[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5508-S5509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Johnny Isakson

  Mr. PERDUE. Madam President, I rise today with mixed emotions. I rise 
to recognize an incredible Georgian, a true statesman, a titan of the 
United States Senate, and, maybe most important, a friend to me and 
many people here in this town and back home in Georgia: Senator Johnny 
Isakson.
  Like everyone, I was surprised and saddened to hear of Johnny's 
upcoming retirement. Since my very first day in the Senate walking 
through this door back here to be sworn in with Johnny escorting me, I 
have come to revere this guy. He has been a mentor that I have looked 
up to. He has been a great leader for our State for many years. He has 
been a reliable and effective colleague. Most of all, he has been a 
friend whom I deeply cherish.
  It will be hard to see him go, but the reality is he won't go. He 
will still be involved here. I am sure I will get the phone calls about 
when we might have disagreed on a vote or why didn't I think about 
this. He has been a tremendous partner for me these last 4 years.
  However, Johnny has left a profound legacy that is worth celebrating. 
It is one that we should all strive to follow here in this body. He 
epitomizes the best of this body, the United States Senate.
  His legacy can be summed up in one word: service. No matter what he 
does, Johnny puts other people before himself, and this has continued 
since the first day I knew him back when he was running a real estate 
company in Atlanta, GA. Johnny puts other people first before himself. 
He doesn't do it for recognition or fame. Many times, he does it when 
people don't even notice or know he did it. He does it because it is 
the right thing to do.
  He served his country as a member of the Georgia Air National Guard. 
He served his community as a Sunday schoolteacher for 30 years. I have 
done that, and I know that is a labor of love. That takes a lot of 
work.
  He served the people of Georgia in the statehouse and the State 
senate and later in both houses of the U.S. Congress. In fact, he is 
the only Georgian to ever have done that. No matter what role Johnny 
has been in, he is always focused on helping others.
  His dedication to service is even more impressive because it has 
produced incredible results for our country. This town has a lot of 
activity, but it is short on results. Johnny knew the difference. For 
example, one of Johnny's top priorities in Congress had been to take 
care of our country's veterans. Georgia is home to over 700,000 
veterans today. As a veteran himself, Johnny treats each one of them as 
his own sister or brother. When Johnny saw the shameful conditions and 
mismanagement happening at the VA, he immediately sprang into action.
  Fixing the VA seemed impossible, but no challenge was too large for 
Johnny Isakson. Thanks to him, as chairman of the Senate Veterans 
Administration Committee, we have made incredible progress on this and 
many

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other fronts relating to the VA. His efforts, such as the VA MISSION 
Act, have helped bring accountability, efficiency, and trust back to 
the department.
  As the junior Senator from Georgia, I have had the great pleasure of 
working directly with Johnny on a number of other issues affecting our 
State. Each time, I saw firsthand how effective Johnny Isakson really 
is. I have likened him to the Howard Baker of our era. He speaks 
softly, but when he speaks, people listen.
  Working with Johnny, we broke the politic logjam to provide much-
needed disaster relief for farmers in south Georgia just this year. We 
secured funding for the deepening of the Port of Savannah after 20 
years of trying to get that port deepened just 5 feet. We solved the 
tax problem under his leadership for Plant Vogtle, which secured 
funding for the first two nuclear reactors built in this country in the 
last 30 years, and he helped pass the First Step Act, which makes our 
justice system fairer, while still deterring criminal behavior.
  These achievements would not have been possible without Johnny's 
steady hand and his leadership. When he speaks, people listen. He gets 
the job done. He understands what priority means; yet Johnny isn't the 
kind of leader who gives orders and makes demands. He is someone who 
leads from a place of respect, compromise, and understanding with both 
sides of the aisle. With Johnny, it doesn't matter who you are or what 
party you are in or where you are from. He is always there to talk and 
always ready to listen.
  Johnny Isakson is exactly the kind of servant leader that the 
Founding Mothers and Founding Fathers envisioned for our country. It is 
what makes him a true statesman, and it is a model I am sure our 
Founding Mothers and Founding Fathers would indeed be very proud of 
today.
  Of course, the road has not always been easy for Johnny--not every 
battle has been won, not all news has been good. What I have always 
admired about Johnny, though, is his stalwart resilience. Whenever 
circumstances have tried to knock him down, he always gets back up with 
a smile, and he keeps serving others. You know you feel guilty when you 
are around Johnny Isakson when you are having a bad day and Johnny 
says: How are you doing? You better say great because he is going to 
give you that same answer.
  As he and Dianne head into this next chapter of their life, I have no 
doubt that Johnny will continue to serve others and help make our world 
a better place because that is exactly who he is.
  Scripture tells us in Matthew 23 that ``The greatest among you will 
be a servant.'' When you consider all that Johnny has done, it is clear 
to me that Johnny Isakson truly is the greatest among us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.