[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 173 (Thursday, October 31, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING KAY HAGAN

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know that several of my colleagues 
have had an opportunity to take to the floor this week and today to 
speak to the memory of a woman, a Senator, and a friend--certainly a 
friend of mine--former Senator Kay Hagan from the State of North 
Carolina.
  Kay was one of those women whom you naturally gravitated to. She was 
kind. She was generous in her southern manner and in her charm.
  I rarely use the word ``delightful'' to describe people, but Kay was 
a delightful woman. She was a friend to so many of us, and she was a 
good colleague in the Senate.
  We had an opportunity to work together on different legislative 
matters, whether it was initiatives I was leading on mineral security 
or initiatives she was working on with regard to small business and 
HUBZones, but the one area we really did connect on for a couple years 
was what we were trying to do with our sportsmen's bill.
  We were successful in passing that through the Senate a couple years 
ago, but we worked on this back in 2014, and it gave us an opportunity, 
as two women from States where hunting and fishing and being engaged 
with the outdoors is something that Alaskans and North Carolinians do 
and enjoy. We shared stories. We shared just discussion about how we 
were able to reach common ground. We figured if these two women from 
these two parts of the country could figure this out and make it 
happen, that would really be a good day, a positive day.
  Well, it didn't happen at that particular time, but I am pleased to 
say we were successful some years later, and I think much of that was 
due, in part, to the good work of Kay Hagan.
  I know there have been references to her legislative work, to her 
quality as a woman and a leader. My heart is really with the Hagan 
family, with her husband, Chip, and her extended family who truly loved 
her and were very protective of her in so many ways. I know their loss 
is a significant one.
  I want them all to know that this Senator from Alaska shares that 
love, shares that loss for a woman who served us all well. I wanted to 
make sure that my comments were included among the many who have spoken 
on Kay's life.

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