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AMBASSADOR LINDY BOGGS
REMARKS UPON RECEIVING THE
U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2006
Thank you, Leader Pelosi and Senator Mikulski. Mr. Speaker, Mr.
Vice President...I would like to express my appreciation to the House of
Representatives for this honor. The House has always been a special
place for me and for my family. We always considered the men and women
who work here, whether as elected official or as staff, to be part of
our family.
Hale and I arrived in Washington at a very young age. At 26, he was the
youngest Member of the House of Representatives elected in 1940. I was
24, the same age as many of the staff now starting out to work on
Capitol Hill. Hale served here for 28 years and I represented the
people of the New Orleans for 18 years following my own election in
1973.
We raised our children, Barbara, Tommy and Cokie, to respect and
cherish this institution and our system of government. Now their
children are raising my great-grandchildren with those same values.
A lot has changed in the world and in Washington since I first came
here. Maybe too much has changed. But one of the constants is this
beautiful building and the dedicated men and women who work in it.
I have a special request for your today. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast
region suffered terribly last year as a result of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. The American people and their elected representatives have
opened their hearts and responded generously to the destruction and to
the suffering of the people who live there. I deeply appreciate this,
but much remains to be done.
The Women of the Storm is a remarkable, dedicated group of New Orleans
women from all walks of life. They came together to rebuild our
community and our region. In January more than 100 of them came
to Capitol Hill to visit every office to invite each member of the
House and Senate to visit them in New Orleans to see first hand the
breadth of the damage and destruction.
To date, more than 88 representatives and 47 senators have visited New
Orleans, including you, Mr. Speaker, and you, Leader Pelosi. I would
like to extend a personal invitation on behalf of the Women of the
Storm to those of you who have not yet come to New Orleans and the
region to see first-hand the devastation which still exists eight
months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
I still live in New Orleans - in the French Quarter, no less. Some
parts of the City are fine, but so many homes, schools, business and
hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. We need your continued help
and support in rebuilding our levees, our economy, our community and
our wetlands, and in healing our families.
I deeply appreciate this honor, but I hope you will also honor my very
sincere invitation. It is a very special city and there are many
wonderful people there who are proud to call it home. Please come down
to New Orleans - soon. Thank you.
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