[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6974-S6975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to Jim Gardner

  Mr. President, now to talk about another Jim--and I have been joined 
by Chris, Chris Coons, our Senator from the State of Delaware, and I am 
delighted to join Senator Coons and also our colleague in the House. We 
only have one congressional seat in the House, and it is filled by Lisa 
Blunt Rochester. We are all going to be talking--not today here on the 
floor--Senator Coons and I will be, but Lisa will be talking over in 
the House about Jim Gardner.
  Who is Jim Gardner? He is an icon. That is a word you hear a whole 
lot, but he is truly an icon. He is signing off the air after 40 years 
of delivering the news for WPVI-6abc, which really is the dominant, if 
you will, television station in the whole Delaware Valley, including 
Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, parts of Maryland, and parts of 
New Jersey as well.
  Jim has been delivering the news not just for that station, but he 
has been delivering the news for all of us, and one of the reasons why 
that station has enjoyed incredible ratings is in no small part because 
of his presence at the station. He has been a steady voice for viewers 
in the region, anchoring the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts for as long 
as I can remember. Throughout that time, he earned the respect and he 
earned the trust of millions of viewers

[[Page S6975]]

who invited him into their homes on their televisions every night, 
including our home in Delaware.
  Jim's career was born before he even graduated college. He was 
attending Columbia University in the late 1960s. Our country was in 
turmoil over race and the Vietnam war--a war in which I served. His 
first ever report was on the historic student riots on campus. That 
gave him his first taste of broadcast journalism.
  He went on to report for a radio station--I think it was WINS Radio--
and then another station called WFAS and then WKBW-TV in New York City 
before making his way down south to join us in the Delaware Valley in 
1976, when he joined WPVI-TV as a reporter and as anchor for ``Action 
News at Noon.''
  Just shy of 1 year later, he became the anchor of the 6 o'clock news 
and the 11 o'clock broadcast, where he has been every night--every 
night--since, helping guide viewers through noteworthy events both 
globally and locally.
  Over the years, Jim's assignments included interviews. He has 
interviewed a lot of Presidents and folks who maybe aspire to be 
President. I don't. Among those are Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald 
Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, 
Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and a scrappy kid from Scranton who ended 
up as a Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden, who is now our President.
  Throughout the years, Jim has interviewed Philadelphia mayors--I 
can't count all the ones--from Frank Rizzo to Jim Kenney, and he has 
covered I think 21 political conventions. Think about that--21 
political conventions. There is a special place in Heaven for Jim 
Gardner for doing that, I will tell you.
  Locally, Jim was the narrating voice of our 2008 Phillies and 2018 
Eagles world championship parades, and those teams were really good 
this year as well. The Phillies made it all the way to the World 
Series, and the Eagles are knocking on the door to do something special 
in the NFL playoffs later this year.
  As the ``Action News'' opening song says ``Move closer to your 
world,'' he has also traveled abroad to help us understand some of the 
biggest stories in history--not just in Delaware, not just in the 
Delaware Valley, but across the world. He reported from the Vatican to 
cover the death of, for example, Pope Paul VI. He traveled to Germany 
to cover the return of American hostages from Iran. He reported from 
Russia and Lithuania after the fall of the Soviet Union. He covered the 
Oslo Accords from Israel and from the West Bank. He traveled to Cuba to 
cover Pope John Paul II and then went to Argentina to report on the 
life of Pope Francis.

  Perhaps what has allowed Jim to hold the trust of his viewers while 
engaging his audience night after night is that no matter where he has 
traveled--no matter where he has traveled--he understands that what 
matters to his viewers most can be found right in our own backyards, 
community events, at school board and town council meetings, houses of 
worship, and by talking to our neighbors.
  It is with great pleasure that we rise on behalf of Delaware's 
congressional delegation to honor the exemplary career of Jim Gardner.
  I want to say, Jim, to you and your family, congratulations on a job 
well done. We want to convey our thanks to your wife Amy--there is a 
special place in Heaven for her and for our spouses as well--and to 
your four children for sharing their dad with us and the people of our 
region of America. Delaware Valley is a better place because of you. 
God bless. Godspeed.
  With that, I am pleased to yield to my wingman from Delaware.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I join my colleague from our home State of 
Delaware in ensuring that Jim Gardner's four decades of leadership in 
our community, in our local news, and in laying down a marker for what 
it means to be a real journalist, a trusted and loyal and important 
part of community leadership--that his service will be remembered and 
recognized in the Congressional Record.
  Jim Gardner, as my colleague laid out in great detail, born and 
raised in New York City, turned on to journalism as a student at 
Columbia University by reporting on the historic Columbia riots in 1968 
and then began his remarkable run with WPVI-TV Philadelphia on June 1, 
1976.
  I have had the honor of being in the newsroom and talking with Jim as 
he has prepared for a broadcast, of getting a sense of just how good 
and balanced and thoughtful a journalistic leader he is.
  For all of us, it is a real loss that, four decades later, Jim has 
anchored his last regularly scheduled 11 p.m. broadcast. He is still 
anchoring the 6 p.m. news.
  I will tell you, Jim, my wife Annie and I love watching you. You have 
given us a sense of continuity, of community, and of character in our 
local news, unmatched in so many other communities around our country. 
You are a genuine treasure, a jewel of the Delaware Valley, and we will 
miss you deeply. You have interviewed Popes and Presidents, local 
elected officials and international leaders. You have contributed to 
our understanding of our place in the world and brought us closer 
together.
  I just wanted to say to you personally, congratulations on your 
retirement. I know that you will get to spend more time with Josh, 
Jenn, Emily, and Jesse, and your grandson Henry.
  Thank you to Amy.
  As my colleague and friend Tom Carper said, it is our spouses who 
often experience the highs and the lows of our public service, and I 
know your family has supported you through this remarkable work.
  It would be impossible to list all the stories that you reported on 
or contributed to, but know, Jim, that you have left a lasting legacy 
in the hearts of the millions of people who have watched you over 
decades and felt that they were brought a little bit closer to their 
world.
  Thank you, and we look forward to recognizing you in the Record of 
the United States Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Padilla). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.