Pelosi Statement on the Retirement of Congressman Jim McDermott

"Congressman James McDermott has been a tenacious champion of hard-working Americans in Washington and across the United States.  Throughout all of his four decades of distinguished public service, Jim has shown the strength of his progressive values and the quality of his leadership in expanding opportunity for all Americans.

"The first in his family to attend college, Jim fought to ensure the ladders of opportunity were available to all Americans. Whether in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps during the Vietnam War, as Foreign Service medical officer, and as a champion of single payer health care from his earliest days in the Congress, Jim made it his life's work to ensure quality health care is available to every American, not just the privileged few.  Jim's experience and pioneering work in the global fight against HIV/AIDS has made him a valuable intellectual resource to the Congress.

"Jim McDermott has been synonymous with forceful and effective leadership for all America's hard-working families.   As he prepares to continue his invaluable work in the Congress this year, I offer my sincerest congratulations to him and his family as they begin this new chapter."