Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my Defense fellow, CPT Douglas Hill, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the legislative session today.

Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute and honor the distinguished service of one of my former Defense fellows, Marine Corps MGySgt William T. Mahoney. Will and his family have faithfully served our Nation for 30 years, and for that, we are forever grateful. Will's service has always been exemplary, and he will be sorely missed as he moves on to enjoy his well-deserved retirement.

Will enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 7, 1987, and attended basic training in Parris Island, SC. His occupational specialty training as a ground-to-air missile systems operator took place at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. Tours in Yuma, AZ, and Okinawa, Japan, followed, with deployments to San Clemente Island, CA, and South Korea.

Will was selected for Marine security guard duty while in Japan and, after graduating, went to school in Quantico, VA, and served at the U.S. Embassy security detachments in Vienna, Austria, and Lusaka, Zambia. Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, NC. Following this tour, Will was assigned to 8th Marine Corps District Recruiting Headquarters in New Orleans, LA.

Selected for Marine security guard duty for a second time while serving in New Orleans, Will returned to Quantico for training as a security detachment commander. After completing his training as the class honor graduate, Will assumed command of the Marine detachment at the American Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He later served as command of the security detachment in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, where he was meritoriously promoted to the rank of gunnery sergeant and selected for instructor duty in Quantico.

Will served as an instructor-adviser and the operations chief for Marine Corps Embassy Security Guard School, where he was responsible for training the men and women who guard America's embassies and consulates around the world. Upon completion of that tour, Will was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station, New River, NC. He deployed to Anbar Province, Iraq, in late 2008.

While serving in Iraq, Will was selected for the prestigious congressional fellowship program, one of only four enlisted servicemembers to have been selected for this program at that time. After returning stateside in August 2009 and completing several months of familiarization training and education in Washington, DC, he was assigned to serve as a member of my legislative staff. Will provided invaluable insight on matters ranging from the New START Nuclear Disarmament Treaty to veterans' affairs issues to weapons procurement programs for the Department of Defense.

Following his fellowship in my office, Will was assigned as the senior enlisted adviser to the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In this position, he advised senior Department of Defense officials on all matters pertaining to the enlisted members of the Armed Forces, their families, and retirees. Additionally, Will assumed the additional duty of senior enlisted adviser to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs for more than 2 years, providing senior military medical leadership with a line perspective on many initiatives and policies.

After completing his time in the Pentagon, Will was selected to serve as the senior enlisted adviser to the director of the White House Military Office, WHMO. In this position, he advised the director and other senior White House officials on all matters pertaining to the members of the Armed Forces assigned to support the office of the Presidency.

Will's humble character rarely does justice to his accomplishments and accolades. However, he does speak very proudly of his wife, Claire, and their three daughters, Katrina, Shannon, and Sophie. Military families are true testaments of both strength and pride. They are constantly challenged by deployments, changes in duty stations, and uncertainties. These hurdles create resiliency, which the Mahoney family patriotically embodies. Will's family is his pride and joy and will be equally missed by all they have served with.

While we will miss seeing Will in uniform, his future endeavors will continue to make us proud. I want to again thank Will and his family for their service to our great Nation and congratulate him on his retirement.

Mr. President, I rise for a moment to reflect on what was a great night for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Government, for the population of our country but most importantly for those who served as veterans in the military.

Last night, the Senate agreed to significant legislation on three fronts to make the VA better and more responsive to our veterans.

Ranking Member Tester and I have spent the entire year working toward making sure we dealt with the needs the VA has so all these stories we see on the front page of papers, stories about there being unsafe conditions, stories about people being mistreated, stories of people having to wait so long for their appointments--we want to put an end to all this, and we have given the Secretary the tools to do exactly that.

I was telling the ranking member this is called ``no excuses day.'' Secretary Shulkin will have no excuses for any mistakes to be made. Every tool he needs in his toolbox to see that the Veterans' Administration is responsible to the veterans of the United States of America passed in this Senate, passed in the House. There were six major bills the first 7 months of this year, a remarkable achievement, a testimony to teamwork, to staff, and to the leadership of the Republican and the Democratic Parties. The majority and minority leaders of this Senate made it possible for that to happen last night. I am eternally grateful to both of them for their support and help.

I am not going to read all the names of the staff now because we are in limited time.

I ask unanimous consent that the names of every staff member who worked with the VA Committee to make it the best year ever be printed in the Record.

