[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7481-S7482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to Doug Jones

  Mr. President, so my departing colleagues--and I like every single 
one of them. I will start with my good friend Senator Doug Jones.
  Throughout the years, I have gotten to know Doug, as so many of us 
have, as a colleague but more importantly, as a friend. These past few 
years have not been easy for anyone, but what they have called for are 
leaders who will do what is right and who are willing to show courage 
and take risks.
  One of those leaders is Doug Jones, a native of Fairfield, AL, and 
the son of a father who worked in the steel industry. My grandpa worked 
in the iron ore business underground. I know a little bit about this.
  Doug graduated from the University of Alabama and the University of 
Alabama Law School. Afterwards, he served as a top aide for his home 
State Senator Howell Heflin. I still remember Howell Heflin. Long after 
Walter Mondale had left government, I was working with him in 
Minnesota, and Howell Heflin would call for him, and the accent was a 
little hard for a Minnesotan to get through. I remember Mondale, 
literally within a few hours, howling with laughter when he took the 
call. I am sure he was a great mentor for Doug to have when he first 
got into politics.
  Doug then became the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of 
Alabama, and in 2017 he became the first Democrat to represent Alabama 
in the U.S. Senate since 1997.
  I will never forget the first speech Doug gave on the Senate floor. 
It was about gun violence, calling for bipartisanship and pragmatism 
and for the courage to seize the moment. He actually quoted Senator 
Heflin, saying:

       Our Constitution itself came about through a series of 
     great compromises; it was not written by ideologues who clung 
     to their way or no way. Compromise and negotiation--the 
     hallmarks of moderation--aimed at achieving moderate, 
     centrist policies for our country should not be viewed as 
     negatives.

  Doug believed in a simple philosophy when he was here: Never 
compromise your principles--and he certainly showed us that--but work 
with your colleagues, Democrat or Republican, to move our country 
forward.
  I remember what he said about gun safety in his maiden speech. He was 
hopeful that we may have reached a tipping point because ``our young 
men and women are awakening the conscience of America.''
  That is something that Doug has done in his time in the U.S. Senate, 
and he showed it even before that when, as a prosecutor, he brought 
closure to the families of the four little girls killed in the 16th 
Street Baptist Church bombing by prosecuting those who sought to use 
fear, hatred, and violence to inhibit the rights of others. He did that 
for his State because that was his job, but in so doing, he brought 
closure and justice for our Nation.
  We are all fortunate to call Doug a friend. He has been a champion 
for veterans. After the tax bill had a problem with survivor benefits 
for Gold Star families, it was Doug who introduced the bill to fix the 
problem and got it passed for those who had already made the ultimate 
sacrifice.
  It has truly been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Senator 
Jones. Integrity and decency--those are the words I think about when I 
think about Doug Jones, and he will be missed in this Senate.

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