Floor Statements

Mr. President, anyone who knows Coach Ken Leonard knows that he cares deeply about football, but more than that, he cares deeply about people. As Illinois' most successful high school football coach, Coach Leonard has left his mark on our State by leading Sacred Heart-Griffin High School to six State football championships and harnessing the power of sports to build confidence in young athletes. He never let any challenges get in his way and always inspired others to follow his lead.

Ken Leonard was born July 7, 1953, in Lexington, IL, to John and Iona Leonard. He was one of six children in his family, along with his two brothers and three sisters. He graduated from Chenoa High School in Chenoa, IL, where he was a four-sport athlete. Following high school, Ken was a 2-year starter for the Hawks of Harper Junior College football team in Palatine, IL, and a 1-year starter for the Trojans of Dakota State University in Madison, SD. Ken then graduated college from Illinois State University, but his career as a player was just the beginning of his legendary legacy.

In 1980, Ken took his first football head coaching job at Gridley High School, in a community of fewer than 2,000 people. A former smalltown kid himself, Ken felt right at home at Gridley, but the school struggled to recruit enough student players to field a football team. And they were forced to shut the program down. This setback, however, did not stop Ken from pursuing his passion for football.

Later that spring, Ken received a call from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, where he would go on to become the winningest high school football coach in Illinois history.

After 39 seasons with Sacred Heart-Griffin and 43 total seasons coaching high school football, Coach Leonard is set to retire this December. By the time he leaves the locker room for the last time, he will have coached 500 games and taught countless young athletes how to work as a team.

As a parent of Sacred Heart-Griffin alumni and a fan of high school football, I feel lucky to have met Coach

Leonard. Even after my kids graduated, I would catch as many games as I could. I even had the opportunity to attend a celebration for the Cyclones after they won one of their many State championships.

From my visits to Sacred Heart-Griffin, it was evident that Coach Leonard's impressive 419-81 record reflects his deep passion for the sport and tireless dedication to his athletes. If you ask Coach Leonard, he would tell you that he has not worked a day in his life because he loved what he did. And his impact extended well beyond the gridiron.

Coach Leonard did not just coach football; he coached character. His players have gone on to become All-Americans, college football players, and even NFL stars. But Ken knew that life was more than tackles and touchdowns. He believed that what mattered more than developing players was developing good citizens, and he spent as much time in the classroom and chapel as he did on the field and in the weight room.

His coaching style also inspired a legacy. My former staff member's son, Brendan Daly, played for Coach Leonard at Sacred Heart-Griffin. After playing and coaching collegiate football, Brendan joined the ranks of NFL coaches--going onto win three Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots and another with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ken's own son, Derek, now coaches at Rochester High School in Rochester, IL, and has already won State championships of his own-- sometimes even facing off against his dad. When Ken started coaching against Derek, Ken and I would exchange letters recounting the familial showdowns. Now, it is possible that Derek may one day surpass his Dad's record. And I know Ken will be proud as ever when that day comes.

Despite his long record of accomplishments, Coach Leonard would be the last to take credit for his team's success on the field. Luckily many of his friends and colleagues in the Sacred Heart-Griffin community will be the first to give him the credit he deserves. It is rare for stadiums to be named after people during their lifetime, but in 2017, Sacred Heart-Griffin officials surprised Coach Leonard with a ceremony and announcement that the turfed field would, from that point forward, be known as Ken Leonard Field. Standing together with the community and his wife, Liz, in the final year of her life, Coach Ken Leonard was speechless. And today, we in Illinois are thankful.

Ken Leonard is a reminder that committing yourself to what you love will shine a light for those around you. It is an honor to know Ken, as he is an inspiration to so many.

After many accomplishments, including being named the two-time National Coach of the Year and inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame, Ken Leonard will retire from coaching Sacred Heart-Griffin's football team on December 31, 2022. In true Ken Leonard fashion, he ended his career by coaching the Cyclones to defeat New Lenox Providence Catholic 44-20 and bring home their sixth State championship.