Credit is given to captains, Presidents, and people with titles. Senator Tester and I have the titles, when it comes to the VA Committee, but the reason the VA Committee was successful in accomplishing every single goal, was because of every ranking file member, Republican or Democratic. We took our labels off, we put our armor on, and we plowed ahead. We didn't say no to problems that looked like they were too hard. We said yes to solutions that looked like they made sense.

Veterans of the United States of America have better healthcare, better educational benefits, and a modern VA to deal with in the years ahead. I am proud to have been a part of it. I want to commend Senator Tester for his contribution.

I yield to Senator Tester.

Mr. President, as my colleague Senator Menendez indicated, the intent of the language in the FDA Reauthorization Act is this: so long as the submission process for a given product is begun by the sponsor on or before September 30, 2017, the product would qualify for a priority review voucher under the neglected tropical disease priority review voucher program.

Mr. President, I have a rare privilege and honor right now. A lot of times, the Presiding Officer and I come to the well to make speeches that we have to, that we ought to, or that somebody wanted us to. Rarely do we have the opportunity to come to the well of the Senate and speak about an individual from our own State whom we know personally who is impeccable in their reputation, has served America in many ways, and has now been appointed to a job that is essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the American people. I speak of Christopher Wray of Georgia.

Christopher Wray is my friend. Christopher Wray worked for the law firm of King & Spalding, the same one Griffin Bell, Larry Thompson, and Sam Nunn worked for--a great law firm with a tie to our government and our country.

At a time for an appointment to be the great one, this is the time. We know there have been issues from time to time with the FBI. We all know we are looking for somebody who can do the job and do it well, in a fair and impartial way, without any question of impropriety. Christopher Wray is exactly that type of person.

He is the person who helped convict Zacarias Moussaoui and coordinated with local law enforcement in the prosecution of the Washington, DC, snipers who terrorized our city for so long. He is a dedicated and committed prosecutor.

He has been selected many times to work for the Department of Justice. He went to the Department of Justice under Larry Thompson as an assistant. He worked there at the same time as Griffin Bell. He also worked during many of the investigations into the terrorists who attacked America. He is the right man at the right time in the right place.

So if ever there were a time----

I am happy to yield to the minority leader.

Put an exclamation point after that.

Mr. President, I know when it is a good time for me to shut up. When the minority leader has come to the floor to endorse the guy I am talking about, the last thing I want to do is wear it out.

Let me end my remarks by saying that Christopher Wray is the type of person Chuck Schumer wants, the type of person I want, and the type of person we are looking for as the chief law enforcement officer of our country. He will make himself proud, he will make our State proud, and he will do the right thing at the right time in all places for the people of the United States of America.

I urge every Member of the Senate to heartily vote in support of Christopher Wray to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the United States of America.

I yield back.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I yield back all time on our side and their side as well.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Oregon, Senator Merkley, for allowing me a few extra minutes of his time ahead of his speech. I appreciate his courtesy, and I will pay him back.

Ironically, I am thanking him for giving me time to make a speech I have never wanted to make. In fact, I have three times canceled the time I had asked for to make this speech in the last month because when it came time to make it and I opened those doors to come down here, I couldn't quite do it. I couldn't quite do it because, every once in a while, something happens in your career with a loved one or friend or cohort who is so close to you and so meaningful to you that to talk about it is an emotional thing to do.

Such is the occasion tonight for me to pay tribute to Stefanie Mohler, who is my scheduler and has been for years. She came to work for me when I was a Member of the Senate. She has worked for me time and again in the U.S. Senate, except for the one time she left me to go work for George Bush--and I understand that. That was a higher pay grade than mine.

Stefanie was a young lady working for a Congressman from her hometown in Florida when I came to Washington. She wasn't married. She had a wonderful family and lived at home with her folks. She applied for a job as a scheduler for me and came to work for us.

I ran a pretty large company. I had about 1,000 independent contractors and 250 employees. I know a good worker when I see one. Stefanie was the best. But she had that quality beyond just being the best. She cared about every single thing she did and every single person whom she helped and every single person whom she couldn't help. She grew in the job, and she made me a better Congressman and, later, a better Senator.

She came to me about 18 months ago and said: I have some news for you. I am pregnant. I am pregnant with identical twins.

