Jeff Chiesa

Mr. President, nearly 5 months ago I had the high honor to stand in this historic Chamber, surrounded by my family, and be sworn in as a Member of the Senate. My service as a Senator will soon draw to a close, so I wish to take this opportunity to share with my colleagues a few thoughts before I leave.

I want to begin by thanking Governor Christie for providing me with this incredible opportunity. Our professional relationship, and our friendship, began more than 20 years ago as young lawyers working together in a New Jersey law firm. We had our entire careers ahead of us. If someone had suggested that one day Chris Christie would have been Governor, I would not have been surprised. I would, however, have dismissed out of hand any suggestion that I might someday be the New Jersey attorney general, let alone a Member of the Senate.

To have served here representing the people of New Jersey has to rank as the greatest honor of my professional life. I will always be grateful to Governor Christie for the confidence he has shown in me by appointing me, and I will always be thankful for the wonderful opportunities he has given me, time and again, to serve in public life.

I also thank my colleagues in the Senate from both sides of the aisle who have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, to help me navigate the sometimes confusing rules and traditions of the Senate, and for assisting me in making the most of my time here.

One thing I did know for certain when I arrived here in June was that I wanted to use my time as effectively as possible. To the extent I have, I have so many of my colleagues to thank. The senior Senator from New Jersey, who will have to break in another new Senator from our State, has been a supportive colleague. I truly appreciate his willingness to assist me in my time in the Senate. I thank the Senator.

The Republican leader has gone above and beyond to give me the opportunity to work and make a difference during my tenure here, and I thank him very much.

I also thank the senior Senator from Delaware and the junior Senator from Oklahoma for agreeing to my request to hold a hearing on human trafficking in the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Eliminating human trafficking or, more directly, abolishing modern-day slavery has been a priority for me throughout my career in public service. The chairman and ranking member of the committee could not have been more helpful in my efforts to raise awareness of this evil crime, a crime that robs people of their innocence and dignity, taking a terrible toll on our victims and society as a whole.

The junior Senators from New Hampshire and North Dakota, both former attorneys general themselves, stood alongside me in this effort. When I first spoke with them about my desire to hold a hearing, they immediately agreed to work with me to make it work as productively as possible. I am grateful to them for partnering with me and I know they will continue to make this issue a top priority.

I also thank the senior Senator from Arizona for attending and contributing to the hearing on a day when no votes were scheduled and for his strong commitment for righting this terrible wrong. These are important and forceful voices for the victims of human trafficking, and I appreciate their support of my efforts.

I want all of my colleagues to know I will continue to work to abolish this scourge on our Nation and on the entire human family. I hope they will feel free to call on me if I can ever be helpful to them in their efforts, just as I may call on them from time to time.

So many of my colleagues have made this a wonderful experience, and I am proud to call all of them my friends.

I know I looked pretty lost on more than one occasion here, but I always had someone pointing me in the right direction. I am particularly grateful to my good friends from Utah, Wyoming, Tennessee, Ohio, and Illinois, who have repeatedly helped me over the past 5 months both by listening and also providing good advice.

As every Senator knows, the work we do here would not be possible without the work of the people who serve on

our staffs. I have been incredibly fortunate to have an outstanding group of people on my Senate staff--a group that jumped right in with me on very short notice and a group I am so proud to have worked with. They were fully aware that their tenure, like mine, would be short. They interrupted and, in many cases, disrupted their lives to serve with me.

My chief of staff Donna Mullins did an amazing job assembling a talented and dedicated group of professionals to serve both here in Washington and back in New Jersey. Their willingness to do so reflects their commitment to the people of New Jersey, the Senate, and to our Nation. Some of them I have worked with for years, others only for a few short months. All of them have earned my everlasting respect and friendship.

I want to acknowledge each of them by name: Donna Mullins, John Lutz, Tomi-Anne Nolino, Nick DiRocco, Jeannette Larkins, Chip Sinders, Ken Lundberg, Bob Bostock, Ryan Berger, Krista Powers, Tyler Yingling, Marissa Watkins, Michael Rebuck, Chris Mindnich, Taylor Holgate, Nicole Dube, Jamie Rhoades, Michael Pock, and Shante Palmer. They reflect the best of public service, and I will always be thankful to them and the work we have done together.

Of course, the greatest thanks goes to my family. My wife Jenny and our children Al and Hannah have always given me their unconditional love and support. I could not have done this without them. I am lucky to have them.

I was born and raised in New Jersey. It is not just my home State, it is my home in every sense of the word. The honor of representing the people of my State--my friends, my neighbors--is almost beyond description. After all, there could be no greater calling for any citizen than to have the opportunity to represent the people of your State in the highest councils of government. Although the past 5 months have passed very quickly, my deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to serve will stay with me for the rest of my life.

My experience as a Member of this body has confirmed what I already thought was true--every Member of the Senate is a dedicated public servant. Every Senator is deeply committed to the work they do. Every Senator is here because he or she wants to contribute to the centuries- old work of forming a more perfect union. We do not always agree on how this is best accomplished, but vigorous, respectful debate is critical in a government such as ours.

There is so much talent, so much commitment, and so much love of country here. I urge my colleagues to advance their efforts to find common ground in pursuit of their common purpose, to continue to advance the success of the country we love and secure the blessings of liberty for the people we serve.

