mr. culberson. mr. culberson: please join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 11, 2014, at 11:07 p.m., that the senate passed, without amendment, house joint resolution 130. signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the house -- the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 12, 2014, at 10:3

mr. culberson. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. barton. i want to be sure -- i just -- it's such a privilege to be here and honor ralph hall. the proverbs tell us that our good name is worth more than all the gold and silver on earth and that is certainly true of ralph hall. someone who i immediately bonded with when i came to congress in 2001. ralph was a mentor, has been a teacher, a dear, good friend and i could always, as we all could, count on ralph to do the right things for the right reasons and to be a man of his word, whose first priority throughout his time here was to do right by the state of texas. and as lamar said so ably, ralph always believed it's better to be respected at home, make sure that the folks at home knew what a good job he was doing for them and it's a real privilege for me to be able to serve with that good man and we will surely miss him and what a privilege for me to be here tonight to honor him on this special evening and i yield back. mr. barton: i'd like to yield one minute to the chairman additional minut

mr. culberson. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. barton. i want to be sure -- i just -- it's such a privilege to be here and honor ralph hall. the proverbs tell us that our good name is worth more than all the gold and silver on earth and that is certainly true of ralph hall. someone who i immediately bonded with when i came to congress in 2001. ralph was a mentor, has been a teacher, a dear, good friend and i could always, as we all could, count on ralph to do the right things for the right reasons and to be a man of his word, whose first priority throughout his time here was to do right by the state of texas. and as lamar said so ably, ralph always believed it's better to be respected at home, make sure that the folks at home knew what a good job he was doing for them and it's a real privilege for me to be able to serve with that good man and we will surely miss him and what a privilege for me to be here tonight to honor him on this special evening and i yield back. mr. barton: i'd like to yield one minute to the chairman additional minut