I was so excited for her and her husband because she wanted more than anything else in the world to have a family. My wife and I had a party for her at Christmas in December, and the two babies came in the early part of this year. They are beautiful. She is a wonderful mother. But she has stayed, and she has worked. Her mom has come in and helped her do the chores at home as she continued to fulfill her commitment to me. I thank her so much on the floor of the Senate today for that.

She is married to a great guy named Chase Mohler. Let me tell you a little bit about Chase.

All of us at one time or another in our lives have fallen in love. You know what it feels like to fall in love. You also know what it looks like to see somebody who is in love. You can't describe it, but there is a glow. It is just something that is there.

I was in Jacksonville, FL, with Saxby Chambliss, waiting to come back to Washington when Stefanie was

coming back from taking Chase to meet her family in Florida. When she turned the corner in an airport concourse coming toward the planes, I could tell from the glow on her face and the look on her face that something special had happened in her life.

I said: Stefanie, what are you so happy about?

She said: I have found a husband. I am going to marry him. He asked me to marry him.

I was so happy for her and so happy for Chase because I had met him. They had dated while she was working in my office and later married. Chase works for the State Department and has been serving here in Washington. But he got a promotion, and he is going to the North Carolina coast, and he is going to take Stefanie with him.

I am losing the best person I have ever had doing what Stefanie has done for me. He married the best person I have ever seen, and she is doing everything in the world for him.

So I thought I would come to the floor tonight, not to list the accolades--which I could in the thousands--not to say all those platitudes we always love to hear said about ourselves or about somebody important, but to make a confession. I am in love. I am in love with Stefanie Mohler because for most of her adult life she gave her time and her effort to make me a better Member of the U.S. Senate. She supported my wife when she needed it, and I couldn't help. She supported our office when they needed it, and they couldn't help. She did all of the little things that you never ask someone to do because you think it is too little, but it is so important to make a difference in every day that goes by.

When she leaves in about 3 months, I am going to be sad. I will shed a tear or two. I will probably shed one for her before the night is over. But when she leaves, I want her to know and I want the whole Senate document to record that once in a while--every once in a while-- somebody special comes along and makes a difference in your life, your effort, and your ability. Stefanie Mohler has been that for me. I will never forget her for all that she has done for me, and I will always be there for her if she ever needs me.

May God bless Stefanie Mohler, and may God bless the United States of America.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I thank the distinguished President pro tempore of the Senate, the chairman of the committee. I am honored to take that 5 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I am pleased to rise today on the 73rd anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, Omaha Beach, and Sword Beach by 156,000 brave Americans who saved our freedom and liberty, for the American people as well as all of Europe, who put an end to the reign of Adolph Hitler, and remind me every day as chairman of the Veterans' Committee why I am here in the U.S. Senate--and that is to see to it that we take care of those who have taken care of us.

Somebody asked me this morning: Is it coincidence that D-day was 73 years ago today? I said: It is Divine providence that we are on the floor today paying back those brave 156,000 who invaded those beaches to make the Veterans' Administration a more favorable agency than it is already.

I am proud to be on the floor to lead a part of the debate with Senator Tester--my ranking member on the committee and my dear friend-- on a bill that I think is of great significance. It is the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.

The best quote is not one I could come up with or I doubt that Jon could come up with. The best quote really was come up with by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the IAVA. When asked, they said: ``This is the strongest VA accountability measure that can be signed into law.'' I want to reiterate that: the strongest accountability measure of the VA that can be signed into law. Which means we are reaching into every corner of problems in the VA which have existed over the last years. We are making sure we make the corrections necessary to make the VA an accountable organization, and we are doing it in a bipartisan fashion together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

As I have said very often, there aren't Republican casualties and Democratic casualties on the battlefield. They are American citizens who have fought and died for this country. So there is no room for partisanship when it comes to providing them with the benefits that are necessary and seeing to it that they get what they deserve.

I thank all the members of the committee; in particular, Ranking Member Tester for his work; Senator Moran, who did such great work for us on the accountability measure; Senator Rubio, who is not a member of the committee but did a great job in terms of accountability, and he will speak later on the floor--as I am sure others will--about this.

We have had a great committee working for a long period of time. We passed a bill--almost--last year and then failed at the last few moments of the session to get it done. So we are back a second time, but we are back

with a bill that has come unanimously from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and I hope will leave this Senate floor unanimously so we send a clear signal to our veterans: We will hold ourselves accountable to you.

