Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, normally, when you come up to talk about a bill, you raise the podium here and put your papers down. Mr. Speaker, when you talk about the 1980 Olympic game, I don't need any notes. I don't need any recollection.

``Eleven seconds. You've got 10 seconds. The countdown is going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!''

Friday, February 22, 1980, the game started at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 4 p.m. Central Standard Time, where I was a bantam hockey player, playing in the Pine Valley Ice Shelter. We had one of our parents come out of the locker room, ``We beat the Russians. We beat the Russians,'' because it was on tape delay.

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud for this body to pass this. As my colleague, Mr. Sherman, said, it is also coming from the Senate. It came from the Senate.

The fact of the matter is, as Chairman Williams says, it was more than a hockey game. It was the height of the Cold War. The United States needed that lift, and those American heroes gave us that lift.

Those 12 Minnesotans gave us that lift. Coach Herb Brooks from the University of Minnesota gave us that lift. All of those players standing on that gold medal platform on Sunday, February 24, all of them on that small platform, gave America the lift.

A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with some of the members of the gold medal team. Captain Mike Eruzione said this to me: Pete, that hockey game gave me life. Had we not won, I was going to be either a firefighter, police officer, or go into the military, but that game changed my life. I made a lot of money. This Congressional Gold Medal will be the cherry on top for our team.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their unwavering support to get this across the finish line. It was 40-plus years since they did that, and 3 weeks, 2\1/2\ weeks before these games, the Soviets dominated them at Madison Square Garden.

Mr. Speaker, named after Coach Herb Brooks, we call them Herbies. Blue line back, red line back, far blue line back, and far goal line back are Herbies.

Who do you play for? Who do you play for? Team USA. That name on the front of the jersey meant more than the name on the back--USA.

Dare I say, Mr. Speaker, we in Congress have to do that same thing. Who do we play for? Who do we play for? The United States of America.

I thank my friend and colleague from upstate New York, Representative Elise Stefanik, because she was originally going to carry this bill. Mr. Speaker, she let me carry it.

After a conversation with her, I said: Elise, Minnesota is the State of Hockey. Herb Brooks comes from the State of Hockey. There were 12 Minnesotans. There was Duluth hometown hero Phil Verchota. There was Mark Pavelich, John Harrington, Buzz Schneider, and Bill Baker. The list goes on and on from our great State of Minnesota.

Elise Stefanik said: Pete, you have made a great statement. Carry that bill.

Representative Stefanik has no idea what it means to me to be able to deliver this bill with my colleagues across the House floor. That game meant more to this country than those heroes realized. Yes, it was just a hockey game, but it was a hockey game that we needed to win at that moment at that time for this great Nation.

Remember, Mike Eruzione scored with 10 minutes left. The Soviets were just pressuring us. What did Coach Herb Brooks say up and down the ice? He said: ``Play your game. Play your game.''

They were the best conditioned. They were a team. Nobody was going to win that game other than the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, hockey is a great game. I know that my good friend and colleague, Chairman Williams, thinks, probably rightfully so, that baseball is America's pastime. For anyone who comes from Minnesota, hockey is America's pastime. We banter back and forth. I actually think he is right, but give me some grace.

To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, to Kevin Cramer and Chuck Schumer, who delivered this across the aisle in the Senate, I think and believe that we in America, especially with the events that have happened recently, that name on the front of our jersey means more than the name on the back. On the front of our jersey, it says: ``USA.''

Those college kids on that Friday had no idea of the impact they were going to have across this great Nation. Those men went on to do great things. Some went on to win Stanley Cup championships, such as Kenny Morrow; my hero, Neal Broten, from Roseau, Minnesota; my hero, Mark Pavelich, from Eveleth, Minnesota; and my other hero, Phil Verchota, from my hometown of Duluth. It was integrity, honesty, hard work, dedication, and the will to win.

Mr. Speaker, the name on the front of our jersey, USA, means more than the name on the back. I am thrilled to be able to vote on this piece of legislation. These Olympic heroes deserve this because, as Captain Eruzione says, it will put the cherry on top of their accomplishment. It is the highest honor we can give.

As was alluded to earlier, the Olympic Center in Lake Placid is going to have a Congressional Gold Medal. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs will have a Congressional Gold Medal. Yes, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, will have a Congressional Gold Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I am excited about this opportunity. Hockey is a great game. This changed the history of our country. We can never forget what it meant to us.

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