Welcoming New Republican Members of Congress

WELCOMING NEW REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS -- (House of Representatives - November 16, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana for putting together this hour.

Mr. Speaker, it is my high honor tonight to welcome two new Members of the Texas delegation. First from out in west Texas, Texas 11, we welcome Representative MIKE CONAWAY. MIKE is an Army veteran from Fort Hood and has had a distinguished career with Price Waterhouse & Coopers. He is a native Texan, and he grew up in Odessa. He graduated from Texas A&M University-Commerce in 1970 with a BBA degree in accounting.

In 1995 Governor George W. Bush appointed MIKE to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, a State regulatory agency that regulates the practice of accountancy in Texas. MIKE CONAWAY has volunteered his time to serve the citizens of Texas on the board for 7 years, including more than 5 years as chairman. He has served as chairman and board member of the Family Services of Midland, Texas. He and his wife, Suzanne, have four children and four grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, my next-door neighbor, my new next-door neighbor in Texas 24, is Representative KENNY MARCHANT. KENNY is a former Carrollton City councilman and mayor of that city. He is currently the chairman of the House State Affairs Committee and the former chairman of the House Financial Institution Committee in the Texas house of representatives. Outside of politics, KENNY is a local small businessman and a home builder in Dallas County, Denton County, and Northeast Tarrant County.

He also serves on the Advisory Board of Children's Medical Center and heads a local nonprofit foundation which funds church-related humanitarian aid projects around the world.

KEN MARCHANT has both a bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate degree from Southern Nazarene University. He and his wife Donna have raised their three sons and one daughter in the Twenty-Fourth Congressional District. They are also now the proud grandparents of a new granddaughter.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to welcome these two members of the Texas delegation. We are indeed fortunate. And, as the gentleman from Indiana pointed out, "Don't mess with Texas."

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