US Senator Kaine Remarks READING OF GWFA 24Feb26

 

READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS; Congressional Record Vol. 172, No. 36
(Senate - February 24, 2026)

[Pages S627-S632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the Senate 
of January 24, 1901, as modified by the orders of February 11 and 
February 23, 2026, the Senator from Virginia, Mr. Kaine, will now read 
Washington's Farewell Address.
  Mr. KAINE. Madam President, I rise today to continue an important 
Senate tradition. Each year, beginning in 1896, on a day near in time 
to George Washington's birthday, a Senator, alternating between 
parties, stands in the Senate to read Washington's Farewell Address, 
presented 100 years earlier as our first President neared the end of 
his second term.
  During the 130 years of this tradition, seven Virginia Senators have 
preceded me in reading the Address, which was written by the archetypal 
son of our Commonwealth, with the assistance of close confidants 
Alexander Hamilton and another Virginia native son James Madison. Those 
Virginians who read the Farewell Address on the Senate floor are: John 
Daniel, Claude Swanson, Carter Glass, John Warner--twice--Paul Trible, 
Chuck Robb, and George Allen.
  It is particularly appropriate that this year's reading is delivered 
in the Senate Chamber hours before President Trump is set to deliver 
his State of the Union Address in the House Chamber.
  Washington's words demonstrate the mixture of wisdom, patriotism, and 
selflessness that should serve as a model for all Presidents and set 
the expectations for all Americans for how a President should approach 
the sacred trust of serving as America's Chief Executive.
  Washington's Farewell Address to the people of the United States.
  Mr. Kaine, at the rostrum, read the Farewell Address as follows: >>>>

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-172/issue-36/senate-section/article/S627-5?hl=George+Washington+farewell+address&s=2&r=29

US Senator Burr Remarks READING OF GWFA 18Feb05

 

[Pages S1703-S1708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senator from North Carolina, Mr. Burr, is designated to read 
Washington's Farewell Address.
  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I am honored today to take part in the 
Senate's annual tradition of reading George Washington's farewell 
address to the Nation. I am truly humbled to add my name to the list of 
Senators who have been privileged to read the address.
  The address, delivered by Washington in the form of an open letter to 
his fellow countrymen, appeared in newspapers across our young Nation 
over 200 years ago. Then, as now, we struggle sometimes with 
Washington's words. We debate meaning and we debate intent, but perhaps 
our discourse is what Washington himself intended. Our independence and 
our freedom is, in fact, the source of our strength.
  I believe that the address is President Washington's call for 
Americans to look beyond divisions and to gain strength in our unity of 
purpose.
  Washington's Farewell Address to the people of the United States of 
America:

To the people of the United States: >>>>

Sen. Burr's subsequent entry in the Senate's Farewell Address Notebook 

Senator Richard Burr: “I am honored and humbled by the chance to share the words of our 1st president. This wonderful tradition continued now for over a century should serve as a reminder to all that Americans cherish our independence or lose our freedoms and our hope for peace.”

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-151/issue-19/senate-section/article/S1703-5?hl=George+Washington+farewell+address&s=2&r=10

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.

                          ____________________

US Senator Corzine Remarks READING OF GWFA 25Feb02

 [Pages S979-S984]

From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
New Jersey, Mr. Corzine, is recognized to read George Washington's 
Farewell Address.
  Mr. CORZINE. In September 1796, worn out by burdens of the presidency 
and attacks of political foes, George Washington announced his decision 
not to seek a third term. With the assistance of Alexander Hamilton and 
James Madison, Washington composed in a ``Farewell Address'' his 
political testament to the nation. Designed to inspire and guide future 
generations, the address also set forth Washington's defense of his 
administration's record and embodied a classic statement of Federalist 
doctrine.
  Washington's principal concern was for the safety of the eight-year-
old Constitution. He believed that the stability of the Republic was 
threatened by the forces of geographical sectionalism, political 
factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation's 
domestic affairs. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional 
jealousies to common national interests. Writing at a time before 
political parties had become accepted as vital extraconstitutional, 
opinion-focusing agencies, Washington feared that they carried the 
seeds of the nation's destruction through petty factionalism. Although 
Washington was in no sense the father of American isolationism, since 
he recognized the necessity of temporary associations for 
``extraordinary emergencies,'' he did counsel against the establishment 
of ``permanent alliances with other countries,'' connections that he 
warned would inevitably be subversive of America's national interest.
  Washington did not publicly deliver his Farewell Address. It first 
appeared on September 19, 1796, in the Philadelphia Daily American 
Advertiser and then in papers around the country.
  In January 1862, with the Constitution endangered by civil war, a 
thousand citizens of Philadelphia petitioned Congress to commemorate 
the forthcoming 130th anniversary of George Washington's birth by 
providing that ``the Farewell Address of Washington be read aloud on 
the morning of that day in one or the other of the Houses of 
Congress.'' Both houses agreed and assembled in the House of 
Representatives' chamber on February 22, 1862, where Secretary of the 
Senate John W. Forney ``rendered `The Farewell Address' very 
effectively,'' as one observer recalled.
  The practice of reading the Farewell Address did not immediately 
become a tradition. The address was first read in regular legislative 
sessions of the Senate in 1888 and the House in 1899. (The House 
continued the practice until

