[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 156 (Thursday, September 26, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5728-S5731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to Jenny Donohue

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise today not very happily, if I can 
say, as my employee and my friend Jenny Donahue is leaving our office 
to take a really big job in the U.S. House of Representatives, 
especially at a challenging, difficult time, and she will serve there, 
I assume, every bit as well as she served in the U.S. Senate.
  Jenny is a middle-class kid who grew up in small town Idaho. I have 
not hired a lot of people in my office from Idaho, but if the next 
person from Idaho is this good, that will be a great thing. She 
graduated from the University of Montana. Moving east, she went on to 
become a leader in the U.S. Senate. She is a leader among 
communications directors. She is a leader in my office, and she is a 
leader in this entire body. She has left an indelible mark.
  Part of being a good leader is being a good mentor. She nurtures 
young talent. She brings out the best in the people she works with.
  My wife, Connie Schultz, who is one of Jenny's greatest admirers--and 
there are many great admirers of Jenny--loves to say that she is one of 
the most fierce advocates for young women she has ever met in her life. 
She also says, oftentimes, that Jenny carries as she climbs. As she 
moves up in life and moves up into a new position, you can bet that so 
many people are going to benefit from her leadership and her 
mentorship.
  She has earned my wife's respect. That speaks such volumes about our 
friend Jenny. She has earned the respect of many Ohio reporters. She 
understands how important their work is to Ohio communities and to our 
democracy.
  She respects journalism, understanding that journalism is about 
comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. She knows that 
without journalism--good journalism--you can't have good democracy.
  She has been with me through some of the biggest moments over the 
past 4 years as a friend, as an adviser, and challenging me sometimes 
and telling me when I am wrong oftentimes but always being there in the 
right ways.
  She has been part of the dignity of work rollout. She was part of our 
trip to the border to bear witness to the humanitarian crisis in part 
caused by the President of the United States. She was part of the 
historic 2016 Democratic National Convention.
  She helped put my vision of dignity of work on the road earlier this 
year, including a trip to Selma, AL. Jenny has such courage of her 
convictions. She is not afraid to tell me when I am wrong. She is not 
afraid to challenge others, always coming from a place of integrity and 
honesty--always.
  She never does anything halfway. When she says she will do something, 
when she sets her mind to doing something, she does it, and she does it 
fully. She does it well. She does it better than pretty much anyone 
else could.
  The day after the 2016 election, my staff was pretty stunned that a 
human being like Donald Trump would be in the White House; that someone 
with his lack of character, with his inability to tell the truth, with 
his treatment of women, would be President of the United States. We 
were all pretty stunned.

  I gathered the staff in my office and told them our jobs would become 
that much more important. Jenny took on this charge. Jenny, who was 
already good before the 2016 election, took on this charge of how our 
work mattered, how I was one of the only selected officials in Ohio who 
would challenge the President's dishonesty, who would challenge the 
President's illegal behavior, and who would challenge the President's 
mean-spiritedness at the border, on the overtime rule, cutting food 
stamps--all the things this billionaire has done. Jenny knew how 
important that was. She took on this charge with a sense of 
responsibility and a purpose that made me proud, just like I know her 
parents and her grandparents are.
  As she moves on to her next job in the House of Representatives, a 
leader in the House, as she has been in the Senate, she moves on to 
continue fighting for justice and the dignity of work in her new role.
  Jenny, Godspeed.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


Tribute to General John Kelly, General James Mattis, and General Joseph 
                                Dunford

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, this afternoon I would like to honor and 
recognize the important service of three men, three Marine generals who 
have served their country in uniform and who have served their country 
in the civilian world as well, who have served with honor and dignity 
in ways that I think deserve recognition on the floor of the U.S. 
Senate. They have done this service in a manner that is befitting of 
marines, with dignity, class, and honor. I am talking about

[[Page S5729]]

