Speaker Emerita Pelosi Floor Tribute to Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Washington, D.C. – Today, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks during a bipartisan Special Order Hour on the Floor of the House of Representatives honoring the late Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Watch Speaker Emerita Pelosi's remarks here and read Speaker Emerita Pelosi's remarks below:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for calling this Special Order in honor of the very special person that many of us have had the privilege to serve with. In my case, for over three decades. And she sat in that chair reigning for the whole time. She reigned. We always went to her for guidance and advice.
So thank you, Congresswoman Crockett, for calling this Special Order for Eddie Bernice Johnson. She was so proud that you would be following in her footsteps. So it's so appropriate that you're bringing us together now for this formidable force in public service.
Not only did Eddie Bernice make history, Mr. Speaker, she did make a difference as the first African-American and the first woman to wield the gavel of the powerful Science, Space and Technology Committee. Not only did she make history and make a difference, she enabled our country to make progress. We marveled at the respect that she commanded in the scientific community, academic community and industry, from her constituents, from her colleagues on Capitol Hill.
And the capstone of her career, our CHIPS and Science Law in her last term in Congress, will drive decades of scientific discovery while recruiting a diverse, inclusive workforce for the industries of tomorrow. Indeed, she insisted on it. She insisted on investing in STEM education so that American minds of all kinds could solve our greatest challenges, the challenges of our time.
Eddie Bernice was always talking about taking our nation into the future. We chatted quite a bit. She was soft-spoken toward the end, but with great force. And we chatted and laughed about and admired what is written on the walls of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. A quote from the poet Tennyson and it's so much about Eddie Bernice: "For I dipped into the future, as far as the human eye could see, saw a vision of the world and all the wonder that would be." She understood that wonder.
May it be a comfort to her beloved son Kirk, her dear grandchildren, Kirk Jr., David and James, and her entire family that we mourn their loss. We pray for them during this sad time. And we thank them for sharing Eddie Bernice Johnson with us in this Congress, but more importantly for our country.
May our darling Eddie Bernice Johnson, whom we all love so dearly, rest in peace.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back.