Washington big shots House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye were waiting to toast U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

But Abercrombie, 71, was on the House floor Monday, managing the native Hawaiian recognition bill and trying not to break down emotionally.

“;My career in the House was coming to an end. Intellectually I was prepared for that. When I realized this is it, this will probably be the last time I will speak on the floor, the last time I will be able to communicate to everyone in the House how I feel about them, it was emotional to me,”; Abercrombie said after the floor session.

Abercrombie, who resigns from his congressional seat tomorrow, never made it to his own goodbye party because of the House session, communications director Dave Helfert said.

But Helfert said that Abercrombie took the staff out for coffee and dessert in the House dining room last week.

“;This is breaking up a family; it ain't just a job. It is going to be tough. It is hitting them that Neil isn't going to be back and people will have to go their separate ways. I've been in denial,”; Helfert said.

Abercrombie's offices in Honolulu and Washington, D.C., will remain open with the current staff to serve 1st Congressional District residents until a replacement is elected in a special election, slated for May 22.

As Abercrombie leaves Congress, he will do it with a federal pension to add to his annual state pension of $27,000.

Helfert said he would not ask Abercrombie what his federal pension will be because “;I consider that private,”; but Abercrombie will have to reveal his own financial statement with the state ethics commission when he formally files for the governor's race.

Because federal workers can contribute to their own pensions in various ways, each pension is different, but according to data from the Office of Personnel Management, members of Congress get an average pension of $60,900. The salary for a member of Congress is $174,000.

Today, Abercrombie will hold a grand opening of his Ward Warehouse campaign headquarters and then will start campaigning full time for governor. He is expected to officially file for governor on Monday.