[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 74 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2340-S2341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute To Kaitlin Fahey

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, first it was 5 minutes. Then it was 
10.

[[Page S2341]]

Then, 15. I had no idea where she was, and, at the time, barely even 
knew who she was. All I knew was that on her first day, as not just a 
volunteer but a full-time employee, our latest hire was ridiculously 
late to pick me up to drive me to the next campaign stop. Not a great 
look for her first task on the job.
  Twenty minutes passed. Then, 25. Then, 30. She still wasn't there.
  Her name was Kaitlin ``Something,'' I remembered. Well, whenever 
Kaitlin ``Something'' deigned to show up--if Kaitlin ``Something'' 
deigned to show up at all--she would get a lesson in working for a 
former military officer who believed in the sanctity of clocking in at 
0855 hours if your commanding officer told you to report at 0900 hours.
  Thirty-five minutes went by. Then, 40.
  It was only after 45 minutes had passed that I saw her car coming 
around the bend. And while I could not have noted at the time, Kaitlin 
``Something'' was about to become one of the most important people in 
my life. But on that day, she made me miss an event because we were too 
late.
  In the 15 years since that day that she showed up so incredibly late, 
Kaitlin Fahey has gone from being an intern to being in charge of 
interns, to, well, being in charge of me as my scheduler and then as my 
chief of staff.
  She has become a trusted political adviser, a confidant, a close 
friend, and an honorary member of my family--someone I knew I could 
turn to for a gut check and for the most brutally honest advice, the 
person who can both calm me down and rev me up and who can switch 
between the two on a dime.
  From greasy fast food stops along campaign routes to the hallowed 
halls of the Capitol Building that I am speaking in today, Kaitlin has 
never left my corner. She has always pushed for what was good and 
right, for what was best not just for me but for the people I 
represented--never, ever accepting the word ``no'' when a ``yes'' might 
be better to help even one family in one far-flung town of our home 
State of Illinois.
  Day after day, year after year, in role after role, she worked 
tirelessly, not on my behalf but on behalf of every Illinoisan, every 
American, proving along the way that you don't need to wear a nation's 
uniform to serve our country; that you can serve America without ever 
going to basic training or picking up a rifle; that you can serve 
America, and change her forever and for the better, simply by caring 
deeply and working tirelessly to make tomorrow a little bit better, a 
little fairer than today.
  There are a million stories I could tell about the work that Kaitlin 
has done and all that she has accomplished, but I will hold myself to 
just one: when she helped change Senate rules to allow babies onto the 
floor for votes so that new parents could fulfill their duties to both 
their children and the Constitution, showing moms and dads in every 
pocket of this country that they shouldn't need to choose between 
having jobs and having kids.
  You can see why I call her ``The Hammer'' and why she is one of the 
only people in the world who scares the living daylights out of me, but 
in the best way possible. And you can also see why I have been so lucky 
to have her in my corner all these years, to have her as a partner in 
office pranks, and to have her as a sister, who I could count on to 
simply sit in silence on the other end of the phone and cry with me 
after my miscarriage.
  This month was Kaitlin's last as my chief of staff. So, today, I just 
want to say thank you to her.
  Thank you to Kaitlin's wonderful family also--Scott, Ronan, and 
Brenna--for lending us your wife and your mom.
  And thank you, Kaitlin, for every moment of the last 15 years. Thank 
you for imparting your humor and for humoring me, for showing that 
warmth and strength can be one in the same, for not quitting when I 
tried to get you to wear a wedding dress made out of camouflage 
material, or when I got the office to take part in ``Talk like a Pirate 
Day'' and do every memo in ``Pirate.'' Thank you for being the kind of 
person who would jump out of a car and run out into the middle of the 
street to help save a lost dog--which she actually just did this past 
election day.
  Thank you for keeping me in line and for building our team from the 
ground up, running our office--first in the House and then in the 
Senate--with grace, precision, and brilliance; prioritizing empathy and 
compassion, common sense, and common decency; wearing a million hats 
all at once yet always making sure our staff felt valued, heard, and 
ever able to serve the people of Illinois. Thank you for being my 
``Hammer.''
  I don't thank you for not letting me get a Margarita machine for the 
office, however. But I also thank you for being my friend, for showing 
up to drive me in your car that day, albeit 45 minutes late. You were 
worth waiting for every one of those minutes. I love you
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.