Kildee Delivers Farewell Address on House Floor

WASHINGTON-Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-08) today delivered his farewell address on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In his remarks, he reflected on his time as a member of Congress and his work for the people of Michigan's Eighth District over the past 12 years.

The full text of Congressman Kildee's speech is below, and video can be found here.

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House for the last time as a member of this historic symbol of democracy.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve my hometown and the people of mid-Michigan in Congress. I am so grateful to my constituents for putting your trust and faith in me to represent you over these last 12 years.

Every day that I've been in public service, I've focused on what I can do to improve the lives of Michiganders.

And I'm proud of what we've accomplished together to make mid-Michigan a better place to live, work and raise a family.

I am particularly proud of the work we've done to revitalize Michigan's manufacturing base and bring jobs back to America.

I've said it a few times in this chamber-I'm from Flint. I've seen firsthand how unfair trade deals have hurt the working class and the communities I represent.

So, in Congress, I got to work. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I helped to replace NAFTA with a better deal for workers. And under a Democratic Congress, we passed new laws-like the CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-to incentivize "Made in America" manufacturing policies, strengthen U.S. supply chains and grow our local economy.

These laws have worked. Already in mid-Michigan, we have seen major economic expansions and investments in companies like SK Siltron in Bay County, Hemlock Semiconductor in Saginaw County, and NanoGraf in Genesee County. These companies are hiring hundreds of workers to produce American-made semiconductors, advanced manufacturing chips, and electric battery materials to help ensure that America leads the way in manufacturing in the twenty-first century.

To lower costs for working families, I got to work-passing new laws to put more money in the pockets of hardworking Michiganders. We authored the Electric Vehicle Tax Credit and expanded the Child Tax Credit. In fact, I consider the refundable Child Tax Credit to be, perhaps, the best vote I've cast in my career in public service.

We all come into Congress with our own priorities-revitalizing mid-Michigan manufacturing was certainly one of mine.

But the beauty of public service is that we're always learning something new from our constituents. And it was thanks to advocates in my district who helped to first educate me on PFAS contamination.

Today, most Americans know the dangers of PFAS to our health and the environment. But back when we started on this work, most Members of Congress couldn't even spell PFAS-let alone knew what they was.

When I first heard from constituents like Cathy Wusterbarth and Tony Spaniola about water quality issues in Oscoda, we got to work-urging faster clean-up of PFAS chemicals surrounding Wurtsmith Air Force Base.

I established the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, which has brought together Democrats and Republicans to more urgently address this public health threat, and ensure that those exposed, including our servicemembers, have access to the health care they need.

After years of advocacy, we have made significant progress. This year, the Biden administration announced the first-ever drinking water standard for PFAS and designated certain PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances to ensure that polluters, not taxpayers, pay to clean up their contamination.

There is more work to be done to clean up PFAS chemicals-but I'm proud of what we've accomplished working together. And I look forward to watching what my colleagues do to continue to address this public health threat in the next Congress.

Throughout my time in Congress, the issue of clean drinking water-which in the richest country in the world should be a right, not a privilege-has defined much of my work.

One of my proudest achievements in Congress was working to provide real relief to Flint families during the water crisis, to replace lead pipes, expand health care services, and establish the Flint Registry.

What happened to my hometown of Flint is not an anomaly. Instead, it should be a warning to the rest of the country that we must get more serious about protecting public health.

From the moment this man-made crisis began-I knew we had to get to work.

Throughout the crisis, I organized numerous congressional delegations to Flint, bringing dozens of Republican and Democratic Members of Congress to my hometown to meet directly with families, learn about the decisions that led to the crisis and build support for federal action.

I brought President Obama to Flint to hold a town hall with families. And for over two years, I worked with the Obama administration to expand Medicaid, Head Start and healthy nutrition programs for families and children exposed to lead.

Because of this work, in 2016-despite serving in the minority-I was able to secure a $170 million aid package to help replace Flint's lead pipes, expand health care services and establish the Flint Registry. I will forever be grateful to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, then our Democratic Leader, who recognized that the Republican majority needed Democratic votes to pass a year-end budget bill and deputized me to "go finish the deal." After negotiating directly with Speaker Ryan, the Democratic priority included in the bill was aid for Flint families.

As I prepare to leave Congress, I'm frequently asked, 'what will you miss the most?' For me, it is the friendships that I have made in this body.

I want to thank my colleagues.

First and foremost, to Michigan's congressional delegation. It has been an honor to be the Dean of our Democratic delegation and work alongside our two great Senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, and to protect the Great Lakes, support the hardworking men and women of the automotive industry, and clean up PFAS contamination.

To Speaker Pelosi-a masterful legislator and tactician. Simply put, there is no one better in the business, or who I've learned from more. Thank you for never forgetting about the people of Flint, and always fighting for America's children.

To Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries-a true friend, and my classmate of 2012. Hakeem and I often joke that the term 'my good friend' is thrown around loosely in this body. But he is a true and genuine friend, who is an incredible leader for our House Democratic Caucus. Thank you for your trust in me to serve in House Democratic Leadership and as a co-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.

Hakeem and I came to Congress together, with the amazing class of 2012. They are all friends, and we share a special bond. I am most grateful to the two members of my class I came to know not just as friends, but as roommates in Washington-Jared Huffman and Derek Kilmer, and most recently, Ami Bera. We became close friends, and they helped me through some of the more difficult personal challenges I have faced during my time here. These are friendships that will go on.

To my Chairman Richie Neal-my chairman of the oldest and most powerful committee in Congress, the Ways and Means Committee. Serving on Ways and Means under the leadership of Richie has been some of the most meaningful work of my career-to pass fair trade deals, lower the cost of insulin, protect Social Security and Medicare and cut taxes for working families by expanding the Child Tax Credit.

And one of the great honors of my lifetime was the opportunity to work with, create a friendship with and learn from our beloved late colleague, the great John Lewis.

I want to thank my staff. To the dozens of members of Team Kildee-past and present-thank you for your hard work and dedication. I truly have had the most talented, selfless and dedicated D.C. and district staff, who have poured their heart and soul into our work. I've often told my staff that while I cast the vote on this floor, they too serve in Congress.

I want to thank my longtime Chief of Staff, Mitchell Rivard, who has been with me since my campaign in 2011. He has been with me on the best and worst of days in this job-from my swearing in to being in the Capitol on January 6^th. He has become like family to me and has done an outstanding job leading our team. I am excited to see the great things every member of my team accomplishes in the future.

Mitchell and my District Director, Jacob Bennett, were with me from the day I came to Congress until the day we packed up the office to go home. The country is fortunate they will both continue to serve in this institution.

As I have said many times: While I've been elected to numerous public roles, I've never felt like I've changed jobs-I just got different business cards and a different toolbox to do my work. Because my job responsibilities have stayed the same: serving, working for and representing the people of mid-Michigan.

I was first elected to public office when I was 18 years old. Nearly five decades later, I continue to love public service and believe in this important work. But for me, it's time to come home.

As I reflect on my time in Congress, I'm also thinking about the future.

I am excited to see mid-Michigan represented by a soon-to-be new Member of Congress, Congresswoman-elect Kristen McDonald Rivet. I know Kristen, and she will be a commonsense, pragmatic leader for mid-Michigan. And I am especially proud to know that I helped elect the first woman to ever be elected to represent this district in Congress.

While I'm stepping back from elected office at the end of my term, I'm most definitely not retiring. I'm looking forward to a new chapter continuing to serve Flint and mid-Michigan, just outside of elected office.

I have a lot of friends to thank for helping get me here, so it's impossible to list them all, but I want to mention one of them. Larry Rosenthal would have turned 62 today. He has been my friend for almost 40 years. He was my closest political advisor and confidant. We lost Larry over the summer. I know I would not have been a member of Congress without him at my side every step of the way.

And most importantly, I am grateful to my family.

To my wife, Jennifer, who has stood by me and given up the most to support my service here. I know-well I think-she's glad I'll be home all the time. She's put up with a lot. Thank you, Jennifer.

I am grateful to my children-my son, Ryan, my daughter-in-law, Ginger, and their children, Caitlin and Colin, my son Kenneth, and my daughter Katy-they have put up with the schedule and gave me the reason and inspiration to fight on. And they've supported and defended me, especially when the unfair critics chose to take their grievances to them instead of me.

To my mom, Margaret, my greatest defender, and my late father, Jack-thanks for all you did to make this journey possible. I was so happy to look up to the gallery 12 years ago and see you watch as I took the oath of office. I miss my dad every day, but I know he was proud to sit in the gallery that day, and the memory of seeing him sitting right there still makes me smile.

And my siblings, most especially my late brother, Tim, who we so tragically lost this past March-they and their families were always a part of this experience. One of my then-campaign staff, Ghada Alkiek, called them the B.I.C., or the "built-in crowd." My family has endured a lot. I would not be who I am, and we could not endure the recent pain our family has experienced, without one another.

And of course, my late Uncle Dale Kildee-my predecessor in Congress, a mentor and teacher to me since childhood, and a man who set an example I've tried to live up to-that you can fight hard for what you believe in and still respect the human dignity of everyone around you, even those with whom you disagree. Thank you, for that lesson, Dale. Congress should heed your example now more than ever.

And so, I'll end where I started-expressing my deepest and most sincere gratitude to my constituents and to the people of mid-Michigan. It's been an honor of a lifetime to be your voice. I did my best. I will see you back home.

Mr. Speaker, with that, for the final time, I yield back."

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