Pelosi Remarks at Gabrielle Giffords–Leo J. Ryan Cloakroom Dedication Ceremony

Leader Pelosi.  I am pleased to welcome this very special group of people to honor Gabby Giffords and Leo Ryan.  Some colleagues – colleagues of Leo Ryan please stand – I see Rick Nolan – Dale did you serve?  Congressman Kildee, did you serve with him?

[Applause]

So it's an honor to welcome you here and all our colleagues who served with Gabby [Giffords] and some who are new to the Congress but true to honoring the traditions of this great body.  So many people have served in the Congress and sometimes I say, ‘We are all colleagues to each other over the years.'  I take special pride in saying that because my father served in Congress like 40 years before I did, 2,500 miles away, with a different name but, nonetheless, my colleague.

So it is a privilege to join this wonderful gathering of wonderful colleagues to celebrate two extraordinary lives of courage.  Today, we dedicate the Gabrielle F. Giffords and the Leo J. Ryan Room in the U.S. Capitol in honor of two cherished former colleagues.  We inscribe their names in the halls of the Congress as an enduring monument to their legacies of heroism and selflessness.

You know their stories.  Gabby continues to awe us with her exceptional courage both in her rode to recovery and in her tireless mission to build a better future for all Americans.  Her friendship to all of us is a source of joy to us and it's an honor to welcome you back to the Captiol, Gabby.

Indeed, throughout America, there isn't a name that stirs more love, more admiration, more respect, more wishing for our daughters to be like her, than the name of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  Gabby refused to be bowed to be intimidated by the attack on her ‘Congress on Your Corner' event.  She continues to advance the mission of civic engagement she and her constituents were fulfilling that day.  She and Mark are, really, national treasures – Mark Kelly – he couldn't be here today [but] is here in spirit continuing Gabby's work throughout the country.  Her message of bipartisanship and civility is an enduring source of inspiration for this Congress and for the country – that was the hallmark of her service here – bipartisanship and civility.  Her leadership to end the gun epidemic takes a strong step towards a future where no family has to endure the heartbreak of gun violence.  We are so honored to dedicate this room to Gabby as a lasting testament to her bravery, selflessness and strength.

We also celebrate the life, today, of Leo J. Ryan – Congressman Leo J. Ryan – an irrepressible fighter for justice, a relentless champion for the people of California and a loving husband and father to  five.  Leo did not simply pursue the value of reaching justice and equality, he lived that commitment.  It's our neighborhood.

We've heard the stories. Disturbed by discrimination, Leo became a teacher so he could investigate bigotry first hand.  Alarmed by abuse, he adopted a pseudonym and stayed on as an inmate in a maximum security prison.

As a Member of Congress, he tackled abuses from animal poaching to the secret wars of the CIA.  Many of you did not know Leo or about him and this naming of the room gives us that opportunity to take pride.  Leo's brutal killing in Jonestown left a hole in our hearts but it brings his love ones solace knowing that Leo died doing what he loved and believed most:  fighting injustice and abuse and protecting his community.

We are so blessed to be here with Members of his family and our colleague, Representative Jackie Speier, who nearly lost her life in Jonestown and who carries on Leo's mission here in the Congress today.  Shortly before Leo died, he told NBC cameraman Bob Brown, who was also killed in the attack in Guyana, that the most important lesson he learned was that, ‘If you give into fear, you can't do your job.'  Let those words be a source of strength to all of us.

We're so proud of Jackie Speier for so many reasons.  To call her a colleague is a special honor and to call her a friend is a joy in our lives.  A person who instigated some of what is happening today, you won't be surprised, she is an instigator, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson of Florida.  Every week she has us wearing red remembering our girls in Nigeria and she has been a champion for respecting the dignity and worth of every person.

I'm going to let her tell her story and connection to today's historic event.  Please welcome Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.

***

So very beautiful.  You see a theme here. I called Frederica an instigator, Patricia called her father a troublemaker, was that the phrase you called him?  Something in common going on here.  Anyway, all for the greater good.  I just wanted to thank you, Frederica, for your wonderful remarks, Jackie for yours, and again as Patricia said, not talking about your role in that but Jackie is a survivor as well and thank you for your courage through it all.

The family, I've been with the family since your father's funeral.  Obviously, I did not serve with him.  Those who did, thank you for being here.  It's an honor that you're here and you know full well the spirit of Leo Ryan.  I wish you all could've seen what happened at his funeral.  It was such a tremendous outpouring of support and the rest, but again, we continue that outpouring of respect.

It is an honor to now move to our other co-honoree today, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  As has been said, we are very, very honored because Gabby's career was about civility and bipartisanship.  She loves her state of Arizona and what an honor for all of us that Senator [Jeff] Flake is with us today.  Nope!  He was our colleague that served with Leo, I keep doing that.  Senator Jeff Flake is with us today.  Thank you so much Senator Flake.

***

Senator [Jeff] Flake, thank you for honoring us with your presence, it has brought luster to this occasion that you are here, thank you so much!  Now as the Senator referenced with Gabby came to the Floor again.  I said – actually, it was, she came to vote against a particular bill.  It wasn't that day.

[Laughter]

But when she came back to make a vote because she thought a vote would be necessary to defeat a certain bill that was going to be on the floor – again with civility and bipartisanship.

When she came to the floor, as she was coming in I said to the pages that were there, over time, pages have borne witness to many great things happening in this chamber of the House of Representatives, but you current pages, you will bear witness to welcoming a current person with such luster, with such reputation, with such respect in our country.  I don't know if other pages had that privilege.  But you do today, and we do today to welcome Gabby Giffords to our midst.  Thank you!