Soon there will be a new Senator-elect from New Jersey who will stand where I stood just a few months ago to be sworn in. When he takes his place in this body, he will be joining a long list of dedicated public servants who have served New Jersey--stretching back to the very first Congress. I urge him to continue to work as hard for the people of our State as he did while serving as the mayor of New Jersey's largest city. I know he will always put the people of New Jersey first.

New Jersey's new Senator will have a very long list of priorities waiting for him when he arrives in Washington--all of them important. There is one area that will require his immediate and ongoing focus, and that is New Jersey's continued effort to recover and rebuild from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, which struck my State a year ago today. Working together New Jerseyans have made incredible progress in coming back from what the storm delivered, but our work continues.

For those who have suffered so much loss, a year seems like an eternity. They must know that until all the damage done by the storm is undone, and until all the work needed to protect our State and its people and their property from future storms like this is completed, we will not rest.

As I prepare to make the transition back to private life, I do so with a deep sense of gratitude to all of those who made my service in the Senate possible, and an even deeper sense of humility for having been given this opportunity.

This has been, for me, a remarkable 5 months. I know I will in the years ahead look back on this time with gratitude and appreciation for the privilege of having served the people of New Jersey and the Senate of the United States of America.

I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize my pastor, Father Ken Kolibas, who is joining us here in Washington today.

I am honored and delighted that Father Ken Kolibas, pastor of the Church of St. Joseph in Raritan, NJ, is serving as our guest chaplain today. Father Ken is the pastor and spiritual leader for the people of St. Joseph's and for the larger community.

Father Ken began his working career as a small businessman in New Jersey. When he was 23 years old, he opened Ken's Flowers and Gifts in Carteret, NJ. He quickly became a respected leader of the business community. But Father Ken later received and answered the call to ministry, and he now dedicates his life to our spiritual growth. His commitment and generosity to the members of our parish is unwavering, and his door is open to anyone who seeks his guidance.

The Church of St. Joseph's is nearing the conclusion of its year-long celebration of its 100th year. We are fortunate at St. Joseph's to have Father Ken as our pastor and our leader, and I am proud to have him as our guest chaplain today.

Mr. President, I vividly recall, as do most Americans, exactly where I was 12 years ago this morning. My son, Al, who had only recently celebrated his third birthday, was beginning his very first day at preschool. It was a big day for my wife Jenny and me, filled with that mixture of excitement and trepidation that is familiar to all young parents.

Shortly after waving goodbye to Al, we heard the shocking news--an airplane had hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

As a native New Jerseyan, raised in the shadow of the Twin Towers, I could picture the scene in my mind's eye.

My first assumption was that a small plane--perhaps one of the sightseeing planes that provided visitors with a bird's-eye view of the wonders of Lower Manhattan and the harbor--had somehow flown off course into the building.

Less than 20 minutes later, however, when the second plane hit, I knew, as we all did, that this was no accident. America was under attack. And as the morning unfolded and the horror increased--the Pentagon was hit, the towers fell, United flight 93 was brought to the ground near Shanksville, PA--my thoughts turned to faith and family.

I thought of my son--young and innocent, starting his very first day in school--and I realized the world that existed when we dropped him off that morning had changed.

I thought of so many friends and neighbors who might very well have been on the plane that flew out of Newark that morning or in those proud buildings that had been reduced to rubble. I hoped and prayed that they were safe.

I thought of the people who had surely lost their lives in the attacks--in numbers more than any of us could bear, as Mayor Giuliani so eloquently put it--and prayed for them and their families.

And as the day drew to its awful conclusion, I knew that for so many, the terrible anguish of this day was just beginning, and the reminders of that were everywhere: the children whose parents would never arrive to pick their children up from school, the empty place at the dinner table, the gaping hole in the hearts of those who loved those who perished.

Twelve years later, the passage of time has, for many, helped to bring some measure of healing. But the scars remain, and they will never completely fade away.

So today we remember, as we do every year and as we should every day, all those who lost their lives, both in the terrorist attacks themselves and also on foreign fields of battle in the defense of our freedom and our way of life.

We remember today, as we do every year and as we should every day, all those who were injured in the attacks and on the battlefield.

We remember today, as we do every year and as we should every day, all those who responded to the attacks with bravery and determination and many of whom still struggle with the aftermath of their courageous actions.

And we remember today, as we do every year and should every day, all those who lost friends, colleagues, and family members in the attacks and in the years since. Their suffering is our suffering and we must never forget that.

Today is also a day for renewal, for renewing the sense of purpose that united our nation in the aftermath of the attacks, for renewing the spirit of cooperation that made it possible for our country to move forward, both through individual acts of courage, kindness, and compassion and through acts of governance that helped us meet the challenges we faced, and for renewing our determination to keep America safe while also safeguarding our liberties.

Twelve years ago today, when Jenny and I dropped off our son for his very first day of school--he is, by the way, now a high school freshman--we could never have imagined how much the world would change before he had even settled in to his new preschool routine.

But although so much has changed, one thing remains constant: America, is, as she always had been, a beacon of hope to the world. No act of terror--no matter how brutal--will ever diminish the bright, shining light of the American spirit.