Transcripts For CSPAN Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 20141225

You can shake it on. Guys. Ght, you happy holidays ive got to go. Ive got to go to a meeting. For hanging out [indiscernible conversation] House Speaker john boehner other lawmakers participated in the capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony earlier this month. This years tree is an 88foot white spruce from the chippewa minnesota. Rest in and in keeping with tradition, the speaker of the house, the honorable john boehner, will extend his holiday greetings to you and officially light this remarkable tree in just a few moments. Before we get to that big moment, i want to welcome anders of congress distinguished guests. Andcapitol hill neighbors those who are visiting our nations capitol today. Thank you for joining us on this and wet evening. Id especially like to of theedge members minnesota delegation in attendance tonight, including senators amy klobuchar, al franken and congressman rick nolan. [applause] now this incredible tree has been beautifully decorated with ornaments,f handmade crafted by children and others a minnesota communities as gift from the land of 10,000 lakes. [applause] and speaking of ornaments, each the u. S. Capitol Historical Society presents a to place uponent the tree. This years ornament features a classic capitol design crafted from the marble steps that used thee on the east front of capitol. At this time, id like to a former member of congress and president of the society,istorical thersen. Stephen, thank you very much. Of speaker, members congress. Let me add my thanks to this event, this wonderful event, 88foot Christmas Tree, which is absolutely beautiful. Privilege, ase president of the u. S. Capitol society, of adding ornament to the tree with the thousands of ornaments that have been created by the children of minnesota. So, mr. Ayers, i would like to present to you this ornament and these ask you to get it on tree. Its made from marble that came from the capitol. It was removed when the steps the east front of the house side of the building in 1990. And so thank you very much. So much. You all right, sir. [applause] thank you so much, ron. For more than 40 years, the u. S. And the architect of the capitol have partnered to bring a Christmas Tree to the capitol from one of our Nations National forests. Specifically thank all of the dedicated Forest Service staff, both here in washington and in minnesota, who have helped make this event possible. Its quite an undertaking. And we are always so appreciative of your hard work. In particular, wed all like to you to beverly carol, who will be retiring after 39 service. H the forest and beverly has been a part of the capitol Christmas Tree tradition for 20 years. And we wish you all the best, beverly lets give them all a round of applause. [applause] joining us tonight is the honorable robert bonnie, the department of agriculture. He has a holiday message to share with all of you this evening. Mr. Bonnie . Its an honor to be here today, to represent the u. S. Department of agriculture and service. Forest 50 years ago, speaker of the thee John Mccormick began tradition of the capitol Christmas Tree to celebrate the season and share a little holiday spirit. Capitol Christmas Tree, which annually hails from one of forests, is a good reminder to all of us of the conserving our forests and our national resources. The tree is also an example of american cando spirit. Each year, hundreds of contribute thousands of hours to help transport to our national of capitol. O the this years tree comes from the Chippewa National forest, established by Theodore Roosevelt as the First National mississippi. F the the forest is at the headwaters of the river. Ofcontains 400,000 acres wetlands and lakes and provides sandhill cranes and the largest Breeding Population in the lower 48. The forest has also been home to native americans for thousands years and contains outstanding cultural resources. That makes todays celebration because theportant, lake band of ojibwe has played a partnering with the Forest Service to bring the tree here. Indeed, im told there are members of the band here today who are here as children in 1992, when a tree from the Chippewa National forest was the capitold as Christmas Tree. Other partners like choose outdoors have also contributed to the long journey the tree has taken. These are vital for all the work we do on the national forest, whether its conserving and restoring our forests ecosystems or providing recreational opportunities to millions of people. So lets celebrate this tree. Rship and this Merry Christmas and happy holidays [applause] thank you, mr. Bonnie. Ais tree has been on tremendous journey. In fact, its traveled more than across the country from minnesota. And just a mere 12 days ago, this white spruce arrived here on the west front, where our capitold team of grounds crew went to work decorating it. And this is the final tree, the of 34 trees for george rawlings. You will be missed as well. Didnt the grounds crew do a fantastic job . [applause] and an special shoutout to leader, ted, the superintendent of capitol grounds, who had the tough task selecting just one tree from amazing trees found in Chippewa National forest. Gentlemen, its my honor to bring up members of the minnesota delegation to offer their remarks. I have the honor of introducing klobuchar, who became the first woman elected to represent the state of in the United States senate in 2006. She serves on the Senate Committee on agriculture, forestry, which has jurisdiction over forestry thecy and she was at Chippewa National forest to oversee the harvesting of this magnificent tree. Senator klobuchar . [applause] thank you. Well, hello, everyone. Here. So great to see you were so proud of this tree from the state of minnesota. Of ourn the words unofficial poet laureate, garrison keillor, a state where women are strong, right . The men are goodlooking, right, franken . Trees are above average. And this tree is 8 8 feet above average. Were very proud of it. And also we have our delegation congressman nolan, as you know. Youll hear from him. Congresswoman bachmann, congressman walls. I know if theyre not here already, congressman ellison and veryessman klein are also proud of this tree. And thank you, speaker boehner, the midst. Ere in and also, i notice that another side, on the democratic hoyer, is also with us today. Id like to thank our brave tenyearold boy aaron for being here. Were very excited to have you light up this tree for us tonight. It is so fitting that our state this huge Christmas Tree from the forest in minnesota. You should know that ojibwe is also home to a huge statue of bunyan and babe the blue ox. Heres a fun fact. It would also take more than four paul bunyan statues to reach the star on that tree. As was noted, i was there at the beginning, when this tree was cut by minnesotas logger of the is a really big guy. I wanted to do it myself, but he took over. This tree