[[Page S980]]

1984.) Since 1893 the Senate has observed Washington's birthday by 
selecting one of its members to read the Farewell Address. The 
assignment alternates between members of each political party. At the 
conclusion of each reading, the appointed senator inscribes his or her 
name and brief remarks in a black, leather-bound book maintained by the 
secretary of the Senate.
  The version of the address printed here is taken from the original of 
the final manuscript in the New York Public Library provided courtesy 
of The Papers of George Washington. The only changes have been to 
modernize spelling, capitalization, and punctuation [note foot].
  Mr. CORZINE, at the rostrum, read the Farewell Address, as follows:

Sen. Corzine's entry in GWFA notebook..

Senator Jon S. Corzine: “President Washington's admonitions to respect the authority and the principles of our Constitution provides the foundation of our living democracy. He makes clear that democracy should and will change only slowly and should resist the "enterprises of faction." His are the lessons for the ages at this time when our nation and her people have suffered, we must remember that our freedoms are not free. Like Washington and his fellow citizens. we must work for those freedoms, and sadly, some will die defending them. Most importantly, we will stay united in the pursuit of freedom.”

NOTE:  :The only changes have been to modernize spelling, capitalization, and punctuation:

THANKS TO YOUR HUMBLE FOUNDER OF THE GWFA R&PP

US Senator Lankford Remarks READING OF GWFA 27Feb23

READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS; Congressional Record Vol. 169, No. 37
(Senate - February 27, 2023)

VIDEO OF PROCEEDING... CLICK/TAP HERE

[Pages S487-S492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the Senate 
of January 24, 1901, as modified by the order of January 21, 2023, the 
Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. Lankford, will now read Washington's 
Farewell Address.
  Mr. LANKFORD. In 1781, the Revolution had actually ended. The war had 
stopped. George Washington, then as the Commander in Chief of the 
Continental Army, continued to be able to stay on to be able to lead 
the Army until 1783, until the new government could be formed. In 1783, 
he came to Annapolis, MD, and Commander in Chief George Washington 
resigned his commission of the military.
  Now, we don't see that as a significant event, but it is one of the 
most significant events at the beginning of our Nation because, in the 
past, if you led the Army and you won the war, you would become the 
leader based on the fact that the Army is behind you. That is the way 
it had always been in every place, in every country. If you had the 
Army, you have the power.
  George Washington approached the civilian government in the 
beginnings of a new Republic, resigned his commission, and stepped back 
to being a private citizen. That event is so significant, John 
Trumbull, his painting hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol right 
now. That painting has been hanging there since 1824. In fact, the 
painting of George Washington resigning his commission is actually 
older than the dome that it is under.
  We don't think about a military leader taking over the United States. 
That is unthinkable for us because of the path that George Washington 
laid down behind us.
  He did a lot of firsts in a lot of his leadership. He was our first 
President. He was a civilian leader. After one term, he wanted to be 
able to step down. In fact, he and Madison actually wrote together a 
letter to be able to go out to the American people after his first 
Presidency, but so many people came to him and encouraged him to be 
able to run again that he relented and ran again. But at the end of his 
second term, he would not relent and had determined he was not a King, 
he was not the only person who could lead these new United States, but 
it was time, after 45 years, for him to step aside.
  And this time, with the help of another gentleman whom he had worked 
with for a long time named Alexander Hamilton--they had served 
together, even since the Continental Army. He and Alexander Hamilton 
wrote an address to the American people. This was to be the end of his 
Presidency and of his public service. It was actually--interestingly 
enough, it is referred to as ``George Washington's Farewell Address,'' 
but he never actually spoke it. They wrote it, and then they published 
it together.
  Many people don't know that George Washington didn't like speaking in 
public and wasn't akin to coming to make big public speeches. So they 
published it, and it became a signature.
  This speech begins with a farewell to the Nation, saying: I am 
stepping aside as President of these United States. Then he goes on to 
be able to challenge the Nation in multiple areas, beginning with being 
careful in the days ahead.

[[Page S488]]

