Suozzi Urges Colleagues to ‘Wake Up’ in Passionate Speech

Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi, in a passionate address on the House floor after being re-elected to Congress, called on his fellow lawmakers to “Wake Up!”

“Mr. Speaker, on the night of my election victory, I promised the people of Long Island in Queens I would deliver a simple message to this chamber: Wake up!” said Suozzi, who recently won a run-off in New York’s 3^rd Congressional District to fill the seat vacated by the ouster of former Rep. George Santos.

“The people are fed up with the blaming and the petty partisan squabbling. They want us to collaborate. They want you guys to collaborate, too. What are you doing?” Suozzi said Wednesday.

“I know there are many well-intentioned individuals in this chamber on both sides of the aisle, but people are concerned about the cost of living. They’re concerned about the turmoil at the border. They’re concerned about Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine. They look to Congress, and what do they see? The extremists hog all the attention. We’re allowing ourselves to be controlled by our base. We’re not accomplishing anything. We need less disorder and more logical thinking in the upcoming months,” he added.

Suozzi’s win diminishes House Republicans’ slight majority – Democrats now hold 16 seats from New York while Republicans have 10.

Suozzi urged legislators to come together.

“While I may be the only one being sworn in today, what if we all view this as a fresh beginning? What if we all use this opportunity to break some of our bad habits? What if today we remembered why we entered office in the first place? Let’s return to focusing on solutions,” he expressed.