[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 14 (Monday, January 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to Chris Gillott

  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, I rise today to recognize and thank 
three long-serving aides who have served my office but more importantly 
served our Nation proudly, and they are now moving on to the next 
chapters of their lives.
  First, Chris Gillott. Chris Gillott was my legislative director and 
for 8 years has been my right-hand person on policy. He never failed to 
take the ideas we discussed together and craft the actual policy needed 
to make a meaningful difference in the lives of folks in Louisiana and 
the lives of all Americans.
  He was a master at navigating the partisan divide to find areas of 
consensus upon which we could build to advance real solutions. I was 
always struck that he was on a first-name basis with the legislative 
director of--and fill in the Democratic Senator's or the Republican 
Senator's name. You have a sense that in the era before Zoom calls, 
they would go out and have a beer on a regular basis, and that helped 
us tremendously.
  We saw this fully on display recently as Chris was a central figure 
in the so-called 908 Coalition, which jump-started stalled COVID relief 
packages. And it wasn't just the relationships between the Senators 
but, again, as I said, between the different legislative directors from 
both parties in all offices.
  His efforts were also central to passing legislation to ban surprise 
medical billing--a more than 2-year effort that will have a direct and 
positive impact on the pocketbooks of American families. He was crucial 
in our effort to make healthcare more affordable and pass generational 
tax reform. For every major legislative pursuit, I could rely upon 
Chris.
  What many in Louisiana may not know is that he has also been a 
central figure engaged in some of the most pressing issues affecting 
our State, including offshore energy production, revenue sharing, 
energy regulation and permitting, the National Flood Insurance Program, 
and public works related to flood protection. These are all important 
to the well-being of our State and the folks who live there, as well as 
our entire country, and all these were regularly under assault.
  Chris was a fearless advocate for energy production and for the jobs 
that energy production creates to not only help meet America's energy 
needs but to meet the individual families' financial needs. He has been 
on the frontlines to prevent changes to revenue sharing that would gut 
the money used in my State for hurricane protection, flood mitigation, 
and coastal environmental renewal. He has defended the National Flood 
Insurance Program to ensure that this critical lifeline remains 
accessible to people across the country and, importantly, to those in 
Louisiana.
  Thank you, Chris, for all you have done for me and for those of 
Louisiana.