RECOGNIZING RETIRING MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA DELEGATION

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding and for organizing tonight's Special Order.

   Tonight, we honor three retiring members from the Virginia delegation to Congress: Congressmen Randy Forbes, Robert Hurt, and Scott Rigell.

   Despite our differences from time to time on national policy, the Virginia delegation has a long history of being able to constructively work together on issues of importance to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Former-Senator John Warner, the longtime dean of our delegation, embodied this bipartisan work ethic, and we have already heard it referred to as the Virginia way of doing things.

   During their service in Congress, RANDY, ROBERT, and SCOTT have each put their mark on this institution and on national policy.

   Robert Hurt has been a leader on the Financial Services Committee and focused on policies to expand economic opportunity in south side Virginia and communities around the Nation. A strong advocate for community banks and credit unions over his three terms in Congress, ROBERT has also worked to ensure that consumers are financially literate with the necessary information to make the best financial choices for their families. ROBERT has always fought for what he believed to be the best interest of his constituents, and so I wish him and his family well as he returns to his home in Chatham.

   I have come to know SCOTT and RANDY very well as our congressional districts are adjacent to one another in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Along with our colleague, Rob Wittman, we have participated in countless joint appearances and events across Hampton Roads.

   In both the private and public sector, Scott Rigell has dedicated his life to serving the Hampton Roads community. In his three terms in Congress, he has developed a well-deserved reputation as a pragmatic, bipartisan leader as he addresses the Nation's fiscal issues and reforming how Congress operates. We have been working together on many issues, but I especially appreciate his strong support and advocacy of the SAFE Justice Act, a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) and I introduced last year. I wish SCOTT, his wife Terry, and his children and grandchildren all the best as he transitions back to private life.

   RANDY and I have become good friends during his time in Congress as we served together for many years on the House Judiciary Committee. Hampton Roads is the home to many military facilities, both private-sector defense contractors and military facilities, particularly those associated with the Navy. There is no Member of Congress who knows more about our Navy than Randy Forbes. As chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, he has been an important voice on defense and shipbuilding policy. Hampton Roads has been fortunate to have RANDY fighting for our region's military and shipbuilding interests over the last 50 years. I will also miss working with him on modeling and simulation. He was the founder of the Modeling and Simulation Caucus. He promoted the modeling and simulation technology as a way to increase efficiency and to save the taxpayers money.

   I wouldn't count RANDY out just yet. I know he will find ways to continue to serve our men and women in uniform in the months and years ahead, and so I wish him, his wife Shirley, and children and grandchildren well as they start the next chapter of their lives.

   Mr. Speaker, I, again, want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) for organizing tonight's Special Order. The departure of Congressmen Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, and Randy Forbes is a loss for the House of Representatives and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each of these men deserve our sincere gratitude for their service to our Nation and the civility that they have exemplified during their service.