He saw the seeds of factions and of political parties beginning to 
rise, and he challenged the Nation. He challenged the Nation to be able 
to hold fast to its faith and to be able to live the principles of its 
faith.
  He challenged the Nation on the issue of debt and to be able to say 
don't be a nation that carries a lot of debt. You will have times of 
war when you will have to carry it, but pay it off as quickly as 
possible.
  He challenged the Nation in the issue of foreign entanglements and 
foreign alliances, and he challenged the Nation to forgive him of any 
mistakes that he might have made while he was leading the Nation.
  This nonspeech speech that he presented to the Nation has become a 
signature for now more than two centuries. It wasn't set aside. In 
fact, during the Civil War, for the first time, Members of Congress 
gathered on the other side of the building in the brand new House 
Chamber in 1862, where House and Senate, with all the military 
leadership, gathered together in one room and read it out loud as a 
reminder to the Nation of our beginnings and as an encouragement to all 
the legislators during the Civil War.
  It was set aside again until 1893 when the Senate picked it back up 
again and a Senator was chosen to be able to read it out loud to the 
Senate. It was done in 1893 and 1894 and then stopped in 1895 but then 
picked up again in 1896 and has been read every single year since 1896, 
in this Chamber, right around George Washington's birthday--a fitting 
tribute to a President who did much to be able to establish who we are 
as a country.
  I am honored today to be the one selected to be able to speak this 
speech. I am also honored to be able to note that I am the first 
Oklahoman in the history of the Senate to actually read this speech out 
loud in the Senate.
  Now, we are a young State. We have only been a State since 1907, but 
we have only been reading it out loud since 1893. So we have been there 
for most of the time. So I am honored to be able to give to you 
``George Washington's Farewell Address'' and his look to the future of 
our Nation to say: These are the things I would request that you do not 
forget.
  Mr. LANKFORD at the rostrum, read the Farewell Address, as follows:
To the people of the United States...

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-169/issue-37/senate-section/article/S487-6?hl=George+Washington+farewell+address&s=2&r=5

US Senator S Chambliss REMARKS RE: READING OF GWFA 24Feb03

 Pages S2549-S2554]

From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senator from Georgia, Mr. Chambliss, is recognized to read George 
Washington's Farewell Address.
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I am honored today to read George 
Washington's Farewell Address before the Senate. The tradition of 
reading this historical document was begun in 1893 and has continued 
each year with

[[Page S2550]]

the exception of 1895. I am humbled to sign my name to the list of 
Senators who have been privileged to read the Farewell Address in 
observance of Washington's birthday, especially those from my home 
State of Georgia, Senators Augustus Bacon and Walter F. George.
  George Washington, the first President of the United States, was a 
legend in his own right by 1796, the year that the address was 
published. Americans knew Washington as the ``Father of our Country.'' 
He was chosen to serve two Presidential terms, and could easily have 
served a third term with tremendous support from his fellow countrymen.
  Washington was a man of high moral character and integrity. He was a 
farmer, a military general, and a strong political leader whose 
leadership helped shape the foundation of our Government by balancing a 
strong central authority with the union of States that held our 
fledgling Nation together. Washington's leadership earned him the well-
deserved title, ``Father of our Country.'' After the President's death, 
Congressman Henry Lee, speaking on behalf of the House of 
Representatives, described him as ``the first in war, the first in 
peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.''
  Washington's Farewell Address was printed in newspapers across the 
Nation to convey his decision of voluntary retirement. George 
Washington's retirement after serving two terms may not sound odd to us 
in this day and time, but we must remember that before Washington the 
only known entity to rule this country was the English monarchy. With 
Washington's voluntary retirement, a precedent was set regarding the 
Office of the President. A statement was made about this announcement, 
which was although the person who serves in the Office of the President 
may be disposable, the Office of the President will always be 
indispensable. This precedent was the fundamental difference between 
the European monarchy and the Office of the President of the United 
States of America.
  Over time many historians have interpreted different meanings from 
the address. Washington's Farewell Address was a communication to his 
fellow countrymen, I believe, to advise the country on how to sustain 
national unity and purpose with or without him as President. This 
fundamental advice has stood the test of time, and will do so, I am 
sure, for many generations to come. Interestingly, many of the maxims 
set forth in the address are still applicable today.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS, at the rostrum, read the Farewell Address, as follows:
  The Farewell Address of President George Washington, September 19, 
1796:

     To the people of the United States...

                                                  GEO. WASHINGTON.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair wishes to thank the Senator from 
Georgia for his outstanding elocution in delivering George Washington's 
Farewell Address. It was an outstanding presentation.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. I thank the Presiding Officer.

SEE: Senate Farewell Address Notebook Entries

Senator Saxby Chambliss: “The messages in the address are as true and meaningful today as they were in 1796... America is a great and free nation because of leaders like Washington and his words are still inspiring.”

204th ANNIVERSARY OF GWFA - US Senate

 [Pages H7935-H7936]

From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S ``FAREWELL ADDRESS''

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DeLAY.  Mr. Speaker, 204 years ago, President George Washington's 
``Farewell Address'' was published in the New York Herald.
  For generations, the ``Farewell Address'' was one of the most 
recommended political works in American history. Schoolchildren studied 
it and citizens celebrated it. In fact, in 1862, President Lincoln even 
issued a national proclamation recommending that people all over the 
country read the address aloud.
  One lengthy section of Washington's address dealt with the importance 
of religion and morality to public life. After declaring that religion 
and morality were indispensable to political prosperity, Washington 
bluntly asked, ``Where is the security for property, for reputation, 
for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert?'' He continued, 
``Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality 
can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.''
  Washington warned Americans that without religious principles, 
neither education nor any other force would be capable of protecting 
either our life or our property. This is a lesson to remember today, 
the 204th anniversary of the printing of Washington's ``Farewell 
Address.''