What specifically does the legislation do that is important? One, it makes what President Trump referred to in an Executive order about 3 weeks ago, the veterans whistleblower protection act, a reality and codifies it into law. Second, it removes many of the bureaucratic hurdles currently in place, making it easier for the VA Secretary to remove employees of all departments in the VA who are found guilty of wrongdoing or misconduct, and I underscore found guilty of wrongdoing or misconduct.

The bill shortens the removal process for employees of the VA and ensures an individual appealing removal from the VA is not kept on VA's payroll indefinitely while they appeal. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act also prohibits the VA from awarding bonuses to employees found guilty of misconduct. The bill would remove the bureaucratic Merit System Protection Board from appeals by the senior management--top management--of the Veterans' Administration.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act establishes the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection to make it permanent in the United States of America.

In essence, and very simply, this bill ensures and codifies into law the accountability of this agency and its operation to the American people and to the veterans of the United States of America for all they have done for each and every one of us.

It is very important to appreciate that this does not come to us by some Senator or some Representative coming up with a bunch of crazy ideas at the last minute. This is a response to what we have seen happen over and over again over the past few years. Most, if not all, of the employees in the Veterans' Administration are hard-working, dedicated, committed individuals, but there have been, from time to time, questions that have arisen about the handling of certain situations: the situation that took place in Phoenix, AZ, in terms of appointments; the rash number of suicides and mishandling of pharmaceuticals in the Atlanta office of Clairmont, near where I am in my office in Atlanta, GA; the situation of transfers in Philadelphia, PA, where people were transferred rather than disciplined and were paid their moving expenses and cost-of-living adjustments upward--all to get rid of somebody in one office but move them to another, instead of handling them in the way in which they should have been, which holds them accountable, rather than making sure they work somewhere else. We took instances where people themselves were breaking the law and violating the law, and we are now holding them accountable because of what is written into the VA accountability and whistleblower act.

Simply put, we have taken the worst performance, in isolated cases in the past few years, and did what was right. We have corrected it where it needed to be corrected, we have eliminated it where it needed to be eliminated, and we have given the authority to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and employees under the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to discipline people who work for them and hold them accountable for doing the wrong thing and encourage them to do the right thing.

I reiterate, though, that we are not singling out an agency which has a large number of people who are not performing. We are singling out an agency which has had some situations where a few employees have done some egregious things that need to be addressed. They were addressed but couldn't be addressed under the current status of the law, which now will be able to be addressed under the status of the new law and held accountable for their actions.

Nothing happens when one person does it. Everything happens when people come together as a team. It has been a pleasure for me to have a great teammate in this effort; that is, Jon Tester from Montana. I have been on the committee 12 years, and I think Jon has been on the committee 8 or 9 years.

You are on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, first of all, because you want to be on it. It is what we refer to as a B committee, which means it is a second tier. A lot of times it is a fill-in committee for Members of the Senate or the House, but for me and for Jon, it is our principal and primary responsibility. We know to whom we owe everything, and that is our veterans to whom we owe everything.

Jon Tester has been a great teammate. He has been great to work with. He has helped us get through some times of difficulty and some good times of common understanding and settlement, and I appreciate that very much.

I want Jon to tell me what the people of Montana are telling him about our Veterans' Administration and the need for stronger accountability in the VA of Montana. Tell us what they are saying in Montana, Jon.

Senator Tester, like you, I get my best information at the Legion, the IAVA, and from folks around my State. I am a member of the American Legion post at Loganville, GA, and go every once in a while to the bar and get a drink just to find out what is going on. I find out more there in an hour socializing than I find out by reading every newspaper in the United States of America.

Let me tell you what some of the organizations are saying--because these veterans service organizations are the voice of the American people who served in our military, and they are the people who communicate to us in committee.

The VFW wants the Secretary to weed out misperformers and especially the criminals, regardless of whether the crime was committed on or off duty.

The VFW wants a bill passed because maintaining the status quo does not work for those who have borne the battle and borne the fight.

They want to make sure the VA holds their employees to the standards the veterans of America feel they have committed themselves to as veterans serving in our military.

