[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING SEN. KAY HAGAN

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I rise today to remember our colleague 
and friend, Kay Hagan.
  The daughter of a World War II veteran, with many other members of 
our Armed Forces in her family, Kay made service to others a 
cornerstone of her life. Indeed, she wove that commitment through her 
extraordinary career in business and public office.
  There was Kay's devotion to her community and family. She served as a 
church elder and Sunday school teacher at her Presbyterian 
congregation. Even while rising through the ranks to become an 
executive at the North Carolina National Bank, she was active in local 
politics, running county operations for two Gubernatorial campaigns. 
And, in the midst of it all, she and her husband Chip made it to the 
Girl Scout meetings and school events for their three children.
  There was Kay's outstanding career in North Carolina State politics. 
For a decade, she served in the North Carolina Senate. She earned the 
gavel on the senate budget committee. She championed financial literacy 
in elementary and secondary education. Her success landed her on North 
Carolina's most effective lawmakers list three times.
  Then there was Kay's service in this body. She championed fair pay 
for women, expanding access to healthcare, improving public education, 
and nurturing small businesses, which she recognized as the lifeblood 
of North Carolina's economy.
  In the Senate, she honored her family's long record of military 
service as a member of the Armed Services Committee. She chaired the 
vitally important Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, which 
confronts issues such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and 
drug trafficking. She fought to ensure that funding battles in 
Washington never impede veterans' access to healthcare. She traveled 
abroad to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other military installations around 
the world to visit North Carolina troops.
  To Chip, Jeanette, Tilden, and Carrie, I am sorry for your loss. Kay 
left us too soon. She was a kind and gracious colleague and a good 
friend. She was a servant for good.
  In the words of John Ellerton's Hymn, read at President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt's funeral:

     Now the laborer's task is o'er;
     Now the battle day is past . . .
     Father, in Thy gracious keeping
     Leave we now thy servant sleeping.

  Rest in peace, Senator Hagan.

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