[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 93 (Monday, June 13, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING GEORGE VOINOVICH

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, I wish to say a 
few words about a colleague we lost this past weekend.
  George Voinovich was the oldest of six children and, until his late 
teens, an aspiring doctor. Then he realized he didn't get along with 
the scientists, so he joined the Boy Scouts. He got involved in student 
government, and he told his friends that one day he would become mayor 
and Governor.
  He was right. This is the guy voters chose to turn around Cleveland 
after a wrenching fiscal crisis. Mayor Voinovich came to office with a 
simple motto: ``Together We Can Do It.'' And together they did. Debts 
were paid down, jobs were added, and slowly the buckle of the Rust Belt 
became comeback city.
  His success propelled him to the Governor's mansion, where he served 
two terms, and then to the U.S. Senate, where he served another two 
terms. Here in the Senate, he was at the forefront of a number of 
important policy debates. He was an advocate for more efficient and 
effective government. He was an advocate for an ``all of the above'' 
energy approach. And this son of Eastern European immigrants cited his 
work to help spearhead two rounds of NATO expansion as one of his 
proudest achievements. ``[When NATO's Secretary General] officially 
announced the decision to invite Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 
Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia,'' he recalled, ``this was truly one of 
the most thrilling days of my tenure as a Senator.'' Senator Voinovich 
had a storied political career that took him from Cleveland, to 
Columbus, to Washington, and around the world. All along, he kept 
himself guided by his Catholic faith and anchored by his family.
  He ultimately retired to spend more time with the people who really 
mattered. At the top of that list was the woman who made him whole. If 
you don't think storybook romances can start at a Cleveland Young 
Republicans Club, then you didn't know George and Janet Voinovich. 
George and Janet were best friends, they were political confidantes, 
and they were deeply in love. Here in Washington, you could find them 
strolling to the Capitol for work or to St. Joe's for mass. When Janet 
came to visit the office, George would greet her with a kiss and a hug. 
When the Voinoviches flew back to Cleveland, which was most weekends, 
they would hold hands and say a prayer across the aisle to prepare for 
takeoff. And when it was wheels down, Janet would put Ohio's senior 
Senator to work on their modest home in Cleveland. They purchased that 
house in the 1970s in the same working-class neighborhood where George 
was raised. They spent the rest of their lives together in the same 
house, but they never got around to installing an air-conditioner. 
``Too expensive,'' George said.
  George Voinovich was known for many things in his decades of public 
service. He was honest, he was plainspoken, he was loyal to those who 
worked for him, and, yes, he was frugal. Janet may not have appreciated 
it when the heat waves hit, but these are qualities that served him 
well in office.
  When asked about his legacy, Senator Voinovich said he just wanted to 
know he had touched people's lives and made things better. The mark of 
his impact across his city and across his State is clear enough to see. 
There is the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio 
University, the Voinovich Trade Center in Columbus, the Voinovich 
atrium at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the George V. 
Voinovich Bridge. The bridge named for a man known for building bridges 
of his own went dark in his honor last night.
  The city of Cleveland, the State of Ohio, and the citizens of our 
country have lost an outstanding public servant. Many of us have lost a 
good friend. The Senate marks his passing with sorrow. We will keep 
Janet and the rest of the Voinovich family in our thoughts.

                          ____________________