The American Legion applauds the bipartisan effort to provide Secretary Shulkin the additional tools to increase accountability and address poor performance within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I underscore this, because in the bill Jon and I ensure we motivate management to understand it is their job to seek out nonperformance and correct it before it runs amuck. So this bill incentivizes management of the Veterans' Administration to find those employees who are not performing well and turn them around and reward those employees who are turned around to be an example they set for all the rest of the employees.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act will give Secretary Shulkin the authority he needs to hold Department employees responsible for their actions. ``We strongly agree with the Senate to take the bill immediately and pass it,'' said Dan Caldwell of Concerned Veterans of America.

So, once and for all, all around our State our VSO organizations are getting a response to the questions they have asked of all of us, and that is what this bill does.

There is misinformation out there. There are rumors flying around in Montana, some flying around in Georgia. Can the Senator help clear up some of the errors?

I want to talk about the culture the Senator just mentioned. He is exactly right. The main thing the American people are going to see from the Veterans' Administration now is a culture throughout that organization of excellence to serve the veterans the way they should be served. And where there might be an isolated problem, make sure it is sought out, rooted out, and corrected within the agency. Our veterans deserve the highest quality care.

Secretary Shulkin has asked for more authority to hold accountable those who are not meeting standards. He wants to recognize those who have not only met but exceeded standards as well.

This bill gives VA the authority to expedite the removal of a bad employee, but it doesn't motivate them to get rid of people, it gives them the parameters by which people should be dealt with if, in fact, they are behaving poorly. It shortens the process for removing an employee to 15 days. That doesn't mean you act recklessly or quickly, it means you act expeditiously to see to it that if you have a problem, it is addressed quickly for the benefit of all the agencies.

It removes the Merit Systems Protection Board from the appeal process for senior executives. There is some bad talk out there about removing the Merit Systems Protection Board for all employees. It doesn't do that at all. But the most senior employees of the Veterans' Administration deserve to be held accountable without lots of hoops you have to go through before ever getting to them. So by taking the Merit Systems Protection Board away from those senior executives, you are holding them totally accountable in the bright light of day for their own actions, without some hoop to go through for the agency trying to remove them.

It prohibits bonuses and relocation expenses for employees guilty of wrongdoing. I mentioned this in my earlier remarks, and I will reiterate. This deals with things like what happened in Pennsylvania, where two employees were reassigned for a discipline, yet they were given bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments in their pay upward for doing something wrong. That sends exactly the wrong signal to any employee in the Veterans' Administration.

For anyone doing a good job, it pats them on the back and lets them know they can do an even better job.

It expedites the hiring of VA medical center directors, which is absolutely critical. We have far too many people in the VA healthcare system today who are acting. They are acting director or acting assistant. We don't need any more ``acting'' in the Veterans' Administration; we need performance.

That is what this bill ends up being about--the performance of delivery of quality healthcare to our veterans, rewarding those employees who are doing a good job, encouraging those who aren't to do a better job, and seeing all American veterans get the services they deserve to get.

The need for this bill does not come out of thin air. I say to Senator Tester, can you tell me why the VA and veterans need this legislation to strengthen accountability at the VA?

I thank Senator Tester.

I started my remarks a few minutes ago by saying that this will be the 73rd anniversary of D-day. Nobody who charged Omaha Beach or climbed those cliffs in Normandy had second thoughts about what they were doing or asked questions about their leadership or tolerated anything but the best they could out of themselves. Because of that, they won.

Today, our veterans are winning. Our committee--the Senate is going to pass in I think a unanimous or near-unanimous fashion a piece of legislation that is a byproduct of a good bipartisan effort to see to it that we correct the problems of the past, give the Secretary of the VA the ability to do it in the future, and if he or she doesn't do it, it gives us the ability to change them so they are held accountable as well.

It has been a pleasure to work with you and a privilege to work for our veterans.

On this special day, we honor those who served America 73 years ago by the beginning of the end of World War II, thank them for their service, and thank all veterans who provide service to the people of the United States of America.

I want to end by noting that we have 32 sponsors of this legislation, which is almost exactly one-third of the Senate, Republican and Democrat alike. That sends the proper signal that this is the right bill at the right time for the right people--veterans of the United States of America.

I yield back.

Mr. President, I thank Senator Rubio, who has been a steadfast leader on this issue for years.

People have heard the term ``years'' mentioned. It is plural. We have worked on this thing for a long time. It started coming together last year, but it fell apart at the last minute. Thanks to the Senator's work and the work of the committee and the staffs on both committees and the leadership on the Democratic side--Mr. Tester's and mine--we found a way to do what, as I said in my opening remarks earlier--3 hours ago--is an act of Divine Providence. None of us really ever planned that this bill would come to the floor on the 73rd anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.

