Rep Hill Remarks Reading GWFA 25Feb26

 

PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS; Congressional Record Vol. 172, No. 37
(House - February 25, 2026)

[Pages H2309-H2314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Hill of 
Arkansas was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.)


                             General Leave

  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of the Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today with my 
colleagues to lead the House of Representatives in reading President 
George Washington's farewell address.
  Having just celebrated the 294th birthday of our indispensable first 
President, this is a fitting tribute as we celebrate the 250th year of 
our Nation's creation.
  The farewell address is a remarkable document. Published in the 
American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796, it was never delivered 
in person, but it was widely read and remains one of the most important 
documents in American history.
  President Washington completed his two terms as our indispensable 
first President. He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen.
  Every step of the way, he viewed his actions through the lens of the 
precedent it would set for the Presidency and for future Presidents: 
his dress, his decorum, his relationship with Congress, his decisions 
about his Cabinet, and his approach to executive decisionmaking.
  In this address, you will see clearly that he ended his extraordinary 
public career on a high note.
  The practice of reading the farewell address began in a joint session 
of Congress on February 22, 1862, during the darkest days of the Civil 
War. [click/tap here for details]
  The Senate revived the ceremonial reading in 1888, and each year 
since 1896, the Senate has observed George Washington's birthday in 
February by selecting a Senator, alternating parties, to read the 
7,641-word statement in their legislative session. This year, 
fittingly, in this year of America250, our semiquincentennial, it was 
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.
  The House revived the ceremonial reading in 1889 and continued 
intermittently until 1933, after which it became an annual fixture in 
until 1979. [click/tap here for information regarding discontinuance]

                              {time}  1110

  Today, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I are delighted to return this 
tradition to the House floor accompanied by our handsome portrait of 
our first President by John Vanderlyn that has hung here in the House 
Chamber since the 1830s.
  Mr. Washington's Farewell Address:
  ``Friends and Fellow-Citizens:>>>>>>

                              {time}  1150

  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues,  Mike Kennedy of Utah,  Don Beyer 
of Virginia, and Ben Cline of Virginia, for joining me in this renewal 
of tradition in this, our semiquincentennial year, of reading George 
Washington's Farewell Address.
  Indeed, as that Member of the very first Congress from Virginia, 
American Revolutionary War hero Light-Horse Harry Lee, said at George 
Washington's eulogy, he was, in fact, ``First in war, first in peace, 
and first in the hearts of his countrymen.''
  I give my thanks also to Speaker Johnson and the Republican vice 
chairman, Blake Moore, for allowing us to use this time on the House 
floor.
  I encourage all of our citizens to participate in America's 250th 
birthday in this year of 2026 as we celebrate on July Fourth the 
signing and publication of our Declaration of Independence from July 
Fourth, 1776.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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