It is with great pride that I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Coach Ken Leonard. I offer my best wishes and congratulations to both Ken and his family on this important milestone.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Hickenlooper), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Hickenlooper), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Frances Kay Behm to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She is a highly experienced jurist who will serve with distinction on the Federal bench. Judge Behm graduated summa cum laude from Albion College and earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, she spent more than a decade in private practice, representing a broad range of clients in business litigation, transactional matters, and probate proceedings, as well as preparing estate planning documents.

In 2009, then-Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Judge Behm to serve as a judge for the Genesee County, MI, circuit and probate courts. On the bench, she has presided over a wide range of cases-- including criminal, civil, juvenile, and probate matters. As a family court judge, Judge Behm has presided over approximately 1,600 bench trials and three jury trials. Since 2019, she has presided over 16 bench trials and 18 jury trials on the general/civil/criminal division/ business court.

Judge Behm has the strong support of her home State Senators, Ms. Stabenow and Mr. Peters. In addition, she received a unanimous rating of ``well qualified'' from the American Bar Association. I am proud to support Judge Behm's nomination, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Hickenlooper), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Hickenlooper), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I know that Senator Roy Blunt has already delivered his farewell remarks a short time ago. Regrettably, I was tied up in a longstanding appointment and couldn't be on the floor to hear them, but I want to say a few words about my friend from Missouri and thank him for his service to the Senate and to our Nation.

I grew up in East St. Louis, IL, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO. My hometown now is Springfield, IL, and Roy Blunt's hometown is Springfield, MO. We often joke about catching the wrong plane to St. Louis and ending up in one another's homes.

Senator Blunt and I came from different parties, obviously. We have different ideas about a lot of things. But over the 12 years he served his State of Missouri in the Senate, he has become a friend and ally.

Managing the Mississippi River is an issue that we share. Many of the locks and dams that keep the river navigable are nearly 100 years old. For many years now, Senator Blunt has worked with me and with the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a plan that we call the Navigation Ecosystem Sustainability Program--shorthand, NESP. It will expand and modernize seven locks at the most congested locations on the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to make sure the waterways can continue to serve as major navigation channels moving crops and other goods.

I am really grateful to Roy Blunt for his leadership supporting biomedical research. There is a good story here. My partnership with Senator Blunt started almost 10 years ago. I went up to the National Institutes of Health for a tour and sat down with legendary Dr. Francis Collins, who headed up the Institutes of Health. For years, NIH had limped along with flat funding and sequestration budget cuts. Inadequate funding had really hurt research at NIH. It discouraged a lot of young scientists who just couldn't count on regular funding from Congress, or they chose to maybe move back to other nations where they were born and the research funding was more predictable.

I asked Dr. Collins: What does NIH need?

He said: Just give me 5 percent real growth in our budget every year, consistently, and we will light up the scoreboard with our discoveries and cures.

So I came back and looked for Roy Blunt. He was the leading Republican on the Appropriations Committee for the National Institutes of Health. He chaired the Labor and HHS Appropriations Subcommittee. We decided to put

together a team. The natural ally on that team was Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat for the State of Washington and the lead Democrat on the HELP Committee and on the Appropriations Committee. We rounded out with two Democrats and two Republicans, the now-retired Senator Lamar Alexander who led the HELP Committee when Patty Murray was ranking member, and vice versa.

We agreed on a common goal, the four of us: 5 percent real growth every year in the National Institutes of Health. In the first year working together, Senator Blunt overdid it. He helped steer $2 billion, or 7 percent, to the NIH.

I remember getting a phone call from Roy. It was a few weeks before Christmas. We were on break with our families, and it is uncommon for Senators to call one another under those circumstances. But he called me, and he said he had just spoken with the leaders from Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which is a major health and research institution in St. Louis. They were ecstatic about the care they were able to give their patients and research they were going to undertake because of this new level of funding.

Senator Blunt said it was unlike any call he had ever received in his congressional career.

Then he said to me, ``Durbin, we can't be one-hit wonders.'' And from there, we were off.

Since 2015, with the help of Senator Murray and others, through changes in the Presidency and through pretty divisive times, we succeeded on a bipartisan basis to keep steady, predictable funding for the National Institutes of Health as a bipartisan priority.