former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, former Secretary of Homeland 
Security and the President's Chief of Staff at the White House, Gen. 
John Kelly, and, lastly, I would like to recognize Gen. Joe Dunford, 
who, on Monday, will be stepping down as the Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff.
  I intend to be there to honor him and to witness another remarkable 
transition of authority and power when U.S. Army General Milley takes 
over in what is the most important position for a military officer in 
the United States of America.
  It will be the end of an era, a remarkable era, for the Marine 
Corps--the smallest of the military services, where these three Marine 
generals--Kelly, Mattis, and Dunford--served with distinction, not only 
in the Corps as four star generals but at the highest levels of 
government at a critical time in our country's history.
  It is a remarkable story. It is a story of service, sacrifice, and 
friendship. These extraordinary men rose through the levels of command 
together and the ranks of the Marine Corps together. They served 
together all over the world, including in combat in places like 
Fallujah, Al Kut, and Baghdad. They fought together, and they 
sacrificed together for our great Nation as Marine Corps officers. They 
then went on to serve in other ways.
  The three of them have spent their whole lives in service to our 
country, and they have left an indelible mark, certainly, on the Marine 
Corps but, I believe, other institutions.
  Between the three of them, they have 130 years of Active-Duty 
military service to America--130 years. Think about that: 130 years of 
Active military service to the United States of America and the Marine 
Corps.
  They have given their all for us in a way that I think makes most 
Americans proud, emphasizing the ethos of the Marine Corps, which is 
honor, courage, and commitment, and I know they have inspired countless 
numbers of young men and young women across the globe in the Marines 
and beyond.
  I am going to talk a little bit about them today.
  Gen. John Kelly is a straight-talking, blunt, and fierce warrior. 
Before he was 16, he hitchhiked to the west coast and rode the rails 
back. He is then said to have joined the Merchant Marine for a year, 
where he is quoted as saying: ``My first time overseas was taking 
10,000 tons of beer to Vietnam.''
  In 1970, he enlisted in the Marines, where he found purpose and found 
a home.
  Gen. Jim Mattis is a warrior, scholar, appreciator of mavericks, 
known for the reading lists he expects his marines to follow, who as a 
teenager was ``a mediocre student with a partying attitude''--an 
attitude that landed him in jail a few times. But learning called, and 
then the marines called, teaching him and others how to ``think like 
men of action, and to act like men of thought.'' He is a legend in the 
Marine Corps. His motto in Iraq, when he led the forces there, was: 
``No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy than a U.S. Marine.'' He is the 
first and only marine to ever be Secretary of Defense.
  Then there is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Joe Dunford, who 
has had the Marine Corps flowing through his veins his whole life. His 
father served as a marine in Korea, and three of his uncles were 
marines in World War II. General Dunford had no doubt that he would 
continue that tradition.
  While earning a degree from Saint Michael's College in Vermont, he 
was commissioned as a second lieutenant. During his career, from 
infantry commander to Commandant of the Marine Corps and Chairman of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he has been known for inspiring respect in 
combat and on the field of battle and in the corridors of Washington.
  I had a brief opportunity to meet General Dunford a few times as a 
marine when I was in Afghanistan and he was the ISAF commander. The 
respect that not only marines and American servicemembers but all the 
allied forces there had for him was very, very apparent.
  All three, as I mentioned, served in Iraq. In 2003, General Kelly was 
promoted to brigadier general and was the first known promotion of a 
Marine Corps colonel to brigadier general in an active combat zone 
since Chesty Puller in January of 1951. General Dunford, serving under 
General Mattis during the invasion, earned his own nickname of 
``Fighting Joe,'' which continued to serve him well in Washington.
  So as you just saw from my colleague, the Senator from Ohio--there 
has been much talk today on the floor of the Senate from both sides of 
the aisle about character, integrity, patriotism, or, unfortunately, 
the lack thereof in Washington, DC, in the House and the Senate, 
throwing bombs at each other. But I think sometimes it is important to 
come down and talk about the other things--character, honor, integrity, 
service--because we have a lot of that as well. These three men have 
served our country with great distinction. They have all been succeeded 
by strong leaders who I am sure will carry out a similar tradition of 
service and dignity.
  Last year, I had the great honor of being promoted to colonel in the 
Marine Corps Reserves. I love being in this job. It is a huge privilege 
to serve the people of Alaska as a U.S. Senator. But I have no doubt 
that the biggest honor in my life is earning the title of U.S. marine. 
I knew that I joined a force for good, with cords of memory and valor 
that stretch back to before the founding of our country. The battles 
that the Corps has fought in live in the heart of every marine: 
Montezuma, Tripoli, Belleau Wood, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, the Chosin 
Reservoir, Inchon, Khe Sanh, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The 
list is very long.
  The greatest lesson I have learned as a marine is what true 
leadership looks like, and we have seen that true leadership in the 
trio of officers of Kelly, Mattis, and Dunford, and I have seen it in 
their lives after the Marine Corps in Washington, DC. Let me talk 
briefly about each of them.
  From his early days commanding a rifle company and serving on two 
aircraft carriers to commanding Task Force Tripoli during the Iraq war 
and leading U.S. Southern Command, General Kelly exemplified the 
warrior ethos of the Marine Corps.
  During the early days of Task Force Tripoli, then-Major General Kelly 
was asked about the ability of his force to handle the Iraqi military. 
His response was, ``Hell, these are marines. Men like them held 
Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima.'' He had confidence, and he was right.
  General Kelly is a fighter, but he also understands sacrifice. He 
lost troops in the field, and tragically, in 2010, he lost his own son, 
1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, when he stepped on an IED while leading a 
platoon in Afghanistan. General Kelly knows sacrifice. He became the 
highest ranking military officer to lose his son or daughter in Iraq or 
Afghanistan.
  After he finished his military service with distinction, he took on 
two of the most challenging jobs here in DC: Secretary of Homeland 
Security and then the Chief of Staff at the White House. He didn't seek 
these jobs; he was asked to serve by the President, and he did. That is 
something unusual in a time where so many are crawling or scheming to 
climb up the ladder. It is refreshing to have leaders who are sought 
out or chosen to lead.
  It should be noted that the jobs that General Kelly took on demanded 
a different skill set after he took off the uniform. However, on a 
daily basis, in these jobs, you still take incoming; it is just not 
with bullets and artillery. In my view, he did an outstanding job in 
these two very important positions at a critical time.
  Then there is General Mattis, who became our Secretary of Defense. He 
also did not seek that job; that job sought him. I know this for a fact 
because, before the election, I had the privilege of sitting down with 
General Mattis when he was a scholar at the Hoover Institution. I 
talked to him about leadership and strategy. It was a big honor for me 
to be able to do that in October 2016.
  After the election in November of 2016, when the rumors began 
swirling about his being the Secretary of Defense, my first phone call 
to the President-elect to congratulate him also mentioned how I thought 
it would be a great pick to pick General Mattis as Secretary of 
Defense.
  I believe he did an excellent job. General Mattis, as the first and 
only marine to ever be Secretary of Defense, played a pivotal role in 
redefining our national security objectives and rebuilding our 
military. General Mattis

