[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 178 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7018-S7019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO HARRY REID

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the service of my 
friend, the Senator from Nevada, and the Democratic leader, Harry Reid. 
Senator Reid's career on Capitol Hill began long before any of us.
  Back in 1961, Senator Reid came to work at the U.S. Capitol for the 
first time, though not as a Member.
  While Senator Reid was working his way through Law School, he spent 
his nights as an officer for the U.S. Capitol Police, the force that 
protects the U.S. Congress, in order to support his family.
  Senator Reid is an inspiration to us all and an incredible fighter.
  By the way, I do mean that literally. We all know about his early 
career as a boxer.
  In fact, two champion ``Boxers'' in the Senate are retiring at the 
end of this session, and we are going to miss both of them.
  I also mean that Harry Reid never gives up.
  When he was in high school, he walked 40 miles twice a week so he 
could get an education.
  When he and his wife Landra fell in love--he was told by her family 
that they could never be together. They have had a lifelong love affair 
and are so proud of their five children and now their grandchildren.
  From the beginning in public service, Senator Reid has fought for the 
best interests of the people of Nevada and the American people.
  In the Nevada State Assembly, he wrote Nevada's first air pollution 
legislation and worked on issues like consumer protection and public 
land usage.
  As chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission, he ignored threats and 
cleaned up the gaming industry.
  Since being elected in the Senate in 1987, Senator Reid's 
accomplishments are almost too numerous to count. The list goes on and 
on. Through it all, he has never ever given up. He has fought to defend 
the environment of his beautiful home State.
  He made strides in combatting ALS--writing legislation creating a 
registry that provides researchers with the critical knowledge they 
need to combat that terrible disease.
  He has shepherded some of the most critical legislative 
accomplishments in the past 8 years through the Senate.
  He led the effort to create and pass the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act, saving millions of jobs. He helped our economy begin 
to recover.
  He was responsible for making sure the ACA passed in 2010. So many 
people have gotten the care they have needed, their lives have been 
saved, by the work that he has done.
  As leader of the Caucus, he has been responsible for bringing so many 
of us into this Chamber.
  He said it himself: ``You have to stand up, even when you think 
you're not gonna win, if you think something's right.''

[[Page S7019]]

  He stood up. He fought the good fight. He fought for all of us. I 
know that he still have so much to give.
  Senator, thank you for your incredible service. Thank you for being 
such a generous and wonderful friend to me and to my family. I wish 
you, Landra, and your family many more years of happiness and good 
work. We will all miss you dearly.

                          ____________________