Madam Speaker,
as we
gather here, we stand on sacred
The Chamber of the United States
House of Representatives
the heart of American democracy.
I will never forget the first ti
I saw the Capitol.
It was a cold January day
when I was six years old.
My father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr
Was about to be sworn
in for his fifth term in Congres
representing our beloved hometow
of Baltimore.
I was riding the car with my bro
and they were thrilled
and jumping up and down and sayi
Nancy, look, Nancy, look.
There's the Capitol and I keep.
Every time I'd say
I don't see any capital.
Is it A capital
A, capital B or a capital city?
And finally, I saw
a stunning white building
with a magnificent dome.
I believed then, as I believe to
this is the most
beautiful building in the world
because of what it represents.
The capital is a temple of our d
of our constitution,
of our highest ideals.
On that day,
on that
day, I stood with my father on t
as he took the sacred oath to su
and defend the Constitution
of the United States against all
foreign and domestic.
All of us who have served in thi
have taken the hallowed oath of
And it is the oath
that stitches us together.
Here in the long and storied her
Colleagues who served before us
are all our colleagues,
colleagues like Abraham Lincoln
Daniel Webster,
Shirley Chisholm,
Patsy Mink, and our beloved John
Personally,
it pains me as a colleague to my
a proud New Deal with a congress
and one of the earliest
Italian-Americans
to serve in the Congress.
And this is an oath
we are duty bound to keep,
and it links us
with the highest aspirations of
in this room.
Our colleagues across history
have abolished slavery.
Granted women
the right to vote,
establish Social Security and Me
offered a hand to the weak,
care to the sick, education to t
and hope to the many.
Indeed, it is here
under the gaze of our patriarch,
George Washington,
in the people's house that we ha
the people's work
My colleagues, I stand before
you as Speaker of the House.
As a wife,
a mother,
a grandmother, a devout Catholic
a proud Democrat,
and a patriotic American.
A citizen of the greatest republ
in the history of the world.
Which President
Lincoln called the last, best
hope on Earth.
Indeed, in the words
attributed to another of our col
the legendary Daniel Webster,
he said, Hold on, my friends,
to the Constitution of your coun
and the government established u
Miracles do not cluster
that which has happened.
But once in 6000 years
cannot be expected to happen oft
Indeed, American democracy is ma
but it is fragile.
Many of us here have witnessed
its first fragility firsthand.
Tragically in this chamber.
And so democracy
must be forever defended.
From forces that wish at home.
Last week, the American people s
and their voices were raised
in defense of liberty,
of the rule of law.
And of democracy itself.
With these elections, the
people stood in the breach
and repelled the assault on demo
They were soundly rejected
violence and insurrection,
and in doing so gave proof
through the night
that our flag was still there.
And now we owe to the American p
our very best to deliver on thei
to forever
reach for the more perfect union
the glorious horizon that our fo
promised.
The questions before others Cong
in this moment
are urgent
questions about the ideals
that this House
is charged by the Constitution
to preserve
and protect, establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility, pro
for the common defense,
promote the general welfare
and secure the blessings of libe
to ourselves
and our posterity, our posterity
our children,
babies, born today
will live into the next century,
and our decisions
will determine their future
for generations to come.
While we will have our disagreem
on policy, we must remain fully
to our shared fundamental missio
to hold strong to our most treas
democratic ideals.
To cherish the spark of divinity
in each and every one of us.
And to always put our country fi
and their infinite wisdom
Our founders gave us their accou
their guidance.
E Pluribus Unum from many one.
They could not have imagined
how large our country would beco
or how different
we would be from one another.
But they knew we had to be unite
We, the people are one country,
one destiny has been with great
In my 35 years in the house,
I have seen this body grow
more reflective of our great nat
our beautiful nation.
When I came to the Congress
in 1987, there were 12 Democrati
Now there are over 90 and we wan
The new members of our Democrati
will be about 75%
women, people of color, LGBTQ.
And we have brought more voices
to the Decision-Making table.
When I entered leadership in 200
there were eight of us.
Today
there are 17 members of the lead
When I first came to the floor
at six years old,
never would I have thought that
I would
go from homemaker to House speak
In fact I never
in fact,
I never intended to run
for public office.
Mommy and Daddy
taught us through their example
that public service is a noble c
and that we all have a responsib
to help others in our family.
My brother
Tommy then became
mayor of Baltimore also,
but is in my day my privilege
to play a part
in forging extraordinary progres
for the American people.
I have enjoyed working
with three presidents
achieving
historic investments in clean en
With President George Bush
you has him
transformative health care refor
With President Barack Obama
and forging
and forging the future
from infrastructure
to health care to climate action
With President Joe Biden
now we must move boldly into the
grounded by the principles
that have propelled us
this far and open to fresh possi
for the future.
Scripture teaches us that for ev
there is a season,
a time for every purpose under h
My friends,
no matter what title
you all my colleagues have besto
upon me. Speaker.
Leader. Whip.
There is no greater official hon
than to stand on this floor
and to speak
for the people of San Francisco.
This I will continue to do
as a member of the House.
Speaking for the people of San F
serving the great state of Calif
and defending our Constitution
and with great confidence in our
I will not seek reelection
to Democratic leadership
in the next Congress.
For me,
the hours come for a new generat
to lead the Democratic caucus
that I so deeply respect
And I'm grateful that so many ar
and willing
to shoulder this awesome respons
Madam Speaker,
standing here
today, I'm endlessly grateful
for all of life's blessings
for my Democratic colleagues
whose courage
and commitment
with the support of your familie
have made many of these accompli
possible that could not have bee
without you
For my dear husband Paul,
who has been
my beloved partner in life
and my pillar of support.
Thank you.
We're all grateful
for all the prayers and well-wis
as he continues his recovery.
Thank you so much.
For our darling children, Nancy,
Corinne, Christine,
Jacqueline, Paul and Alexandra
and our grandchildren
Alexandra, Madeline, Liam, Sean
Paul and Thomas, Bella and Octav
They are the joys of our lives
for whom we are.
And we are so very,
very proud of them and a comfort
at this time.
And for my
brilliant, dedicated and patriot
under the leadership of Terry
McCullough together
working together
the finest group of public serva
the House has ever known.
Thank you all so much.
And again,
for those who sent me here,
for the people of San Francisco,
for entrusting me
with the high honor
of being their voice in Congress
and this continued work,
I will strive to honor
the call of the patron
saint of our city, Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of t
in this House.
And we begin each day with a pra
and a pledge to the flag.
And every day,
I am in awe of the majestic mira
that is American democracy.
As we participate
in a hallmark of our republic,
the peaceful,
orderly transition
from one Congress to the next.
Let us consider the words of aga
President Lincoln
spoken
during one of America's darkest
He called upon us to come togeth
to swell the chorus of the union
when once again touched
as surely they will be,
by the better angels of our natu
That again is the task at hand.
A new day is dawning on the hori
and I look forward,
always forward
to the unfolding story of our na
A story of light and love, of pa
and progress, of many becoming o
and always an unfinished mission
to make the dreams of today,
the reality of tomorrow.
Thank you all.
May God bless you and your famil
And may God bless.
Continue to bless our veterans
and the United States of America
Thank you, Hudson.