Recognizing Former Mississippi Speaker Billy McCoy

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the former speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the Honorable Billy McCoy, who is pictured here.

Former Mississippi Speaker Billy McCoy passed away on November 12 after an incredible, lifelong career of public service.

Billy was directly responsible for revolutionizing the economy of Mississippi and bringing thousands of jobs to our great State. As speaker, Speaker McCoy championed the 1987 infrastructure plan that created four-lane highways throughout Mississippi. The four-lane highways brought industries and added more than 1,300 miles of highways to the State.

Billy was also dedicated to improving public education in Mississippi and giving every child a chance for success. His influence on the lives of numerous Mississippians will not be forgotten, but his honorable demeanor and commitment will be greatly missed.

I just think back to being at Jacinto, an ancient courthouse that predates the Civil War in Mississippi near Rienzi, where Speaker McCoy was from. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, when you got ready to run, you had better go pay homage to the great Speaker Billy McCoy, who did so much for Mississippi.

And I can still see him sitting on the front lawn in front of the trailer with the hay bales on it, where I would speak for my first political speech, and seeing Speaker McCoy out there, knowing that I would have gone by and gotten advice from him, even though we were on opposite political parties.

May Mr. Speaker rest in peace. Recognizing Judge Sadie Holland

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Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Judge Sadie Holland, another icon in history. And thank goodness she is still here with us. She is just retiring.

She is retiring from Lee County Justice Court as a judge, after 16 years of service in that capacity. She also has a history of being Lee County's first female justice court judge. She served, before that, as the Tupelo court administrator and mayor of Nettleton, a small community in Lee County.

Judge Holland's influence in the community has been so significant, Lee County proclaimed November 3 as Sadie Holland Day.

I also have to mention that one of her sons is retiring as a State representative of over 36 years, who I will recognize next, and her other is a supervisor in her home county of Lee County.

The Hollands are icons in Lee County, and I thank Judge Sadie Holland for her service. Recognizing State Representative Steve Holland

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Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize soon-to-be former--he is about to retire from the Mississippi House of Representatives--Representative Steve Holland.

Steve has served in the House of Representatives in the Mississippi legislature for 36 years. He was also a desk mate, I think, of former Speaker McCoy, and they were good friends.

Steve has represented the 16th District of Mississippi proudly, as he has represented all of the people of his district. He is a true Mississippian who prioritized legislation that would create a brighter future for Mississippi.

And, if you have never met Steve Holland, he is a character who is not large enough for this body to contain. What a gentleman. Always for the State of Mississippi and a true Mississippian at heart, but always with a quip and quick humor. He was always willing to never take himself too seriously, although all the matters that he achieved were very serious.

Steve Holland is an icon in Mississippi politics. I look forward to working with Steve in his retirement and thank him for his service. Impeachment Process

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Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I just want to talk a little bit about this impeachment process, or whatever you want to call it that we have going on.

The American people deserve the facts--and just the facts--not supposition from witnesses who have second- and third- and fourth- and fifth-hand information.

They have a right to not have lawyers and alleged whistleblowers, who the lawyer has--the coup started in 2017 as soon as our President took office, or impeachment next.

Mr. Speaker, the people of America deserve the facts. They don't deserve secret proceedings, leaks, misinformation, and disinformation.

And I just want to make a small point. A whistleblower is not afforded anonymity by the statute. They are afforded the protection from firing or retaliation, not anonymity. It is not a hotline or an anonymous tip line.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the misinformation and disinformation stop. Just the facts.

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