognized for your questions. send thank you very much and welcome mr. dejoy and their several people behind you. i don't know who's quote is in adversity lies opportunity. it's one of my guiding principals in life and diversity by the postal service there are pretend he's a well and you were trying to seize the day on some of those. their other competitors to the postal service who are in the package business and they don't deliver mail to people. you are delivering allow for packages at this level but some of those companies have decided over the last five or 10 years that they want to phase out their diesel engines than gasoline engines and have mail be delivered in vehicles that do not create greenhouse gases. they didn't make that conversion because of they were somehow concerned about the planet burning up and environmental concerns. they did it because they thought there's an economic argument and they thought that they could deliver their products in a more cost-effective way. i think when he passed the postal bill a year or two ago we tried to p

>> senator tom carper, thank you for the convthe west virginia rn spoke on the floor this week for the final time. here is what he had to say. as the designee of the majority leader. mr. mooney: it has been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of the united states house of representatives. i was elected on november 4 of 2014. believe it or not only won by three percentage points in a tough election. but the good people of 2nd district elected me five times to represent them for the past 10 years. i did not seek re-election. i ran for another office which i did not end. so my time comes to a close at noon on january 3. i have educated folks about how this works here and the constitution dictates which you are no longer a congressman and exactly at noon on january 3. and my 10 years will come to an end. first eight years in congress i represented 17 beautiful counties from the eastern panhandle of west virginia and down to this county. after the 2020 creance success west virginia lost one of our three seats. so for the past two years i represented 27 counties across the northern part of the state. i had to run against another member of congress, i did prev

carper. in the house, she will be succeeded by democrat sarah mcbride. ms. blunt rochester: mr. speaker, today i rise to address this body for my final time as the sole representative from the great and first state of delaware. i remember how i felt back in 1988 standing on the steps of the capitol as an intern with our then congressman tom carper. from intern to case worker, cabinet member, colleague, and now his successor, building on his incredible legacy fills me with great pride. thank you for everything that you have done, senator carper. i also remember how i felt as i walked into this room as delaware's congresswoman. humbled, honored, and hopeful. because to borrow the words of the musical "hamilton" t this is the room where it happens. it's where legislators have consigned to debate ideas and uphold ideals. it's where we have heard legendary speeches from presidents, world leaders, and influential past and present members of this body. it's where gannett rank -- jeanette rankin became the first woman of congress only after a month long debate on whether a woman was fit