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Gabrielle Giffords
Jubilant House Members Greet Gabrielle Giffords
"I got a tip," Biden said, beaming, when asked by TPM whether he had prior knowledge of the event. "That is why I came up. I wanted to give her a hug."
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the longest serving member of Congress, told TPM it was "wonderful" to see Giffords.
For Pelosi, who had just led her caucus through a bitter debate over the debt ceiling that climaxed with the passage of a bipartisan agreement on Monday (Gifford voted "aye"), the moment helped put everything in perspective. Like Biden she also had advance knowledge of the visit, having been informed by her chief of staff John Lawrence, a friend of the Gifford family.
"She & her husband care very much about our country, this was an important vote for them," she told reporters. "I am so personally thrilled, though, that the vote seems......" She trailed off there.
Pelosi recounted how "We had our girl talk, yes, our girl hugs & all that" before Giffords departed, her total stay only a few minutes. She offered no news as to when -- or whether -- Giffords would return to work.
"I am not going to talk about her schedule," she said. "Suffice to say, it was one of the thrilling moments for all of us to see this real heroine return to the House & to do so in such a dramatic time."
But Pelosi's heads up was an anomaly. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) said that members weren't given any sort of warning -- indeed one member told TPM that Giffords wasn't going to vote when rumors started flying on Twitter - & Andrews said members "did not know why all the applause went up."
"The board was at 200 votes, & no one knew," Andrews told TPM. "& I have gotta tell you, as low as that Saturday morning was, this was equally high...After all the sourness & bitnerness, it was a moment of real triumph. It reminded us of what really counts."
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http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/benjy_sarlin_1/2011/07/31-week/
Gabrielle Giffords returns to Congress for debt ceiling vote
The Arizona lawmaker who was shot in the head in January is greeted with thunderous applause as the House closes the chapter on one of it is most contentious issues.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) returned to Congress in dramatic fashion for the first time since she was shot in the head in January, appearing almost unannounced in the midst of voting on one of the most contentious issues of the year.
The House erupted in a bipartisan standing ovation as she entered. The congresswoman, 41, who has been out of the public eye & hospitalized much of the year, stood unaided to recognize the thunderous applause.Wearing cropped brown hair, a turquoise jacket & her distinctive smile, Giffords embraced a stream of colleagues who flocked to her. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-Fla.), who is among her closest friends in Congress, was at her side.
"It was an inspiration, really, to all the members, Democrats & Republicans. We are very excited about seeing her," said Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.).
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) dabbed her eyes. Others passed around tissues.
"Her presence here ... as well as her entire service to Congress, brings honor to this chamber," Pelosi said, adding that there "is not a name that stirs more admiration" throughout the country than Giffords'.
"She is the perfect example of bipartisanship," said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas).
It was the latest milestone in Giffords' recovery. She & 18 others were shot as she greeted constituents in Tucson. Six people died. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, has been charged but ruled incompetent to stand trial.
Giffords said in a statement that she was compelled to return to vote on the debt ceiling legislation Monday. Debate over raising the nation's $14.3-trillion debt ceiling has been bitter, divisive & partisan.
"I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy," said Giffords, who voted "aye." The bill passed comfortably.
The three-term Democrat was discharged in June from the Houston hospital where she had been rehabilitating. She made a brief visit to her district on Father's Day weekend, but has otherwise stayed with her husband, astronaut Mark E. Kelly, outside Houston.
Kelly & the rest of the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour are scheduled to meet with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday.
"One's going to space, & one's trying to get back to earth," said Vice President Joe Biden, who said he made a special trip to Congress when he heard Giffords would be there. "Think about it. It is an incredible family."
christine.maiduc@latimes.com
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