It was a great day in American history and world history when the evil German empire--Adolf Hitler--was destroyed by the Allied Forces and the United States of America. It is only appropriate that on the anniversary of that date 73 years later, we say to those who have worn the uniform and who wear the uniform, who represent us every day and fight for us and ask nothing in return: We will see to it that you get what you were promised in terms of healthcare and benefits, and we will be sure you have a mechanism to hold it accountable in order to give you the type of service as a veteran that you gave to us when you fought for our country.

I will repeat what has been said by the others in thanking the staff members who have worked so hard. This has not been an easy battle. It has appeared easy because nobody has been down here, arguing. All of the arguments are over. The veterans won. Doing the right thing won. It all would not have happened had it not been for a lot of hard-working staff.

I thank Jon Tester and his staff, on the Democratic side, for all of their work on this. I want to particularly thank the Republican staffers who worked countless, tireless hours in order to make this take place: Staff Director Tom Bowman, Amanda Meredith, Adam Reece, Gretchan Blum, Kristen Hines, Maureen O'Neill, Leslie Campbell, David Shearman, Jillian Workman, Thomas Coleman, John Ashley, Mitchell Sylvest, and Heather Vachon.

We could not have done what we did nor would we have been here today without their help. Yet, as has always been true, we would not as a country have been here today nor would we have ever existed had it not been for the brave men and women who bore the battle--who fought the battle--who defended our country and made sure we had the opportunity to become what is now acknowledged around the world--the greatest government on the face of this Earth.

On this day, the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy on D-day, we are guaranteeing our veterans the type of service that they fought for and deserve. God bless America, and God bless the veterans who proudly serve America day in and day out in every uniform around the world.

In the absence of another speaker, I yield back the remaining time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, today I am honored to congratulate Winship

Cancer Institute at Emory University on earning the prestigious comprehensive cancer center designation from the National Cancer Institute. This designation now places Georgia's own Winship Cancer Institute in the top 1 percent of all cancer centers in the United States.

Winship Cancer Institute was established in 1937 with a gift from one of Georgia's generous philanthropists, Robert W. Woodruff, whose mission was to allow Georgians to get the best cancer treatment in their home State. He envisioned doctors and researchers working together in the same facility, so that scientists would be reminded of the urgency of their work and motivated to bring innovative treatments to patients. Winship treated 168 patients in its first year. Today Winship sees more than 15,000 patients every year.

The research being performed at Winship Cancer Institute is particularly important to Georgians because Winship researchers are studying the environmental and genetic issues unique to cancer in our State. Winship's goals are very specific: reducing the risk of cancer and detecting cancer at the earliest possible stage.

An estimated 50,000 Georgians will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and approximately a third of them will receive some component of their treatment at one of Winship's clinical locations in metropolitan Atlanta.

In recommending Winship for this special designation, former President Jimmy Carter spoke of the research and work being performed at Winship that helped save his life after his cancer diagnosis at his advanced age.

Today Winship continues to stand out because of its commitment to aligning its outstanding cancer research and education initiatives with its significant cancer prevention and cancer care efforts. I am proud to congratulate Winship Cancer Institute on this important milestone, as its researchers and clinicians continue their mission to lessen the burden of cancer for the citizens of Georgia.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, we debate a lot of heavy things in the United States Senate. We make tough decisions. Decisions of the fate of our country lie in the balance. But day in and day out, sometimes we go an entire day or week without talking about the people who make America work: the entrepreneurs, the employees, the employers, the people who run the businesses, pay the taxes, and employ the citizens who make this country go.

Today, I rise to talk about two citizens from my home county, Cobb County. First is David Hankerson. David announced this week his retirement after being employed by our county for 33 years. He came to the community development department of the county 33 years ago, and 11 years later, he became the first county manager of the county and served in that position for a record 24 years. During that time, the county doubled, not just in its population, but tripled and quadrupled in its revenue. It did new and different and innovative things. As tax rates went down, productivity went up. Its popularity as a place to locate became preeminent. He is one of the shining stars in the State of Georgia today, in Cobb County.

