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Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, this Chamber lost a kind friend, loving husband, proud father, and tireless advocate for rural America and the Western United States.

Doug LaMalfa brought joy and sincerity into the Halls of Congress every single day and fought for the good of northern California.

I first met Doug in freshman orientation. Of course, he was a more senior Member than I was, but we go to leadership elections, and because ``LaMalfa'' was near ``Mann'' in the alphabet, I sat right behind Doug, who quickly introduced himself to me, found out I was from Kansas, and spent 3 minutes digging through his phone to find pictures of a road trip that he took in one of his classic cars right through Kansas. Seven minutes later, I walked away from Doug very aware of all the stops that he had made in my great State. From that moment on, I was always the Mann from Kansas.

During our time together on the House Agriculture Committee, Doug routinely brought the priorities of farmers and ranchers in his district directly into committee hearings and roundtables. His multigenerational family farm grounded him and his beliefs, making him an even better advocate for the abundant agricultural producers of California's First District.

Audrey and I are praying for Doug's loved ones as they grieve through this tragedy.

Psalm 34:18 says: ``The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.'' It is our prayer that Doug's family, friends, and team would feel that closeness as they honor, and we all honor, his life and legacy.

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