Saluting Elizabeth Claxton

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate our top 10 speechwriters for this year's Missouri's Fourth Congressional District Speech Competition. They were chosen to write speeches on what America means to them, and today, we are saluting Elizabeth Claxton of Holden High School in Johnson County, Missouri.

Elizabeth says: ``To me, America is more than just the land I grew up in. America is the persons who surround me and the companionships I share with them. America is small towns and big cities full of people and their lives and the bonds they form with each other. Fellowships of all kinds fill America and make up our Nation. We are all of different backgrounds, who have different futures but are deeply intertwined as members of our beautiful and intricate county. America is all of these people and cultures woven together to create our society. America isn't just a land or national entity but one diverse yet blended people.''

Mr. Speaker, we salute Elizabeth and thank her for her great work.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source