I rise for a special reason to pay tribute to David Hankerson, however, because he represents something I was a part of in 1984. At the time he was being hired, I did not know him as an employee for the county; I was in the State legislature, trying to change the government for our county from an elected CEO to an appointed county manager, a professional operator of the county. That had not been done in Georgia. In other parts of the country, it had been done successfully. You had continuity of leadership--someone whose job was to be a good leader, who wasn't an elected politician, someone who could do the job.

David Hankerson was hired to do that job in Cobb County, GA. He did one of the most remarkable jobs anyone has ever done. In fact, the great testimony is that every year since he was there--24 years ago as county manager--someone has tried to hire him away from Cobb County. Every year he decided to stay because he once had said: I have made a commitment. As long as the commitment is returned by the community to me, I am going to stay and see it through.

On this day, as I rise on the floor of the U.S. Senate to pay tribute to David Hankerson, I pay tribute equally to all those who make our government work, our businesses work, our communities work, and our country work, to the men and women laboring in the fields and toiling in the vineyards, working in the shops, working in the offices who make America the great country it is today, and to the great chambers of commerce that make it happen as well.

I pay great tribute to David Hankerson and thank him for the contribution and sacrifice he made to the people of Cobb County, GA, and the State of Georgia.

Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to one other Georgian, the retiring chairman and CEO of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce, David Connell. This is the kind of guy you really appreciate. He worked for 40 years at the Georgia Power Company. He had 12 different titles in 40 years. He was a great employee of that company, a great member of the community of Cobb County, a great private citizen, and great personal friend of mine.

After 40 years of working there and retiring, the county had a big problem. The chamber of commerce had a scandal. It couldn't find a leader and was losing its effectiveness. David volunteered to go in as a chamber board member and spent 1 year as chamber leader. He stayed there 15 years and led the chamber to new heights unprecedented in our State and in our county: an AAA bond rating in our county, new businesses coming and relocating, and even the now-famous relocation of the Atlanta Braves from downtown Atlanta to suburban Cobb County--one of the rare moves a professional team has ever made smoothly and easily. They made it because of David Connell.

David will tell you that when the chamber board found out the Braves were interested in maybe talking about building a $750 million facility in the county, they asked David if he would stay until that was accomplished. He made the commitment to do so, and it took 3\1/2\ years--3\1/2\ long years. It was a lot of effort, all in a circuitous nature because of the popularity of the Braves and what would have happened had it gotten out as a rumor that they were coming.

David closed that deal this year. The Braves opened this season in a new stadium. With three-quarters of a billion dollar investment having been made, the county is more prosperous. David Connell made it happen.

He announced this week that he is retiring after 40 years at the power company and 15 years at the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce.

I want to take a moment on the floor of the Senate to say thank you to David Connell for what he has done for our county and our community, for our citizens and our families, and how proud I am as one of his friends. I thank him for a job well done.

David, thank you. We are proud of you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

I yield back.

Mr. President, as a realtor and the former owner of a real estate company, it is my great pleasure today to congratulate the National Association of Home Builders on its 75th anniversary.

The National Association of Home Builders was established in 1942 to represent the interests of the Nation's homebuilding industry and to help create a business environment that facilitates homebuilding, enables more Americans to achieve homeownership, and provides for ample rental housing for all income levels. The National Association of Home Builders' membership includes not just builders, but professionals in a broad range of fields who are part of the homebuilding industry, including those who remodel, update, and help maintain existing homes.

For many years, the goal set forth in the Housing Act of 1949 of ``a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family'' has been a guiding principle for America's homebuilders, and they have made great strides in achieving that goal.

Since 1942, the total number of housing units in the United States has more than tripled, increasing from about 35 million to almost 136 million. Also the Nation's homeownership rate has increased from about 44 percent to almost 64 percent. Moreover, the Nation's standard of living has increased significantly thanks to the efforts of the National Association of Home Builders' members, who build about 80 percent of the new homes constructed in the United States each year.

The members of the National Association of Home Builders have served as a driving force behind the significant advances in the quality of the nation's housing and the resulting improvement in quality of life for Americans. America's homebuilders play important roles in the fabric of their communities, and they are essential to the Nation's economic health. Homebuilding accounts for about 16 percent of the total U.S. economy.

I congratulate the National Association of Home Builders and its members on the organization's 75th anniversary and encourage my colleagues in the Senate to reflect on the crucial role the homebuilding industry has played over the last 75 years in our Nation's economy and the lives of our people.