then traveled 2,000 miles from the Chippewa National forest. I was at some of the events in minnesota. I was astounded by the thousands that would turn out just to see this tree. With all the cynicism, we can ite sometimes in washington, makes you realize that the people of this country and the stillen of this country care that their tree from their state, one tree in the whole standingis going to be in front of this capitol building. From the foresters and the conservationist and the log ers loggers who Work Together every to maintain the health, beauty and productivity of our this tree has come. My grandfather was a minor. Mine miner. When the mine closed down, he was a logger. Be. Know how hard it can but it was all the kids who worked on the ornaments, it was tribal members songs and prayers that blessed this tree journey. T on its by sharing this notsosmall piece of minnesota here, were about theeryone know Natural Beauty and cultural richness found in our state. Were letting everyone know why we need them to come to minnesota and experience it for themselves. Like to thank everyone who made this possible. Have aso proud to Minnesota Tree in front of the United States capitol. Thank you. [applause] thank you so much, senator klobuchar. Now, ladies and gentlemen, its my pleasure to introduce senator al franken, who has been serving the people of minnesota since 2009. Senator franken . Thank you. Well, thank you for being here, everyone. Its a big honor to have this the chippewarom national forest, in minnesota. The leach lake band of the ojibwe. Minnesotans do not like to brag. 88 feet tall,s secondlargest capitol Christmas Tree ever, only a foot shorter than the tallest. Okay. So second largest doesnt sound much like a brag, but in hubertta, home of humphrey and walter mondale, being second is a brag. Feet. [laughter] ityou know how many years 88foottall an tree . Neither do i. [laughter] it took a very long time. Are the dont see here 70 other trees that were brought to washington, d. C. , along with this huge one. Theyre smaller trees. Those trees are scattered throughout offices around the myy, including one in office. Children minnesota made 10,000 ornaments to decorate all these trees, because we are the land of 10,000 lakes. 11,842 lakes. Ave have the samet ring as 10,000 lakes, so were the land of 10,000 lakes. Thus, the 10,000 ornaments that from minnesota made. And one of the very popular ornaments that these children made and sent here is called a dream catcher. And you may see one and its a circular thing with kind of netting in there. And theyre part of ojibwe legend. Are believed to protect you while youre sleeping by catching all the bad dreams and onlyhts while letting positive thoughts come through. And i think thats a good sentiment for the Holiday Season. Dont you all . Dont you all . Yes, you do. [applause] i knew. So today, as we light this tree, let us only be filled with positive thoughts and with the and love of the season. Now, senator klobuchar and i lay to this tree, because as senators we represent the entire state of minnesota. But this tree comes from the eighth congressional district, wonderfully represented by congressman rick nolan. So i guess he can lay claim to as well, although to a lesser extent. [laughter] here we have him, our great congressman, rick nolan. Rick . [applause] well, on behalf of the tonesota delegation, i want welcome all of you to this wonderfully warm, balmy afternoon. And evening. Believe it or not, it was an 80degree difference change in temperature from the time we all left minnesota yesterday and got here today. But what a wonderful tree this is. I would like to thank you for this tree and the wonderful celebration that you have created with the harvesting of this tree, and what is wonderful things,is tree, many but, you know, with the 10,000 theyents and lighting that tell me you will be able to see from outer space once it is let up, speaker boehner, what is really wonderful about it is it is right smack dab in the middle of the capital, and there is nothing even remotely partisan about it. There are no democratic, republican parts of that tree. Even though there are branches going out to the left and to the right, and everything in between. What is magnificent about it is that it reminds us all that we are one nation, one people. Joined together in a common cause, in a common message to the world about the importance of love, peace, liberty, and freedom. And what a great honor it is for us from minnesota to be able to revive this tree at this time. Thank you so much. [applause] you so much, congressman nolan, and now it is my pleasure to introduce the speaker of the house, john boehner. Speaker boehner has served the people of the eighth district in Congress Since 1990, and in january 2011, he became the 53rd speaker of the house. Tonight, he carries on the tradition of lighting the u. S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable john boehner. [applause] well, thank you, stephen, and let me thank all of you who are here tonight, and a big thank you to everyone who was involved in making this evening happened. From the Architect Team to the Forest Service to the people of minnesota and to the thousands of students who made the decorations, all of this, this tree truly embodies the christmas spirit. As in our dome is in a series of restoration, we are here to begin one of our own. Humbler the first christmas, on a quiet night, but it is to these simple men that the angels appear, and announcing that unto you is born this day the city of david a savior, which is grace, the lord. Though justs rejoice at the gift, and they go to catch a glimpse of it for themselves. , they now go to bethlehem come to one another and say, and see what is come to pass, and once they get there, they share their good tidings with the world. What makes christmas so magical. It is a time to rediscover for ourselves the glory of gods love, to see with fresh eyes the beauty of simple things and traditions and to rekindle the hope of peace and goodwill to all, just as lights on the tree shine together to overcome the darkness. So on behalf of my family and the peoples house, i wish a happy christmas to all of you and to all a good night. We have now reached that moment that you have all been waiting for, and that is to go back inside. [laughter] this tree this year, we have a special guest from just up the road in maryland. Here from staff are the makeawish foundation, and they will be spending christmas in new york, so we have asked them to come down here and help us kick off this Holiday Season in our nations capital. Ladies and gentlemen, join me in giving a warm welcome to aaron u rban. [applause] are you ready . N, lets start. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 [applause] what a magnificent tree. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you, everyone for coming tonight to , join speaker boehner. The minnesota congressional delegation. The u. S. Forest service. The united sta