Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As of Friday, Congressman Brian Higgins of Buffalo will no longer be a frequent flyer to Washington, D.C. The 10-term Democrat is wrapping up 19 years in Congress with his resignation effective Feb. 2.
Higgins will not be making a final speech on the House floor. He passed up the opportunity.
"I chose not to," he said on WBEN on Thursday morning. "I've had plenty of time to speak on the record on the House floor on various issues. I'm just going quietly."
Higgins has previously described Congress as not the same institution he went to in 2005, saying it is a very different place today.
"We're spending more time doing less, and the American people aren't being served," he said.
Of all the different issues Higgins has been involved in, he has had a very personal connection to the Flight 3407 families, who lost loved ones on Feb. 12, 2009.
"Those families are extraordinary," Higgins speaking of the families on Thursday. "I don't know the political affiliations of any of them. Here's what I do know: They came together in a very honest, courageous, intelligent way to basically change the trajectory of flight safety for the flying public. They did that. It was a bipartisan effort."
Higgins says he's confident that airline safety is in the DNA of the Western New York Congressional delegation, and those efforts will continue into the future.
Starting Feb. 5, Higgins will become the new president and CEO at Shea's Performing Arts Center.