St. David's Day

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, I rise to note the upcoming celebration of St. David's Day on March 1. The feast day of St. David, the patron saint of Wales, offers the opportunity to honor Welsh culture and heritage and note the links between Wales and the United States.

The Welsh were among the early settlers who emigrated from the British Isles to North America, and they came with the same motivations that brought many generations from all over the world to our shores, including the pursuit of religious liberty and the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their descendants. The man remembered as the first Welsh settler, Howell Powell, arrived in Virginia from Brecon in 1642. After William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681, having considered naming it New Wales, a large group of Welsh Quakers settled in the colony.

A century later, the Industrial Revolution brought a renewed wave of Welsh settlement to the United States. Immigrants from Wales farmed land, mined coal, made steel, and worked in a variety of other industries that powered U.S. economic ascendancy.

We see the contributions of Wales to American history and culture in other ways, too. At least five signers of the Declaration of Independence had a Welsh background, including its primary author Thomas Jefferson. At least eight of our presidents have similarly come from Welsh descent.

The ties between Wales and the United States are not merely historic but remain vibrant today. Welsh companies conduct business in the United States and keep Americans on their payrolls. As of 2019, the United States was the largest export market for Wales outside Europe.

In the House of Representatives, I serve as Chairman of the Congressional Friends of Wales Caucus, devoted to celebrating and strengthening the ties between our two nations. Each year I look forward to our St. David's Day reception on Capitol Hill, attended by members of the Welsh community in the United States, leading officials in the Welsh government, and Members of Congress. Unfortunately, the reception will not go on as usual this year, but I will nevertheless be wearing a daffodil on March 1 to mark the holiday.

The last words of St. David were said to be, ``Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.'' People of Welsh heritage have come to embody this message in their contributions to the United States and have not done only little things but great things as well. On this St. David's Day, as one of the millions of Americans with Welsh ancestry, I take pride in the accomplishments produced by the partnership between Wales and the United States and look forward to those to come.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source