mr. lieutenant governor, mr. president, madam speaker, legislative leaders, senators, representatives, justices, judges, elected officials, distinguished guests, family, friends, and my fellow iowans, the job of government above all else is to provide for the health and safety of its citizens, so i want to begin today by thanking the people who are on the front lines of providing that protection. our men and women who serve in the military, law enforcement, and as first responders who risk their lives for us and some pay the ultimate sacrifice. it was with great sadness last week we laid to rest clinton firefighter lieutenant hoset and it s with prayerful hope we watch firefighter kaine recover from the same tragic event. for these men and women, service isn t just part of their job, it s who they are, whether their uniform is on or off. take billy fox, after graduating from central college he enlisted in the army and joined the special forces. after almost eight years of act
[applause] thank you. thank you. thank you. mr. lt. governor, mr. president, madam speaker, legislative leaders, senators, representatives, justices, judges, elected officials, distinguished guests, family, friends, and my fellow iowans, the job of government, above all else, is to provide for the health and safety of its citizens so i want to begin today by thanking the people who are on the front lines of providing that protection. our men and women who serve in the military, law enforcement, and as first responders who risk their lives for us, and some pay the ultimate sacrifice. it was with great sadness last week we laid to rest clinton firefighter lieutenant hossett and with prayerful hope that we watch firefighter cain recover from the same event. for these men and women, it s who they are, whether their uniform is on or off. take billy fox, after graduating from central college he enlisted in the army and joined the special forces. after almost eight years of active
Believe it or not, a man I got to know shortly after coming to Dublin confessed that he had once gone to Belfast and opened fire on a group of people waiting for a bus.