[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Remembering Dennis Moore

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, thank you for recognizing me. I rise this 
afternoon based upon an announcement earlier today. I rise in the 
memory of former Kansas Congressman Dennis Moore, a man who lived a 
life of service to our Nation. He was a friend, and I am sad to hear of 
his passing today.
  Dennis, above all, was a kind man. He was a loving husband to his 
wife Stephene and a doting father and grandfather.
  He was born in Anthony, KS, and went on to earn degrees from the 
University of Kansas and then Washburn University School of Law. He 
served our country with the U.S. Army Reserve and then Kansas for 12 
years as the Johnson County district attorney. He was known for 
integrity and for a strong moral compass, which he carried with him to 
the Halls of Congress when elected in 1998.
  Dennis's approach to politics was one-on-one, person-to-person, and 
oftentimes with his iconic guitar not too far out of his reach. It was 
this personal approach that paved the way for him to be the first 
Democratic Member of Congress from Kansas elected in that district in 
37 years. As the Kansas City Star headlined today in their memorial to 
him, ``Strumming a guitar instead of flinging mud''--doesn't that sound 
good?--``Strumming a guitar instead of flinging mud, Dennis Moore 
changed Kansas voters' minds.''
  He was a six-term Member, and in many ways, we spent those 6 years 
working together. He and I shared that period of time, and I have great 
respect for him and the way he served the people of the Third District 
of Kansas.
  That respect for him only grew when I witnessed the way he and his 
wife Stephene faced his battle with Alzheimer's with a determination to 
use their experience to help others. They made a choice to make this 
private and devastating diagnosis public because they knew it would 
bring awareness to the realities of the disease.
  Especially after his diagnosis and for as long as he was able, Dennis 
was a tireless advocate for the Alzheimer's Association. In 2018, I was 
humbled to receive an inaugural award in his name, the Dennis Moore 
Alzheimer Champion Award, from the Alzheimer's Association of Central 
and Western Kansas.
  He was vocal about what he went through and sincere in his urging for 
others having memory problems to see their doctor. In his free time, he 
still kept himself busy strumming his guitar at senior centers.
  One area where we always agreed was the need to invest in finding a 
cure for Alzheimer's, and in 2014, Dennis shared his experience with 
this harrowing disease in front of my Senate Health Appropriations 
Subcommittee colleagues.
  The executive director of the Kansas Alzheimer's Association, Fe 
Vorderlandwehr, had this to say about Dennis:

       After Congressman Moore was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 
     disease, he became a fierce advocate for the Alzheimer's 
     Association, championing the need for an increase in 
     Alzheimer's research with the NIH. He became the face of the 
     disease amongst his former colleagues in Congress as he 
     testified about his battle with Alzheimer's and the need for 
     research to keep other families from going through what he 
     was going through. Through it all, he kept a wonderful sense 
     of humor and his passion for music.

  I leave you with the Congressman's own words, and he said this:

       Alzheimer's is a bipartisan issue, and I urge my former 
     colleagues to unite behind it, allotting the necessary 
     resources to fight a public health crisis that millions of 
     families just like mine are facing.

  Dennis was a genuine, warm, decent man who lived an inspiring life 
that we can all learn from. His legacy will be the way in which he gave 
others battling Alzheimer's both courage and hope.
  Robba and I extend our heartfelt condolences to his children and 
grandchildren and to Stephanie, his wife, and to all of those who knew 
him.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). The Senator from Wyoming.