Republican Study Committee Tribute
REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE TRIBUTE -- (House of Representatives - December 06, 2006)
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Mr. SODREL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those kind words, and for his commitment to the Republican Study Committee. I will be short. In fact, a reporter accused me when I first arrived here of being laconic. I have to admit I had to go look that up. It means being relatively stingy with your words. He asked me two questions, and I said ``yes'' and ``yes,'' not realizing it was the job of a Member of Congress to elaborate on all of these things.
As I listened to the previous speakers, if you want to know what happened in this election, you can walk over to the Science Committee. In the hearing room one of the first things I noticed in the wood paneling behind Members in gold-leaf lettering was Proverbs 29:18: Where there is no vision, the people perish. We failed to give the people vision; not the fault of the Republican Study Committee, but it was our fault generally, failure to give the people vision.
I know the RSC has a vision, and I encourage you to not only keep the vision, communicate the vision, and insist that others listen to the vision.
It has been my distinct honor to serve in this body, serve my district and my State and my country for the last 2 years. I had the privilege of visiting my former unit, the 151st Infantry when they were deployed in Afghanistan. They are fine people and represented our State and country well, and acquitted themselves well in the field.
And in typical Hoosier fashion, and I would like to recognize them here tonight, their mission, according to the military was security and training. They couldn't go home in the evenings, so they took on a third mission which was humanitarian. In partnership with Graceland Baptist Church in New Albany, they provided money and classrooms and blankets and virtually anything that the people of Afghanistan needed that they could supply.
They also had a skill set that you don't find in a typical infantry battalion. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Grube, was a 6th grade schoolteacher. Sergeant First Class Scott Hamm was manager of the Silver Creek Water Company. So it didn't matter what the locals needed, if you needed water, you called the 151st. If you needed a classroom built, you called the 151st. They had carpenters, electricians, they had all of these civilian skill sets. And being just one step out of civilian life and being of a higher average age than a normal infantry unit, and a lot of them being married with children, they related well to the local folks. So I had the privilege to visit them in Afghanistan and see what kind of job they did and how they represented the State of Indiana in that theater.
I really have nothing else to add other than it has been my honor and privilege not only to serve in this institution, but to serve with people like my colleague from Indiana, Mr. Pence, and I appreciate your service as chairman of the Republican Study Committee and I appreciate your integrity and hard work and I hope that you will certainly carry on.
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