[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10828-S10829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MAJOR BENJAMIN VENNING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Major Benjamin 
Venning, U.S. Marine Corps, for his 3 years of service to the U.S. 
Senate and for his continued service to our Nation and its Corps.
  From December 2005 to December 2006, Major Venning served in my 
office as a military fellow. He came to my office soon after a tour in 
Fallujah, where his actions in service to the United States earned him 
a Bronze Star. Major Venning had experienced first-hand the rising 
violence in Iraq. His on-the-ground experience in Iraq gave him 
tremendous insight on issues affecting servicemembers and veterans.
  Many who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned with serious 
physical injuries or have even paid the ultimate price. Others have 
returned with more invisible wounds, injuries that are not immediately 
apparent but that bring pain and suffering to a returning veteran and 
his or her family. Today, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic 
stress syndrome are recognized as signature injuries of the conflicts 
in Iraq and Afghanistan. While Major Venning served on my staff he 
helped draw attention to these invisible wounds. With his relationships 
at Bethesda Naval, he helped me understand the impact of traumatic 
brain injuries on returning soldiers and marines. With Major Venning on 
my team, I was able to ask hard questions about how our government was 
responding to the growing number of veterans needing help for these 
serious injuries.
  In April 2006, I sent a letter that Major Venning worked on, which 
was one of the first to ask the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
closely review its ability to provide proper mental health care to 
returning veterans. Another Senator from the State of Illinois signed 
that letter: Barack Obama. Today, as the world awaits his inauguration, 
the President-elect has promised he will continue to improve mental 
health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related 
psychological injuries.
  After his service as a military fellow, Major Venning was named the 
Deputy Director of the Marine Corps Senate Liaison Office. It is no 
surprise that he was as loved in that office as he was in mine. It was 
my pleasure to host his promotion to major, with his friends and family 
in attendance, in my office in the Capitol. His commanding physical 
presence is matched only by his compassion and understanding of the 
issues facing our returning servicemembers, which was never on better 
display than when he helped shepherd wounded veterans as my guests at 
the State of the Union.
  Major Ben Venning is a marine in the best tradition of the Corps. His 
efforts have informed the Congress and have represented the Corps' 
values and capabilities. His performance here will leave a lasting mark 
on my office, the U.S. Senate and the Marine Corps long after he has 
departed.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is my pleasure today to congratulate and 
thank Major Benjamin Venning of the U.S. Marine Corps. This week, Major 
Venning finishes up a highly successful assignment as Deputy Director 
of the Marine Corps Liaison Office to the U.S. Senate, which is 
responsible for providing information about the Corps to this 
institution. He has served the Senate and the Marine Corps superbly, 
and he is a credit to the entire Corps.
  Major Venning learned about the Senate during a fellowship in 2006 
with Senator Durbin of Illinois. He worked on timely reserve pay and 
budget issues, getting to know the ins-and-outs of the often arcane 
appropriations process. Senator Durbin, as I am, is a member of the 
Senate's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which handles the 
Senate's work in writing the annual budget bill for the Department of 
Defense. That was an ideal perch for Major Venning to grasp the 
complicated but essential financing of our extensive national security 
operations.
  In his next assignment, joining the Corps' liaison office, he brought 
the same sense of intelligence and integrity that he showed in that 
year with the senior Senator from Illinois. Major Venning was always 
prompt in answering questions about the Marine Corps, whether about 
plans for growth of the force or the minutia of a particular program. 
He and the entire team in the liaison office provided excellent support 
for Senate delegations traveling to foreign nations to meet with 
international leaders and to review foreign assistance programs. He 
ensured that extensive itineraries unfolded smoothly and productively.
  Major Venning is a marine through and through, displaying great 
dedication to and knowledge about the force. Staffing a recent mission 
overseas, for example, hewing to longstanding tradition, he made sure 
that the Corps'

[[Page S10829]]

birthday was observed in a rousing rendition of ``Happy Birthday.''
  It should be little surprise to anyone who has known Major Venning 
over the years--in his years growing up in South Carolina and Virginia 
or at college at the Virginia Military Institute--that he would become 
such an asset to the Corps. I have no doubt that he will bring the same 
sterling qualities in his next assignment with Company A, 4th 
Amphibious Assault Vehicle Battalion at Norfolk, VA.
  Major Venning will go far in his future endeavors with the Corps and 
beyond. I know that all Senators join in wishing him all the best and 
in expressing our heartfelt thanks for a job well done.

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