[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 60 (Monday, April 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE MEMORY OF JEREIMA ``JERI'' BUSTAMANTE ON THE 1-YEAR 
                       ANNIVERSARY OF HER PASSING

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life 
of one of Florida's brightest lights--a light that was extinguished far 
too soon.
  One year ago today, we lost Jeri Bustamante in a tragic accident. She 
was my press secretary, but she was so much more. She was my Spanish 
tutor. She was my travel partner. She was so kind to everyone that you 
couldn't help but love her.
  Everyone thought Jeri was their best friend because she was so loving 
to everyone. She brightened every room that she walked into and made 
everyone around her better. There is not much that brings the Florida 
political world together, but Republicans, Democrats, and even her 
friends in the press loved and respected Jeri.
  She lived the American dream. As a small child, Jeri moved from 
Panama to the United States with her family, speaking only Spanish. She 
grew up in Miami, where she attended Miami Beach High, Miami-Dade 
Community College, and Florida International University.
  She had a passion for communications. She started out at a local 
Miami TV station and eventually worked for the Miami-Dade property 
appraiser under Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who became my Lieutenant 
Governor.
  She joined my reelection campaign for Governor in 2014, and she was 
with me for 4 years. She was determined. She was courageous. She had 
big goals. She wanted to be the Press Secretary for the President of 
the United States, and I have no doubt she would have been. That is the 
kind of person she was. She never stopped working to meet her goals in 
life, but she always did it with a smile, with a joke, and with a kind 
word.
  In Jeri's memory, my wife Ann and I established the Jeri Bustamante 
Memorial Scholarship to support a graduate of Miami Beach Senior High 
School, who, like Jeri, is trying to become the first in their family 
to go to college.
  Today Senator Marco Rubio and I are introducing a resolution to honor 
Jeri's memory. We will never forget her, and we will never forget the 
ways she made all of us better.
  Now I would like to honor Jeri in the best way I know how, speaking 
the Spanish she taught me.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate in 
Spanish.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I have provided a translation to the Senate for 
the Record.
  (English translation of statement made in Spanish is as follows:)
  Jeri lived the American dream. She was determined. She was brave. She 
had great goals. She wanted to be the Press Secretary of the President 
of the United States. I have no doubt that she would have achieved it. 
That is the kind of person she was. She never stopped struggling to 
fulfill her goals in life and always did so with a smile, a joke, and a 
kind word.
  Senator Rubio and I today present a resolution to honor Jeri's 
memory. We will never forget her.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of S. Res. 147, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 147) honoring the memory of Jereima 
     ``Jeri'' Bustamante on the 1-year anniversary of her passing.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res 147) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  I yield the floor.

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