[[Page S5730]]

played a leading role in crafting the National Security Strategy with 
National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster in 2017 and then literally 
wrote almost entirely on his own the Pentagon's 2018 National Defense 
Strategy. Together, these two documents have shifted our Nation's 
strategic focus from countering violent extremism, as we needed to do 
after the September 11 terrorist attacks, to recognizing the return of 
great power competition as the leading national security challenge for 
the United States, with China as the pacing threat.
  It is rarely recognized by the media, but these are very bipartisan 
documents in that Senators--Democrats and Republicans--all believe 
these are very, very important. They are almost universally applauded 
and supported in terms of American strategy for the next several 
decades.
  General Mattis recently published a memoir, ``Call Sign Chaos,'' that 
centers on leadership and the need to sharpen the mind and the body. I 
think this book, which I am reading right now, is a great service to 
our country. ``You are part of the world's most feared and trusted 
force,'' he tells his marines. ``Engage your brain before you engage 
your weapon.''

  Indeed, much has been written about General Mattis's keen intellect, 
but, as he makes clear, reading and intellectual pursuits are not an 
end to themselves. They are part of the mission. They are at the heart 
of shaping the world's most fearsome fighting force.
  In his book, he says: ``If you haven't read hundreds of books, 
learning from others who went before you, you are functionally 
illiterate--you can't coach and you can't lead.''
  I also believe that General Mattis/Secretary Mattis did an 
outstanding job as Secretary of Defense. He rebuilt our military 
readiness, which had plummeted when defense spending was cut 25 percent 
from 2010 to 2015. I have walked with General Mattis/Secretary Mattis 
in Alaska with our military forces there, and I can tell you the troops 
loved him and respected him.
  Finally, I want to talk about General Dunford. As I mentioned, Monday 
will be the last day we get to call Dunford America's Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs. He is the second marine to hold this highest leadership 
position in the armed services. Also a student of history, he is known 
to be fearless and an unflappable commander.
  General Mattis told a great story about how when they were serving 
together in Iraq--Dunford and Mattis--General Mattis watched a rocket-
propelled grenade fly over Dunford's humvee and blow up about 100 yards 
behind him. Mattis wrote: ``He [Dunford] barely glanced up and then 
went right back to writing his orders.''
  In his book, General Mattis talks more about General Dunford. He 
said:

       He had a gift of synthesis; he could coolly evaluate the 
     larger picture. Joe reminded me of Emperor Justinian, 
     consistently reaching fair conclusions and able to summarize 
     a complex situation in a few words.

