[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 123 (Thursday, July 20, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Thoughts and Prayers for Senator McCain

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, on a sad note but one always of 
hope when it comes to Senator McCain, his cancer diagnosis sent a shock 
wave through the Senate last night. He is one of my dear friends, as he 
is a dear friend to many in this body, and from the bottom of my heart, 
I wish him and his family well. So does every Member of this Chamber. 
The respect that this man has is broad and deep, both based on his 
service to America and on what he has done here in this Chamber.
  I agree with what the majority leader said earlier, in that John 
McCain is an American hero. There is no one who has done more to serve 
his country and this Chamber than Senator McCain. There is no one who 
is more passionate in the defense of our soldiers and in our defense 
than Senator McCain.
  The same courage that he showed as a soldier he showed here. John 
McCain and I led a group to deal with immigration reform. He had to 
take so many tough positions to do what was right. He was fearless. His 
word was good. He was good at compromising, and he was good at making 
his views known.
  With that bill, which passed this body with 67 or 68 votes--a large 
number of Democrats and Republicans--had it become law, our country's 
economy would have been better, and our security would have been better 
because it was so tough on the border. We would have been in a better 
place for it had that bill passed.
  The point I want to make is not with regard to the bill but to 
McCain--how we were in rooms for hours and hours, day after day, and we 
got to see the mettle of the man. Boy, the more you knew him, the 
better he looked, and the better he was.
  So we know that, against this new battle, Senator McCain will fight 
in the only way he knows how--with every fiber of his being. We wish 
him well. Our prayers are for him and his family. We hope that he joins 
us very soon because this country needs John McCain now more than ever.