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Congressional Daily Record
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June 30, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMrs. Fedorchak of North Dakota was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.)
Mrs. FEDORCHAK. Mr. Speaker, as our Nation celebrates America's 250th birthday, North Dakota has the extraordinary privilege of marking this milestone in a truly historic way.
Library in the Badlands of western North Dakota. It is a place that forever shaped one of America's greatest Presidents.
determination made this remarkable library possible. They are too numerous to mention each individually, but I thank the TR Presidential Library Foundation Board, its staff, donors, volunteers, community leaders, Secretary Doug Burgum, Robbie Lauf, Ed O'Keefe, and so many more. Because of their efforts, future generations will come to North Dakota to experience the place that shaped Theodore Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt famously said: “I never would have been President if it had not been for my experience in North Dakota.”
unimaginable loss. He left transformed. The rugged landscape, hardworking ranchers, and independent spirit of the people he met there, these things forged the character that would later define his Presidency.
North Dakota didn't just change Theodore Roosevelt. North Dakota helped shape the leader who would shape America.
Roosevelt embodied what he famously called the “Bully Spirit,” an expression of enthusiasm, optimism, courage, and confidence in America's future. He believed in living boldly, embracing challenges, and approaching life with energy and purpose.
TR was a rancher, a soldier, and a conservationist. He was a reformer, an explorer, an author, a statesman, a Nobel Prize recipient, and one of the most energetic Presidents our Nation has ever known.
His life was filled with stories that have become American legend. After being shot while campaigning for President, Roosevelt refused to leave the stage. The bullet had been slowed by a thick, 50-page speech that was folded inside his breast pocket. He insisted on finishing his remarks before seeking medical attention.
adventurous spirit. His children filled it with dogs, snakes, birds, ponies, and every imaginable creature. They showed us that public service and joy are not mutually exclusive.
qualities. At President Trump's 2025 inauguration, he said: “In America, impossible is what we do best.”
Consider some of the big accomplishments of Roosevelt. He strengthened our Navy, completed the Panama Canal, won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace between Russia and Japan, and changed the way we think about conservation by protecting our public lands, forests, parks, and wildlife.
accomplished. It was what he asked of every American. His words from “Man in the Arena” remain just as relevant today as when he first delivered that speech over a century ago.
our country is so divided, so angry, and so critical of each other. Theodore Roosevelt gives us encouragement. “It is not the critic who counts,” he reminds us. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
participate, to lead, to serve, and to have courage to act rather than merely criticize.
Dakota, as we do this during America's 250th year, we are reminded that the strength of our Republic has never come from spectators. It has always come from the citizens willing to enter the arena.
Roosevelt Presidential Library leave inspired by the example of this President whose character was forged in North Dakota and whose leadership strengthened America.
That is Theodore Roosevelt's legacy. That is the Bully Spirit. As we begin our Nation's next 250 years, may it continue to inspire us all.