[Pages H1252-H1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THANKING ROBERT COLBY HALE FOR HIS SERVICE

  (Mr. WILLIAMS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to 
recognize and thank a friend and confidant who has been by my side for 
the last 15 years.
  I first met my chief of staff, Robert Colby Hale, when he was 22 
years old. I was the commencement speaker at his graduation ceremony at 
Hardin-Simmons University, and he introduced me on stage.
  In that moment, I never imagined so many years later our paths would 
take us to the Texas secretary of state's office in Austin and now to 
the U.S. House of Representatives.
  I gave Colby his first job and watched him grow from a recent college 
graduate into the husband, father, and professional that he is today.
  He has been my right-hand man since before I decided to run for 
Congress in 2012. He believed in me, and he encouraged me every single 
day.
  There is no one's counsel that I have trusted more. Colby will be 
missed around our office, but he is leaving his legacy in the capable 
hands of those he trained and those he mentored.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 25th Congressional District of Texas 
and the United States Congress, I thank Mr. Colby Hale. I thank him for 
his years

[[Page H1253]]

of service to this district and to the American people.
  I am excited to see where life takes him next, and he should know 
that he will always be on the home team.
  In God we trust.

                          ____________________