Thank you for your support of Senate Resolution No. 234, and thank you, Senator Thomas, for your words. As we meet here in this magnificent building in the waning days of 2008, our families and our businesses are hurting. They are feeling the effects of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Our state’s unemployment rate has climbed to 9.6 percent, the highest since 1992. Auto sales are at a 26-year low as a result of the global financial crisis, the big three are closing manufacturing plants, and General Motors is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and Chrysler may not survive. This will make for very difficult holidays for the workers at the General Motors Delta Township plant just down the road and for those at its plants right here in Lansing. I know that people in each of your districts are suffering and hurting right now, as are many, many businesses.

This is the context as I leave the Michigan Legislature after 12 years to become a member of the 111th Congress representing our great state. I’ll join Senator Jim Barcia as one of fewer than 10,000 Americans in the history of our nation to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Thanks, Jim, for your encouragement.

Robert F. Kennedy said, “All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are more difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.” These are certainly times filled with opportunity. The stakes are high and the public is counting on us.

I have seen many changes since I became a member of the Michigan House in January 1997. Some of you, like Buzz talked about, came in with me, like Buzz and Mark Jansen on the other side of the aisle. Some of you were already here, like Liz Brater and Alan Cropsey. The institution hadn’t yet been marred by term limits. Some of us had the honor and opportunity to serve with members like my mentor, Tom Mathieu, Morris Hood Sr., Mick Middaugh, Mike Griffin, Curtis Hertel Sr., Pat Gagliardi, Don Gilmer, Burton Leland, and Bob Emerson. In the Senate, it was people like Joe Schwarz, Ken DeBeaussaert, Phil Hoffman, Harry Gast, and John Cherry. These members fought hard over principle, but always came together over policy. They developed relationships and trust and gained the skill and wisdom to avoid making things personal or unnecessarily partisan.

Since 1999 in the House and 2003 in the Senate, incoming members join a Legislature with members and leaders lacking these tools and the same respect for this institution. This Legislature hasn’t been diminished because members aren’t smart or lack integrity, but because they joined a Legislature that no longer possesses a culture of collegiality and focus on the common good. I’ve watched the Michigan Senate change, especially in the last two years, since we lost members like Bob Emerson and Ken Sikkema. I know that those of you who knew the Legislature before are equally frustrated and disappointed. It is not a good trend in my opinion. Most important, it makes it tougher for this body to grapple with the severe challenges that the people in our state face.

We only have to look to last year’s budget battle or efforts to replace the state’s business tax—one that was unwisely eliminated before a replacement could be found. The bad news is things are getting worse. Examples of senseless partisanship and inexperienced leadership that have hurt relationships, eroded the culture of cooperation, and produced poorer policy outcomes are easy to find. I hope that those of you like Senators Mickey Switalski and Mark Jansen, who have rightfully earned respect on both sides of the aisle, can fix these things. I think you can. Remember, each of you is in a position to lead.

There are some people I would like to especially thank. First, the voters of 62nd House District who sent me here three times and the people of the 19th Senate District who have elected me twice. It has been an honor to serve you.

Next, to my family, to my wife Christine, thank you for all of your love, support, and understanding. One of the toughest roles is that of spouse of a candidate or of an elected official. Christine has been unwavering in her support, and has exhibited grace as spouse and partner that I couldn’t come close to replicating. To my parents, Bob and Myra, who taught me compassion and to look beyond myself, thank you. They would be here but for my mom’s ongoing illness. My dad was a Senate page here. You have probably heard me talk about that before—in the 1950s and couldn’t be prouder. My sister, Anne Brockway, has been my biggest advocate since we were kids.

I want to thank the amazing staff and interns I have worked with over the years—those in my office and those who have served our caucus. Ken Brock, my chief of staff, my friend will join my congressional staff, as will Lisa Dedden-Cooper, John Mulcrone, Lisa Metcalf, Renell Weathers, and Jill Slaght. Thank you for your amazing work. I would stack those and the following people against any in the business: Nancy Green, David Randels, Tom Lenard, Margaret Schulte, Suzanne Caterino, Gary Garbarino, Keith Johnson, and Ericah Caughey, to name a few. They are the best, and it has been an honor to work with them. To our policy analysts, communications specialists, and all support staff, thank you. Carol Viventi and your team, Gary Olson and Senate Fiscal Agency staff, LSB, Senate pages, and all nonpartisan staff, thank you. It has been a pleasure. Special thanks to Mike Ferland and the sergeants for your professionalism and kindness. Charlie Thornhill, if you’re watching, thank you. To Ivan Civils, who greets us in the morning, thanks for his warmth when he was there early and sometimes ridiculously late. To Tim Hughes and the Governor’s legislative team, you do an amazing job, and I’ve enjoyed every minute working with you. Colleagues, no disrespect intended, but I will miss the staff the most.

To Lieutenant Governor Cherry, President of the Senate, you’ve been a great mentor and friend and an incredibly effective leader. Thanks for all you’ve done to help me.

Governor Granholm, thank you for your tireless leadership of our state during incredibly difficult times. Your vision for our future, stamina, and commitment to make things better is amazing. I’m glad we’ll continue to work together on behalf of our state.

Colleagues, we work in an amazing building and I hope you don’t take it for granted. This Capitol was completed in 1879. Last night, Kerry Chartkoff took me on a tour of the Capitol dome. I previously had the honor to do the same with Jerry Lawler, who I miss. If you haven’t taken this tour, you should. It will inform you of the purposefulness of our predecessors, particularly as they added the final details to this building in 1886 for Michigan’s 50th anniversary. The stars at the top of the dome—that are viewed by fourth graders that we dodge as they lay on the glass floor of the rotunda—symbolize the future, Michigan’s boundless future. Tomas Juglaris’ muses represent the tools that are available to us as a Legislature to help achieve this great potential. They are a reminder that we have all the tools that we need.

I go to Washington at one of the toughest times in our history. It is a time of change and transition. John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Rest assured, I leave for Washington embracing this change and will work in Congress every day focused on helping to transform Michigan’s economy. It will take all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to help our state become stronger. You can count on me as a partner, and you can count on me to do my part.

I extend my sincerest best wishes to each of you and your families during this holiday season. And I wish for each of us and our state a prosperous 2009. Thank you. God bless you.