12.11.24

Durbin Pays Tribute To Senators Brown, Tester, Casey, And Romney, For Their Service In The U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today paid tribute to four additional Senators who will be leaving the United States Senate at the end of the 118th Congress—U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Mitt Romney (R-UT).

On Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Durbin said: “Sherrod Brown spent 50 years in public office… including the last 18 years in the Senate. He is the kind of person that comes to the Senate ready to fight for people who don’t have lawyers and lobbyists to speak for them… Sherrod spent his life working for an economy and a government that cares about the working class and invests in towns, factories, health care, and the potential of working families. He fought for fair trade deals and opposed trade agreements that he thought shortchanged American workers—even when his opposition put him at odds with the president of his own party. He insisted that the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill include a ‘Buy America’ requirement, and he helped save the pensions of 1.5 million union members and retirees, the so-called Butch Lewis Act, which I was proud to join him on. Today, two huge new Intel computer chip factories are being built in Ohio in New Albany because Sherrod Brown helped pass the Chips and Science Act. As a longtime member, and since 2021, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, he’s worked to prevent the kinds of Wall Street recklessness and greed that crashed the global economy in 2008… He worked so hard and was so gratified by the child tax credit. I think it was one of his proudest achievements—and he said as much. In 2002 in the House, he voted against the Iraq War. I did too in the Senate. There weren’t many of us at the time and it wasn’t a popular stand, but it was the right thing to do, and Sherrod knew it. I’m going to miss his gravelly, Tom Waits voice in this chamber.”

On Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Durbin said: “The big man from big sky country—Jon Tester. Before his election to the Senate 18 years ago, Senator Jon Tester had never lived more than two hours away from his family’s wheat farm in the town of Big Sandy, Montana, the same farm his grandparents homestead more than a century ago. Jon started his campaign for the U.S. Senate traveling across his state on a farm tractor-trailer and with his seven fingers, Roger Marris flattop, and scuffed, size 12 cowboy boots, he’s cut a singular figure in the halls of Congress. He is a prairie pragmatist and a defender of programs that many rural Americans depend upon, such as market fairness for family cattle ranchers and rural community investment efforts. Jon voted for theAffordable Care Act because it was right and because it is a lifeline to rural hospitals and to farmers, ranchers, and small business owners who need affordable, accessible health care coverage… Growing up, Jon played taps at the funerals of World War II veterans. It taught him at an early age that many veterans continue to pay a price for their service for the rest of their lives… As Chair of the Senate Veterans Committee, Jon Tester has worked to strengthen V.A. health care and protect disability benefits for all veterans. He pushed the Senate to pass the historic PACT Act to provide health care for veterans who were sickened by exposure to burn pits and other toxins and the survivor benefits for their spouses and young children. As of last week, the VA has approved more than 1.3 million claims under the PACT Act, including more than 51,000 veterans in my state of Illinois… You can’t close without mentioning his wife, Sharla… It’s a wonderful, loving, caring, inspiring couple. I’m going to miss their physical presence, but their memories will live on in the Senate.”

On Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Durbin said: “Bob Casey is one of the most decent people I’ve ever served in Congress with. He is a bridge builder—he is committed to creating dialogue and finding common ground. He is the only, the only Pennsylvania Democrat ever to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate. He’s been a strong voice for working families struggling to get by… Poor mothers and children, coal miners at risk, and others had finally an advocate here standing up for them in the United States Senate. As Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, he has protected Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He helped lower our seniors’ cost for prescription drugs—a promise that was made years ago and finally kept thanks to Bob Casey. He’s targeted scam artists who prey on seniors. Bob’s father was a popular two-term Pennsylvania Governor. While Robert Casey Sr. may have embedded the Casey name in Pennsylvania political life, Robert Casey Jr., through his decades of service, has added new honor to that name.”

On Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Durbin said: “On the evening of January 6, 2021, many Senators in both political parties denounced the violent assault on this Capitol, but I believe history will record that the truest, bravest words spoken that night were from Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. He said, ‘in light of today’s sad circumstances, I ask my colleagues, do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our republic, the strength of our democracy, and the cause of freedom?’ Senator Mitt Romney is a man of deep faith and considerable accomplishments—a successful businessman, the rescuer of the 2002 Olympics, a Republican Governor in a deep blue state, and his party’s nominee for President in 2012. After he had been here a few months, I went up to him on the floor and I said the more I get to know you, Mitt Romney, the more I wonder why I said those things about you in that presidential campaign. He laughed, and I did too. He’s a conservative, but he’s a man of conscience and character. We would all do well to ponder his question and emulate his courage.”

Durbin concluded, “I’ll miss Senators Brown, Tester, Casey, and Romney and our other departing colleagues, and I join a grateful nation in thanking them for all they have given, sacrificed, and contributed to us.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

-30-