  It has been precisely this ability that has allowed General Dunford 
to so effectively navigate the tricky, political, and military worlds 
in both this administration and the last one. He was nominated to be 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs by President Obama and did such an 
outstanding job that President Trump renominated him.
  These are the kinds of men and leaders I am talking about, and these 
are not easy times. Our country and our military are facing 
unprecedented challenges, and wise counsel from those in these 
positions is paramount--those who understand what it means to fight, 
what it means to be on the frontlines of conflict, and what it means to 
have the wisdom sometimes not to fight. General Dunford has provided 
that wisdom.
  Harlan Ullman, a combat veteran and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, 
was recently quoted in an article about General Dunford where he said: 
He has been one of the best Joint Chiefs of Staff America has ever had.
  According to Ullman, Dunford has been able to successfully navigate 
difficult times with regard to national security and challenges to our 
Nation in civil and military relations.
  With all the other challenges this country has to face, it is 
important to recognize these kinds of leaders.
  I also want to mention how General Dunford is known not only for his 
keen intellect but also for his compassion. He was known to personally 
write letters to the parents of his marines who were killed in action. 
He was the person who went to General Kelly's home to tell him that his 
own son had been killed in battle in Afghanistan, and later, he wore a 
Team Kelly shirt when he ran the Boston Marathon.
  I have seen that personal compassion in my own life. It is a story I 
will end with with regard to all three of these men, and it involves a 
young lance corporal from Alaska named Grant Fraser.
  Who is Grant Fraser? In high school in Anchorage, he was an actor who 
loved the works of Homer and Shakespeare. He was a mountain biker, a 
skier, a pianist, a scuba diver, a rock climber, a tennis player, a 
lighthearted, mischievous young man, and then he surprised family and 
friends when he joined the Marines. While still in college, because he 
wanted challenges and he knew he would thrive in the Marine Corps--and 
he did thrive in the Marine Corps--he planned on coming back home to 
work as a paramedic with the Anchorage Fire Department.
  On August 3, 2005, in Anbar Province, Iraq, Grant Fraser was on a 
mission--Operation Quick Strike--to avenge the killing of his fellow 
marines when his vehicle was hit by a massive improvised explosive 
device. He was 22 years old when he made the ultimate sacrifice.
  I love our military, but sometimes it can be bureaucratic and very 
boneheaded. It took 11 long years and the tenacious, beautiful spirit 
of Grant Fraser's mom, Sharon Long, for this young marine to get a 
proper burial at Arlington Cemetery.
  Two days before the funeral in 2016, I was sitting next to General 
Dunford at a dinner. I told him about Grant's heroism and Sharon Long's 
heroic perseverance to get her son buried at Arlington.
  On an overcast day, September 30, 2016, as friends, family, and 
fellow marines were gathering to put Grant Fraser to rest at Arlington 
National Cemetery, a marine four-star general in his dress blues 
appeared solemnly on the sidelines. The most important member of the 
U.S. military decided to move his schedule and come to the funeral of 
this lance corporal.
  I had the opportunity to introduce him to Sharon Long. The Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs told me that he couldn't sleep the night before, 
thinking about how long it took for her to bury her son, and he felt 
that he just had to attend to pay his respects to this marine.
  I have been to a lot of funerals in my Marine Corps career, but this 
was the most moving funeral I ever attended. It was moving because on 
that day, rank didn't matter and medals didn't matter; we were all just 
Americans--with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--grieving the 
loss of one of our own.
  General Mattis wrote, ``No Marine is ever alone--he carries with him 
the spirit passed on from generations before him. Group spirit--that 
electric force field of emotion--infuses and binds warriors together.''
  These three men--Mattis, Kelly, and Dunford--have brought that 
spirit, that higher calling, not just to the Marine Corps but to 
America and the highest levels of government, and we should all be 
thankful.
  We in the Senate confirm these men and women on a regular basis--
people willing to serve their country--but we rarely thank them on the 
floor. So from one U.S. Senator who has watched the careers of these 
remarkable three men closely and appreciates what they have done, not 
just in uniform but after they have taken off the uniform, I want to 
thank them for their honor, courage, commitment, sacrifice, and example 
to thousands if not millions of Americans and marines and for keeping 
us safe.
  So to Generals Mattis, Kelly, and Dunford, thank you. Semper Fidelis.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I want to start by saluting my friend, 
our colleague, the Senator from Alaska, for his moving and powerful 
statement and for his service as a marine and now a Senator from 
Alaska. It has been a great honor to work with him on many issues, 
including national security issues.

[[Page S5731]]

  I thank you.