Carl Albert Resignation From Congress

After long consideration, I have decided to retire from Congress at the end of the present session. My decision is irreversible. In January, I will have completed 30 years as the representative of the third district of Oklahoma and 22 years in the House leadership. These have been happy years and represent the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. During my early years in the House, I decided I should not serve beyond my 70th year. For my part, that is long enough. I'm now 68 years old in good health. And there are other things

I want to do while I'm young enough to do them. I want to spend more time with my family and lifelong friends. I want to be close to them because I love them dearly. I shall return to the scenes of my childhood in Oklahoma and live in the community where I grew up. I want to thank all of you who have requested me to seek reelection, the editorials, thousands of letters and telephone calls. Urging me to remain in Congress have been heartwarming. The House has been my life, my second home, my workshop for 30 years. I love the House of Representatives because it is the people's house. I treasure its history. And it is,

of course, with a sense of sadness that I have decided to leave its homes. I love my colleagues. I love my staff who have loyally supported me because without their untiring efforts and superb skills, I would never have been able to carry the load of this office. Since I first became a congressman, I have been bound by oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. This I have tried to do. During my leadership, the House has become a more democratic and open institution. By maintaining its co-equal position

in our tripartite system, the Congress has reaffirmed that Representative Government works the Constitution lives. From the time I was a boy in Bugtussel, a little rural community seven and a half miles north east of McAllister, Oklahoma, I wanted to be a congressman and hoped someday that I might be Speaker of the House of Representatives. The fact that I have attained these goals as a country boy from Oklahoma testifies not to me, but to the greatness of the American system and the opportunities the United States of America affords all of

its people. I thank all of you. I love all of you. I shall remember you as long as I live.