Over 7 years, we saw NIH funding increase by more than $14 billion, a nearly 50-percent increase from where we started. These new investments are supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide in research institutions large and small. They are saving lives, and they will continue to do so for decades to come.

So I want to personally thank Roy Blunt, the Senator from Missouri, for his leadership in funding this breakthrough medical research.

I also want to thank his staff for their wisdom and professionalism and calm demeanor. They consistently look for ways to work together for the common good.

Senator Blunt honored his commitment to medical research and made a difference in America.

I said to him today as we were gathering for a tribute to the Capitol Police for defending us on January 6, I said, ``Roy, the reason we all come here is to make a difference in this great nation that we live in. You have made that difference in medical research, and you will be remembered for it.''

He has pursued our shared goal with decency, genuine curiosity, and a vision for the promise of medical discovery. There are people here in America today and around the world who are going to have better lives because of Roy Blunt's commitment. That is a legacy which he can certainly be proud of.

Loretta and I wish him, his wife Abby, and his family all the best as they start this new chapter in life. I am sorry to see him go. I am losing a great friend and a great Senator.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, at the outset, I want to join the majority leader in his kind words related to Judge Doris Pryor, who is seeking a seat on the Seventh Circuit of Appeals.

Today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Doris Pryor to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Pryor is an outstanding nominee to the appellate bench. She is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for Judge Lavenski R. Smith on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and for Judge J. Leon Holmes on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Judge Pryor then served for a short period of time as a deputy public defender in Texarkana, AR. In 2006, she joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. During her time as a Federal prosecutor, Judge Pryor handled all types of criminal matters and argued several Federal appeals. She also served as national security chief and as the office's reentry

and prevention coordinator. In 2018, she was selected by the district judges of the Southern District of Indiana to serve as a magistrate judge, a position she holds to this day. In this role, Judge Pryor oversees a wide range of judicial proceedings in both civil and criminal matters.

She was unanimously rated ``qualified'' by the American Bar Association, and she has received blue slips from Senators Young and Braun, her two Republican home State Senators. She also received a bipartisan vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Judge Pryor has significant Federal experience and a proven track record of neutral decision making on the bench. I strongly support her nomination, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. President, relating to the great news that we received Friday, the jobs report showed that our economic recovery under this President is continuing, with 263,000 jobs created during the month of November.

But more than strong numbers, what caught my attention is that there was very little response from the other side of the aisle.

Well, it is good news, and I want it to be part of the Record.

It is funny, it wasn't so long ago that our Republican colleagues couldn't wait for monthly jobs numbers to drop. And I can understand why: When the President took office, things were in rough shape. The pandemic was more persistent than any of us would have liked, and job growth started off slower than expected.

Back then, Republican lawmakers--like House minority leader Kevin McCarthy--were the first to send out press releases slamming President Biden for the sluggish state of the economy--and downplay any economic progress.

But now, crickets. We haven't heard a word from Kevin McCarthy about Friday's job numbers. Why have Republicans been so quiet? I will tell you why: The numbers are not on their side.

Since President Biden took office, the U.S. has added 10.5 million jobs--more than any administration in history at this point in a Presidency. And our unemployment rate remains near record lows. We have added more than 750,000 manufacturing jobs alone since the President took office--sectors boosted by legislation like the Chips and Science Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

It is proof that the historic policies this Democratic majority has enacted over the past 2 years are working. In fact, next month, Medicare beneficiaries are going to start saving money thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act we passed this year. It is going to cap the cost of insulin at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries starting January.

But we have got a lot more work to do, and that is why the American people re-elected a Democratic majority in this Senate: to get things done. So let's keep the victories coming.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Hickenlooper), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

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

Madam President, I walked onto the floor just as Senator Leahy was closing his remarks, and I want to tell you that we were together in the Judiciary Committee this morning, where I joined the chorus of praise for his career and his service in the Senate. And it seems like at every room he steps into, there is another tribute, and well-deserved. I thank him for being such a steadfast Member of the Senate and, particularly, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will forever be benefitted by his contribution.

I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.